Hiking Log – Our Home
This is part 12 of excerpts from the trail log which was located on a New York portion of the Appalachian trail. For the post which explains this series, click here. Each new edition includes a quote from a hiker, along with this writer’s insight into what the person might have meant. Your interpretation may be different!
Following is my selection of this week’s thoughts of a hiker.
August 8, 2016
A Colorado girl in her second home, New York. Only in the forest do I feel at home. Remember who we humans are and where we came from. Save our home and remember how important nature is. Much love.
Interestingly enough, the last version of the Hiking Log was also from August 8th, but a year later. That specific post was about allowing nature to feed our soul. I believe this one is about allowing nature to feed our bodies as well.
The above hiker indicates that her second home is New York, and also states she only feels at home in the forest. When many people think of New York, the first thing that usually pops into mind is New York City, a 300-square mile section of NY which consists of five boroughs and nearly 9 million people. In fact, the New York City area represents only 0.5% of the state’s landmass. Most of New York state is entirely different in characteristic.
In New York, there are two mountain ranges, the Catskill Mountains and the Adirondack Mountains. There are nearly 800,000 acres of state forests and nearly 3 million acres of forest preserve land which include 2,000 miles of hiking trails. In the Catskills alone, there are 165 listed mountain peaks, with many more in the Adirondacks. In New York, nature and the forest are never far away.
So our hiker today reminds us to remember who we humans are and where we came from. I take this to mean, way back when we were all explorers, we lived off the land. We ate, drank, and were nourished by nature. Most of us today would have no idea how to manage if we weren’t within arms length of a mall or shopping center; if we didn’t have our electronics going non-stop in our air conditioned closed off homes. Many of us have lost our connection to the earth.
This hiker asks that we save our home, and remember how important nature is. We all know the scientific reasons why nature is important. Trees produce oxygen, cleanse the air and soil, control noise pollution, store carbon dioxide, and do even more. Forests are home to many animals and smaller organisms that all have multiple uses. As today’s hiker says, we have got to do what it takes to save our environment. Our lives (and those of our descendants) depend on it.
My final thought for today. Being a music lover myself, I got a kick out of the fact that this hiker included a musical clef at the end of her post. Personally, I think nature and music are two things we should all be enjoying and protecting, for as long as we can.
See you outside!