Welcome! My name is Aidan Patty and I live in the East Bay. Over the years, I have developed a deep fascination with astronomy. Three and a half years ago, my dad, brother, and I hiked 10 miles into the Sierra Nevada mountains in search of beautiful mountain scenery during the day and awe-inspiring starscapes at night. The goal was a large lake high above a valley. What we found, barely visible between two ridges, was a whole new valley. Unlike the valleys we traveled up in the past, this one was comparably inaccessible and unexplored. And we had to see it. My dad and I immediately started planning a multiple-day trek through the Sierras, not only to scratch an itch but also to challenge myself.
The first trek involved over eighteen miles, three and a half thousand feet of elevation gain, and all of this at elevations above 9,000 feet. We did this while carrying 40-pound packs. It was a challenge. Each step was a struggle. Each breath was a challenge, due to the elevation and my asthma. But it was the exhilaration of finding new scenery during the day and starscapes at night that I will always remember.
It was the last day of hiking in which we finally went through the mountain-lined valley and it was those couple of hours that catalyzed my love for science. I saw iron veins cross their way up mountains, folds of rock that were under enough pressure to make stone move like water, and the scrapes of ancient glaciers that etched smooth granite faces over thousands of years. Glacial melt flooded mole tunnels allowing water to flow up from the ground as I watched an eagle fish for trout. I slept under awe-inspiring stars. To see how interconnected our world is, the perfect imperfections and the grandness of it all impacted me more than I ever thought it would. I felt like I was a part of something bigger, and felt the same adventure I felt about the trail, as I did with science. I wanted to know why our night sky looked the way it did and what forces could form trillions of pounds of stone into mountains.
Today, I still think about those summer mountain hikes , but I am also planning the next one with my dad. I cannot help but spend hours going through Google Maps and Google Earth, researching every little thing I find along the way. There is a supervolcano that my family drove over to make it to the trail, another volcano created a small dome in a lake we passed, and another created enormous obsidian formations.
There is no other place in the world where I feel so at peace. Alone but not really alone. I feel so alive when I am out in nature. Every year I take this annual trek to the dark skies. Most recently this past summer, my dad, brother and I have ramped up our hike to 30 miles and a climb of over 1,500 feet in elevation to see the most beautiful stars and constellations.
I started this project because many kids in my generation are growing up in a silo. Not really feeling like they are part of anything bigger than what is chosen for them. News and social media “feeds” are convenient but not always what makes people feel happier. If we take inspiration from the past and learn about astronomy not just from a scientific perspective but in ways that enrich our lives through heartfelt stories and traditions I believe we will feel more connected and satisfied with our life in this world.
I hope this site will spark your interest in learning about astronomy from a different perspective. You’ll see how native communities used stars to navigate through life both physically and spiritually. It is a magical place where if you look up you’ll feel that we are all part of one bigger community.
I slept under the awe-inspiring stars. With each breath I felt closer to all the often overlooked living beings of this world. Only here do I get to see how interconnected our world truly is.
All of these photos were taken by me, Aidan Patty, on a backpacking trip through the Sierra Nevadas.