Coming “into the peace of wild things” on Iowa trails

“Who cares about the clouds when we're together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.”

Check out our scenic picnic spot at Jester Park.

I was fortunate to find a simple way to escape nearly every not-to-be-named dark cloud of 2020. While I’d like to say that my path to discovery was simple, the truth is I stumbled upon it.

Walking isn’t new to me. Years ago I mapped a hilly two-mile route in my neighborhood. Sunday mornings start with a regular walking crew at rotating locations. And I’ve been walking at Gray’s Lake, solo or with friends, for many seasons. I’ve circled it during a “moon float,” when canoes, paddleboats, and kayaks launched at sunset. I’ve looped the lake on an icy day when I shouldn’t have.

I’ve merged onto the path, falling into a happy cadence with skateboarders, baby strollers, and dog walkers. I’ve “tunneled” through the underground connector from Water Works to Gray’s.

That’s me on a borrowed bike scouting out the tunnel under Fleur Drive.

But this year was different. Unfortunately, my friend lost her job because of the pandemic. I’d left my work as an editor last November. We decided to make the best of our free time, fully aware of its gift. I was grateful to gain a partner in adventure. Starting with the sunflowers at Badger Creek, one trip to a new park quickly led to plans for another. And another. Around September we set a loose but ambitious goal to visit 20 Iowa parks in 2020.

When you’re out walking and find BCycles for rent, you start pedaling.

Now I had something good to pencil in my day planner. And each day trip brought an unexpected little joy or small adventure.

At Lake Ahquabi we chatted with an artist painting the treed shoreline and traded tips about scenic views.

These weekly outdoor outings with a small but ever-changing circle of friends became part of my pandemic mental health plan. Walking freed my mind, however briefly, from all bad things. It connected me to both friends and nature.

I learned the term shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere,” where you slow down and become immersed in the natural environment using all senses. I inhaled Christmas-scented pine trees at the Brenton Arboretum on a warm November afternoon, our 20th park. I gauged river levels from eye level and from scenic overlooks.

We looked, really looked, and marveled at “really neat” cloud formations. I realized I had much to learn about native birds, bees, berries, trees, and flowers. We drank in the red-green and gold leaves, and land reflected on water. It was eye-opening, literally, to see the speed of deer in their habitat, the delicacy of butterflies, the sweet shyness of diving turtles.

A few of us narrowly dodged the derecho that hit after a morning walk at Raccoon River Valley. On our first time on the Coal Miner’s Daughter trail at Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park we heard gunshots from what we later learned was a nearby shooting range. We scouted the state’s best picnic spots, many on peninsulas. Another day we chatted with two well-dressed sage-age women sharing a bench by Blue Heron. They were patiently watching and waiting for fish to jump. Girls — at any age — just wanna have fun.

“I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water.”

Girls Day Out with Mother Nature became my new Girls Night Out. I like the ease and comfort of dressing down in old clothes, a ball cap, and minimalist makeup and catching up with old friends over walks.

The day at Walnut Woods when we found the bird blind but briefly lost our cars.

Cold sack lunches became routine and made for cheap dates. Water bottles replaced wine glasses. Cheers to the new healthier happy hour!

Two of my favorite books are stories of ordinary people turned hikers: Cheryl Strayed’s Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, and Iowa-born Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, his funny Appalachian Trail tale.

Gray’s Lake will forever be close to my heart, but I have a new appreciation for other retreats, especially ones a little off the beaten path.

Our walks are far from book-worthy. But we can tell short tales of trails at Lake Ahquabi, Badger Creek State Park, Banner Lakes, Big Creek, Easter Lake, the Brenton Arboretum, Fort Des Moines, Gray’s Lake, Greenwood/Ashworth Park, Jester Park, Ledges State Park, Maffitt Reservoir, McHenry, McRae, Raccoon River Park, Union/Birdland, Walnut Woods, Winterset City Park, Water Works, Whiterock Conservency …

2020 was undeniably hard. But I have to credit it for drawing me outdoors for hikes, mural crawls, lunches at the Sculpture Park, patio dinners, Scenic Byway drives, and firepits. I'm grateful to have walked the path with good friends, many from high school. And to borrow a few words from poet Wendell Berry, I’m thankful to have “come into the peace of the wild things” on days I needed it most.

© 2020 by Catherine Broderick Medina