Most of the photos in my most recent blog postings were captured during my hike last week at Prince William Forest Park, which was a break from my usual wildlife-focused images. It is time to hit the trails again after this brief respite, but I thought I would conclude this mini-series with a final photo from the hike.
Many of you know that I love shadows and I was really struck by the tree shadows falling across the trail during the early stages of the hike. The photo gives you an idea of the size and density of the forest in which I was immersed. This trail was wide enough to serve as an emergency access route, but the majority of the trails that I traversed later in the day were significantly more narrow. The trails were pretty well defined and there were painted blazes on the trees, which were particularly useful when trails crisscrossed each other.
I grew up in New England and memorized a number of poems by Robert Frost. One of his most famous poems is entitled “The Road Not Taken.” Somehow the opening words of that poem always come to mind when I am hiking on forest trails, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth…”
In this case, however, the pictured road is the road that was taken. That day, I stuck to a familiar path, though I am prone to wander and love to explore. Who knows what I might discover beyond the next twist of the road.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 