Light Through Dark Forest

Light Through Dark Forest
            Roaming through a deep forest passage, view sometimes blocked by tangled branches, can both exhilarate and exhaust us. We may find ourselves there by happenstance or by choice.
            Goodbyes to loved ones who left this earth unexpectedly. Bad fall, bad biopsy, breathing in the wrong air. Job gone, school sites closed, support systems on hold. In this pandemic, many have suffered through more than one of these traumatic ordeals.
            We fall onto a temporarily murky, twisting and difficult path through no fault of our own. Yet we will set one foot in front of the other and walk, because moving onward is in our nature.
            Give up sure work to do something creative. Welcome a new member into the home, be they human or animal. Undertake a challenging course of study for better opportunities down the line. These are conscious choices to walk down an unsure, partially obscured path, emboldened by the hope that things will brighten as we plod onward.
            The promise of bright open spaces ahead draws us powerfully forward. Sitting stagnantly on the cold, soggy dirt of a dispiriting trail for too long is not helpful. We get up, brush off the damp earth, and move our feet again.
            Sometimes the misty, spooky stretches of a path have a haunting beauty that remains in our minds long after the bright stretches fade. Tales of our shadowy stretches mark us with thrilling badges of accomplishment. We survived the lurking creatures that rustled the bushes along our trail.
            We see light ahead, and we walk forward. Bathing in the sunshine, we know we will walk along challenging, clouded trails again in the future, and also that we will reach the sunny clearings again over time.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Devil’s Gulch, leads walkers through mossy, damp, shady trails, as well as open sky spaces with rounded grassy hills and turkey vultures flying overhead, a perfect example of the joys of both dark and light on a trail.
            The long list of Hikes can be found on the Quick View Hike List and on the main Hikes page. All past Insights posts can also be viewed in the Insights/Hike Update News archives.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Please feel free to share.
New this week:
Hike Notes 123: Devil’s Gulch