It was a long ride from my house, but it was worth it. The taste of sweat on my upper lip was a small price to pay for the splendor that was this still partially unexplored path. To breath in the sweet, fecund, Earthy aroma that is mud and decaying plant matter, to feel the adrenaline of being in the woods alone mix with the nearly sedative quality of exploring my own mind and my path simultaneously was the most exhilarating thing I’d ever experienced. I could endure sweat, heat, and even the hundreds of bug bites that I’d find after one of these excursions.

All throughout the winter I itch to return the place I feel truly whole. I imagine so many beautiful encounters in My Place, both human and magical. I aim to take a bag and collect all the litter, listening for the relief of the Earth. I long to take him, the only person I’d allow with me here, by the hand and guide him through my place, my heart, mind, and soul.

I have not, to this day, explored the entire trail. Perhaps that is how it should be.