Terra's Trail
Elevation 1,099 ft
Sunlight stung my eyes as I struggled to open them. I sat up, disoriented and trying to recall my surroundings. I am sitting in a dull sprinter van. It is uncomfortably bumpy on whatever road we are on. I looked down at my lap and noticed a brochure and small journal. The brochure read, Baxter State Park. Recognition came as soon as I read the title. I am on my way to the starting point for the Appalachian Trail on Mount Katahdin in Maine. That was some nap I took… I looked around me and noticed a few others seated in the van. Some still napping, and others listening intently to our driver. I listened to him list off what sounded like the local vegetation. My neck was stiff and my mind felt thick with fog.
When I dreamed of this hike, I always thought my beloved husband would be with me. That was until we were separated. The thought was painful, tears threatened to escape and a lump formed in my throat. My mind was still too hazy to focus on one thought. Ground yourself, Terra. I gulped in a mouthful of air and slowly let it out. From Mount Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain, Georgia. I will make my way… alone.
Despite my best attempt to focus on the trail ahead, my mind kept working to picture my husband’s face. I guess it’s been too long. My eyes snapped ahead towards my driver as he announced we were reaching the starting point. He began to give us some advice as I gathered my dry bag. None of us passengers seemed concerned with one another. We all gathered our things and began to exit the vehicle. It was strange I never saw them again after our driver dropped us off.
I began my hike from Abdul Campground, following the Katahdin Steam north.
Elevation 3,400 ft
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, reaching toward the sky. The trail was a constant incline. I tested my knees by squatting and bouncing in place. Surprisingly my body wasn’t sore, and my knees did not feel like jelly.
I’ve been walking for what seems like forever since my driver dropped me in Abdul. As I listened to the water lap against the river stone and the wind rustle through the trees, I picked up on what could only be radio static. I followed the sound and noticed a few hikers sitting a distance away by the bank of the stream.
I looked down at them while I remained on the path and yelled, “Hello?”
They glanced in my direction. Their faces screwed in confusion, obviously startled. They must not be able to see me.
I could hear the radio from where I stood.
“-was recently opened despite a horrendous attack that happened weeks prior. The man spent hours looking for the female before he found her dragged and mauled a couple of hundred feet from camp.”
My stomach churned as I heard the serious voice of the news anchor on the radio. I felt nauseous. My plans of heading down to the stream were immediately canceled as I began to double back and retch.
My skin developed goosebumps and numbness engulfed me despite the hiker high I was on moments prior. Whatever the radio said didn’t sit well with me. It’s not what anyone wants to hear in the middle of a long hike, alone, in the forest. I just need to keep going and find camp for the night.
Elevation 5,226 ft
I made it to my first hiking shelter in an area called Baxter Peak, Mount Katahdin. The highest point yet! I was disappointed by the lack of scenery. A thick fog weaved around the mountainous terrain like silk. It was gray and eerie. I backed away from the viewing area and turned toward the shelter. The lean-to was made up of 3 walls, a roof overhang, and a wooden floor. There were lofts to climb up and sleep in, but they didn’t protect me from the creatures that made this part of the forest their home. In the middle of the shelter was a picnic table with an angry caution sign stapled to it about aggressive bears. I shivered, reacting to the low temperature. The hair on my arms stood up as if I had just skated across a shag carpet with socks. Uneasiness hit me as I felt Deja-vu. I must have researched this place so much that I felt like I’d been here before. As I approached the shelter I heard voices. It sounds like there are more hikers here. Maybe I am not alone?
“Let’s get some food in us so we still have daylight to pack up and get ready for bed.” I heard
them say. It was a group of three. One man and two women. “I can’t believe we’re one of the first people here since the trail opened again.”
“I don’t like being here knowing what happened,” said one of the girls. “It gives me the chills.”
I nodded at them as I entered the camp, but they didn’t glance in my direction. People are so rude here.
I set up camp and explored the area. The other campers are still oblivious and ignoring me. I wasn’t one for a confrontation so I let them do their thing. I found a notebook resting in the loft within the shelter. It was filled with messages from hikers who have visited before.
The last note read I’m sorry I couldn’t find you fast enough.
I think that is going to be the last journal entry I read tonight. It really freaked me out. I yawned and looked at my watch. It was 9 PM and completely dark now. Time for bed.
When I woke up the other campers were already gone. I was left in solitude, and heard nothing but birds and other critters moving around.
As I packed up my belongings I thought I heard my name.
“Terra…” It was as if the wind was whispering it.
“Terra!” It was getting closer.
“There you are, Terra!” I turned to see who called for my attention.
Is that my driver?
“What are you doing here?”
“I am here to help you along the way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have been here for too long.”
“I don’t understand… I just got here yesterday.” I said.
“No, Terra. You’ve been here since the attack.”
“What attack are you talking about?”
“Terra, you were attacked by a bear.”
Wait, what? This guy is nuts.
“I’m sorry, I need to go.” Scared and confused I began to leave the shelter. This driver had followed me all the way here to tell me I was attacked by a bear? He’s out of his mind. I made my way down the slope, and that’s when it went dark.
I woke up in the shelter.
“Are you ready to listen now?”
The driver stood over me and looked at me with sympathetic eyes.
“Did you knock me out?”
“No, Terra, every time you try to go farther than you’ve ever been, you wake up in the last place you were.”
This guy was not making any sense.
“Souls can only travel the land they have been to before, and no further,” he explained.
“I really don’t understand.”
“Two weeks ago you were attacked by a bear. You and your husband were separated, and you died from your injuries. Your husband lived. You won’t leave this place until you come to terms with that.”
“But I drove here with people. I even saw people and interacted with them on the trail! I even camped with others! I can’t be dead.”
“The people on the bus were other souls that were lost and I found them. I dropped you all off at the same location and you all heard what fits the scenario you’re in. Your souls then wander to the places you died. I follow you to those places and explain what happened to help you move on.”
“But the others?”
“They couldn’t see you. They weren’t being rude. They just can’t see lost souls.”
I didn’t know what to feel. This is where souls wind up when they die. But what does this mean for me? Where do I go now?
“Let me introduce myself, Terra. I am death, and I am here to take you to your next life.”
THE END
