I live in California and work as a wildland fire fighter. This has been a very busy fire season so I haven't been around much to play music. I did bring the guitar to the Big Sur fire (working 16 hour days for 2 weeks straight) and played for the fire troups on several occasions. It was amazing just how much it was appreciated. You don't get much entertainment in fire camp. I don't think I've ever played for a more captive audience. (you can't leave camp) haha. During the day I fly around in helicopters to come up with a plan of attack and then go out with the troops on the ground to carry out the mission. Along with fighting fire I'm part of the READ team (resource advisor). We basically come up with the plan that puts the forest back together again after it's been torn apart by hand lines and dozer lines as well as other heavy equipment used to cut line to contain the fire. I travel fire lines by foot and on a quad runner to inspect and direct the work. Pretty cool gig for a musician. I sure do like my job. Be fire safe out there. Blessings.

Ancient Voices...a wilderness adventure.
Chapter 1: The Stanislaus River Canyon

 The adrenaline rush--the sweaty palms, the dry mouth, the tingling sensation permeating to the very core of my being was electric.  Crack! A second nearly deafening clap of thunder rocked the canyon, echoing off its vertical walls. The dark, ominous, gray clouds were growing with intensity and drawing closer by the minute. The ground under my feet rumbled, as the thunder rolled and the lightning was striking, again and again and again, illuminating my entire field of vision. The steep canyon walls had shielded my view from the thunderstorm, a drastic polarity change from several hours earlier, when I watched the sunrise and moon set, simultaneously.
  I had called The National Weather Service beforehand and the forecast was favorable; a ridge of high pressure just off the west coast would keep the threat of winter storms away, and give me a window of at least a few days for good weather. I started out from the trailhead at dawn. My dog Zoe--a six-year old golden retriever/chow mix--was more than ready to go, hopping up and down with only her front paws leaving the ground. She's a big, lovable, dirty blonde, with one ear trying to stand at attention.
 As the first rays of light from the new day filtered through the forest canopy cover of ponderosa pine, red and white fir and incense cedar trees, I watched the stars that had blanketed the night sky disappear one by one. The soft-pastel colors of the early morning were becoming brighter by the second. Delicate frost crystals
glistening brilliantly, sparkling like tiny diamonds of rainbow light as they melted, sending smoke-like steam dancing across the trail in front of me with each step.
 The spectacular sunrise should have been a warning sign of the impending storm. The old sailor's poem goes something like, red skies at night, a sailors delight, red skies at morning, a sailors warning.                                   My friend Pete, who dropped me off at the trail head
several hours before said, "You've gotta be looped, carrying a 70 pound pack with a guitar stuffed inside, into that hole [the Stanislaus River Canyon] doesn't sound like much fun to me.  He did have a point. "Besides, you'll freeze your ass off at night."
I said, "Ya, but I'm not going in just to have fun, I'm on a 'Vision Quest'."
 The Vision Quest is a tradition among the Plains People (Native Americans). A
man or woman seeking their way on the road of life, or trying to find the answer to a personal problem, may go on a Vision Quest for knowledge and enlightenment. This may mean staying on top of a hill or inside a vision pit, alone, without food or water for as long as four days and nights. It is hard, but if the spirit voices reveal themselves, or confer a vision that shapes a persons life, then the quest was worth all the suffering. (Erdoes and Ortiz 69)
Suddenly, another loud crack, followed immediately by an explosion, a bolt of lightning blew the top off a ponderosa pine tree on the adjacent ridge. That one was close." Come on, Zoe, lets go!" We took off running for the shelter of some manzanita brush just down the trail. I made a temporary shelter because it was going to rain, and rain it did. The trail we were just on was now a small stream. It rained hard for about an hour,
then it started snowing. I had come too far to turn back. Even if I wanted to, the trailhead was 2000 feet higher than the canyon floor, and that adds up to a whole lot more snow. I wondered if friends would send out a search and rescue party.   It took awhile to reach the area I wanted to camp in. It looked different in the snow, fortunately, I found an area that offered both great shelter, and a view of the canyon in both directions as well. The storm seemed to be mellowing out a little, so I set up the tent and gathered the little dry wood from what few places I could find it in.
  I wanted to be sure and take precautions in case of more lightning. More people have been killed by lightning in this country in the last forty years--an average of 143 deaths per year--than by any other weather related phenomenon. The odds of a person being struck by lightning are approximately 1 in 600,000 just based on statistical probability. If you're outside during an electrical storm the odds dramatically increase. To minimize the risks of lightning, here is what the experts say:
Try to stay inside, if your outside take cover before its onset. Lightning can strike for
up to ten miles before the actual storm hits. Stay away from mountain summits and exposed ridges, tall trees or open meadows.
 Avoid caves, since a lightning strike can electrify the walls of the cave.
If you're caught in a storm, seek the shelter of a stand of trees of roughly equal size in a low area.
If you're caught in the open, crouch down on the balls of your feet and become as much like a ball yourself as possible; place insulating material under your feet.
Don't huddle together, lightning can pass from one person to the next.
Keep clear of limbs that could fall.
Stay away from metal.
And last, but not least, stay put until it passes.
                                                            
I like to make a checklist before doing these kinds of trips as well as bring along a copy of "The 2 oz. Backpacker". This little treasure has a variety of tips on camping in the wilds with everything from finding a good site to " How to shit in the woods in foul weather." (Wood 7-121)
Chapter 2...Voices in the Wind
No amount of preparation would have prepared me for the events that followed that evening. Just before sundown, I was fishing an emerald pool near camp. I went to brush some pine needles and snow off a boulder for better footing, and discovered 26
Native American grinding holes in the granite. This was an area that at one time must have been the home of a rather large group of Miwuk Indians.
Then came a real treat; I landed a beautiful, native rainbow trout. I took the small dry-fly from its mouth and released it back into this wild stretch of the Stanislaus River, I sat there savoring the moment.
Something caught my eye, lying in the sand along the
riverbank was an ancient spearhead. It looked just like an arrowhead, but about seven or eight inches long. It was made out of shinny-black obsidian and it was flawless. I let out a big hoot and went back to camp.
 I built a small campfire, had an avocado sandwich and some miso soup, and got ready to settle in for the evening. I had been playing my guitar for awhile when I thought I heard singing. I stopped playing and listened, nothing. I started playing again and more voices, I stopped and again, nothing. I could have sworn I was hearing women and children singing. This went on for awhile. Was I hearing voices on the wind? Being so far out in the woods intensified the situation. I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me,  but it was so real. I thought about many things that evening, spanning millenniums. Exhausted, I finally dozed off next to the fire.
Later that same night, I was rudely awakened by Zoe's aggressive bark. A big black bear had smelled the food. Knowing  bear were in the area, I had already tied my food up in tree. I started banging on the back of a metal gold pan, and Zoe was barking loudly. The bear  took off into the night. 
 "Think with your heart, be at peace in your mind. If you are blessed and you are indeed ready, your spirit guides will find you. These are your ancestors, this is your father, his father, and his father before that, this is you."
......to be continued.

Copyright © 2006 Michael John Malisos. All Rights Reserved.

I just returned from a months vacation on Maui. I lived there for 12 years, 21 years ago. This was my first trip back to visit. At first, I felt sick after seeing all the new developement but that soon vanished and the beauty of the island and the aloha of the people became clear and was as strong as ever.Aloha 

Check out my debut cd at:

More music at: http://www.songplanet.com/michaelsky

It's simple.

  Work on your enlightenment in order to change your darkness. It's not that the enlightenment in itself is such a high virtue, the value is taking away your darkness.