The Forest Falls

i put it in park and get out. there is ice and there is snow.
the smell of wood fire smoke hangs in the air,
both bitter and sweet at the same time. it reminds me of
old people in old homes with old lives. i walk up the steps,
open the door, and i'm in. there's a girl behind the register.
she's dressed in warm clothes, a scarf, and ear warmers. she
has a blanket draped over her, her hands tucked warmly underneath.

"How        much       for  a            Wilderness           pass?" i ask.
"Five                    dollars,"                 she replies.
"Okay,                 i'll take one,"                             i say.

she hands over the pink ticket. it looks like a scratch off lottery ticket.
there's the chosen month and the chosen day that you want to scratch off
for the day you'll be parking at the parking area. you have to display the ticket
in the front window of your vehicle so the rangers know
you're good to go.

i get back in the car and drive up the road a piece, enter the parking lot, and park.
i scratch off the ticket in the appropriate places, and put it on the rear view mirror.
i get out of the car and open the trunk. i put on my boots, my jacket, and my gloves.
i light a cigarette. there are people here and there, approaching the trails. they're laughing.
they're having fun. one out of five cars does not have the wilderness ticket. i smile.

the woods are clean and crisp. it is 37 degrees outside, but the cold feels nice. i hit the trail
and negotiate around some boulders. people are spread out on the trail. i make my way up a hill
and head east along the river bottom. it gets quieter the farther i go. there are fewer people.
eventually i am only left with the cold air and the sounds of the forest.

i can hear my heart beat. the snow crunches beneath my feet. my breath comes out like smoke
in the mountain air, crisp and clean. a rock tumbles from a ledge and cracks downward
along the mountain slope, smashing into boulders and trees on its path. silence.

i  hear  some  rustling  in  a  bush  a  few  feet  away.  a  bird  flaps    out  of  the    bush
and ascends into the air. up            and               down it goes. up         and              down. finally
it perches in a tree, bobs its little head, and stares at me.                              i smile.

i hear someone holler from down the mountain, and then it is silent again.
i go out farther. the trail bends and breaks, continues again past a hill of rocks,
and along the pine forest into oblivion. a twig snaps. i can hear my breath again.
my heart beats hard. i make my way up a bluff, and down into a gully
where there is a small pine tree. the snow crushes beneath my feet.

a    few    hours    later,      i   make     my   way  back  to my car.
there    are                more  people            now.
the sun is            caught
on the other side of the              ridge.
the              mountains                   are shadowed
as i drive out and back
to              reality.