Friday, September 29, 2017

An Early Autumn Evening's Hike


It was beautiful weather,  really.

Too beautiful not to take advantage, even though my son seemed to be hesitating, which he usually does when it comes to hiking.

Still, I push him to go hiking, because it is one of the best things that you can do. It is exercise and, depending on how strenuous the hike is, it can be serious exercise, to boot. Also, it reconnects us human beings with our natural roots, allows us to unplug a little bit from our modern world, and all of it's stresses and excesses. It provides us a moment to stand back a bit, to gain a different perspective, and to breathe a bit of fresh air.

So yes, I push him to do it, to go with me and get some exercise. I truly believe that it is exercise both physically, as well as mentally. Exercise for the soul, if you will. And it is some of the best quality time that we can and have spent together.

Here in the northeast, the weather has been beautiful in recent days. It was hot earlier in the week - hot and humid and a bit much for early autumn. However, it began to cool down, slowly but surely, and it became fairly cool. We hiked uphill and worked up a bit of a sweat, yet once we sat down on top of a ridge or cliff to take in the view, it was not long before we felt how cool it was. Frankly, that is the best kind of hiking weather!

And so we went hiking, which is becoming a bit of a tradition for us. We hiked, and we conversed, and we spent the best kind of quality time together. These are some of the most important moments that I share with him as a father, and probably some of the best activities that we can do together. It helps us bond, and it helps keep us healthy.

Usually, we go hiking either at Pyramid Mountain, or at the hiking trails in the woods of Norvin Green (also known as Weis Ecology Center). This particular hike was at Pyramid Mountain, and the ridge that we sat on and took in the view offered a view of the city skyline in the distance. There are views of the city also from Norvin Green, although sometimes, I personally prefer views with a lot less outward signs of human activity. Sometimes, the lush greenery of the low foothills in this region of northwestern New Jersey almost look like pictures I have seen of foothills of the Amazon, somewhere in Brazil or Venezuela somewhere. It really is quite beautiful.

These were some of the pictures that I took during the hike. Obviously, these do not replace the actual experience. Still, the sun shining through the still green foliage, while a surprisingly strong stream filled with water, despite not having gotten much rain as of late, seemed so serene and beautiful, that I felt it was necessary to share. So, here they are:




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