A Day in the Woods

     April is here, and it's time to get outdoors with my boots and pack, at least a lightweight daypack. I packed a lunch and a bottle of water, my new sarong to sit on for a picnic, and a little bag of first aid equipment (just in case) and drove out to the Shaw Nature Reserve, about a 35 minute drive outside of St. Louis.
    I felt almost like a pilgrim, dressed in my Camino clothes, complete with hat, carrying a small pack and my hiking poles. I tried not to feel self-conscious but just set off on the trail with confidence and anticipation. I quickly found my pace, and I could see that my pace on the Camino is going to be slow. It's wonderful using the poles, a boost on the uphill treks and a stabilizer and balancer on the downhills. I hiked for about four miles in all, not a lot, but it took longer than it does on the indoor track, not surprisingly. And I stopped for my picnic lunch and to take pictures along the way. Mostly I wanted to keep my eyes open and pay attention to the world around me, just awakening from the long, cold winter.

    It was a perfect spring day, and the daffodils were blooming in the fields by the thousands. Back in the woods I hiked the Overlook Bluff trail and stopped at the overlook for my picnic lunch. I loved the solitude I found in the woods and on the trails, as I passed other hikers infrequently, and then, not with a "Buen Camino", but with a hearty, "Hello!" On the Wildflower Trail, I saw buttercups and wild violets and spring beauties, popping up here and there. In another few weeks, the wildflowers will be out in earnest, but even now, they were beautiful, maybe even more so because of their scarcity.
     This was my first test as a hiker and my Keen boots gave me almost no trouble. I had to stop to stretch, at lunchtime and one other time, when my piriformis muscle tightened and caused me to have pain behind my knee. The stretches, which I know so well now, almost always relieve the pain and I can go on in comfort.
    If April continues to offer such beautiful days, training for my Camino will be a joy.