Best Trailhead Poems

The trailhead stands there before me,
after two hour's drive,
a peak with a panorama
that others call sublime.

I have been meaning to climb it,
test my will and my heart,
cannot believe it took this long
just to come out this far.

First half-mile is the hardest,
the legs start feeling strain,
bored...

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everything is beyond green today
even the bluebirds take notice,
and seronade the dancing sun
death is so far away-

iv'e given a name to the Iris
that lives and plays near the trailhead
that has greeted me for a week
cheered my clumsy stride -human scent

white ibis stand still as michaelangelo...

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Escaping the Clouds
                     by Odin Roark

Entering one's Now…

How long the traverse.
Mountainous obstacles
Seem not of our creation,
Yet rock hard impasses appear
Where clear path seemed obvious,
Now impassible.

The...

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Sick. Post-alcohol.
Line. Bathroom stall.
Arizona. Trembling soul.
Tourist. Obligatory stroll.
Trailhead. The Grand View.
Crowd. Suffocating solitude.
Death. One false step.
Breathing. Relentless regret....

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Calloused by the do-or-die hero's walk on the perilous road
Over hazard's hill stumbling in soldier's shoes of regret and sorrow 
Merciless these wars of tired tyrants, this trailhead I have followed
I should bury these warrior's relics and take a train to tomorrow
Never looking back at...

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Exiting the Clouds

 

Entering one's Now

How long the traverse
Mountainous obstacles
Seem not of our creation
Yet rock hard impasses appear
Where clear path seemed obvious
Now impassible

The best laid plans...
Swirl amidst the winds of challenge
Icing our tenacity
Whiting-out our vision
Deafening our ears to resolve

Made to stop
We seek refuge
Cower we must
Time's...

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Hiking the canyon, the trailhead
below, down the stairs we would dread
in a few hours or so.
Beautiful day, sunny and hot,
Lovely tall pines, shady in spots,
Onward, upward we go!

Forty creek crossings, back and forth
cliffs to the south, likewise the north
What a beautiful day!
Walk the rocks, or...

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Lost in the woods
Are you kidding?
My feet they’re freezing 
We’re lost in the woods!
We’re lost in the woods!

You warned me of mud 
And you certainly didn’t disappoint 
And now there’s even snow
I think I want to go home

Which direction is out
Will anyone hear if we...

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A venetian red yearling’s head
Pops up
From behind a fallen log
Licks rouge from its lips
And the syrup sipped from dark maple bark
Ears tweaking
To the snow-crunch creak
Of my dog and me approaching
From down the trail

Forest
Tamed by these trampled snow-winding paths

The deer doesn’t flinch

Up ahead
Top of the trash...

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*A young man went out for a stroll 
into a remote patch of icy blue Adirondak
It's been a few moons since he was last seen 
they discovered his lithium car at the trailhead
A white broom swept his footprints off the map
They posted a vision of...

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Can’t just jump to the finish line
Need to put in the work along the way
Would be nice to only reap the gains
But no shortcuts despite what others say

Progress needs to build upon itself
Can’t just jump to the finish line
Collecting credits creates compounding 
Building up as...

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The man went for a mountain run,
told his fiancé of his plans.
A sundial slowly waltzed on by...
but the man never came back.

They called in search and rescue.
They spread out far into the wild.
Loved ones posted a picture of him. 
Donning the future's angelic smile.

The hours...

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When you're lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wandered off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now....

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Trailhead latrine,  
cracked mirror—  
three of me grinning wrong.  
A soap shaver's chewed itself down, 
there's a beetle on its back in the basin.
I clean my hands as best I can,  
wipe them on my pants,  
get out,  
back...

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