Not every trail leads to ciders by the water, but I’d like to follow the ones that do.
My latest summer/pandemic season tradition has been to trek to the U.S. National Whitewater Center every weekend, a 30-minute drive from my house, to meet up with a friend for a hike. We’ve picked a different trail each time so far, with the promise of cold drinks from the market at the end. We’ve explored: The North Main Trail (3 miles), then the Parkway Trail (4 miles) and, most recently, the East Main Trail (5.7 miles). Or, if you’re us, that trail somehow stretches for 7 miles. According to my Garmin watch.
It was gorgeous, though. And the 2.5 hours of walking felt so serene we barely noticed them pass. The peace was a surprise – we only saw people four times during our entire time out there.
There’s something lovely about unfamiliar terrain – not knowing quite where you are, what’s close by but unseen. About trusting the trail, understanding that it’ll wind back around to where you started, eventually.
All you have to do is move forward.
