Ramapo river cresting it's banks
Toad hatchling, half a centimeter in size
I've enjoyed sharing some pictures and experiences through the medium of this blog, and hope that a few people enjoyed some part of it. My long awaited move to a new home has finally come, and I'm looking forward to exploring new trails and new pathways in life. The local trails that I've come to love in recent years have been wonderful and inspiring. They've offered up the bounty of nature that the forest reveals through each unique season, from the dry hot times of summer, to the cool refreshing colorful fall, to the many looks of winter but breathtakingly beautiful when blanketed with pristine snow, to the amazing rapid bloom of all life in spring. The forest is indeed magical.
I've learned many things from this wonderful time of hiking and trail running the past few years. When in the past I always enjoyed nature, rarely did I slow down much to really observe it. I was more of a trail runner then, though I would always hike sometimes, with hiking's slower pace, pausing for views, stopping to eat, and enjoying the camaraderie of friends on the trail.
But the alone time has been great. Stopping whenever I want to take a picture, to observe animals and insects large and small. Many times stopping at random spots just to think, but more often stopping to write ideas down -- ideas on my writing projects, reflections on current life, and pathways of life to explore in the future. The run-hike came naturally out of all that, blending the best of hiking and trail running, which really can only be done alone because you change your pace at your own whim. I've written about that elsewhere in this blog. Check it out and try it.
I will continue to write about nature, trails, and hiking in some form, though maybe not on this blog. But I say now: get some maps, explore some new trail routes and combinations, and get out there as much as you can because each season will reveal itself to you beautifully. Plan out loops for your hikes or runs (or run-hikes) because loops are often the most satisfying (to me at least), but doing an out-and-back on a great trail can be just as fun. For fitness, don't hesitate to try doing double loops or laps, back and forth on the same trail -- challenge yourself to do a faster time each lap or loop!
Get a map and learn navigation basics, and then you're free to explore more. Don't hesitate to make a random change of direction to explore that other trail you always pass, or turn around to go back to explore that side trail you've always wondered about. Planned trail routes are great and are the stuff of learning the ropes of nature exploration, but taking that turn onto another trail and exploring it can be great fun, and you never know what you'll find out there. Just as in life, following the same old pathways all the time becomes habit, but new learning, inspiration, and perspective comes from exploring new pathways, and that's true for both trails and life.
To the many wonderful people I've met or passed by on the trails, and to those who have come to find this blog, I say: continued happy trails out there. I'll still be out there on new and sometimes old trails as much as I can. Enjoy and explore!
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