I kept walking. I didn’t really know where I was going. At this point, all I know, is everywhere I looked there was God’s beauty displayed. I looked up the steep hill in front of me and saw thousands of evergreens with their branches rising to the heavens. I stared down the steep ridge to the north and viewed a wide river, snake through the valley and disappear into the horizon. To my left grew raspberries along the trail I traveled. I stopped to taste the delicious treat.
I climbed up to the ridge on the trail and came to a semi barren, alpine plateau of sorts. The trail on the ridge went on for at least a mile. From this viewpoint, I could see the whole valley. I stopped and scanned to the south where several mountains rose from the river valley. In the same direction between two medium sized mountains, I could see the river as it broke a canyon deeper into the range.
To the west I viewed taller mountains rising into the heavens with a little snow scattered on the ridges. The range slowly lowered into the huge valley below. Toward the north all I could see was the wide river meandering and moving into the distance between a set of lower hills on each side.
I continued hiking on this beautiful late summer day. Most of the forest that stood in front of me was Black Spruce and Birch with a few deciduous scattered throughout. The leaves on these deciduous were already changing colors and the cool breeze blew the leaves across the path.
I entered a beautiful dark forest area on the wide trail. Even in the daylight, it was fairly dark. The sun’s rays barely penetrated the thick tree cover. I spotted several small animals scampering between the trees. Very small brown squirrels gathered food in preparation for a long winter. One large arctic hare who hadn’t change to his white coat as of yet, jumped into the trail and made my heart almost stop. He/ she hopped quickly away when he/she saw me. I stopped long enough to regain my composure then I continued.
Just as I was about to exit the forest I noticed a large trail that headed down a hill to the left, and the trail I was hiking on continued for a few hundred feet then stopped. I was told there would be a smaller path that exited the larger trail to the right so I stood and scanned the area. I spotted a small opening that led out of the trees and into a lot of tall brush. The trail was over grown so I actually made my own path.
The trail wandered through the brush and then up to a small ridge where another pathway led the direction I wanted to go. Again, I could see almost the entire river valley to the west as I walked northward. The trail was rather rough but I could tell ATV’s had traveled this way in the past.
The walking continued on the ridge for a few minutes and in the distance, I could tell the landscape was changing. I arrived to a little dip in the trail that led to a small fast moving creek. I jumped the creek and followed the trail across into a thick set of Spruce and Aspen.
As soon as I stepped into the forest that surrounded me, I felt this was my home. I continued and reached a large clearing surrounded on all four side with rather tall Spruce and aspen with a mix of deciduous trees and tall brush.
From that day this was my home.
