Write on Wednesdays: The Nature of Place

The Prompt:
Think about a place in nature that feels special to you. Perhaps it is somewhere you visited as a child. Or maybe you share a special outdoor space with your own children. This place, this space will be your prompt for this week's writing exercise. Write about a particular natural geography, a natural place or space close to your heart. Tell us about the weather, the landform , the creatures who live there, what the place means to you and why...


As soon as I saw this prompt, I knew what I would write about. I am writing about Baxter State Park, which is one of the most amazing natural places I have ever been. Every stream and mountain, campsite and pond is beautiful, and I know parts of it like the back of my hand. I know it will always be a part of me. 


Baxter State Park is a magical place. Of that I am absolutely sure. The mountains reach towards the sky, and the deep green woods lie past the slimy grip of humanity and all our problems. Moose stand deep in glittering ponds, drinking, calves romping in the water beside them. Trails are crisp and beautiful, well taken care of by people who actually care.


 Then, there is Mt. Katahdin, the mother of all mountains. Not the tallest or most difficult to scale, but there is something about Mt. Katahdin which makes climbers respect and feel in awe of the rolling foothills and rocky turrets. Mt. Katahdin is tangible, alive, and you can feel its pull from miles away. To climb this mountain is to find a part of yourself that you never knew you were missing. It is to eat a peanut butter sandwich on the top, shrouded in clouds and feeling on top of the world. It is to feel your blisters throb and to know you are still miles away from a camp fire. It is to picnic on giant rocks that you know are just sleeping trolls, to walk along a trail of tiny trees, and to finally burst above tree line and see the mountain spreading out around you. It is emerald moss and icy streams, marshmallows and campfires, outhouses and trails around ponds filled with grasses that sing in the wind. 


Camping in Baxter State Park is leaving the world for a weekend, and wishing you never had to go back. Camping without a care, because even if you sweat and do not shower, you know that no one else will either. Camping is dipping your toes in the mountain stream until they turn pink or blue. Or, for the brave ones, dunking in a small hole only several degrees above freezing, and laughing for doing it. Camping in Baxter is finding the ones you love and spending time with them in the most beautiful place on earth. 


Baxter is for laughing, for loving and climbing and sweating. It is for eating, for drinking, for singing and hiking and summiting. Most of all, it is for everyone. It is for me.