Appreciation for the Dipsea Steps!

Around the corner from my house, up Throckmorton, through the park and up Cascade Canyon is the beginning of the famous Dipsea race course. The route begins up 3 consecutive flights of stairs equal to a 50 story building. It has become part of my daily routine to do these stairs several times daily, in addition to some hiking up beyond if I have enough time. I thought I would write a rampage of appreciation about these spectacular stairs for today's blog entry...

I LOVE the Dipsea stairs. I love how running spring water flows down underneath them, cooling the air and smelling fresh. I love the nourishing color of green which the sun creates through glowing, vibrant leaves. I love how many steps there are, which invite me to jog for bits and walk for bits. I love how deeply the steps invite me to breathe, saturating my whole body with refreshing oxygen and sweat. It feels so good to push my body and feel my leg and booty muscles flexing and getting stronger!

I love how my mind slows when I climb the stairs. I love that I feel strong and powerful and connected while I climb. I love the sensation of rising up, higher and higher. I love the birdsong, the flowers, the beautiful wooden palatial houses, the squirrels, the cats and the endless upward invitation to go further...

I appreciate that so many of the stairs are made of wood, which gives the climb an earthy feeling of connection to all the nature which surrounds it. I love the few very old steps which are made of stones because they make me think of the turn of the century and how pure and simple and natural everything must have been back then.

 I love the intrepid bicyclists who fly by on the road bits which separate the stairs because they are so passionate about what they do. I so admire all the amazing runners who bolt by me at lightening speed upwards  because they show me what is possible! I appreciate their lean, muscular legs and powerful puma-like bodies. 

I love passing all the homes along the way and smelling the dinners cooking and seeing loved ones laughing and enjoying time together on porches with glasses of wine and inside dinning by candlelight. In the mornings I love seeing people walking the stairs with dogs or close friends, laughing and smiling while the breathe deeply and ascend.

I love arriving to the very top of the stairs and seeing the trail continue across the street and rise up and away in the distance. I love the feeling of being on top of the world and the enticement to wander onwards and explore the canyons and mountains. I appreciate the handrails as I go down the steep parts because they allow me to feel confident and safe. 

I am so blessed to live so close to these steps! What an unusual and mesmerizing gift they are. What a wonderful, welcoming community I live in. So much beauty is a delightful thing! I so appreciate the strength and healing these steps are giving me. Thank you!

Comments

[scrantasia]

I can't wait to visit in August!!! Your neighborhood is amazing :)