Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire – Facing the Elements in the Deep South

Reading Time: 10 minutes
A Walk in the Woods

A mom and her daughter retreat into their car as we pull into the parking lot. They stop despite doors pulling them into their car to warn us that the wind is really bad and that one of them was hit by a falling branch causing them to abort their mission. Duly warned, we head out on the trail.dsc_0468_fanout

The wind roars overhead with the constancy and deepness of a Niagra Falls, news reports suggesting wind speeds of 40mph with gusts of 60. In the canopy of the forest, boughs of trees sway and bend out of sync. The trail narrows and disappears under a stream of brown leaf litter that camouflages protruding rock land mines and exposed root trip wires. I fall up the mountain trying to keep my eyes both down on the footing and up towards any overhead booms that might be launched my way by angry winds.

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