Crossing the Creek to Jacob's Ladder

I came around the bend to a stone bridge. My first landmark.

There was a small creek, maybe a foot deep. It ran right into a clearing that welcomed me to explore. It went deeper and higher into a heavily wooded area. It was my chance to go off the trail, to leave the well-traveled path and explore a different scene. This is what it was all about. My heart accelerated and the edges of my lips curled into a half moon grin.

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I arrived at the Teasons Forest Preserves in Palos Park, IL 10 miles southwest from Chicago at 9:30 Saturday morning. The sky was a beautiful powder blue with fluffy white clouds evenly spaced across the horizon.

As I parked, there were a pack of joggers setting their pedometers. They moved like a flock of migrating birds as they launched out on a mid-tempo trot. The temperature was at 70 plus but you could tell the sun was just getting warmed up.

I looked at the map that stood at the beginning of the trail.

You are here!

I traced the dotted yellow line with my finger.

A six mile loop.

Three. I’ll do three. No reason to kill myself on my first hike. Half is good, I thought.

I have a tendency to try and prove myself to the little man that lives in my head. He's really critical and can be an ass.

Once I listened to him on a jog,

Push yourself punk

I had sore shins for a month.

Three works for today. Just three, I convinced myself.

As I started out, I tightened my pack and adjusted my hat. The crunch of the gravel peppered the morning air.  My pace was slow and steady but I picked up speed as I entered the lush emerald forest.

I felt the temperature drop immediately. I looked up and the treetops were like outreached hands with interlocked fingers, blocking the sun. Only a few strands of light poked through and illuminated the path before me.

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The babbling of the creek sounded like children laughing.  I followed the creek deeper into the heart of the forest until I came to a huge hill that was too steep to climb without a rope. On the left side of the creek stood a most majestic tree. It was about 40 feet high with bark as textured as a tortoise's shell. It had long and gnarled branches that caressed the bottom of the sky. This tree was my portal to another time. It was my connection. 

I jumped down and landed on a rock in the center of the creek bed. I used several stones to get across. I climbed the muddy incline and stood before the tree. I reached out and touched it square in the middle. The bark cut into my palm. 

 

What was, what is, what will be.

Maybe the next person who touched this tree would feel my heart beat and see the forest through my eyes for just a moment.

The overall experience was absolutely amazing. I came out of the clearing and moved along the path. Every few minutes I ran into other travelers. I felt  like we were kin. Like we shared something deeper and more mystical than just a walk in the outdoors.

"Good Morning," I said with a smile and continued on.

 

Near the end of my hike I came out of the woods to a wide-open field were I saw close to a hundred people climbing the steepest set of stairs I had ever seen. They looked like angels going up and down Jacob's Ladder. On the right they went up and on the left they came down. It was a chain of spirits moving ceaselessly up and down from earth to heaven. I couldn't wait to take my turn.

Before I was half way up the stairs my lungs began to burn. That’s why they were all there, to challenge themselves, to go beyond what their perceived limits were. I turned around after I made it to the top and looked down on the entire forest. 

From earth to heaven.

Goosebumps ran up and down my arms and legs.

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The wind whipped through the car as I sped up the interstate. My left arm rode the waves of wind as I rode.

Incognito’s "Still a Friend of Mine" was mellow on my ears and was the perfect sound track as I left the forest behind me. I was hooked. My body was that good tired that has you feeling proud of yourself. Deep down through the muscle, to the bone.

Next week I’m on my way to Lemont, IL to hike Waterfall Glen. I want each adventure to top the previous. I can’t wait to make that mystical connection again and again. It’s all about that connection to nature, time and a deeper vision of myself.