The columns of the forest lift the vaulted canopy. I walk down below on the trail that parts understory. Each step through the loam brings me home to barefoot days of yore. When I thought nothing of placing skin to the forest floor -- while letting the woods become me as I grew into it; I would yield my identity. To nature, I'd submit. And in a walk, I did become everything and nothing, falling into a peace at once humbling and stunning.
destinationless pilgrimage
no step more sacred than the last
spiraling into midnight
sore feet = shoes abandoned
every step one slides a mile inside
Taken on April 17, 2017 on the David Scott Trail
This was the view were we came off the trail near Lad-Mawphlang
I’m back after three weeks traveling about the Indian Northeast, i.e. the states of Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur. And I’ve got a pile of pics.
The David Scott Trail is a hiking trail that was built as a carriage trail from Burma into India at the behest of the British colonial leader whose name it bears. Since it was made for traffic by animal-drawn carriages, it makes for easy hiking. It’s a scenic trail. It should be noted that (like most trails in India) it isn’t well-marked, however, the fact that it is wider than most trails and has old paving stones along much of the route makes it fairly easy to avoid getting lost.
We hiked only the section from Mawphlang to Lad-Maphlang. It’s an easy day hike.
I met a man
along the road
who thought he knew
which way to go.
Certain was he;
he knew the path.
He had a map.
He’d done the math.
“Your map won’t help
you now, I fear.
Past the map’s edge
the world turns queer.”
“I’ll find my way,
be sure of that,”
the man dismissed
with words he spat.
When I returned,
an hour ago,
I passed a car-
cass in the snow.
No doubt, twas he,
the certain man–
hit a blizzard
in burning sands.
Taken in Great Himalayan National Park in July of 2015
Back in my day, we had the “Scenic Overlook.” Now when you’re trekking they have the “Mobile Phone Access Point.” Thoreau would cry.
Taken in July of 2015 at Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP)
Taken in June of 2015 in the Great Himalayan National Park
Taken in Great Himalayan National Park in June of 2015
Taken in June of 2015 in Great Himalayan National Park
Tiger Riding for Beginners 