PCT 24 -- Reflections upon the Path (Snoqualmie Pass)

Snoqualmie Pass MP 2400

 There are few words that can match the sense of coming home.  The warmth of the familure seems to flow over the soul. That placement within all that has come before. And yet, there is a deep feeling of difference. That feeling that the distance had placed upon the heart. I feel as though the land I have traveled before me had touched upon the way I look upon my life and others. In the end, an experience that has been transcending. We sit around coffee tables… Talking casually about distance and miles, place around the world, in which to roam, in which to reach out and touch that inner harmony again. This is the trials and tribulations of a Thru Hiker coming towards the end of the line. In the next 250 miles, comes the last great finally to a hike that has been utterly marvelous! A dream walked upon the very soul, and realized by the slow progression of feet upon the earth. I can only hope to bring light to such a journey, yet my mind only finds itself rapped into the folds of another, on an island far deep in the south pacific, a world away.

 The last week has been a trail, against the elements. Wind, Rain and Pain has come my way, and yet the ever constant, has been the trail before me. There is still more to hike. And yet the feet pull me forward. Every person has that point, where will and soul must collide. Where the true questions seem to resonate within and only ask the hard questions. Where does the trail go after Manning. It is on the mind of most every hiker these days. Talk of the after life, the world beyond the trail. And yet for each their heart is still on those endless days of summer. Those long miles, and high mountain passes. Will they ever end. For so long, it has seemed like a secret dream of each, and yet as we walk north it seems to become the resolve of each to answer those questions that set us out on this journey in the first place, to look for the residing calm in deep.

 In the last few years I have seen much, far more then I though before. A world has opened up before me, miles of trail seems to stream seamlessly before the dreamers eyes. And yet the final questions still remain. Society demands a heavy toll, and yet the soul demands much more… Which path… Which course…. After seeing the sunrise among the dawning petals of a desert rose, or upon the High Sierra Peaks, how can a man come back down from the mountains? Once it resides deep within, almost a candle lit beyond mark. The answer seems to reside in the fact that the trail keeps pulling me, like many others forward. It seems that many within our own little world have heard the piper. And are lead by the melody of that distant horizon. Each day spent reaching out towards the fine line of gold. I always wondered how travelers face each day alone, Today, I feel a glimpse into their eyes, into their world… It seems to give a man a certain courage that has not been felt before.

Well a few days rest, and we are back… To the trail that calls our names, and seems to haunt our dreams. The distant mile further to mark, and yet our heart calls out for more. The spell of the wild seems to call like a Robert Service poem. And yet, home calls as well… It is the spell of every wilderness traveler, what happens at the end of the trail…

 I guess we will see…

 

-- Ridgewalker