Day 33 and 34: Weekend Trekking

My weekends have been very bipolar. Sometimes I can get very little walking done on account of weather or other nasty surprises nature keeps throwing at me. Other times I manage to hit a particularly nice trail and keep slogging through for hours on end.

This weekend was one in which I was able to slog through. Looking for a change of pace, I loaded up my car and headed out to a remote trail that I only hike about once a year. The trail is hard and the drive out is dangerous, but the views at the top are truly magical and there’s a beautiful clearing I love to take lunch in. All in all, I managed to go 23.11 miles (37.2 km) this weekend.

The hobbits have come far since I last left them. With Aragorn’s help they’ve manage to make the foothills of Weathertop. From him the hobbits learn a little of the history of Weathertop, or Amon Sul as it was called. Surprising them all, it is Sam who recites a section of The Fall of Gil-Galad and reveals the sad history that has come to bear on the lands. Amon Sul, once a great watch-tower, now stands crumbled and burnt after trying to withstand the evils of Angmar. It is somewhat of a depressing history that foreshadows more hardships to come, but that will have to wait until I actually get to Weathertop.

Just as the hobbits were left contemplating sadness, I find myself in the same situation. As I mentioned before, the drive to trail I was hiking this weekend is dangerous. The road is full of blind turns, hidden driveways, dangerous hills, and wildlife. Every time I drive down it, there is a new cross tied to a string or standing crooked at the side of the road. This time there was a new collection of crosses alongside the road. Accompanying these crosses were teddy bears, ribbons, and pinwheels in red, white, and blue. This marked the site where some teenagers ran off the road. Several of them died.

It’s always sad contemplating the lives lost to motor vehicle accidents. These people didn’t die for a cause, didn’t get to live their lives out, and for those teenagers, they barely got to live at all. These people died as a result of some distraction, stupid decision, or factor out of their control. Every time I drive this road I am careful to make sure I do not end up as one of these people. One thing is for certain, I will always hate that death-trap of a road.

The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons