Warm Breeze, Cold Winds

On Top of Turkey Hill, Gobble-Gobble

Thursday afternoon here in God's country of Lancaster County, Pa. the weather was finally warm. It has been bipolar weather-wise. Snow one week, balmy the next, then back to cold. We need a Meteropsychiatrist to diagnosis what is going on around here so that we can predict and plan our responses. Seed the clouds with psychotropics.

But, since it was a nice day, I decided to head down to the Turkey Hill Trail. For those of my world-wide audience who do not hail from this modern-day Eden, Turkey Hill is an actual place. It is where the dairy is located. Presumably, there used to be turkeys hanging out.  Turkey Hill is not just some quaint fictional name thought up by some MBA genius to brand ice cream and iced tea. Fictional yet evoking thoughts of bucolity. Bucolic always sounds like Bubonic to me, as in Plague. The Bucolic Plague....Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.   

Turkey Hill is one of the higher spots in Lancaster County and overlooks the mighty Susquehanna River, the largest river East of the Mississippi. It is hard hike up and even harder down due to the steepness and angle of the trails with a plush carpet of fallen leaves. Dangerous when wet for certain. There are two giant wind turbines on the top of Turkey Hill which churn out about one-quarter of the power needed by the dairy.

Since I was hiking solo, I wanted to bring my iPhone in case I twisted my ankle and needed to call for assistance. I also wanted to take some pictures on top of  the hill, the majestic sights, sights that have not changed much since the colonial days due to the lack of development on both the Lancaster and York County banks. I decided to wear my fleece because it has zippered pockets to hold My i-Precious. I  instantly regretted it once I started to climb because I was hot.

I cursed myself for not anticipating how hot I would get.  You know one of those inner-bashings that goes something like this...."You dumb-ass, you should have known you would get hot. How old are you? What, are you a child who needs help getting dressed????"     

I have been endeavoring to up my fitness in preparation for a summer of hiking and camping. I don't want to be one of these dudes that gets out in the wild unprepared either equipment and/or conditioning-wise. That greenhorn that gets blisters on the feet and whines after the first mile on the trail. I did a nice 20 mile bike ride on Tuesday afternoon also. All of this is in additional to the 6 days a week lifting and exercise bike routine early in the morning. Frankly, by yesterday, I was fighting off a cold and my bones were weary. Too much exertion I surmise.

It was the case that when I climbed that I instantly regretted wearing the fleece. I had to take it off and wrap it around my waist which then caused the iPhone to dong off my leg each stride. Yet, when I got to the top of Turkey Hill, I was very glad to have the fleece with me. The wind was howling and it was cold. Old Man Winter still wheezing. The death rattle of cold days dying and Spring being ushered in finally, yet unevenly.  I figure that is when the cold virus took its cue to start its attack on my immune system. I am very susceptible to getting chilled when sweaty. 

As usual, I became reflective and considered how warm breezes on the trail coexisted with the cold winds higher up. Both were realities. That then got me thinking about not worrying about tomorrow because sufficient is the day and the troubles thereof. So bring the fleece, you might need it. That is, preparation is a good thing and cuts down on worry. While too much worry can lead to an over-wraughtness and wringing of the hands, under-preparation also creates difficulties and stress.

It takes wisdom to figure out the right balance on the trail of life. Next time, I plan to bring my trail backpack and put the iPhone in the fleece and the fleece in the backpack. That seems to be the wisest course....