Wild - Aug 21

Ah, how I love the wilderness. 

I wake to an incredible red fireball casting an intense glow deep into the trees. The flat lake is a perfect mirror.

The loons are moved by the magnificent sunrise too. The first note of the call is peaceful and melodic, but the second and especially third seem to express a longing or loneliness. The three note calls hang on the water, to the be echoed back by another loon. They sing to the sunrise and to each other. 

Later in the morning an owl and I just sit and stare, eyes locked together, neither in an hurry to move on. I'm close enough to see him blinking. 

In the afternoon I slip into a warm lake and rinse off the trail grim. My refreshed clean skin lifts my spirits high as I hike onward. 

The loons remind me of an article I read on the flight of ducks. The question was how a whole flock of ducks can land at once without bumping into each other. Flying in close formation is one thing but landing in close formation is another; even the Blue Angels land one at a time. 

First the flock circles to approach either due south or due north. That migratory birds have a compass is well established, with magnetite either in their beak or near the pineal gland. The new information is that ducks also have tiny bits of magnetite on their retina. Their visual field superimposes these magnetic markers in much the same way as landing lights at an airstrip. Their head never moves to look down to the ground nor sideways to other birds, but is absolutely fixed level on the horizon throughout the approach and landing as they keep the magnetic markers lined up. Amazing stuff.

The wilderness eases my spirit into a great peacefulness. The simplicity sooths the soul and the complexity fascinates the intellect. Both produce awe. 

Live close to the land and the spirit is whole and good. 

19.5 miles to trailside in between Pollywog Stream and Rainbow Stream.