Dry Ridge Trail helps daydreams bloom –
elves, and orcs (though not Mt. Doom)
and archers tracking game.
Wizard staffs and trees that speak –
listen, hear their branches creak?
Ancient woods untamed.
Fallen trees beneath which gnomes
can delve and excavate their homes.
And magic fairie glades:
sunshine slanting through the leaves,
glinting, making you believe
in sprites and forest shades.
Huge striated boulders (shale?),
sharp-shinned cliffs and views of vales
where giants must have bowled.
Needles muffling hiking sounds
where secret solitude surrounds
and mysteries take hold.
Wild flowers – orchids – ferns,
a trail that’s straight, then twists and turns,
and bear scat – hard to miss.
A day up high with bright blue sky.
A friend and you. It might be true:
you can’t improve on this.
Photo at top: Flickr photo.
Seems better than The Pit of Despair.
How do I get from here to there?