Not all who wander are lost.
Oftentimes when I go hiking it's often to find a some scenic spot(s) alone the way or at the farthest point out along a trail. Other times the solace of quiet woodlands is enough. To able hear nothing but your own breathing, the sounds of birds, the crunching of twigs and leaves beneath your boots, the creaking of trees as they sway in the wind with only the occasional sound of an airplane to remind you that civilization is still annoyingly too close. The hiking area I was at on this particular day was new to me and and was of the kind usually visited by mostly locals. As I proceed there was a slew of unmarked or barely marked secondary trails and I just choose a course not caring about where I was going and little worried about losing my way as I have five decades of hiking experience crammed into my brain and could find my way back with little mental effort. Another thing I find especially in the areas of more rugged rural terrain is you encounter a class of people more in touch with their environment and usually in far better physical condition than more average people and this day was no exception. The first group I encountered was a group of burly young rock climbers most of them around thirty to forty years my junior loaded with backpacks and racks of gear heading off to one the local cliffs in the area. The second people I ran into were two women who had to be in their seventies but with stern weathered faces from years of being outdoors literally miles up a rough forest trail who said they were just getting their exercise for the day and instantly gained my respect considering where I live there are slew of seniors of the same age who can barely walk to the corner store and back and many use canes and walkers, a fitting tribute to maintaining fitness. The third person I encountered was a teenage girl and her dog doing a brisk jog trot as if running miles every day with canine was just part of her normal routine. This spot was just about a 100 meters off trail as i was just checking some cliffs I spotted.
Not all who wander are lost.
Oftentimes when I go hiking it's often to find a some scenic spot(s) alone the way or at the farthest point out along a trail. Other times the solace of quiet woodlands is enough. To able hear nothing but your own breathing, the sounds of birds, the crunching of twigs and leaves beneath your boots, the creaking of trees as they sway in the wind with only the occasional sound of an airplane to remind you that civilization is still annoyingly too close. The hiking area I was at on this particular day was new to me and and was of the kind usually visited by mostly locals. As I proceed there was a slew of unmarked or barely marked secondary trails and I just choose a course not caring about where I was going and little worried about losing my way as I have five decades of hiking experience crammed into my brain and could find my way back with little mental effort. Another thing I find especially in the areas of more rugged rural terrain is you encounter a class of people more in touch with their environment and usually in far better physical condition than more average people and this day was no exception. The first group I encountered was a group of burly young rock climbers most of them around thirty to forty years my junior loaded with backpacks and racks of gear heading off to one the local cliffs in the area. The second people I ran into were two women who had to be in their seventies but with stern weathered faces from years of being outdoors literally miles up a rough forest trail who said they were just getting their exercise for the day and instantly gained my respect considering where I live there are slew of seniors of the same age who can barely walk to the corner store and back and many use canes and walkers, a fitting tribute to maintaining fitness. The third person I encountered was a teenage girl and her dog doing a brisk jog trot as if running miles every day with canine was just part of her normal routine. This spot was just about a 100 meters off trail as i was just checking some cliffs I spotted.