It is not that I ever thought it was mine, or more mine than it was others. It is just largely that I have gotten used to being alone on the trail or with a hiking buddy even. That now, when I run in to anybody, I am a bit disappointed. I know it is silly and perhaps selfish. I realised this on the Sunday when my canoe training was over.
Canoe training was over and I went to get my daily hike in. I was actually taking it easy and for once, hiking at a slow pace. As I approached the bridge over the spillway, I heard several voices, and they were not in my head. There was a group of five or six people with a dog so big it could be mistaken for a small Shetland pony. They were about 300 metres behind me and I could hear them quite clearly. They must have caught up to me when I did a small loop in the trail.
They were obviously gaining on me, but they were moving just barely faster than me, that, if we maintained these paces, it would probably take at least a kilometre to catch up to me and then at least another kilometre before they passed out of audible range, plus I would be hiking "with them" for some time. I just wanted to be on my own. So, I picked up my pace just a little bit, and when I hit the treeline where they would not see me and so not to appear rude, I powered it for about ¾ km. No sign of them visibly or audibly.
I returned to my easy pace and enjoyed the rest of the hike on my own. It is very contemplative to hike solo, or even with the right companion. It is a kind of mediation for me that I have come to look forward to daily. I can explore my thoughts freely, or not at all and just take in the surroundings. Maybe, someday, the trail may dry out and it could become tempting to sit under a tree and just chillax.
The only good thing with the crappy weather and hiking, is that it almost guarantees I will be alone out there.
On my "private" trail. blbbl
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