The Preparation: Hiking the Trails of Kauai ... and Thoreau

Who would have thought that the purchasing and packing could be so fun.  Well, actually I knew it would be since I found joy last year at this time in my preparation for Europe.  Of course, I will consider myself a bit broke financially when I return, but I'm not poor.   There is a difference.

I'm most intrigued by my upcoming hikes, knowing that some of the most scenic views will come from the trails.  After my visit to Leavenworth, Indiana two fall breaks ago, where I enjoyed hiking the small trails of O'Bannon Woods in Crawford County, I knew I would enjoy more hikes ... I just needed a place and, of course, someone to hike with me.  Side note:  on one of the longer trails, while alone, I do remember having an image enter my thinking, which looks about like this:  I'm alone without my cell phone and no one else is on the trail and because of my weak ankles, I suddenly fall and find myself stuck.  (Then of course I started humming the banjo theme song to the movie Deliverance ... I still shudder.  No need to link here).

Thus, my love of hiking.  And now a chance to do it on a big scale on the Island of Kauai ... still in awe.  After researching, my goal is to hike eight trails, three which would require dedication, perseverance.    Am I ready?

And I ponder:  if I enjoyed it so much, why haven't I done more of it?  What pleasure does it bring?

Now my reflection on just that topic ...

If I had to analyze my interest in Nature, it certainly wasn't from my childhood.  I was a city-girl who was scared of the dark, so any trip into the woods sent a certain fear through me (the bogeyman was just waiting), keeping me from any pleasure it had to give.  But then I read Thoreau.  Or should I say I was awaken to his writing through my college professor Alice Friman, the woman who gave me wings and my passion for literature.  Her love of Thoreau, among so many others, is yet another reason I am an English teacher, a lover of literature, and when I read the words of Thoreau and his love of Nature, I fell.

So I just re-read Walking, one of his many essays, and memories surged.  Yes!  If I had to explain one part of my view of Life, I would simply quote him.  Often.  As such, I will share a few paragraphs:


"What is it that makes it so hard sometimes to determine whither we will walk? I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. It is not indifferent to us which way we walk. There is a right way; but we are very liable from heedlessness and stupidity to take the wrong one. We would fain take that walk, never yet taken by us through this actual world, which is perfectly symbolical of the path which we love to travel in the interior and ideal world; and sometimes, no doubt, we find it difficult to choose our direction, because it does not yet exist distinctly in our idea."


"Life consists with wildness. The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him. One who pressed forward incessantly and never rested from his labors, who grew fast and made infinite demands on life, would always find himself in a new country or wilderness, and surrounded by the raw material of life. He would be climbing over the prostrate stems of primitive forest trees." 


As I read his words again, I believe that my love of walking the paths in the woods can be likened to our journeys through this life.  So many writers utilize the journey as a significant role, and I'm attracted to understanding those journeys.  In my own journey my path has been anything but easy, and to heal from some of the bumps, I had to analyze, reflect, and analyze again.  Some people easily find comfort in their Faith if they question their pains ... and I, admittedly, do not easily find such comfort, usually more questions, unless it comes through the words in literature.  I tell my students on many occasions that literature saves me ... (I had to pause here with my thoughts).


Hiking or walking gives me a sense of peace that I don't often find in other places ... because I take the time to listen, to look, to feel, to wonder, to dream, to believe ... and I tap into "wildness" that lies within, that which is Krista, the woman, longing to live and love with passion.


So my hikes in Kauai will be dedicated to Mr. Thoreau ... for giving me a little faith in my journey.