On the Trail (Again)

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She and I answered the call of the
Mountains in the way we always do -
In the way I haven’t done since last summer,
When so much was reduced to ash
And the smoke-choked air made
Breathing indoors hard enough.

That being said, I found them much
The same as I remembered.

We climbed slowly (so slowly),
Heartbeats enough to match
The measure of altitude,
With the knowledge that
If we had breath to spare for a few
Words between us, or a 
Laugh to echo down the mountainside,
Then we must also have the 
Strength to set one more foot
Before the other.

And in that way, the tree line
approached and was left behind.
The pass rose and we, too, rose
To greet it.

It’s such a simple thing, to set
Your feet on the trail - yet somehow,
Sometimes, surprisingly difficult too.
It’s the getting there that will get you -
But the burn and the rush and the
View always make it more than
Worth it in 
The end.