Hiking has ruined my life.

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography

This newfound passion of mine has ruined my life.  I find most of the time and thoughts are thinking of hitting the trails, and the moment I leave them I yearn to be back there again.  Hiking is my drug and I am addicted.

Today I hit a new trail that I have never been on before.  The hike was a planned hike at Deam Lake on the Knobstone Trail.  The entire trail is over 25 miles in length, but today we did six miles (3 out and 3 back).

I arrived in the parking lot only a few feet from the trailhead.  There was a cool breeze in the air and a fine mist that accompanied it.  While waiting for the others to arrive I started down the trail a bit to measure the conditions.  I knew today’s trek would be with a larger group than I am used to, and getting to meet them would be a priority of mine on this day.  I decided that a few moments of solitude would help me prepare for the hike ahead.  As I stood there only hearing the sound of my beating heart, I could hear another sound.  The sound of the mighty earth coming back to life from deep hibernation.  Spring is not far off, yet winter still has its grip on this part of the world.

As people arrived, we introduced ourselves, huddled up and did a headcount.  There were sixteen souls ready to begin a journey through the woods.  We began at the trailhead and were soon engulfed by the soothing blanket of trees and branches.  The trail was clear cut, and though there was a lot of chatter and rustling of hiking boots over the wet leaves I still could hear the raindrops falling from the trees in a harmonious rhythm as each one hit the forest floor.  I could already feel my mind and body begin to relax.  For me, time in the woods is different than anyplace else.  Hiking time moves slower.  It moves at a natural pace.  The chaos of the world and the fast-food culture we seem to live in does not exist in nature.  Like my breath, time slows.

Today 16 human souls and 1 dog soul shared a special journey in the woods.  I heard stories of magical place others have lived, hiked and experienced.  As we marched down the twisty, sometimes muddy trail, I listened to everyone’s stories, tidbits of wisdom, and felt a pure joy that everyone was feeling.  This is why I hike.  I have found no other activity in my life that touches my soul so deeply like a simple walk in the woods does.  It is my white noise for this amplified world I live in.

The trail snaked and weaved up and over small hills, down across small creeks, around big and small trees and finally at our turnaround point of three miles we reached a small brook.  I was told that a man who recently passed away used to come here and camp alone.  He had been doing it for years, and this was his special place.  He didn’t die here but had been here only a few days for his passing.  I only hope that his last trip where he was able to cleanse his spirit.  I saw why he enjoyed that spot so much.  I was very peaceful.

The group took a moment to sit, grab various snacks, and rest before our return back.  Ginger, the dog took this time to run back and forth through the creek, while we all watched her, laughed, shared some stories and I got to know everyone better.

As we headed back, a few of us broke away from the others.  We all had other plans for the day and needed to get back.  I remember talking with Julia Matt and Ray about others they and I have hiked with that treat hiking like life.  Gotta hurry, get the miles in or meet a certain pace.  It made me a bit sad to think that people are so ingrained to want and need everything now that they forget to stop and smell the roses.  I’ll take my jungles over the concrete jungle any day.  I just hope my body, mind, and spirit allow me to do this until I die.

Until next time,

Tim