My Thank You Tree

My Thank You Tree

by John Kraske

©2020

Just outside of my front door is my favorite local mountain climb up Chautauqua Trail to the Chautauqua Peak. It's a rough snow run-off trail created and used by the Ute Nation for centuries before the white man took control of their land. This whole El Paso County area was the living and hunting grounds to a thriving Ute Nation. It was they who would create the meandering trails of this steep mountain side in order to overlook the plains for herds and/or enemies that you can spot for miles and miles in the endless distance.

It was a pleasantly beautiful day in late June of 2018. In just a few more days, my son and I are planning on joining my little brother, his 3 boys, and my dad on a fishing trip of a lifetime to Canada in order to celebrate my pops 75th birthday! (That's what he wanted...a boy's trip to Canada!) About a year and a half before, my daughter had asked that we get our first family dog shortly after moving to Palmer Lake for "protection" from the bears and mountain lions that roam nearby. This family LOVES to explore the mountains! And there are countless trails into the backwoods to roam just west of the town. On this particular morning, it was just me and the dog, Emi, deciding to make our way up the climb. (Emi is a "mutt" by every sense of the term but a most beautiful dog; 35% Pit, 25% Chow, 15% German Shepard, and a mix of domestic DNA to cover the rest.) Because of the steep nature of the path, the Chautauqua trail is probably not for the faint of heart. It's a real heart thumper and thigh burner, no doubt! A really good workout for burning those weekend calories. I had just started trying to make a routine of going up to the peak to "gather my thoughts" and to meditate. It's a winding trail, but mostly straight up! So, needless to say, when you reach the top, you tend to be completely exhausted and in need of a breather. Fortunately, there are a few rocky spots at the top to chill and catch your breath while you take in the scenery.

On this day, I remember that the very second Emi and I had reached the spot on the rocks that overlook the town of Monument to the south as well as Pikes Peak in the even farther distance, a fighter jet passed our vision directly in front of us headed for the Air Force Base (also due south). ("Well, that was cool timing!") After about 30-40 minutes of meditation, I decide to head back down. Now seriously, going down is altogether another challenge maneuvering on this gravelly, tree-root infested, steep slope. You can so easily slip or trip on the ever-changing forest terrain. You really must pay attention to your foot placement on each step that you take. Part of my training the dog was to have her walk behind me on the downhill as to prevent her from pulling me. At the time, I was using a 6-foot-long leash attached to her collar around her neck. I would soon quickly learn that this leash set up was not the best idea for this puppy in training.

As we made our way down the mountain side, I notice in the distance that an older gentleman and his off-leash dog were slowly making their way up. The gravelly trail is thin, and my dog is still in super-puppy play mode. So, I simply decided to step to the side of the trail to allow them to pass us, as I maintain control of Emi. With the leash still wrapped around my wrist as we wait, I knelt down on one knee next to Emi and held her by the collar while commanding her nicely to stay. As the gentleman approached, I made him aware of our presence. I explained to him that my puppy will likely get excited and bark, but she really just wants to play. I guess you could say that in that moment I mentally let my guard down while chatting neighborly, as the man and his elderly dog got closer. Emi was sitting so nicely until the moment came that caught me completely off-guard. As I'm talking, and the off-leash dog is getting closer, Emi's tail begins to wag in excitement of meeting a new friend. Then, in an unexpected split second, Emi lunges forward to greet the other dog, pulling me with her as I am still holding on to her collar and now completely out of balance. This sudden lunge scared the other dog causing it to turn and flee the other direction down the path! As I let go of the collar and try to plant my feet to stop, I'm thinking to myself in that split second, "Don't let your dog chase the other all the way down to who knows where and make this guy go looking for his dog at the bottom." I know my dog's mentality was "it's play time!" as she was now in control of me while the leash handle was still attached to my wrist!! With my right arm fully extended holding onto the leash, my left arm flailing trying to control my balance while also still holding onto my water bottle that I like to carry, we zoomed right by the old man! Up ahead, I see a sharp left turn in the path that's about to take me straight down the hill...the thought's running through my head are in full speed, "what do I do?". Without warning, I find myself in ultra-quick thinking video game mode where I quickly realize that I'm being thrown into an incredibly dire situation. My eyes focused on planting my right foot at the berm of the turn going down! With that plant and the momentum of my dog pulling me, I find myself seriously launched "in flight" going downhill with NO IDEA how this is going to come to a stop!! All I can think is where to plant my next step, and quite frankly, my body has never moved at this extreme rate of speed on foot...especially while out of control! I see a spot to plant, but pulling my left foot forward far enough is not as easy as it might sound while my body is in full superman mode, still flailing out of control, flying down the hill!! Somehow, I managed, just in time, to find a spot to plant my foot without slipping, keeping me airborne. I must have launched another 20 feet before I can feel my body just about to go into a forward roll. At this moment, I realize that the dog's momentum is what's keeping me from going into a full tumble down this treacherous path. But again, can I get my right foot underneath me to plant before I roll?! The forest trees that I'm passing to the side of me are a blur, my eyes focus on the ground that's clearly getting ever so close to meeting my face. My panicked mind thinks, "I'm not going to make it", but then my eyes see the unbelievable moment that my foot finds its way in front of me and plants with just enough force to keep my head up and my body still in full flight!! With my head up and my eyes looking for the next step, I see another turn quickly approaching, this time it's a right...I hit the berm with my left foot, forcing my body to the right, as I let go of the water bottle from my left hand, catapulting it down the precipitous tree and rock covered mountainside that I had just avoided going down myself. My mind quickly thinks, "grab a tree"!! With that right turn, my speed had slightly slowed down and my balance became more upright...my right foot found the next place on the trail to plant...and before I had time to come down on my left, I spotted a young tree on the side of the trail that had an opening to wrap my arm around without a branch or broken limb stabbing me straight through...I reached out with my left arm and, as suddenly as the event began, (BAMM!), it was over...I came to a complete stop. Scarily bringing Emi to a whipping stop herself, yanked by her neck, I thought it could have easily had snapped, (Thank the heavens, it did not!), as the other dog continued to hustle away as quickly as it could.

As I crouched down to gather myself and to see that Emi was OK, the elder gentleman had now carefully made his way down the path himself, saw me unscathed still catching my breath, and in a state of bewildered disbelief, surprised to find me on my feet at all, he says to me, "How'd you do that?! I was expecting to come up on a really bad scene." Although I knew in that moment EXACTLY "how" I had managed, I laughed and said, "I have no idea!" I was still in a state of amazement myself. At that moment, we saw his dog making its way back up the hill after realizing the chase was over.

Baffled that I had survived a most incredibly dangerous and potentially very hurtful fall, I glanced in awe at this homely little tree in the forest that had so much more life to live itself and said, "Thank you tree." This too became my routine as Emi and I continued to hike up and down the challenging mountain side. Now I make sure that every time, when passing the tree that stopped me from a more painful fate, I'll always say "Thank you" as I pass.

In reflecting on this "miracle", I KNOW, the ONLY way I could have stayed on my feet, was due the fact that I was being carried by the wings of heavenly angels. I had to have been. I really can't even imagine how any man, woman, or child, no matter how physically fit, could maintain control of his body and mind if thrown into the same situation. There was clearly more for my body and soul to live for. God willing, this life of mine made it to Canada in one piece 3 days later, (where the next surprise miracle would take place). I've met a plethora of cool new friends since that time, and I got to witness my favorite guitar player, Tommy Bolin, get inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2019! Not to mention all the other fun life events that I continue to live every day!

Yesterday (almost 4 years later), I was on my way up the mountain and noticed a heart shaped rock lying in wait on the path. I was drawn to pick it up. But instead of bringing it home to add to the collection, I decided to commemorate this "miracle" by carefully placing the heart perfectly within the branches of my "Thank You Tree" for all to walk by and to possibly notice, "This tree has a heart!"

"Thank you tree and thank you to my guardian angels that are always there when in need to lift me and to guide my path in this unknowing world of what's next."