Respite

It's been a working weekend for me and therefore no hikes were planned. Most weekends I try and get out hiking on at least one of the days and usually hike for about four to six hours. For each hike I put on my hiking boots, grab my poles, stuff my Garmin into my pocket and grab my pack, my Deuter 22, bright green pack, which is always stuffed with enough safety items as if I am going to be gone for days. 
Today however, I only had a three hour window in between work and I came home feeling pretty tired and realized I needed to get outdoors to energize myself enough to go back for the last four hours. Its been quite sometime, months in fact, since I actually just went off on my own on a trail somewhere but I knew it was what I needed to do. 
I slipped on my low hikers, stuffed an apple into my pocket and drove three minutes up the road to Bings Creek trail which I only found a month ago. This is a lovely trail that will take you all the way to the top of Mount Prevost, something I have yet to do but it is definitely on the list when I have five hours. Today however a short stroll would have to suffice. 

The quiet forest

I entered the forest and was immediately wrapped in the sound of silence. Ah the peacefulness of a quiet forest, I thought to myself. As I walked along I noticed all the wonderful signs of spring and stopped to take in each little flower, plant, or fungus that brought colour to the mass area of ferns.

A beautiful lily gracing the trails

 I thought about new life and new adventures. It is so easy to just stay doing the same old thing year after year but eventually we all need to experience change and new growth. 

Cute little fungus on the side of a tree

A touch of yellow in among the green ferns 

As I ventured further along the trail I listened to the birds calling back and forth to each other. One had a definite loud caw sound and eventually I found it way up high in a tree, a large black bird of some sort. It was so high up I really couldn't tell what it was but it certainly was huge. 

Lovely little yellow flowers bring a smile to my face

I went down the the creek and just absorbed it's wonderful sounds as it splashed down over the rocks and through the branches as it made its way down through the twists and turns. 

Bings Creek

Such beauty and every time I return to the creek it is somewhat different. It changes constantly and yet each time it retains its beauty. 

Maybe not quite a waterfall but it creates a beautiful sound

I realized how life is so full of changes and how important it is for change and new growth. Life would be boring and get pretty stale if we didn't move onto new challenges, seek new adventures and experience all that we are able to. 

Rushing down from the mountain

The creek's sounds calmed and restored my soul and it brought to me the respite I needed. 
Nature continues to amaze me with it's beauty, especially the streams and falls in the forest. They fill my heart with joy and bring me peace. 

Beauty in the water's splash

I could sit by them for hours watching the water fall and the sounds they create are all so soothing. 

A gift of nature

Eventually I headed back to my car, leaving the creek and once again entering into the silence of the treed forest. The birds were still conversing back and forth. It was only a 45 minute walk in the woods but so very spiritually nourishing. I had forgotten how easy it is to just go for a walk without all the planning and packing of gear. That right outside my doorstep is an oasis of beauty. I will be doing this more often. With the days being longer now maybe I can make an evening "hike" part of my daily routine at least three days a week. Being near water and out in nature always gives me hope and inspires me to be all that I can be even when the uncertainty is unsettling.