A Walk in the Woods

The wide open spaces were calling to her. The linear orderliness of blocks with their rectangular form and regimentation were starting to literally box her in. She felt cramped, encroached upon, her colour bleached by the drudge and the drain of city living.

That night, she decided she was going to explore.

The internet was a feast of ideas and information, sometimes making her bilious with its platters of advice but she picked out what she needed and soon, her equipment list was made and met, and she watched and waited for the weather to align with her plans.

*

The weekend came and she was away. Driving out of the cityscape was daunting but liberating. She advised friends where she was headed and when she parked up and loaded her pack on her back, she felt intrepid, and lightness filled her heart. There were few cars on the car park and one other hiker tying his boots. He never looked her way. She would have waved at him if he had, with the shared camaraderie of outdoors' people. She stood, feet apart and looked to the sky, and the mountains, and the green. She breathed deeply and set off onto the path.

The quiet was both delightful and unnerving. She liked the calm it induced but felt its pervasiveness like a shroud. She liked the rhythm of her footfall, thudding out her human beat.

Birds could be heard; in the distance, an occasional human laugh or raised voice; the clinking of her water bottle in her backpack against her snack box.

She knew that she had to walk through woods to get to higher ground, where the scree would crust the slopes. She hadn't realised how dense they would be. The sun was locked out, its fingers trying to prise the leaves apart.

The huge sound of something moving in the trees reached her.

"Hello?"

She stopped and listened keenly.

"Hey, bear!" she shouted.

Movement again.

"Hello?"

She walked forward, her every receptor tuned to the danger it could sense.

But while she was concentrating on the perceived bestial threat before her, she was unaware of the very human one behind her.

***

366 words

This is sort of inspired by the "Man or Bear" conversations that I have heard about on social media. I have read a couple of articles which have been inspired by them, one of them by one of my favourite writers on this platform, and in my vast reading sphere, Hannah Moore. If you've not been reading her, then explain yourself.

Also, I read about a lady who was into solo hiking and her friends and family and others, all with opinions, had either supported her in or warned her about doing it. I have tried to encapsulate both of those feelings here: the delight of the outdoors and the dangers.

Also, Bill Bryson - great writer. I can thoroughly recommend A Walk in the Woods about Bill walking the Appalachian Trail.

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please do leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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