Drumming in the Eastern Sierra

Hiking to a sacred spring in the Sierras

For the past few weeks, I have been on a pilgrimage to the sacred sites in the Eastern Sierra that beckon me. So far I have soaked in Buckeye and Travertine Hot Springs near Bridgeport, CA, which Jack Kerouac and his "dharma bums" once used as a base to explore the Eastern Sierra. I then soaked in the Rock and Shepherd Hot Tubs in the Long Valley Caldera. On Monday April 27, I made a four mile trek through the earth's oldest living forest to drum in the Methuselah Grove of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. It was an incredible day and I look forward to returning again to the Bristlecones. On Wednesday April 29, I hiked with three friends to a sacred spring high in the Sierras, or Range of Light, where we drummed and did a pipe ceremony.

The Sleeping Lizard

To celebrate May Day or Beltane, I visited the Sleeping Lizard, which is an ancient vision quest site located in the Volcanic Tablelands north of Bishop, CA. This site is sacred to the Owens Valley Paiute people, who use alcoves in the rock for vision quests. I took a journey back in time to visit the ancient ones who etched petroglyphs in the volcanic rock. 

On Saturday, I participated in a Sweat Lodge purification ceremony on the Big Pine Paiute Indian Reservation in Big Pine, CA. The Sweat Lodge is a place of spiritual sanctuary and mental and physical healing, a place to get answers and guidance by asking spirit helpers, the Creator, and Mother Earth for needed wisdom and power. More drumming and ceremonies are planned for the days ahead.