Today is Sunday
By: Michael Anderson
Today is Sunday, the third weekend of February. It is four in the afternoon. The sun is high enough in the blue sky to allow a couple more hours of daylight. The temperature is fifteen degrees with a slight breeze; cold enough to feel like winter yet warm enough to feel comfortable. The previous night’s snowfall adds a soft carpet to my footfalls as I begin a walk on the trails of the Superior Municipal Forest. I’d inquired of a friend about the status of one of the ski trail that had been closed this season. He said that one of the culverts had been washed out from the late fall rains making the steep descent too treacherous. My curiosity beckoned me to go explore the situation and make a late afternoon adventure out of it. The trail is in a part of the Forest I do not explore much because most of time is spent in a canoe on the waterways, part of the twenty-seven miles of shoreline connected with the Forest, all are included in the St. Louis River Estuary System. Today it was time to make the most of a winter walk.
I trail a sled behind me, one of those little over-built black plastic ones that serve a function for winter enthusiasts. This one holds a backpack with a camera, some fruit and nuts, a heavier jacket, and my anorak. This past weekend it carried an adventurous three-year old to one of her favorite places here in the Forest. She calls it the “local beach!” We ate cornbread and roasted sausage slices on a stick over a campfire. After a few outings in the Forest she has her own name for the different locations and experiences. Yes, and there is the “rain place!” I sometimes call her the little wilderwomp because of the way she has taken to the canoe... and her time in the Forest. In considering positive childhood development, I wonder how these moments will make a difference in her life.
I trudge down and up the other side of one of the drops on the trail pulling my sled behind me. I once fantasized being a participant on one of Will Steger’s expeditions, humorously telling people I await a call from him for his next epic adventure. After reading North to the Pole and the extreme challenges endured by Will and his team of adventurers I may choose not to answer the phone should the call come.
But in this moment in the Forest with the sun, wind, snow cover, trees, and abundance of animal tracks I can fantasize about my own epic adventures and still be home in time for dinner. I am fulfilled by these times in Nature and the Superior Municipal Forest for many years has both nurtured and satisfied my spirit of adventure. I believe this spirit of adventure is a quest of the human condition. Sigurd Olson spoke of the need for humans to “always be searching for that patch of blue sky.” He may be alluding to clarity of vision, a guiding force to purpose and meaning in life. Maybe he was referring to hope! Whatever it is I know I rediscover it on my little adventures into the Forest and I know this is shared by many others who continue to return here for adventure, recreation, and communing with nature.
Back at the parking lot just before dark, having once again watched the sunset over the West Duluth Hills from Pokegama Bay as I have so many times over the years, I am feeling refreshed, invigorated, my appetite for adventure has been satiated. I am deeply aware of the significance of these little adventures in my life and grateful to the Forest for its continued presence and availability when I know I need to step back into this metaphorical wilderness. As I drive back home I am already making plans for the next adventure…possibly with the little wilderwomp!