Ian Lockwood

Moonlight on the eastern face of Sri Pada

As is inevitable for so many of us I’ve found that parenthood is a wonderful but rather taxing period of life that has had a significant impact on my creative instincts and need to be in the wilderness. Now that our son Lenny is becoming more independent there have been new possibilities to combine family getaways and passion pursuits in the hills. In January we returned to the Fishing Hut with several friends and enjoyed two nights and three days in the shadow of Sri Pada. On the first night the full moon of the Poya illuminated the peak in dreamlike hues. The lights of the temple and pathway lit up a crown of mist that hovered over the summit.  The next day, our group ascended the scared pinnacle along the Peak Wilderness forest path. In contrast to the first day’s cloudless skies we walked through mist and intermittent showers. Lenny was a champion hiker and made it to the summit temple with few complaints and a resilience that surprised me. If I’m correct he is one of the youngest OSC students to make the pilgrimage on his own steam.

Lenny on the trail to Sri Pada

Lenny & his father at the Sri Pada summit temple