• Surrounding myself with dense deep greens, leafy canopies, tree tunnels, overhead vines, a dash of color

Oregon so green, with a dash of color

• Recognizing a familiar plant, better if I can say its name
• Observing impacts of weather, paths washed away, littered with leaves or broken branches, enormous upended root systems of fallen trees that appear too mighty to fall

Taller than me

• Seed pods
• Dragonflies; bonus for dragonflies mating
• A heron, at least one; a heron flying even better

I approached the grey heron slowly, til he flew off, scolding me

• Next best, an egret
• Animal and bird sounds, or sounds of silence
• ID’ing a bird by its sound, though the crow is Captain Obvious, so maybe it doesn’t count
• Water in any form, better if it’s moving, better still if it’s noisy, best with a waterfall

Still water, 3 stars

• Bridges
• Coming back to my breath when I notice my thoughts
• Warm but not hot, sun mixed with shade
• Breeze, but not strong winds
• A lot of flat, some uphill, less downhill, hmmm
• Dirt or gravel beneath my feet rather than asphalt; however access for all is the name of the game

The asphalt path led to a dirt trail

• Ripe blackberries
• Weird fungi
• Either a good map or getting lost completely
• A little information, not too much, with bonus points for references to Greek mythology, or the violence of the natural world

A good sign

• A laugh, either because the world amuses me or I amuse myself
• Few people. Or no people at all
• Children and teens enjoying nature. Old people (older than me). Families. Diversity. Three generations speaking a different language. Not knowing that language
• Tree sitters and tree starers

A young man reclined on this perfect chair in deep contemplation

• People smiling or saying hi. Maybe not waving, I have my limits
• A bench for contemplation, preferably with something to gaze upon like water, or ducks across the way, or wind in the trees tops

The view from my bench, ducks across the way

• Benches with cool dedications
• No fear
• A Grateful Dead t-shirt
• An empty bladder. I don’t even know what that means anymore
• A restroom at the end of the trail
• Forgetting what I don’t need – the whole fitness tracker deal, my aches and pains, the world
• Remembering to bring what I need, like hair clips or a hat now that my hair is ridonculous, water, hankie, remembering to stretch at the end. Oops.

It was a good hike.