I’ve had a shitty couple of weeks at work – public opinion, customers, coworkers, employees, deadlines, etc. On the personal front with my friends, family, and my exercise routine too. Public service isn’t always like this, but once in a while it all crashes together and you just need to live through it. It’s all interrelated. I’ve learned that stopping the chaos and getting back to some healthy choices that I actually can control helps to turn the tide. So last night I decided that since I didn’t have any obligations until 11AM (except for a large to do list), I wouldn’t set my alarm and would let myself get some rest.

It was great to wake up to the sound of birds on my own – at the crack of dawn which was just before 5AM. Even though it was early I was rested and there was a sense of peace and time to do something before work. Rather than languishing in bed I felt I wanted to go for a sunrise paddle.

After getting up and making a mug of coffee, I drove to the lake. By 5:45AM I was launched on the glassy water just as the sun was cresting the mountain ridges on the eastern horizon. To the right the waning crescent moon hung in the sky, undeterred by the arrival of the sun, and reflecting proudly on the water – water just as clear and blue as the sky above. Dual moons! It was so cool.

Within 5 minutes of starting a hawk swooped and snagged a trout from the water 30 feet away from me. For a while a beaver swam alongside me curious but staying far enough away. Occasionally a fish would break the surface to eat a bug. What a beautiful scene. The hawk returned later in my paddle and watching him hunt and swoop around me almost caused me to lose my balance and fall in. I dove in for a frigid jolt anyway. I paddled for a little over an hour, pausing to float several times along the way just to stay at peace. When I launched and returned I was greeted by a resident (non-migratory) flock of Canada geese – generally considered a pest but really pretty docile. The lake remained glass the entire time.

When I returned to shore I sat in the sun to warm up and dry off. In the Sierra in June, it is very warm on the lake even at 50 degrees when there’s no wind and just the sun’s rays. The geese settled in around me preening their feathers and showing off the flexibility of their long necks.

For a long while I was alone, at rest. My mind pretty clear. I really didn’t think about much except how beautiful the morning was. When I heard voices I looked farther out on the water and saw one person on my right paddling like I had, a rower to the left on his boat, and two white skullcaps bobbing on the water while the swimmers who wore them crossed the alpine lake in front of me. Nearby various birds were singing, and in the distance a train climbed the hills to the south while the interstate hummed with trucks to the north creating white noise in the background. The world was waking up. I had beat them all to it.

I need more mornings like this.