This spring is part of a small, beautiful picnic area, commemorating the workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps who tragically died in a fire, and is located along Pennsylvania Route 120 south of Emporium in far southern Portage Township, Cameron County. This photo was taken at night, in between late-summer thunderstorms, by my son’s girlfriend.
My family has a cabin in Northwestern Pennsylvania, in a region called the Pennsylvania Wilds. The mountains there have always held a sacred significance for me. The mountain springs are powerful and beautiful, acting as energetic portals for ancient, primordial magic that is both intense and healing.
I can’t stop thinking about the energy of the storm water pulsing from the veins of the mountain the night this picture was taken, just a few days ago, how devastatingly beautiful these natural spaces are, and how IMPORTANT they are, especially now during the tumultuous times of climate change and extreme weather. The mountains are steadfast, and calm, they are home to thousands of plant and animal species. They are a place to worship at the feet of Mother Nature herself. Weeping angels don’t hold a candle to the majesty of these natural monuments to the Gods and Goddesses.
If you can’t tell by now, I really dig mountains. I grew up traipsing through the leaves in the Appalachian mountains in Boiling Springs, and in the PA Wilds, perching on limestone rock formations that were there before humans existed, even before vertebrate mammals existed. I climbed ridges and watched red-tailed hawks circle, while listening to the throaty rasps of crows and the occasional raven. I swam in the creeks and streams, in water that took an entire year to filter through the mountain springs, up through the aquifers, that was colder than the hot summer air. There is a melody, fine music, a deep strumming hum that emanates from the roots of these remnants of continental collisions, it’s as if the earth is rejoicing, and it is my favorite sound, ever. This is my church.
The Pennsylvania Wilds is a conservation success story, and is a small glimmer of hope in an era of over-development amongst rampant destruction of biodiversity. Nowadays you will find sustainable meadows filled with food for wildlife, and partially recovered forest. There are so many species of plants, and fungi that don’t grow many places in the US, that grow in abundance here once more. The days of coal mining are an echo from the past, but there is still the threat of over-development and mining for lithium, fracking for natural gas, and climate change. I hope that you will read this, decide to learn about the Wilds, how we can protect them, and I hope you tell others. We need to learn from our mistakes.
In the early 1900s, early settlers destroyed the PA Wilds, thousands of acres of old-growth trees were clear-cut. 100 foot tall white pines were used for the masts of ships, timber made homes, wagons, and fed the iron-ore furnaces. Lumber was plentiful, and mankind, as usual, took this plentiful resource and bled it dry. We have to learn from our mistakes, and keep up the progress, protect the wild spaces now before they are once again a memory lost to human folly. Thanks for reading!
Mountainsong Sanctuary 