December 11, 2020

Did some paperwork (including writing recommendations for TB to fiction programs, ten years to the very week after writing him recommendations to the script writing program at Tisch) and then drove to the Parkway. From the parking lot I climbed Hard Times Trail till it came to Owl Ridge, then took that. The air was thick and radiant with moisture. Unless I’ve forgotten (I don’t think that’s likely) that was my first time on Owl Ridge. I must have kept setting it aside for some other time. It’s very beautiful, with mysterious (clearly planted) pure stands of pine just before it intersects with Rocky Cove. Hard Times, Owl Ridge, and Rocky Cove are all listed as “difficult” trails on the Arboretum web page. My accompaniment (maybe because of the steepness of the climb) was “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.” I used to get to Rocky Cove some other way, where on summer nights I would find 1) an off-duty cop who liked to have sex in the dust of the road and 2) more flying squirrels than I have seen elsewhere in the wild. At twilight the red sky would be filled with their antics.  I love the long deep vistas winter in the forest affords. Exceeded my step count–actually my best day ever, with over 12,000 steps. Many more women than men on the trail.