01.13.2003 - 1:12 p.m.

I�d never hiked in snow before.

I don�t think it could have been warmer than 20, 25 degrees, minus the wind in the exposed parts of the trail. Certainly I wish I�d remembered to bring gloves and a scarf to breathe into. My face felt brittle, my throat sharp when I swallowed, my balance precarious on the slopes as I clunked through the partially-hidden rocks on the trail with my hands stuffed in my pockets, useless if I fell.

I kept my hands curled into the ends of my sleeves, away from the spare change at the bottoms of my pockets. Amazing how cold metal likes to be, even partially insulated. In the flatter places on the trail, I looked up to see my Dad and two brothers far ahead of me. The brothers were both Boy Scouts, which I guess explains how they tend to approach a hike as if it were a timed test. Mom was even farther behind than I was, moving slowly to support her bad knee and taking the time to look at everything around her. I don�t think of woods that way, as constant scenery. I think of them more like a background�it pleases me to know they�re there, but I don�t often need to look at them. I mostly look after my footing, the path edged with snow, ice-tipped rocks and logs angled to prevent the path�s erosion, dead leaves and patches of gravel or grass.

It�s interesting to be able to see the tracks of everybody else who�s been this way. (And by everybody, I mean the critters, too.) Even though the snow is melted enough that I can�t see a lot of the old tracks, and the path is practically bare, I can see deer paths and the occasional boot print off to the edge of the rest. It�s especially interesting because none of us saw anything at all, although I think I heard something scurry to my left at one point. I can picture a sort of time-lapse sequence, millions of hikers and deer and squirrels and birds and what-have-you all sharing the same space even if they never happen on each other in time.

And that�s been my problem lately, I think. I�ve just failed to manage time and space the right way.

-stonebridge

previous | next