Nature and the Nature of People

Nature and the Nature of People

Soon my husband and I will celebrate our first date with a hike, possibly an overnight backpacking trip, through some rugged wilderness.  We do this because our first date consisted of a day hike.  The trail was only 3.5 miles; however, the hike turned out to be several hours long, as we did a lot of stopping and talking.  We had met the night before.  The next day, it was on a rock overlooking much of the park that I thought I’m going to marry this man, while he talked on of all his dangerous outdoors adventures.  I’m not sure how much of this I believed; but I thought if he’s done only one half of this, he might try to impress me by mowing my lawn.  It wasn’t because of all his man skills; although that helped.  It was just some inner voice that said everything about him was right.  We were engaged within two months and married within six months.  I found out later he had had the same thought of marriage the night before.  It was on that night that we stayed up until 4 AM just talking, because we didn’t want to part each other’s company. 

We still talk quite a bit, but not to this degree.  We were past being young people in our bodies, although still in our hearts, when we met.   We had to crowd a lot of life into our first date conversations. 

Today, as I was hiking by myself in our own woods, I was thinking about that first date with us and what I have observed on seeing various people out in the woods. 

There are the couples. You can basically tell the couples who are married and those that are not.  I’ve noticed how men have this tendency to go on about their outdoor skills while hiking behind the woman.  This couple is aged thirties or upwards and is not married.  They were both more than likely probably formerly married to other people.  He is trying to impress her with his manliness.  Then there is the couple that just walks quietly through the woods, possibly a noticeable distance apart.  This couple is married.  There is no need to impress any more.  In this case actions speak louder than words.  In the case of the younger set, for example teenagers, the girl is doing most of the talking.  The male is the silent type, his hormones doing most of the talking, as he is busily thinking of a way to get her to a secluded spot.    

You can also notice attire.  Once in Red River Gorge, as we came to a crowded scenic site we were stopped by a park ranger who wanted to get some feedback.  He noticed from our shoes that we were serious hikers.  I’ve actually seen women step out onto the trail with heels.  Of course they are not going very far.  Even if you didn’t look downward at their feet, you would hear them exclaiming, “How much farther?”  For some it is a first time venture, getting this far out into nature.   They wear their finest to fit the occasion.  Their pristine white sneakers glare along with the sunlight peaking through the trees.

Most people only like the idea of nature.  Actually experiencing it is quite a different matter.  They talk about it as if they know what it’s all about.  Upon further enquiry though you find most of these adventures happened during their youth, possibly as far back as Boy or Girl Scouts.  For some the observance of nature is no more than a click away from the easy chair as it is watched on fifty inch three dimensional plasma screens.   Leaving the lazy boy is no easy matter; thus, we have altered small sections of nature where we can drive our forty foot recreational vehicles complete with video and sound equipment, kitchenettes and full –sized beds, as we set up our camp chairs, table and gasoline powered grills on the concrete pads provided.  A cement pond often adorns this picture.  Even this small amount of nature can bring out the best in people.  They get to know the fellow traveler parked beside them, whereas the neighbor back home, not likely.

There are degrees of ruggedness.  Leave me alone out there and I would starve.  I don’t have survival skills of what water to drink, what mushrooms are edible, or how to make a fire from raw materials found in the forest.  I’m a step down from that prestigious, honorable type of outdoorsmanship.   I’m more of the LL Bean type of outdoors person.  

Before I made my first overnight trip I asked around for suggestions.  These people professed they were serious hikers.  I don’t think so.  Even I knew you kept your load as light as possible.  I don’t care how good potatoes may taste over an open fire.  I’m not carrying even a five-pound bag in the woods.  Also, I don’t care how whiskey will make the coldest water okay to take a bath in, I’m not out there to get drunk or carry empty bottles back out.  You have to remember my age.  I’m asking the once hippie set.  The even more bothersome part is the bottles wouldn’t be empty for carrying back out, as I don’t like the taste of whiskey, and have very little tolerance for alcohol.  If I would partake too much, sadly, I might make the nightly news, as park rangers would have to find a way to haul my body out of the woods.

Luckily, my husband’s man skills have come in handy.  He knew the ropes of camping.  So we have fared rather nicely, even on our first nightly camp when torrents of rain came down.  There was enough rain that it even seeped into a supposedly water proof tent.  All the dampness, and the continuing rain the next day had almost doubled the weight we were carrying on our backs.  I wouldn’t trade the experience.  I not only observed but took part in nature at it’s finest.