© Liesl Clark
It occurred to me, last winter, when high winds blew down so many trees, that I could help clear the trails, rather than just hike them. The added benefit was wood.
Blown-down wood on a Pacific Northwest Trail © Liesl Clark
Rather than carrying a backpack filled with random items to give me added weight for a pre-expedition workout, I realized the resource I could gather on my hikes was right at my feet. My friend, Yangin Sherpa, walks 5 miles a day to collect wood where she lives. Why couldn’t I?
We heat our home with wood and our property provides most of what we need. But I realized that every day, during the storm season, I was picking up and throwing aside big chunks of wood that had come down the day before onto the trails we hike on our hill.
Huge Trees Come Down, Blocking Our Trails, All Winter Long © Liesl Clark
I bring an empty pack after a windstorm and load it with large chunks blocking the trail that I would otherwise throw aside. There’s so much wood out there, areas where blow-downs outnumber the trees standing. I figure a small payment for my clearing of the trails are the few pieces I can gather to add weight to my gait, to give greater resistance to my uphill climb so I can prepare for the high passes and cliffside traverses we do each summer in the Himalaya.
Payment for My Pains © Liesl Clark
I find joy in knowing what it feels like to walk 5 miles for a bundle of wood that will keep my family warm for one more day.
What are your simple pleasures?
Pioneering The Simple Life 
Oh, I really used to love foraging for wood when we lived in France: such a sense of achievement in bringing home and weathering down the means of keeping ourselves warm for the winter. It’s not so easy here in the UK. The wood is simply not conveniently around in the right sort of quantities, or on common land. So we content ourselves, on the whole, with finding odd bits of kindling. But it’s not the same. Not at all.
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It’s like accomplishing 3 things at once! A workout, wood for the fire, and clearing trails for others. Yes, even the small bits of kindling can feel good. I have an obsession with sticks and all the things we can do with them. So glad to find a kindred spirit out there!
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That is so lovely of you to do this! Plus it keeps you fit AND warms the family (loving those pets in their boxes!) I don’t tend to use wood, but I do forage for wild edibles.
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Heading out into the forest without something to carry back a bit of bounty is like walking out of the house naked! And yes, I agree, the wild edibles trump all.
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You just found a great exercise and free heat. Absolutely love the photo of the cat and dog in their own box, just like children. 🙂
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Thank you! We’re all snuggled together by the fire now, the real kids, too.
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Its said that fire wood burns twice. Once when you gather, chop, and stack it; the second time when it warms the hearth.
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I love that. Thank you.
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