Emerald Mountain

(rain pattering) The misty forests of Emerald Mountain reveal more than trees. Beneath the tall trunks, clusters of plants grow low to the soil, roots run deep where the ground stays cool, anchoring food-rich bulbs unseen from the surface. Small fruits appear in the dusk's light, hidden behind overlapping fronds, their colors almost camouflaged. These are the quiet harvests of the forest known only to those who know where to look. (rain continues pattering) Before we explore, let's take a moment for a brief wind-down exercise For tonight's wind down, you're going to use your imagination, so get your imagination ready, and let's begin. (rain continues pattering) So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still, and when you're ready, taking a big deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go. Now, imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight (rain continues pattering) flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes, moving up through the feet and the legs being filled with sunlight. (rain continues pattering) The qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body, (rain continues pattering) up past the waist to the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. (rain continues pattering) It continues up through the chest and the back into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and the fingers. (rain continues pattering) A sense of relief in the body (rain continues pattering) and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat into the head and face, all the way to the very top of the body (rain continues pattering) until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. (rain continues pattering) And now, just gently bringing the attention back to the body. (rain continues pattering) Lantern Falls lies deep within the forest, reached only by footpaths. The waterfall doesn't thunder. Instead, it flows down terraces of stone with the even cadence of wind through leaves. Mist rises from every tear, moving outward like a slow breath from the water. The pools here begin a hidden journey beneath the mountain, where the water deepens and warms before rising again at Sakura Hot Springs. (rain continues pattering) For hikers traveling along Golden Ridge Trail, the falls offer a welcome pause from the miles behind them. They sit just off Cedar Crest Pass, close enough to...