There's no shortage of wilderness where I live, but I thought the best place to go would be the nearby Raven Rock State Park. I'd been there once before, over 13 years ago by my estimate, so it seemed like a good time to go back. I put it off for a while, partially because of weather and scheduling complications, but mostly because I realized it was a dumb idea. In real life you can't just go in the woods and have an epiphany and solve all your problems. I don't even take any drugs so that puts a hamper on my ability to hallucinate. I assume peyote is hard to find in a humid sub-tropical climate region. I guess you'd have to special order it from your drug dealer or something.
Nonetheless, I couldn't get the idea of going to Raven Rock out of my mind. Yesterday I decided to go ahead and take my disappointment so I could move on with my life. The weather seemed fine and I din't have any pressing matters to attend to so I went. I left my phone in the car and took off down the first path I saw toward The Raven Rock, because why go to Raven Rock if you're not going to see The Raven Rock? As I stood just outside the entrance to the trail something moved. I looked just in time to see the back of a deer disappearing into the trees. I remembered that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a spirit guide in the form of a deer on their vision quest. Was I seeing a real deer or a spiritual manifestation of nature herself? I may never know, but I was starting to feel a little more confident in my decision.
As I walked down the trail I started to lose that confidence when I realized I was either surrounded by feral animals or supernatural forces in the form of feral animals. I flinched at every snapping branch, but I carried on. I was passed on the trail by two separate pairs of women who I assumed to be college students. I was glad to know there were enough people around that I wouldn't be alone for too long in case of an emergency, but I couldn't help but be a little offended that they seemed to be there more for the steps than to take in the majestic and terrifying glory of God's creation. Regardless, they reminded me of my purpose for being there so I made sure to stop and take in the sights once in a while.
I came to a fork in the road, one sign said "Raven Rock" and the other said "Little Creek." My most vivid memory of my previous trip was standing on the river bed and I wanted to get back there. I thought it was unlikely that the rushing river in my mind was called "Little Creek" but I figured it was my best shot, and I would make my way to Raven Rock eventually. After a I walked down the Little Creek trail for a while I started to suspect that the series of stagnant garbage juice puddles beside the path was The Little Creek. (That's a little harsh, maybe. It sounds like I'm giving nature a bad Yelp review) I stayed on that trail anyway in hopes that the little creek would lead to a considerably larger Little Creek. Perhaps even a gentle stream or a babbling brook. A man came walking down the path towards me using a baseball bat as a walking stick, perhaps another college student. He greeted me warmly so I felt welcome asking him if The Little Creek was up ahead. He confirmed my suspicions that Little Creek was beside me the whole time. He also informed me that I could get to Raven Rock if I kept going forward. He was so confident and helpful that I thought he was probably an employee of the park, or more likely he was my spirit guide. Likely an alternate form of the spirit deer I saw earlier. He could have had deer like qualities. You don't know. You weren't there.
I parted ways with my Spirit Guide and continued making my way towards Raven Rock. When I got to a steep, M.C. Escher-esque wooden staircase I knew I was close. I took a few seconds to enjoy the sights from that height then proceeded down the stairs. Sure enough, there was The Cape Fear River and The Raven Rock, between them was a sign that said "End of the Path." A little beyond the sign was a young nuclear family joined by a father and his son, whom they had apparently just met. I stood a little way from them, looking at the river and doing some light eavesdropping. The nuclear father stood at the end of a tree that had fallen into the river with a fishing line in the water. I was a little jealous because I thought it would be the perfect place to put my feet in the water.
Eventually, I slowly made my way past the family, taking time to admire the Rock and passing the father and son as they left. Just beyond the family I found a spot on the riverbank where it was easy enough to put my hands in the water and splash some on my face. Soon after I realized that my sinuses were incredibly clear and this weird eye thing I had for the past few days was gone. I turned around and saw an opening into a secluded area a little off the beaten path where trees stood between the Rock and the river. I walked around that area for a little while. There was a creek that came out from under the Rock and led to the river. Maybe it was a continuation of The Little Creek. Maybe not. They were both tiny and dumb, so it's possible. I jumped over the creek and walked around some more. After I jumped over the creek to go back to the river I looked down and was horrified to find that my zipper was down. Did my leaps and bounds open my fly? Was it open the whole time? Did my Spirit Guide know it was down?
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| One time I stood like this and looked up at the rock near the kids. Thanks a lot Spirit Guide. |
I wondered if I should apologize to the parents for maybe accidentally flashing their children or if I should address it at all, but it didn't matter because they were gone when I got back. I took the opportunity to get on top of the fallen tree. At the end of it I took off my shoes and put my feet in the cold water. Then I remembered the water moccasin scene from Lonesome Dove so I took my feet out of the water pretty quick. I sat there for a while and basked in the cool air coming from the river as my feet dried, then I explored along the river a little more. I came upon a tree with large exposed roots on a small hill surrounded by rocks. I climbed to the top of the hill and put my hand on the Tree of Life. Then I remembered that the film 127 Hours exists so I carefully climbed down the rocks.
I felt it was time to leave so I went back to the wooden staircase. A few steps up my sinuses came back for vengeance, my breath got heavier and the stairs seemed much more Escher-esque. I'm pretty sure that if I had the energy to raise my head I would have found myself looking down at the sky. From there on it was mostly downhill back to my car. I noticed that the leaves seemed a little brighter and the sounds of nature were a little less ominous. Beyond that I didn't really have an epiphany but I wasn't exactly disappointed either.
Nature: 4 stars.
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