‘Not all those who wander are lost’!

There is Wonder in the Wander | On Trails

Just this past Wednesday, I was exhorting my First MA Class to go trekking, hiking or to ‘wander’ deep into the wild wilder wildest woods! To enjoy and to relish the world as it appears to our eye lens (not the lens of the camera!), and to inhale the pure unadulterated fresh air of the woods!

And this, when we were having a discussion on Lamb’s essays in class!

Robert Moon, oops Robert Moor, a thru-hiker, has done something almost on those lines but with a difference! 

His book of 340 pages titled, On Trails, is a fascinating account of his descriptive sketches on his explorations through trails of all hues! His premise is quite simple: Trails help us understand the world and make sense of our life in this planet, much much better!

To this end, his adventures are of the high-octane variety!

His pages are aglow with such engaging snippets that range anywhere from the literary, to the philosophical, to the historical, and to the scientific, thereby giving the reader a very simple proposition! Noted critic Scupin Richard puts forth this proposition on behalf of Moor, thus -

There is Wonder in the Wander!

No wonder, Wordsworth ‘wander’ed with the clouds to feel, to taste, to inhale and to relish Nature’s bounty all for himself, in the bliss of solitude!

Indeed, quoting Tolkien, then, it goes without saying that, ‘Not all those who wander are lost’!

In our technocentric world, where every one of us is blued, glued and wooed to our mobile phones even while walking on busy thoroughfares, Moor, Robert Moor advocates the ‘vibrant’ wanderer to keep their eyes focused on the ground, on the earth! Being mindful of what they step on, or stamp on!

Interestingly, literary allusions abound throughout this lovely Exploration!

Jack Kerouac in his novel The Dharma Bums calls this walking as ‘meditation of the trail’ says Moor!

Robert Moor then proceeds to trace through the trails and the footpaths of some of the ancient indigenous societies - like the Cherokee, - which he says were highly inconspicuous, as they were no more than a few inches wide! However, when Europeans invaded North America, they slowly widened parts of the native trail network, first to accommodate horses, then wagons, then automobiles. Now, much of that network is buried beneath modern roadways, though remnants of the old trail system can still be found when you know where to look, he quips!

Trails are of various moulds and various kinds, observes Moor, Robert Moor! Some trails he calls them the wisest ones!!! And he then proceeds to give his own observation on these ‘wisest trails’! 

Says he –

‘What unites the wisest trails, I have found, is a balance of three values: durability, efficiency, and flexibility. If a trail has only one of these qualities it will not persist for long: a trail that is too durable will be too fixed, and will fail when conditions change; a trail that is too flexible will be too flimsy, and will erode; and a trail that is too efficient will be too parsimonious, and so will lack resilience.’

There is an interconnected inclusivity in his approach to the trails! And in this interconnected ‘Web of Life’, Moor, Robert Moor says that he is able to see the world from a radically new and liberated perspective of sorts!

Says he -

‘When I was younger I used to see the earth as a fundamentally stable and serene place, possessed of a delicate, nearly divine balance, which humans had somehow managed to upset. But as I studied trails more closely, this fantasy gradually evaporated. I now see the earth as the collaborative artwork of trillions of sculptors, large and small. Sheep, humans, elephants, ants: each of us alters the world in our passage. When we build hives or nests, mud huts or concrete towers, we re-sculpt the contours of the planet. When we eat, we convert living matter into waste. And when we walk, we create trails. The question we must ask ourselves is not whether we should shape the earth, but how’.

No spoilers for ya, dear reader!

Well, and that’s because, every page of this book is such fun to read! Such joy to relish! Such happiness to cherish!

Just go ahead! Take the most pretty little cup that you have, in your hand! Now, gently pour yourself the bestest coffee (tea, for lesser mortals!) ;-) into your pretty little cup!

Then you may now proceed to take on you, gently, so gently, Moor, Robert Moor’s On Trails on one hand!

Now now now…. with Moor on one hand, and cuppa on the other, what do you call it?

Joy unleashed! Happiness unbounded!  Ain’t it? ;-)