走过了春夏秋冬

 1。

人体在呼唤着四季。生长于四季分明的地方，自己身上无疑带有四季的烙印。而今，生活在气候平和的海滨，大海以其巨大的胸怀控制了季节变化。这一年到头气候变化就不甚明显，温差不大，植物不再在乎季节轮回，只是随着雨水的变化起起伏伏。

这样平和的环境里还是能够感受春天，夏天和秋天的。比如，岁末的街上还有成排的枫树，叶子艳红。

唯独冬天不再，没有了大雪纷飞的时日。因此，在过去的十年里就形成了冬季去大山里欣赏雪景的习惯。也可以说身体在一年里需要感受雪野。

2。

今年年末是个难得的晴明日子，下了个把月雨和雪突然打住。要知道在大雪封山的季节进山必须瞅好天气，雪景美极之处也蕴含着危机。

晨5：30起床，天还未亮，室外温度华氏38度（摄氏3度半不到）左右。没有急于上路，一边烧茶，吃早点，一边清点细软，相机的三脚架，盛装白雪的恒温箱，大衣，手套，还有至关重要的雪链子。东方露白，入车，差五分七点。

当天第一个惊喜当数令人心仪的朝霞。车子在高速公路上向东飞奔，微微清亮的地平线先露出了粉色之光，然后很快涌出了满天的嫣红。原本晴朗的天空出现了一些细长的云彩，从天这边通向天那边。整个世界突然间充溢着轻柔但却强劲的霞光。这一切发生得如此突然，让人不禁为之一振，一下子想起了儿时。童年不全是幸福的，但是对朝霞的记忆却一直温热在心头。

3。

朝霞妍丽还仅仅是个序幕，这一天注定要上演不朽之篇章。你看那起伏跌荡的小山包从绕着山谷游走的雾霭里露出一个个圆顶，晨光轻洒，个个显得神秘而又有诗味，韵味十足。高一些的山头更是沐浴强光，佛光环绕，格外清新。

车到加州的中心川道 (California's Central Valley)，晨阳正在把昨夜的霜冻化成薄雾，在那平坦的农田里漫延。所有的景致几乎有三分消失于雾霭里，绿色田野影影绰绰，可就是那不甚完整的田野，房屋，树木好像比平常更具魅力。

4。

这一路开去也有沮丧。过了斯达克顿 (Stockton) 就有山形进入视野。内华达山脉(Sierra Nevada)的雪峰鳞次节比，特别是太浩湖 (Lake Tahoe) 附近的那片荒原(Desolation Wilderness)，金字塔峰(Pyramid Peak) 清晰可见。晨光极佳，地面的薄雾同化了七零八落的地形，把那山峰拉到近前，形态毕现。近前新绿的草地，牛儿四处散落，给远处挺拔钢劲的山峰平添了几分柔美。一幅绝美的图画啊。那时我很想找到一处高地停车，把这些美景摄入境头，虽然我自知摄影技术还不尽人意。

可就是找不到合适的停车处，成排的车辆以每小时60英里速度紧随其后，若想停车，必须干脆利索，丝毫不能犹豫。20英里的距离，也只看到一处高度和场地比较合适，可是思维还是没有跟上车速，呼的一下过去了。唯一的补救就是回程时记住那个位置。

5。

温度还在下降，中心川道28度（摄氏零下2度），内华达山脚处有新绿的小草依着薄薄的雪层，地面温度25度（摄氏零下4度）。

在海拔6000英尺之前，我还侥幸地以为再有45分钟就可以到达银波湖 (Silver Lake) 了。然而，路面不断坚硬的冰层很快就证明我的感觉失误，路边的电子显示牌提醒人们前面需要给车带上防滑链。有人在检查站之前已经自行安上了链子。

一年前就买了一副链子但是从来没有从包里拿出来过。外面奇冷，我不想自己躺在地上安链子，就雇人安了。新链子安装拆卸都很方便。

6。

车轮上了链子就不好开了，车速限制在每小时25英里，可是有些车，特别是那些四轮驱动的运动兴多用车和小卡车还是憋足了劲朝45英里上靠。我是来看雪的所以乐意慢行，观赏风景。好厚的积雪啊，路边的雪墙挡住了驾车人的视线，只有些大树，巨石，和远处的山峰偶尔可见。

第一次让车，曾经巨大的观景点如今最多能停靠三辆车。雪墙挡住了相机，试图爬上雪墙，不到顶就滑下来了，弄得裤子和鞋子全是雪。哎呀呀，还得往前开呢。

到了银波湖，顺着一串脚印登上了雪堆，那景色一下子变得开阔，辽远，令人惊叹。湖面冻成了一片平地，远山似乎变小了，厚厚的积雪试图把整个世界变成浑然一体。只有一些参天巨松巍然屹立，不屈不挠。

给那山，那湖都摄影留念了，就想转身拍摄别的景致。一转身，前行一步，人就跌入深深雪窖。刚才所站之地经很多人踩踏脚下结实，那片地周围可都是又松又深的积雪。眨眼间胳膊拐已经陷入，好在一只脚还在坚实处，赶紧从雪坑里爬出，长嘘了一口气。

这血看上去洁白，松软，却处处是陷阱啊。

7。

看了一眼车里的温度计，说外面的温度为华氏21度（摄氏零下6度）。找到了一个大的停车场，可容十多辆车。这里是银波湖的最低处，通往吉特 . 卡尔森旅店 (Kit Carson Lodge) 的路口。旅店冬天关门了，这里成了喜爱雪地运动人们的路口，还真有人脚蹬雪地鞋 (snow shoes)，手执各种滑雪设备汇集于此。

我只有相机，踏着人们在雪地留下的小路前行，心存感激。

那小道把我带到了平平的湖面，那是拍摄周围的山峰，树木的最佳位置。

拍摄了整整半小时，感觉很温暖，只是巨大的湖面此刻成了一面反光镜，强光入眼，一片茫然。镜头也许摄光过多，也不知照片质量如何，反正当时是没办法查看的。

8。

回到停车场，从车里拿出恒温箱，开始往箱内装雪。这雪可以回家用来冰镇酒水。

午餐时间到了，可是实在没有地方落座。我可不想坐在车里吃饭，既然身处冰雪仙境，就不应该躲在车里。找到一停靠处，就站着用餐，边吃，边看，树呀雪的，嘴在动，腾出一只手不停地摁快门，就这样，抓紧每时每刻欣赏美景。

这一路最好的停靠处能看到北面20多英里外荒原 (Desolation Wilderness) 的金字塔峰 (Pyramid Peak)的地方。这阵子，人也适应了，上下雪堆如履平地，站在雪墙之上，嘁哩喀喳，摁了无数次，回到家里还得花时间清除重复的图片。那地方太美妙了，任何角度都是那般新颖和奇特。

9。

回到中心川道还是没有忘记雪峰的远景。只是阳光不再，云层厚重。这是雨季，又要下雨，下雪了。开车转悠了个把小时，没有拍摄到任何值得一看的图片。

总的来说，此行激动人心。下午五点钟到家，天还没黑。人是累了，同时因为经历了一个真正的冬日而感到愉悦。真是美好的冬日。

2011年1月1日，英文稿

2011年1月4日，译文

 

 

Four Seasons in a Body

1.

I know my body desires four seasons in a year. I grew up in a part of the world where each season took exactly three months of the year.  This had no doubt left some mark inside of me.

Now, residing in this amazingly mild seaside, the ocean exercises its marvelous magnanimity to take control of the seasons.  As a result, each month doesn't seem to distinguish one from another. Temperature doesn't vary as much from day to day.  Trees and plants flourish and hibernate with the coming and going of the rain, not the change of seasons.

Still, in such a toned down environment, it's not hard to experience spring, summer and autumn. At the end of the year, the streets in town are still lined with maple trees of bright red.

Obviously missing is winter, the big snowy variety. In the past 10 years also, I have adopted the habit of going to the high mountains to see snow every winter.  Or, should I say my body guides me to snow fields when the time is right.

2.

This year, New Year's eve was the only clear day in a while, as it had been raining or snowing off and on almost daily. Going to the mountains of deep snow, one must take the weather conditions into consideration. The winter wonderland can be stern and perilous.

I got up around 5:30. It was still dark. Outside temperature was hopping around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. I took my time having tea and breakfast while double-checking all the details, such as tripod for the camera, cooler to collect snow, big coat and gloves, and above all, snow chains for the car.  When the first light of dawn came, I started the car.  It was about five minutes before 7 o’clock. 

The first pleasant surprise came in the form of a sweet sunrise. As the car ran up the highway to the east, the faintly lighted horizon became first pink then the light red started to permeate the entire sky. A seemingly clear sky suddenly had some bold lines of clouds arching from horizon to horizon. The world was filled with soft and yet powerful glow of light. The change happened fast. The experience was uplifting, reminding me of the days when I was a little child. Days of my childhood weren't exactly happy times. But the morning glow left a remarkable impression that warms the heart forever.

3.

The dramatic sunrise was only a prelude,  as the day continued to unfold its scroll of masterpieces. There was a thin layer of valley fog around the necks of rolling hills with tender green grass. The round tops of green hills appeared mysterious with a touch of poetry and great elegance. The morning sun highlighted the hill tops; and the taller peaks appeared golden and delicate.

In California's Central Valley, the morning sun was converting last night's frost into a thin layer of ground fog across large fields of flat farmland. Everything had about one third lost in the fog; the green field was faint and yet the reduced images of the land, houses and trees were more beautiful than ever.

4.

There was also frustration during the drive. After Stockton, the mountains started to come into view. I saw the white tops of the Sierra Nevada, especially the Pyramid Peak in the Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe. The morning light was perfect and the ground fog unified the million objects between my eyes and the mountains so the peaks seemed closer and more defined at that hour of the day. The foreground of soft green grass with scattered castles added a touch of beauty to the muscular snow mountains afar. It was picture perfect. I wished to stop at a higher point to take a picture of such sweeping view, though I knew that my photography skills weren’t up to the task yet. 

However, I couldn't find an ideal spot to stop. Cars running 60 miles per hour were right behind my heels. Had I wanted to stop, I must be decisive and do it promptly. For about 20 miles, I only saw one place that was high enough and room enough to stop and picture. The mind was slower than the speed of car.  So I missed it.  My only hope was to remember the spot on my way back.

5.

Temperature kept dropping. In Central Valley, it was 28 degrees. At the foothills of Sierra Nevada where grass and thin layers of snow coexisted, it was about 25 degrees.

Prior to elevation 6000 feet, I thought the current speed could bring me to Silver Lake in less than 45 minutes. But I was wrong as the ice on the highway soon started to harden and roadside electronic warnings indicated that chains were required ahead.  Some folks put chains on by themselves before the check point. 

The chains were purchased a year ago but had never been out of the bag.  It was too cold for me to lie down on the frozen ground so I paid the crew to put them on for me. New chains were easy to snap on and off the wheel.

6.

Chained wheels weren't fun to drive with. The speed limit was set at 25 miles per hour, though some folks, especially those with four-wheel-drive SUVs and trucks, liked to flirt with 45 miles per hour. The snow was my destination of the day; so I was glad to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Big snow aplenty there was, as snow walls along the highway easily blocked the driver’s view. What left to be seen were just tall trees, occasional rocks and distant peaks.

At the first turn-out, I recognized the old vista point could now barely hold three cars. The snow walls were in my way of picture taking. I tried to climb up a snow slope but eventually slid down, with snow all over my pants and shoes.  Oh, well, it was time to move on.

At Silver Lake I managed to follow some well-trotted steps to get on the roadside snow pile. The view was wide, sweeping and magnificent. The lake was frozen into a flat field. The mountains around appeared small as deep snow tried to blur the entire world into one. Only those towering pine trees stood up tall and defiant.

After taking some pictures of the mountains and frozen lake, I tried to turn around for more scenery. As I took one step in the new direction, I fell deeply into the snow. I was just on a patch of solid snow, stepped on by many feet before I got there. Any other direction was nothing but soft and deep snow. In a flash, snow buried up to my elbows. Good that my other foot was on solid ground. I quickly unplug myself out of the self-created crater and took a deep breath of relief. The snow was white and soft but could also be unforgiving. Whew.

7.
Inside the car thermometer indicated that it was 21 degrees outside. I found a parking lot that was big enough for a dozen vehicles. This was the road to the Kit Carson Lodge at the lower end of Silver Lake. The lodge was closed for the season so this place now served a trailhead for snow-boarding folks, as many came with snow shoes and cross country ski equipment.

I only had my camera.  So, I was thankful to follow the little trail folks had created into the woods, along the lake.  The trail took me to the lake, a wonderful platform to take pictures of surrounding mountains, trees and all.

I spent almost half an hour there clicking away. It seemed warm there but the light was blinding as the surface of the lake now served as a giant reflector, reinforcing all the light into my eyes and my camera lens. I only hoped that the pictures were good, as I had no way to check them out on the spot.

8.
Back to the parking lot, I took the cooler out and started to scoop up some fresh snow. I filled up the cooler with the fun idea to chill some drinks at home. 

It was lunch time but there was a single spot to sit. I preferred not to sit inside the car for lunch. In the middle of winter wonderland I wasn't going to hide inside the car. At another turn-out up the road I had lunch standing. I ate while watched the trees and snow fields and clicked the camera while chewing. That was my way to enjoy a packed trip.

The best roadside turn-out was the one that could view the Pyramid Peak of the Desolation Wilderness some twenty miles up north. By then I also mastered the skills of jumping up snow walls. Standing up at the edge of the great wall of snow, I clicked way so many times that at home I had to eliminated many redundant pictures. The place was so marvelous that every glance seemed new and magic.

9.

Back to Central Valley, I was still looking for the grand view of the snow peaks from afar.  But the sun light had changed and clouds were moving in. Another rainy and snowy day was brewing for the wet season. I wasted about one hour driving around and didn't get a single shot worth my while.

All in all, it was an exciting trip. I got home before 5 pm and it was not dark yet. The body was tired but happy to experience a real winter day. A beautiful winter day, it was.

Trip: December 31, 2010
Write: January 1, 2011