The days are starting to get longer allowing more sunlight for after work hikes. So, after work today, I drove straight to Latta Plantation for a quick hike to Buzzard Rock. Only a few yards into the woods it was obvious that winter has swept through the forest. All the trees were stripped of their dignity standing bare of their foliage. A few more yards into the hike, I began to feel like a flea in the hair follicles of planet earth. With the lack of coverage one could see far into the forest and deep into its' soul. Wintertime brings a lackluster of color. Everything has turned dull and depressing. The weather didn't help either. The clouds were being selfish with the suns' rays, not willing to share. On this day, even the nice cool breeze that consistently comes off Mountain Island Lake and sweeps through the trees has vacated. Due to the bereft of wildlife and crowds, the volume level was turned down to a quiet whisper as if I was in a library setting and not a forest. Bailey struggled to find descent scents where he could linger for a while. Walking down the trail solitude sets in and so does the random thoughts in my head. To keep my thoughts suppressed I continued to observe the contrast of wintertime and summertime hiking. My winter hikes focus more toward the solitude, exercise and getting Bailey outdoors. Summertime bring on a totally different experience. The foliage becomes abundant and bursting with bold colors. The forest conceals its' soul with young vibrant growth. The dull and depressing transforms to bright and lively. Most summer days are filled with warm sunlight and longer days. As the caterpillar metamorphosis into a butterfly so does the forest with new growth, a larger crowd, and an active wildlife. This increases the volume in the forest tenfold. Summer doesn't usually bring a nice cool breeze across the trails but summer does bring clean fresh air that's easy to breathe. Although summer has many positive attributes, the season does have some downsides like hot and sweaty days, colonies of bugs, and bigger crowds fighting for a view. Winter has some positive attributes as well like no bugs, less crowds, open views, and fresh snow days. Most will choose summer hikes over winter hikes and some will choose winter hikes over summer hikes. I'm ecstatic to be hiking in any season.
