Pidley Ridge Expedition
And so it was. Did you now that the sun rises quiet? Not much sound or attention, just steadily. It breaks the band of darkness like one opens a letter from a loved one. Slowly, savoring every moment of anticipation. The sun rises even better from a tree. It rises, looks at you, and then smiles for the rest of the day. And so it was.
On October 4, 5, and 6 a crew of half excited, half cold,
half ready, and half mad embracers took to a ridge in the mountains of north
Remember the extra I was talking about, well we needed it for this ridge. Do not let the name fool you, the last thing this ridge was was Pidley. We had already climbed what seemed to equal a total of three trees each by the time we made it to the top due to the sheer steepness of the terrain. However, the climb went by fast due to our searching for furtive John. John had escaped us thus far, but we knew he was hiding somewhere, up to his usual trickery.
Once on top of the ridge, we assembled base camp, or Tenthaven, as I liked to call it. Then the search was on for the perfect
sunrise viewing trees. The weather was
exhaling those short raspy breaths of coldness that accompany any good October
day. Also, God had contributed to the
pallet of pigments for the changing leaves with some fine rain the night
before, so all was most, damp, and thriving.
Sway and I settled on a great Red Oak that we felt would lend a view of
Anyway, we moved to a beautiful Maple that would house us for the evening. We set up camp (which looked way better than anything Tom Hanks did in Cast Away) and made our way to dinner. Wily Joe had his portalege in a great tree about 20 yards away, and both of us had about a 360-degree view of the surrounding area. Steady Abe and persistent Bill had set up their tree boats near camp in the trees. Yes, all there were in the trees and ready for night. We said good-bye to the other embracers, knowing that they too had at least shared in some of the magic that leaped all around us. Our hearts beat with the same intensity of the woodpeckers, which gave constant reassurance to our unique place within life.
After an incredible meal of beef stew and cheese we all waited as long as we could to get that last rest break in before trying to make it through the night at least 50 feet off the ground. When Sway and I finally made our way into the tree boat, the sky had cleared and the wind that whistled the front through was beginning to die down. It whispered of the night we were about to have. It also whispered that furtive John was there to make sure we would be safe and sound throughout the night. Then I slept. I slept hard, and by morning I was awakened by something. Ahhh yes, the sound of an envelope. I looked, Sway was there, eyes open sensing exactly the same thing, the sun was coming. Quietly, not much attention, just rising steadily. The darkness broke, and there I was, face to face with the sun, on Pidley Ridge, bundled in my sleeping bag, next to Sway, rocking in a tree boat. On that day, I believe I gave the bigger smile.