in the woods

When you walk into the woods with a group of people, and all the static of daily life is left behind, I think you begin to see the essence of each individual. You interact with each other on a simpler level.

This is the way I like to get to know people.

One Saturday in September, we went on a leisurely hike up King Creek in Kananaskis with a handful of friends and aquaintances.

After walking for 3 hours with someone I have met twice before, I can feel more kinship than with many people that I have worked beside or gone to church with for years.

Whether this kinship is real and mutual, or just a product of my mind, I can't say. But it definitely affects the way I interact with that person.

So how can we get more people to hang out in the woods together? A monthly lottery to send groups of strangers for a picnic together? Make it part of the school curriculum? We could arrange for the next G8 summit in Kananaskis to be in tents. However we do it, I think it's essential to build more solitude together into our lives.

(Half way up the trail we stepped into the Goider Forrest. It felt like a very special place. All the trees were covered in huge knots.

I recommend this hike if you need a quick shot of wilderness in your life. It's not far from Calgary, right across from the entrance to Peter Lougheed Park. You don't need advanced skills or anything, but you might want to bring an extra pair of shoes. We did fall in the creek a few times.)