Poetry Hike in Sedona

Great Idea:  A Poetry Hike!

I want to get away from my desk and off the paved roads!  I live in Sedona and haven’t been making use of the gorgeous outdoor trails for hiking…. So when I saw that OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) was offering, among its many intriguing adult classes, a four-week session of “Poetry Hikes” I signed up!  We gathered at the Yavapai campus at noon on this warm, clear October day.  I had a hat, sunscreen, plus sunblock scarf and shirt, light slacks, ankle-supporting hiking shoes, water, an apple, and a sense of excitement to be out on my day off having fun! 

Our leader Gary organized us into carpool groups, and we set off for Sugarloaf parking lot in the Coffee Pot hiking area.  We set off in silence for about a mile, among junipers, manzanita trees, cactus and agave plants, and the red sandstone formations on every side against a deep blue sky. 

We arrived at a shady spot where we gathered, sat down and smiled at each other for no reason other than the sheer beauty and pleasure of being in this group of men and women enjoying the outdoors together.

Marilee took over, introducing us to the poetry of Sharon Olds. 

I felt that Marilee cracked open the shell of the poems and showed us the liquid aliveness inside.  People opened up as well, commenting on the imagery of love, intimacy, disappointment, loss, and mourning in the sweep of her poems over three decades.

As we turned to follow the trail back I realized that I was walking behind the leader, placing my footsteps in the outlines of his footsteps… and suddenly I was back as a ten and twelve year old spending summers in a Kinderheim, like a sleep-away camp, in Gstaad, Switzerland. The teachers took us children out for hikes ver often, and we followed in single file behind our leader.  I kept my eyes on the boots of the guide right in front of me, and placed my small footprints within the larger footprints of the adult ahead of me.  The path was often wet, mossy, and the surroundings very green, as we forded streams, and crossed meadows with the sound of cows’ bells tinkling. 

STEP

Step

            STEP

            Step

STEP

Step

            STEP

            Step

I guess that is where I got into the habit of looking down as I walked, and only looking up when we paused for a drink, or to take in the view and appreciate the vista of mountains, valleys and streams.   Through the years, my mother often told me in a park, at the beach, or walking down the street, “Look UP!”  I guess I had been doing a “walking meditation” all along!

So… back to the trail in Sedona.

Suddenly I remembered with great fondness the many hikes my husband Itzhak and I took when our children Tali and Amir were little.  We’d go to the mountains in his camper, already a great adventure, and then line up:  Abba (Hebrew for Daddy) first, then Ima (Mommy), then the children.  And Itzhak would start a chant that we repeated in singsong… “Heidy heidy heidy ho…” (repeat!), “Heidy heidy heidy ho” (repeat); “Ho Ho Ho Ho” (repeat), “Heidy hey” (repeat), “Heidy ho” (repeat, “Heidy diddly heidy hey” (repeat and start all over for miles)!

And when we hiked, I again, as an adult, looked at the sturdy calves of my husband up ahead, and stayed in the footprint path he created. 

I did quite a bit of time travel on that one mile return walk! 

Now looking forward to next week’s adventure!