11/21/01
Not many of us have the resources or the opportunity to break new trails. However, most of us can discover once lost paths or those underused but deserving of travel. That's exactly what Tom and I did this past weekend at the cottage.
Our first walk was Sunday early afternoon, after diner which we'd prepared almost immediately upon arriving. (The removal of a sofa off the car roof where it had made the trip from Toronto is a story for another time.) The trail Tom chose was one we'd been on in the late summer but was relatively new, not an "original" from his early years at the cottage. In August, he had been frustrated at not being able to see where the old trial departed from this new one - just one of many maintained by the park snowmobile group. But now, with the trees bare of leaves, an old unused trail could be discerned even with numerous bare saplings growing in and occasional fallen trees across the width.
We strayed from the old trail to view the marshy end of one small uninhabited lake and part of the shoreline of another. Although the trees and undergrowth were bare of leaves, many places were still a challenge for human and canine. I was amazed to see Moose twice break off a branch that came across his path at nose height - with his teeth! The first time I thought it just found its way into his mouth, but there was no mistaking the action the second time.
Towards the end of the walk, when we had slowed our pace for a limping Moose, I realized that we were at a junction of trails where Tom and I had been on our honeymoon last year. We reviewed that hike as Moose lay in a stream resting and slurping water. It had snowed that long weekend and we'd trudged down this trail from the opposite direction. A bridge crossed over a stream creating an idyllic scene and Tom took a photo of me - in the same jacket I was then wearing. Photos
Moose had obviously extended himself to the maximum the day before, and it was our plan to leave him in the cottage when we ventured out late Monday morning for another hike. To our surprise he was eager to accompany us outside, even though still limping. So we took him, but left him in the car - windows down slightly - parked off the road near a different trail.
We'd studied the topographical maps of the area and had a definite destination in mind while locating another old original, but now unused trail - to circumnavigate a particular lightly inhabited lake.
Again we were successful in finding the old trail off the now well used snowmobile/ATV trail. Free of Moose this time, we began to pick up downed branches, tossing them off the path. We became real enthusiastic at one point where several downed trees made the trail impassable. Breaking the rotted wood with our own weight, we succeeded in moving the entire obstacle, feeling great accomplishment at the task. In fact, except for one large fairly recently downed tree, we were able to clear that entire portion of the old trail - approximately 3/4 mile between two currently used "arteries". It was satisfying to know that we would not only be able to find the "old" trail again next spring when the trees are full of leaves once more, but that others would be able to enjoy it too - a "new" trail for them.
Between the two hikes, while we enjoyed the warmth of the cottage, part of our conversations centered around a "trail clearing" of an intellectual type. Tom has not shied away from making his philosophical views known - when appropriate - in his answers on The Forums, or various newsgroups. It is his view that the ideal society is one where aggression is not tolerated by individuals or groups and all interactions are voluntary to mutual benefit. At times during the past 30 years, he has become discouraged when certain personal experiences and world events would move the prospects away from this admirable goal.
One very important tool exists now that takes Tom's "utopia" out of the realm of ivory tower idealism and into the "possibly possible". The Internet allows us to research more efficiently the valuable philosophical treasures of the past. Secondly, it provides us with a transmitter for our ideas to those who step onto the "highway". And maybe most important, it permits us to receive communications from others who think likewise, or are, at least, interested in hearing more. We can now begin to "clear the brush" and form a network with those of similar minds with the ultimate goal of a truly better world.
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