Contemplative Hiking: Along the Colorado Front Range

by Margaret Emerson

Do You Long for a Deeper, More Soulful Connection With Nature? More than just a hiking guide, Contemplative Hiking Along the Colorado Front Range is for those who want to experience a new appreciation of the land and nature. Learn how to read nature s omens for deeper insights, cultivate your inner wisdom, and develop a keener awareness of the nuances of flora and fauna in every season along the Front Range. The trails described in this book are located along the foothills and mountain areas north of Ft. Collins to southwest of Denver s suburbs. Ecopsychologist Margaret Emerson offers detailed contemplative activities and practices for each specific trail to enable you to feel more grounded, more present, and more in tune with the rhythms of the natural world. This book contains dozens of beautiful black and white photos taken from the featured hikes. You can write your impressions and answer the questions posed in each chapter directly in the book, as it is set up "journal-style". This books makes a wonderful gift for the nature-lover or hiker in your life. Among the themes and activities Spring Equinox Meditation, Landscape and Mood, The Value and Sacredness of Land Pawnee Buttes, Feeling Your Place in Time, The Spirit of a Place, How to Do a Medicine Walk, You and the New Cosmology, Autumn Equinox Non-Attachment and Letting G, Art, Nature, and the Subconscious, and much, much more...

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Gail Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

CONTEMPLATIVE HIKING ALONG THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE is one of the most significant books I've ever read about connecting with nature while hiking. Margaret Emerson brings her soulfully and physically adventurous spirit to bear on channeling the spirit of a place. She guides us in how to experience a shift in the way we feel by an exquisite balance of mindfulness and openness while coming into relationship with plants, animals, and the landscape. I especially loved her encounters with ravens, at once personal and symbolic. She illuminates how trees "are sacred beings with a capacity for emotional healing" (p.137). Although she shares wonderful details and photos about specific hikes along Colorado's Front Range, the exercises and insights could apply anywhere. One of the games she suggests is to get to know a tree, then, from a distance with the optional help of a partner, find your way back to it blindfolded, not just using your senses but transcending them to connect with the tree in a deeply transformative resonance. Emerson's writing is lovely, as in sensory images such as the smell of "the wind after it had been entangled in the trees" (p. 204). I'm an experienced long-distance hiker, but will now hike with a fresher and richer perspective after reading this book.

[Bradley Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Contemplative Hiking" is a rare book that guides one's experiences of hikes, rather than simply describing them. Whether or not you agree with the author's point of view (which I generally do; she is a friend who shares common knowledge and concerns), you will likely find this book thought-provoking, insightful, and interesting.

The book makes an excellent case for experiencing the natural world as a participant, as well as an observer, and provides specific places to do so within a few hours of Metro Denver. (DISCLAIMER: While I have visited some of the places described in the book, I did not actually do any of the activities, though it is very likely that I will in the future.) The prose is vivid enough, in both the physical and emotional descriptions of the hikes, to make a good read and set the stage for the actual experiences.

One of the premises of the book is that as we allow ourselves to viscerally connect with the world through our animal nature (my words), living "in the moment" rather than "in our heads," we will relieve stress caused by our unnatural ways of living, and learn to appreciate and respect other species more. For most of human existence, natural environments were people's homes, and to the extent that we can once again think of them that way, we will be less likely to destroy them - or enable others to do so. I fervently hope this is right, despite the fact that I have taken an alternative route to reaching the same objective - developing strong arguments for those of us who insist on spending most of our time in our heads.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in how people interact with what's left of our natural settings, especially those who live along the Colorado Front Range, and I look forward to the author's future work.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the author, so I won't review my own book, but I can tell you that if you live near Denver/Boulder and you enjoy hiking and nature, and you'd like to form a deeper, more soulful connection with nature, this book is for you. It's small enough to take with you on hikes and fill out the questions and reflections directly in the book, as it's a "journal" style layout.

Dozens of photos of hiking trails and landscapes are included throughout.

You can get a copy directly from me at http://www.contemplativehiking.com

[Robin Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of the exercises are a bit to new-age/silly but the Buddhist ideas are right on target.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly groundbreaking. Full of fascinating, fun and effective ways to get you present minded in nature. A must have for the bookshelf!