Inst. Larry Pearce
English Composition 1
3 February 2005
Feeling Close to the Creator
I had always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. I was finally at a time in my life
where personal adventure was possible. I knew to do the trail end-to-end would take an
entire summer and that was out of the question. I whittled this down to a weeklong hike.
In this length of time I could find out what kind of equipment would work and see how
difficult it would be to complete this hike. I worked out and got myself in very good
physical condition. To hike the Appalachian is very physically demanding. The backpack
alone weighs over 65 pounds. To wear this pack and then to hike about 12 miles a day
really wears on the body. I read and researched about this length of a hike and added this
to my previous experiences.
The big week finally came; I was going into the woods alone, with whatever I needed
to survive carried on my back. It was great! This section of the trail had a lot of hills,
mountains, rocks and bigger rocks. The trail hikers have dubbed this section that runs
through Pennsylvania �rocksylvania�. I was on the trail for a day or two when I started up
an incline. At first I thought I would be walking up a rocky hill and then this would level
off. But no, I kept going up a set of stumbling stairs, up and up and up. My legs were
really aching now. I had to stop about every 50 yards to catch my breath and to
wipe off the sweat. With the trail this rocky you can fall on you face before you know it
so need to watch directly ahead of where you are going to step. When I did get a rest
stop; I could look up to see how much further I had to go. It seemed like forever, this hill
was turning into a mountain. The scenery was making the hike worthwhile.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, I made it to the top. The main trail went to the
left and a side �scenic outlook trail� went right. I figured after all that work I earned the
right to see what was so great about this scene. This short trail went past huge boulders,
which were mixed with assorted evergreen trees. Then, like a window to another world,
there was nothing, I mean there was everything; I was standing on top of the world! I was
on a boulder the size of a small house. It was protruding out of the very point and top of
this mountain, overlooking a majestic valley below. Nothing above me or around me and
all the world below. I could literally see for miles and there was nobody from civilization
in sight. A large shimmering creek was meandering from the top left corner down
through this painting to the bottom right. A valley of treetops below, I stood there in awe.
I sat down and absorbed this rush of serene feelings. All alone in this world, not a soul in
this paradise. A warm summer breeze blowing through my hair and in my face, the smell
of the natural outdoors, everything so woodsy fresh. No sounds except for the light wind
making a tree creak occasionally and a bird here or there. I felt as though I was
hypnotized. Sitting here engrossed with all of nature�s beauty. This was mesmerizing.
WOOSH! I jumped! What was that! A bald eagle swooped about 10 feet above my head
soaring down into the valley below. He circled and glided all around, so free and
graceful.
I started to think this scene looked like a picture you would see in a book about
paradise. My thoughts drifted to how I�m just a speck in this world that, God created all
of this and I�m just passing through. This was OK with me, I had just experienced a
chance of a lifetime that very few people would ever have. I said a prayer, feeling close
to God not only being at this height but because of the beauty around me. Said a prayer
giving thanks, appreciating my life, I said good-bye to this other world and continued on
my way.