May 21st 2018

Last I left off, I had found The Tree of Depth and had my first day, soaking up the Redwood Forest.

The next day, I moved over to the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods official Campground, where I booked four nights in several different sites due to no one site being available for more than 2 nights.

It’s on the pricey side at around $45.00 a night (after fees and taxes), when considering being on the road for a few months at a time. It was worth it though, because I wanted to sleep amongst the trees for a least a few nights.

There is a strict “no camping” regulation anywhere on or surrounding Howland Hill Road, otherwise I would have set up camp there.

The sites vary quite a bit in size and location but I was happy with all three sites I ended up in. (76, 55, 51). Site 76 was big and open and felt the most private, but was a little far to get to the showers.

Site 55 was spacious enough, and river side, but still pretty close to the neighbors.

Site 51, was less ideal and a bit tight, being close to the neighbor and parked right on the road, but is still river side and close enough to the bathroom / showers so it wasn’t a hassle.

Later in the summer, the big bonus of staying in the campground, is they put up a bridge over the river which connects you to the Stout Grove. Stout Grove parking is limited for how popular it is, so if you go mid-morning to late afternoon you might find yourself parking all the way up on Howland Hill Rd and hiking in.

The river was too high in late May / early June for the bridge but I imagine it’s fun to be able to just cross over with no need to drive.

After settling into the new campsite, I made my way back to the Mill Creek Trail for another visit with The Tree of Depth.

Along the way, a different tree got my attention first, though. She was right off the footpath and had quite a personality. I stopped to take her in and as I softened my fields open, I asked her name.

(As a side note, when communicating through energy exchange, the response and way I receive is pretty varied. Sometimes, I will hear an actual voice, and other times, it’s a felt sense or a knowing or just energy moving and temperature changes.)

When she answered, she felt light and playful and said, “Katrina!”, with a giggle.

I laughed and responded, “Katrina? (thinking, what kind of a name is that for a tree…), Really?”

She laughed and said “No, it isn’t.” But that was the name she wanted me to know her by.

I let my energy reach down into the dirt to her roots and as my energy met her roots, Whoooooosh!

I felt like I was being taken on a super fast elevator ride, right up her whole trunk, and then my energy burst out through her crown like fireworks and then came water-falling back down and into my crown.

A tingling all through my body, like champagne bubbles flowing in my veins, spread through me. I laughed, with my eyes open a little wider in surprise, as I felt like I just unexpectedly got love-bombed.

I wish we had the technology to record energetic experiences, like we can record visual ones!

After taking that all in, I thanked her for connecting and gathered my energy back and slowly hiked down the trail towards the Tree of Depth. I began to feel my third eye turning counter-clockwise and wondered what was coming through or shifting.

The next part of the trail, around and down the bend to the valley floor, brings you to The Mother Tree and the amazing tree tunnel at her base.

This tunnel feels like you get to walk through a little fairy wonderland.

A huge Redwood had fallen near the Mother Tree’s base, forming the left side wall and several other smaller (maple?) trees had shifted and formed a canopy overhead and along the right side of the path.

It is truly amazing, how long after trees fall, they continue to gift and be a part of the eco-system, creating new homes, soil and bases for plants and baby trees and countless unseen organisms.

A short walk further, I made it to the Tree of Depth in the late afternoon.

The Sun, lower in the sky, shined through and gorgeously lit him up in his center as I sat down.

The days were warming up and with that came the mosquitos. I slathered my whole body with citronella essential oil, laid down and put a sarong over my head and arms so I could more easily relax open.

I drifted down into that state, between sleep and waking, and reached out to connect with The Tree of Depth.

After a time, I came back to full waking state with energy spiraling clockwise around my field and through my body. I had a full body shudder and and then the chills and goosebumps.

It felt like I just got energetically re-calibrated.

The Tree felt drastically different to me as well. It was as if I could take him in more wholly, but the funny thing is I never would have known there was more to feel before that shift that happened.

In hind-site, almost a year and a half later, I recognize this Tree was teaching me how to carve into and open to a much greater depth of being than I had ever accessed before.

The depth and opening he taught me was pivotal. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous, wise and profound teacher to initiate me into this journey. Tears of gratitude well up as I write this.

It took over a year of practice and many later visits back to him for me to really even begin to unpack the wisdom bundles he had gifted me from day one!

But, at this point, this was all brand-spanking new to me, consciously connecting with the trees, feeling and beginning to translate the language of tree-energy into words. And also integrating that wisdom and mastery into my being.

Consciously, all I had were words to describe what I felt happening in my body. But subconsciously, a lot more was unfolding!

And these two days of connecting to the Redwoods had filled me up. It was time for a little change of scenery and let all that settle.

Whatever “that” was…