Special Morning Walk
August
17, 2013
To
prepare for the upcoming backpacking trip to Rainbow Bridge, I am discipline enough
to get up early Saturday morning for a special walk. After a cup of tea, I heave my 35 lb pack
onto my back and head out. By now, I am
getting used to the weight, once I start walking, my pack does not bother me
much.
My
neighborhood is really beautiful. A
middle class suburban area with lots of trees, gardens with summer flowers,
greeneries that make me feel I am in the middle of a forest. The only thing missing is a little creek
flowing quietly next to my footpath. But
I am quite content for what is around me; fresh air, cool temperature, and above
all, the richness of being alone, at least for the next hour until the residences
of this town wake up.
One
of the reasons that I choose to walk early in the morning is to avoid the
stares. I have been walking with my
35lbs pack after work regularly and I received a few stares. I tried to avoid eyes contact so I did not
have to look at their puzzling faces.
One man approached me last week and asked me “training for the
army?” Two days ago, an old lady from my
building was riding an elevator with me.
She gave me a sympatric look and finally consoled me, “It must be heavy
dear! Your husband is not around?”. I
did not want to tell her that I was single or she would start crying. Yesterday, a nice truck driver even pulled
over and offered me a ride! I feel like
I am back in Azerbaijan again.
It
is already late summer. I can feel
autumn in the air, a chill morning breeze completely wakes me up. Few yellow leaves drift and swivel slowly down
to my path, I look up and realize that I am right underneath a gigantic
handsome sycamore tree. A few grey birds
fly out of their nets, chattering, gibbering and quarrelling among
themselves. One flies to a higher branch
and a smaller one follows. They seem to
be communicating, perhaps saying something about me. I wish I could understand their language so I
could say the same thing about them, whatever it is!
I
have my route mapped out strategically.
The 1st mile is an easy walk downhill, passing many nice
houses on my left hand side. Most
people are still sleeping but some are having their coffee, looking through
window to their back yard. I hope my
appearance would not startle them. After 1.2 mile, a hard climb begins. 23rd street leads up to a main
road. It normally is a busy street, perhaps
it is too early for any reasonable person driving around at this hour, especially today is
Saturday. I cross the main road with no
mishaps, feeling a bit out of breath after the climb. A few naughty tree
squirrels playing hide and seek running and hopping ahead of me. Then, they pause, climb up to a nearby tree, perch
on a thick bough, look down at me with their airy tails curling forward almost
to their noses, seem to be giggling and then disappear behind the branch.
After crossing the main road, I turn left and am back in the
woods once again. Twenty minutes later,
I stop at the foot of a long stairway.
It is well hidden behind a big fence of someone’s house. Last year when I just moved to VA, I got lost
a few times jogging in my neighborhood.
I accidentally discovered this challenging route, a short-cut that
eventually takes me back to the main road.
The staircase is derelict for plants are growing wild here. A few white morning glories are just about to
open up, their trumpet like flowers are quite delicate. Some people consider they are unattractive weeds,
for me, they are beautiful so long as they are wild and free. I find a few hickory nuts on the floor as
well. I look up and discover many
hickory trees towering above this long hill.
I learn from John Muir’s writings that these nuts are sweet and
edible. I pick up a few and put them in
my pocket, will sample them tonight.
A small church sits on top of the stairway. As soon as I am on its door step, the church bell swings, making an announcement of the hour, folks, time to get up! I hurry back to my street and have to face another stairway, right in front of the infamous Representative Building. (where some corrupted DC politicians live). I no longer fear of the stairs, half run and half walk up to the hill. The final challenge is the 140 steps stairway. Instead of taking the elevator of my apartment building, I climb the stairs. It is the best way to train my leg muscle, which I will definitely need for climbing ins and outs of the Forbidden Canyon next month. Besides, I do not have to face my neighbors, explain to them what I am doing.
After a shower, I feel rejuvenated, water my garden and cook myself a tasty, healthy and filling breakfast: dumplings and chicken congee with broccoli. Life is good, and cannot describe how good I feel, cannot wait for the next walk.
The civilized man has built a coach, but he has lost the use of his feet. - Emerson
It is nice to have a
goal, look forward to challenging myself and be not afraid of what lies ahead.
