Climb to the Clouds at Glacier

It is early evening here at Glacier National Park. With summer now upon us, the character of this historic park has begun a dramatic shift, with much of the frozen areas melting away to reveal the hidden landscape beneath. A newly revived network of rivers and waterfalls comes to life, spreading from the mountain peaks down to the open valleys below, a signal of the changing seasons to the park's animal inhabitants. American dipper birds hop from stone to stone within the churning rivers, diving their beaks into the cold water to snag a passing fish. A group of western painted turtles sit in perfect stillness on a log at the bank of Lake McDonald, basking in the final rays of daylight. The air is still and inviting, the ideal setting for an evening under the stars. So as we settle in, let's begin tonight's journey with a brief wind down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. When you're ready, let's begin. So just take a moment to get comfortable, letting go of the day, enjoying that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We're going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body, watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night, leaving the body feeling rested and leaving the mind more at ease. So starting down at the toes and feeling a sense of the muscles switching off, the feet, the arches, all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. Notice any tension being let go of as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs, any tension melting away, being let go of into the area of the hips, the pelvis. Again, any muscles shutting down for the night completely at rest. Everything from the waist downward is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach are now switching off. Middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back, and the chest. So any muscles not needed, shutting down, switching off for the night. The shoulders switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms switching off. The hands, fingers just switching off. Any muscles around the throat and the neck, switching off. The head, the face, the jaw, the eyes, any last areas of tension melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off. At rest for the night and allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. A pair of hikers walks along the trail of the cedars, passing under the shadowy canopy of Western red cedars, cottonwoods and hemlocks. The hikers wear lightweight parkas and baseball caps. The ground is sprinkled with pine cones and pine needles which crinkle and crack under their feet as they walk. Avalanche Creek bubbles near the path, twisting through rock walls, coated with lichen then...