TRAIL DAY 78

Sun, May 8, 2016 It was a grey, misty day on the crest before Simms Gap.  I was the early riser.  The profile was dip, corrugated, long mound, dooown, blip/blip, uuuup, level, camp.

Pictures tell me little forest flowers were blooming, small, sharply pointed leaves were turning an iridescent green and fallen feathers were fluttering in the wind.

Noontime found me at the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter where I saw Highlander and a young couple.  Highlander was the one with strong opinions about knife blades and his trekking pole might suggest why he was not interested in any portion of the blade being devoted to a serrated edge.  He had carved an elaborate walking stick with an ornate snake wrapped around the mid-shaft and the rest decorated meticulously in interlocking leaves.  For that craft, I’ll give him his flat-bladed knife and single-minded focus.  Artists can be a little high on life and short on flexibility.  The beauty of the art is enough to forgive all.

I confess, I fancy myself as somewhat skillful with words and perhaps a bit possessive of my style and word choice.  Art?  May it be – may something I write or say move the inner person of some – may they open a window to something not seen before or seen differently now.

Streams, a pock-marked rock, a pixilated log in the early stages of decay, dense moss and millipedes caught my eye en route to Wind Rock where there was a view and a campsite which, oddly, I did not photograph.

Day #78   Crest before Simms gap > Wind Rock campsite 15.9 miles