For this post I’ve been looking at trails, pathways: journeys begun, journeys repeated. Some we don’t see until we’re upon them.
These trails are from the Mizen, Sheep’s Head and Beara Peninsulas walked during June and July. Some are currently dried stream beds, but we use them when we can. Some, over time, have become roads. We’re hardwired for movement, for finding a way.
Looking down from Healy Pass.
Looking across towards Sugarloaf Mountain and the zig-zag of the Beara-Briefne Way.
Defined by a strimmer.
Almost hidden heading through the heather.
The understated beauty and profound subtlety of a trail.
My own shelter as the rain lashed down, a brief encounter over the past couple of months.
Stan Mills takes us on the trails of Yellowstone Park. A solo hiker walking through bear and wolf country following well worn trails and when they’re gone following game trails. There’s profound simplicity here.
Yesterday I was out kayaking with a friend, Denis, a sculptor and avid cyclist. After the 7km loop he showed me how he’d used an app to plot our journey. This and similar apps are frequently used by runners and cyclists to plot, record, share routes which leads to others validating and / or adopting these routes. Artists have used these apps to walk, run or cycle routes that draw and image picked out from city streets. The same apps revealed secret US military bases as soldiers went on their downtime runs. In the early days of consumer available GPS (Global Positioning System) one of Denis’ students created art using data points. Tracking and mapping movements has long been utilised as a tool of creation and place by artists.
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Just watched these two episodes, parts 1 & 2, from Second Chance Hiker on the PCT – Pacific Crest Trail, trails are fun.
Based On Real Events 