A Moment Of Healing in the Woods

​I came to a spot where I wasn’t quite sure which way the trail went. Up to this point the trail had been easy to follow, despite the deep snow. But here, the trail could go either way. With my snowshoes, I paddled off to the left of the big snow covered fir tree and began navigating, keeping the creek on my right. The way I chose was not the trail way, but that was ok because I knew how to get to where I wanted to go. 


I saw hoof prints in the snow, but they had a layer of snow on top of them, so I knew they were not fresh. And were those elk turds or moose? Also not fresh. Navigating through some trees, I came upon a spot where a large animal had been laying. This did seem fairly fresh and I stepped just outside of the bedding spot. I continued through some more trees, keeping the snow covered stream on my right. I could see the stream was heading toward a small canyon wall on the left, with dashes of snow on narrow ledges dotting the cliff. 

​
​And then there it was! Off to the right standing by the creek and looking at me through some short aspens, a moose! I stopped in my tracks and looked at it. It was not a big moose and she stood there looking at me. As I glanced around for others,

I said to her out loud, “Hello, how are you?” I explained to the moose that I was a friend, that I didn’t mean to bother her, and that I would move off and around to the left. She continued to look at me without moving. I started to move to the left and then she moved slightly to the right. I kept moving toward the canyon wall and she stepped across the stream into a small clearing and then waited, still watching me. We were about 20 yards apart now.

​
With the stream cutting toward the canyon wall, I had to find a narrow spot to cross. There was a spot where a patch of snow formed a bridge across the ice. With the moose watching, and probably hoping I would break through the ice and fall in, I placed my left snowshoe down along the edge of the bridge and stretched my right snowshoe as far over to the other side of the snow bridge as I could. When I began to push off with my left foot, I heard the thin ice underneath the snow start to give way, but it did not. I sidestepped over and there I was with the wooded forest stretching upslope ahead of me and away from the moose. I glanced back, wished the moose a good day and again apologized for disturbing her.


I started to make my way up through the trees, scanning the surroundings for the best route to take. In mostly aspens, it was fairly open traveling with about a foot or more of snow. This was the first time I had used the snowshoes off trail and I found the navigation around the trees much less complex than when I used to do this kind of thing with my 190mm cross country skis with 3 pin bindings. It had been a long time, but I remembered how fun it was to wander about the woods like this.  ​​

​
​Suddenly this feeling of joy welled up from within. I was wandering in the woods! I felt free! I loved making my way through the woods in the winter, and the snowshoes were making it really easy to do (I had resisted for so long).  That feeling,  that delight 

and enjoyment, that happiness in the traveling through the trees, and seeing the snow patterns on the trees, and the shafts of light coming through the trees and landing lightly on the snow creating patterns of lines across the snow, the snow  was  so light and dry,  the  air 

 temperature a little cool, but my feet were warm, and I was warm and myself, finally. I had found myself, here in this moment of pure joy. It felt so good to feel that again. It was a moment I was ready for and I felt a little bit of healing occur from within.

​
The reddish orange canyon walls rose up across the stream and contrasted with the white snow. There were thick icicles hanging off an overhang. I navigated away uphill, and then suddenly, there was the trail! I looked back from where I had come and smiled.
​