Sand and Snow

[Magua]

Some say it’s hardest to hike in sand,
Others say in snow.
From what I’ve seen of desert land
I hold with those who favor sand.
But if I had to walk it slow,
I think I know enough of fear
To say that for thru-hikes snow
Is also severe
And would blow.

~Magua
(With a little help from Robert Frost)

[JAK]

Stone and Sand

Stone and sand and sea and sky
Rest my heart and please my eye.
I will go and not ask why
Stone and sand and sea and sky.

Early morning rise and walk
Listen to the sea stone talk
Wild geese flock above me high
Stone and sand and sea and sky.

Soon the wind is holding me
Clears my mind so easily
Open, open to the song
Wind and sea have played so long.

I am strengthened by the sea
Something broken mends in me
Hold me till the day I die
Stone and sand and sea and sky.

Stone and sand and sea and sky
I am free to laugh and cry
I feel the spirit lift me high
Stone and sand and sea and sky.

Rose Vaughan

[Hoop]

On a section hike a few weeks ago I met an Aussie on his way to Maine, the author of this poem. While quaffing foamies at the NOC after a fine day of hiking, he scribbled it from memory on a sheet of paper.

"Same Old"

I went for a walk today
Same old path as yesterday
Nothing new to see,
a track, fields and some trees
Then
Noticed shapes in the sky
A clown, a camel and a dragon fly
On my face a gentle breeze
Patterns subtle, hard to grasp
Shimmer and whispers from the trees
Sunlight dancing with the leaves

Calling birds sound their tune
Don't recall that song before
Try to remember all the notes
find the music makers coat

Stopped awhile and looked at ants
They don't know what can't be done
Just give it all
Movers par excellence

Roar of cars a distant hum
to the insect chorus around
Saw a tractor tilling soil
I wonder what crop comes from the toil
Thought like the flower and the bee
a fair exchange
life is about inter dependency

Feel my body
muscles tense, relax
Breathing deep and slow
Take the time, say hello,
to a passerby I chat
Have a laugh, listen deep
to what they say

I will take a new path,
the next day
down the same old track
of yesterday

John Hibbs

[map man]

Very well done, Magua. For those not familiar with the Frost poem that Magua's poem is an homage to, here it is:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.


Robert Frost

[SCRUB HIKER]

Ha, awesome! You must think a lot like me. Here's one I wrote last year. There are others scattered in the trail journals that I never copied down.

That store-bought white is pure,
Not destined to endure
The hiker’s daily flood
Of sweat and dirt and mud.
Some grimy, smelly blight
That ten washings will not smite.
So glittering garments gray;
Nothing white can stay.

[imscotty]

Wow, great stuff

[Magua]

Ha, awesome! You must think a lot like me. Here's one I wrote last year. There are others scattered in the trail journals that I never copied down.

That store-bought white is pure,
Not destined to endure
The hiker’s daily flood
Of sweat and dirt and mud.
Some grimy, smelly blight
That ten washings will not smite.
So glittering garments gray;
Nothing white can stay.

Awesome! I did not know there were so many Appalachian Trail Poet Laureates out there. I feel a secret poet club coming on. Maybe even an annual festival...

[rocketsocks]

I wrote this last year,it's a song,so please don't throw tomatoes at me,like prefer cabbage.

"In the shelter where I lay"

Not goin to get somewhere,not goin to get away.
Not a callin thats been callin me,or a roll I had to play.
It's just a trail that's deep in the woods and happens to be on my way
I'll dream of you each night my love,in the shelter where I lay

chorus

In the shelter where I lay
In the shelter where I stay
I'll dream of you each night my love
In the shelter where I lay

At times I find it lonely,but always am content
can't think of a better way,of how my time is spent
it's rainin now and the sun don't shine
my thought's are all for you
and how one day I'll stray this way on the trail that leeds to you

chorus

In the shelter where I lay
In the shelter where I stay
I'll dream of you each night my love
In the shelter where I lay

Some come for riches and some come to play
Some come to find themselves while others come to stay
I'm all alone and my thoughts are long,each step I take for you
and it won't be long till im rollin on,that trail that leeds to you

chorus

In the shelter where I lay
In the shelter where I stay
I'll dream of you each night my love
In the shelter where I lay

[rocketsocks]

I long for the cold rain and snow
it marks then erases which way I go
if you look for me in the fresh fallen snow
your sure to see which way I go
you'll find me at the end of the trail
longing for that icy hail

[JAK]

ON THE ROAD

EVER just over the top of the next brown rise
I expect some wonderful thing to flatter my eyes.
"What’s yonder?" I ask of the first wayfarer I meet.
"Nothing!" he answers, and looks at my travel-worn feet.
"Only more hills and more hills, like the many you’ve passed,

With rough country between, and a poor enough inn at the last."
But already I am a-move, for I see he is blind,
And I hate that old grumble I’ve listened to time out of mind.
I’ve tramped it too long not to know there is truth in it still,
That lure of the turn of the road, of the crest of the hill.

So I breast me the rise with full hope, well assured I shall see
Some new prospect of joy, some brave venture a tip-toe for me.
For I have come far, and confronted the calm and the strife.
I have fared wide, and bit deep in the apple of life.
It is sweet at the rind, but oh, sweeter still at the core;

And whatever be gained, yet the reach of the morrow is more.
At the crest of the hill I shall hail the new summits to climb.
The demand of my vision shall beggar the largess of time.
For I know that the higher I press, the wider I view,
The more’s to be ventured and visioned, in worlds that are new.

So when my feet, failing, shall stumble in ultimate dark,
And faint eyes no more the high lift of the pathway shall mark,
There under the dew I’ll lie down with my dreams, for I know
What bright hill-tops the morning will show me, all red in the glow.

Sir Charles G. D. Roberts

[Bati]

We thank the rain in springtime that warms and melts the snow.
We thank the rain in autumn that helps the springs to flow.
But sometimes in the summer and in the state of Maine,
We find nothing to be thankful for, the rain just brings more pain.

From my journal, from another rainy July day in Maine with apologies to all good gifts.

[rocketsocks]

The land is so dry
the drought needs a drink
I'd get it for him but there's none in the sink
none in the ponds the creeks are all dry
I hope it rains soon
cause I can't afford to cry