The Long Trip to Owl's Head

Hiked on May 28, 2023

We were dreading this one a bit.  Owl's Head Mountain is on New Hampshire's "48 4,000 footers" list.  To climb it you must walk nine miles into the forest and then turn back  around.  The views are scant. The footing is just OK.  Also--since some of the trails are unmaintained--there is the possibility to get turned around or lost.  It is an exercise in perseverance. It is a test of your physical endurance and your ability to move about in the forest.  The reward is...well...you get to bag the peak.

For me, this hike came at a moment of transition.  I know I talk about this elsewhere, but I have a great deal going on. Much of it is life-stage stuff. Our eldest is in the process of moving out.  Middle Son--who was the subject of many unschooling posts in my previous weblog--graduated from college the day before Owl's Head.  Our youngest was in Kentucky competing in high school debate nationals. Also, there are vocational concerns for me.  My rapidly-ending sabbatical has been about transitions.  What will happen to the church in general? What will happen to the church I serve? In spite of plenty of thought and study...I don't know.

---

Anyway, what a great time for a walk in the woods.  Nature, too, is in flux. Even without the brutal destruction of ecosystems.  Change is in its nature when left alone. Out in the "wilderness" we can look around and see that living things grow, live their assigned cycle, and die.

The natural world reminds us that we are a part of it.  We are presented with the fact that the continuous transition we witness and experience comes from being part of a whole vast organism. Our failing is when we lose track of this organism and start believe that we--the constituent parts--are the beginning and the ending. 

This hike was hard.  When we got back, my legs--relieved at having to walk no more--cramped up for a solid 30 minutes. Sometimes you choose a high degree of difficulty because the the challenge reminds you that you can do hard things. By doing these things in isolation--away from the high stakes areas of love and regular life--we can get the practice we need. We can develop the confidence that perseverance and problem solving bring. We can look back and recognize that--while no true mountain is the hardest mountain we climbed--we did the deed. We realize we can keep going on with hope even when we do not know the way.

That was Owl's Head.  It was a reminder that we are part of something much greater than ourselves.  It was a reminder that--in this time or trail--I (we) can push on to whatever comes next.  In the video we get lost and I lose track of time.  However, I am glad we did it.  I will be thinking about walking through that epic tree tunnel long after specific views on prettier, easier hikes are forgotten.

---