escape

in march of 1993 i turned 19 over spring break. my best friend in college, marla, and i had planned a week long back-packing trip on the AT (appalachian trail). it was unusually cold that year for march, and our packs were heavier than normal, so it was slow-going on the trail.

there were restrictions about where you were allowed to camp on the section of the AT that we were trekking and we'd mapped out our daily destinations. but the first night out, we got a late start and decided to stop short of the designated rest area. it was getting dark and we were hungry. so we hiked off the trail twenty yards or so and strung up our clear plastic tarp between a couple of trees. it wasn't level, in fact we were sleeping on a pretty steep hill, but we dug in our heels and thought it would be sort of like kicking back in a recliner.

no sooner did we get cozy in our sleeping bags then we noticed a bright flashlight approaching. it was shining right at us and i remember whispering to marla, 'do you think it might be a park ranger?' we tried to make ourselves as small and quiet as possible because the last thing we wanted to do was get back on the trail and hike to the approved camping site, in the cold. in the dark.

the light kept getting brighter and closer, but we didn't hear footsteps or voices. so after laying there terrified for at least ten minutes, i bravely peeked out from under the tarp...

to see a full moon rising.

i love summer nights. tonight as i drove over to selman from my house, top down on my mustang, i had my chin lifted high and my eyes to the sky. stars covered the black and the moon was up there somewhere, though not full. eyes on the stars, i could nearly angle my head so that the highway and cars and city lights were below my line of sight. (i'm sure this is a very safe way to drive, not to worry.)

and when the city melted away, i was back in the woods. under a forest canopy. the deep smell of earth and pine. dirt under my nails and layers of sweat and polypropelene covering my body. the unique contrast of being cold and sweaty simultaneously. the satisfying ache in your muscles from working hard or sleeping on the hard ground, or maybe both.

i miss that. a part of me yearns for it when my life gets complicated. escaping to a trail with only the threat of a bright light to fear.

a perfect moon, disguised as a park ranger .

d: all obtrusive flashlights revealed as moons.
b: marla and i weathered the southeast's blizzard of '93 on the AT.
g: summer nights. skies to transport me. stars to wish on.