Symphonic monkeys
Gliding on razor sharp rails
Tame the choral beast
Tame The Monkey
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Author Archives: Freedom Hiker
It Can All Be New Again
“We frequently walk with the sole purpose of getting from one place to another. But where are we in between? With every step, we can feel the miracle of walking on solid ground. We can arrive in the present moment with every step.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
“When we first learned to walk, we walked just to enjoy walking. We walked and discovered each moment as we encountered it. We can learn to walk that way again.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Over the past several months I have learned the truth in the quotes written above by Thich Nhat Hanh. Although I certainly do not remember learning to walk, I can recall the squeals of delight from both of my children as they took their first steps. Eyes wide open with surprise, the fact that taking their first steps could bring such joy is something that we have forgotten as adults. We have nothing left to experience that is a new and as exciting as this.
As I recall those moments, I have to admit that when I go out to hike I don’t squeal anymore (at least out loud), but I do feel a sense of bliss and satisfaction every time I head to the woods. I am, however, mindful of why I walk as often as I can. These days it is equally as much for my mental well being as it is for my physical health.
My point is a simple one. Regardless of why you may walk, it is important not to lose the wonder and excitement that you felt as a child and made those discoveries for the first time. If you look hard enough, you can discover something new on every hike that you take. The changing of the leaves, the smell of the morning air or meeting someone new, it is all up to you. If you are lucky, you just won’t be listening to just what your head is telling you. If you listen very carefully, you will hear it in your heart as well.
Happy Hiking!!!
Believe
I believe in the truth
Assuming nothing, absent words act as confirmation
Letters pieced together, arranged and then rearranged
Why? To make us believe.
The Remants Of Nate
Wind blows with purpose
Rain falls in sheets, vengeance
No hiking today
R/G->R->RT->Y->Connector->R
“One of the riches the wilderness has to offer is a prolonged immersion in absolute silence.”
-Colin Fletcher
When my alarm went off this morning I knew that time was against me. The forecast was for rain, and after ever so slowly crawling out of bed, I looked at the radar on my phone and just as I thought, things didn’t look good. So the battle in my brain began. Do I just forget about hiking for the day? Do I take the risk and get out before the rain starts? Do I listen to that pesky little voice that was telling me to go back to bed? Or do I ignore it and just head out the door.
Since I hadn’t hiked since Thursday, I grabbed my water bottles, shouldered my pack and made my way to the jeep. Yes, even though the odds were against me, I made my way to Ward Pound Ridge.
When I got to the reservation, it was still creepy dark. Knowing that I was going to have to wait about 20 minutes before I could get onto the trail, I looked at the weather again and saw that I had 105 minutes until the rain would start. Five minutes later, it said 115 minutes. Five minutes later it was down to 108 minutes. What was happening? At that point, I made the command decision to start hiking.
If you take a look at the title of this blog entry, it details the route I took today. When I got to the end, it was in the realm of possibility that I could do a few more miles if the rain wasn’t to close. I took out my phone and checked the forecast. Sure enough, I had ten minutes until the rain would start. But would it? Was it telling me the truth? Did I want to chance it? I decided to head back to my car.
Sure enough, ten minutes later it started rain, no, pour….
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
10/8/17-4.5-269.62
R/G->RT->Y
“Mostly, two miles an hour is good going.”
-Colin Fletcher
As I was leaving the parking on Michigan Road the other day I saw the familiar markings of a connector trail. This is the first time that I have seen this particular trail despite the fact that I have been by the start of the trail about thirty times. So instead of making the customary left turn from my jeep to get to the trail, I went right and headed down Michigan Road. Turning right, I headed into the woods and after a short time I found myself at the site of an old mill.
After looking around for a few minutes I headed back up to the road. On the map it is shown as a loop, but for the life of me I couldn’t find any blazes on the return route. When I got back to the road, I made the left and made my way to the Red and Green Trail. I took this trail until the green trail left the red and intersected with the RT. Shortly after that the yellow trail comes in until you go back to the parking lot.
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
10/5/17-4.5-265.12
The Colors Of Autumn
True vivid colors
The emergence of autumn
My brain turns to mush
My Friend
My friend on my right
Slowly panting, sappy look
Eyes searching for love
Reverse Green
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
-Lauren DeStefano
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
Another beautiful autumn day means another day to get out and hike. Since it’s the end of a work day and daylight is dwindling, that means a shorter hike than usual. That’s no problem however, because it’s just good to get out into the woods, no matter what time of day!
Today I did the Green Trail again and instead of going in the direction where I would end my journey on a steep downhill, I reversed directions and went up the steepest portion first. Even when I do the Red and Green Trails (they are together for the first 2.4 miles), I usually go in one specific direction. The opposite way proved to be much challenging than I am used to. That’s ok though, sometimes you need to get the old ticker moving!!!
Happy Hiking!!!
2017 Mileage:
10/3/17-3.6-260.62
The Power Of The Pole
As I made my way through the woods today, I found myself thinking about my hiking poles. This pair, as well as the many I have owned over the years, have served me well. I never really gave much thought as to the reason why I actually used them in the past, but I do know that because of weak ankles and bad knees, I have a need for them at this point.
But today, as my poles were clink, clink, clinking on the rocks, I actually starting thinking about the mechanics of how I was of using them. Was it just a mindless action? One where you just put one pole in front of the other or is it something more calculated? As I walked on a nice flat section of the trail, it did seem like more of a mindless repetitious act of putting one pole in front of the other.
As I made my way onto a portion of the trail that was downhill and much more rocky, the placement of my poles didn’t seem so random. I thought of a comparison to something that has absolutely nothing to do with hiking. I am thinking of chess players. When you think about it, they say that chess players have to be thinking 4-5 moves ahead of their current one in order to stay in the game. The same is true when you are traversing difficult terrain.
Although it may seem random, I really don’t think that it is. Somewhere in my subconscious something is telling me where to place my trekking poles to save the wear and tear on my knees and ankles. This is especially true when I am moving quickly. Your mind has to be thinking at least a couple of steps ahead of your current one in order for you to stay on your feet.
So what does that mean for you? I think that if you take a step back and look at how you use your poles, you’ll come to the same conclusion that I have-that using trekking poles is a conscious act but what happens when you are hiking with them is not. Think about it…
Happy Hiking!!!
The Zen Hiker 