Early Sunday morning. I pulled off route 191 between Bangor and Stroudsburg into the small gravel lot with large stones separating the lot from the State Game Lands beyond. There were three other cars. I couldn’t tell from looking if they’d been there overnight or more recently arrived. It was dark. Sunrise was at 7:24 a.m. It was about 6:20 – October 25.
Sliding my seat back, I reached across to the floor of the passenger seat where my trail shoes were. Hard soled and low cut they wore like cement boots. I’ve got my eyes on a new pair, but told myself they’d be a Christmas present. I put them on and grabbed my poles as I got out of the car and was stung by the air.
I crossed the road heading east as I took to the trail. In my free hand I clicked on my small flashlight and shone it in front of my feet where the familiar stone rested and jutted out from the ground. Leaves crackled under foot as I went. I soon found no point in looking ahead left or right as it was too dark to see anything.
The cool air fluctuated right above and below thirty two degrees. I wasn’t cold given my layers and hat coupled with movement. I estimated forty minutes to get to my lookout. There was a section approaching that always threw me off, by always this was the fourth time I’d been on this section and each time I second guessed if I was on the trail in the area where there was so much rock that a trail wasn’t really decipherable.
In the dark I found it easier to navigate because I wasn’t distracted. I still second guessed myself, but turning back saw the blaze behind me, so I forged forward until the trail became clear again and I was on my way.
A few minutes later off in the distance I saw a light for a moment. It reappeared and went away and I knew someone was approaching. Most times on these trails I’ll see two or three people total over four to six hours. I wasn’t planning on being out too long this morning, so seeing someone within thirty minutes, in the dark no less, was a bit of a surprise.
As the individual approached I checked around me and pulled off to the side. The path was roughly a foot wide. I waited. I offered a ‘morning’ and he replied. Offering he was glad not to be only old fool out in the dark. I asked if he wasn’t staying for sunrise at the overlook and he said he’d been sleeping there all night and it got rather cold so he decided to move on. I wished him well, and he did the same
I went on and realized I should have brought the light I had that you wore like a headband as he had. At least I had a flashlight as I never would have managed without one. About ten minutes later dawn began and slowly there was enough light to see by.
Passing through the firebreak where he had camped I continued on. There was a bend and from that spot you couldn’t see the sunrise. You had to travel another ten or fifteen minutes to get to the vantage point I was heading for.
I knew this because a few weeks back I was out hiking and started at dawn, light enough to see the trail, but not enough time to get further than the firebreak and you couldn’t see the sunrise from it. It was then that I told myself I’d make another go at it and leave with enough time. Today was that day.
Right before my destination was a rock wall of about ten feet at reasonable incline. Not too hard, but you have to be careful especially with leaves and pine needles making the rock slippery. A few feet from the top was a little path to lookout. There were a few levels of stone where no trees grew in front offering an unobstructed view to the east toward the Delaware River. On the rock was one spot where it appeared someone had cut a seat out.
I sat there and set my poles down. I had sixteen minutes until sunrise. With my phone I got a star gazing app out to see exactly where the sun would rise and it was directly infront of me. The horizon at that spot was more yellow than it was further away from it. The tree tops were rolling green and snaking through was a low white whispy cloud following the river.
It was quiet and peaceful. The leaves rustled with the occasional breeze. The cool air tingled my skin. I looked out. Very slowly the yellow became a deeper yellow and grew in the space it covered. At the appointed time the first sliver of the top of the sun broke over the horizon. I continued to watch and take pictures.
Then it had risen. The sky clear. The sun bright. There was awe. There was joy.
I got my things and headed back. On my way the woods were lit and the leaves of different colors were awash in the light. It was a very different wood than the one I passed through in the dark and dawn.
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