“if you don’t believe in reincarnation, take a walk in the fucking woods.”
when breath vanishes from my lungs
kneels before my heart and the green
fountain rises before me and reincarnates
and reincarnates
the long isles lead to only one place
solitude
and it moves across my eyes as floaters
the darting personage the gauzy silhouette
of what is yet
just seeing the mountains draped
across the horizon, things once alive in me
offer their wrists, pollinate
new landscapes and eyes sit up,
eyes that have been snoring
and never in transit
never looking for anything or anyone
gawk at everything and every fallen tree
becomes home or humus
huge downed sails draped the
mountainside, splintered masts choked
by new growth, littered
the steep of Willey with a drowsy entropy
the static in the sky had never been so
obvious to me before, metamorphosing
between the shade and glare
of early may
as if branches of the sky showed their dominion
over branches of birch and their limbs stabbed
into earth only to regenerate into the next
growth, the next generation to penetrate
tomorrows low flying clouds and
make dew of them
Crooked Blue Line 
Gorgeous photos — and I have to ask: Who spoke the lead quote?
Fucking brilliant…
😉
Yeah…Fuck!
That was just amazing. Your words and pictures, gorgeous.
Val
http://valentinedefrancis.blogspot.com
Great Photos – thanks for sharing! Congrats on being FP!
Beautiful words and pictures.
Is that your quote?
Loved the photo essay. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Beautiful poem and looks like a challenging hike. This has me totally hyped up for my upcoming hiking trip! 🙂
SUPERB!!!
Congrats on being freshly pressed!! Love your photos and prose
Looks like an amazing hike. I love the wooden stairs.
Reblogged this on Makais Blog and commented:
lovely photos
Oh gosh! Now that it’s summer I need to find a hiking road JUST like that! It’s so gorgeous!
Where about is it located?
Katie
http://katieraspberry.wordpress.com/
thanks for all the feedback!!! the lead quote is from my friend Jonny Angelbeck, he’s the subject of the final photo, a long exposure one on that recent night when the moon was supposed to be at its brightest in years. ethan pond and mt willey are in the white mountains of NH, a very inspirational collection of peaks and wilderness in the northeast.
Unas imagenes preciosas…
Beautiful photos! There is nothing like a great hike to get the adrenaline running and clear the head:)
nice
epic!
yeah, really beautiful images
Great shots… 😉
Truly enjoyed these photos. And………..”Crooked Blue Line” dang it!! I wish I had thought of that and coined it first, LOL. Is perfect for those of us who work in the streams, watersheds and wetlands.
Reblogged this on Dyvette’s Blog and commented:
Wonderful photos! Enjoy
amazing self-expression, great photography! thank you
*slow clap* Bravo, Rick, I love your work. Keep writing and exploring!
Great post. Great words. Great photos. Waiting for the rain to stop so I can get out there. Was supposed to do North and Middle Moat this weekend; soon.
Captivating words and amazing pictures. Walking on that woods alone seemed so eerie… but a great challenge for me.:)
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fantastic photos. The photo of the lake with the fog in the distance looks really good (kinda scary too )
Thank you for the poem as well.
Cheers,
-Ron
Looks like it takes a lot to get to the end of the trail here…..but oh the beauty it offers. Love your poetry!
Nature certainly brings alive a part of us that sometimes we never knew existed. Congrats! on Freshly Pressed.
You Matter! Smiles, Nancy
Look a great adventure.
Lovely. I am cooped up, but I’ll be out in the woods again soon. Thanks for tiding me over.
Nature…So beautiful…
But only to those who’ve seen its ugliness as well.
First we say its beautiful.
then we see the viruses and parasites and survival of the fittest and we say its dangerous.
then the wise reflect and see what “nature’s beauty” truly means
fantastic post. the pictures tell such a strong tale by themselves 🙂
I’m just going to say – breathtaking photos!!!!!! Incredible!
Congratulations for being on Freshly Pressed!
beautiful post…..
Awesome green environment and nice pictures….
Truly enjoyed these photos. And………..”Crooked Blue Line” dang it!! I wish I had thought of that and coined it first, LOL. Is perfect for those of us who work in the streams, watersheds and wetlands.
oh yeah ….
I didn’t know Hugh Laurie was into hiking. (last photo)
Great Photos !!!
like the lace so quite and beautiful!Great !!
Beautiful scenery.
wow
Beautiful!
Beautiful editorial of your adventures, great shots 🙂
Wow, you took some great shots! That looks like a great hike & I love that first quote! xD
Great shots. I especially ♥ the first one. That is one excellent quote 😀
I looked at this as my surname is Willey, and wow; that’s so beautiful, both the photographs and the prose.
Thank goodness for those stairs, eh?
I like the pictures too. Pretty cool!
What a beautiful post… one of my best 70 year-old friends is hiking the AT over the course of a few years, and he’s making it into New Hampshire this summer. I envy him seeing this! The photography of the lake is stunning, but I have a long-standing love affair with signs and I loved Tent Platforms.
(your poem was beautiful, too!)
amazing photos
That looks like a great trail to hike!
beautiful post and beautiful digital pictures! Thanks for sharing. http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
The misty water scene is wonderful. Thanks for sharing your adventure. Connie
http://7thandvine.wordpress.com/
Wow, that fog or smoke in the picture of the water, awesome. love that.
Reblogged this on 8BIT.
beautiful.
Reblogged this on Gabriel Roybal and commented:
beautiful words. beautiful photos- thank you!
stunning photos.
Great photos. I’ve never done the Appalacian Trial but hopefully some day.
Love the quote.
cool place to hike.
Nature…So beautiful…
But only to those who’ve seen its ugliness as well
just looking up those stairs made me tired LOL! love the pics though, great job!!
Your work and poetry is wonderful and your ability and agility are to be commended but in the end such a wonderful view. Thank you for sharing.
What an amazing final destination to camp at. Great photo of the stairs going up. I remember hiking something very similar in Tennessee a few years back.