Back on the Trail

Habits can be hard to break, especially those you’ve kept up for ages. Other habits, formed not so long ago and then skipped for a year or two, can be hard to recover. After spending more days this summer in the garden than the woods, I put too much trust in my Ice Age Trail (IAT) routines and mental maps when I finally got back to the trail last week.

I used to toss the IAT guidebook and atlas in the car before leaving home. This time it didn’t enter my head. Road names like Frenchtown and Storytown rang familiar, but I forgot how they related to where I wanted to go. Even after a stop at Kwik Trip for bananas, gas, and directions, it took twice the predicted time to locate the trailhead.

Bit by bit I re-learned what was once familiar. How to use trekking poles to stay upright on a stony, uneven surface. How to pause at forks in the path to make sure I’ll know the way back. How to still my mind to make space for the sounds of squirrels, birdsong, and wind in the upper branches.

I’ve read suggestions to recall what delighted you as child and rediscover or adapt it later in life. Exploring unfamiliar woodlands has always brought me joy. Today I carry poles and a cell phone and am more likely to stick to the path, but the joy is the same. And the habits that support it are gradually coming back.