A Walk in the Woods

If you have not had the chance, I highly recommend reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson.  It is a delightful tale of one man's journey in rediscovering America by hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Bryson describes in sometime hilarious, sometimes painful detail the issues he faced while attempting to hike the approximately 2200 mile trail.  Of course this books speaks to me in ways that it may not to most.  You see, I have hiked/backpacked in the neighborhood of 3500 miles.  I relate to Bryson's trials on the trail, the single focus of get to the next place, and the unsurpassed joy of simple pleasures like a campground to yourself, the thought that only a few hundred people may have seen a view you are looking at in person, the endless creativity needed to make Ramen Noodles a main entree almost every night, and the mental fortitude just to put your foot again in front of the other.

The only problem is that I haven't been hiking much lately (what I mean by lately is in the last 5 years).  I got a chance today to take a little walk in the woods today.  Nothing big, maybe 2 miles in total.  It had a lot of ups and downs in vertical movement (if you have hiked in eastern Kentucky, you know what I mean).  What was neat is that I found something that I didn't know existed.  A natural arch, a waterfall appearing out of the rock, contrasting greens of algae and rock in stream beds, 30 foot icicle hanging of a cliff, and just the beauty of the day (check out my 365 days of photos blog this week for some photos).

Some things I learned today:
1) I am desperately out of shape.  The uphill pulls just about did me in.
2) I can fall as fast as I ever did.  There was a little bit of frost out this morning and a foot placement on a rock on a downhill slope meant the quick introduction of the ground and my backside.
3) It still is just a totally cool feeling to discover something new.
4) Mother Nature is the best show going!
5) Sometimes, you just need to be alone for a few moments.
6) Pictures are cool, memories are better!
7) Being out in the woods feeds my soul.

To point 7) - this is what works for me. It's a passion.  I can't put into words what simply walking in the woods does to/for me.  The point is, I have been denying it for way too long.  I had not nurtured part of me and it had a impact in being neglected.  Don't loose sight of your passion.  Get out there and enjoy it !