There is an old adage about seeing the forest through the trees.
The meaning of the expression is largely lost on me, although I’ve long suspected it has something to do with looking at the big picture and not getting tangled up in minutia.
It took some remarkable drone footage of the forest — in this case the Mohican-Memorial State Forest and adjoining Mohican State Park — for the meaning of the maxim to come into focus.
You see, I’m a trail runner. I’d even go so far as to call myself an avid trail runner — or as avid as a trail runner with a family and a full-time job can be.
Finding time to run on the trails can be a challenge.
Fortunately, we live not far from what I consider to be the finest outdoor playground in Ohio. From canoeing and mountain biking to hiking and zip lining, the Mohican River valley has something for everyone — including avid trail runners like me.
Every Sunday (give or take a handful) for the past six years, I’ve run the vast network of trails in and around Mohican State Park. What started as two- or three-mile jaunts soon became five-milers. Now it’s not unusual for me and a couple of like-minded masochists to go for 15-mile runs that take three-plus hours to complete.
As extensive as it is, when you run the same trail system for six years a degree of burnout is unavoidable. I have to remind myself to look around and appreciate everything nature has to offer.
Did you know, for instance, there are bald eagles that soar the length of the river gorge?
Bald eagles.
There are juveniles with dark heads and tails and bodies flecked in white. Then there are the mature birds that look exactly how you think they ought to, majestic white heads and tails and that piercing gaze. They look like they should be perched in front of the American flag.
It’s inspiring, so long as you don’t forget to look up every once in a while.
I prefer Mohican in winter largely because the crowds that clog the trails during the warm-weather months are conspicuously absent. My friends and I can run for hours and never encounter another soul.
Another reason I prefer winter is harder to put my finger on. When there is a fresh blanket of snow on the ground it’s as though the forest is insulated. It’s like you’re in one of those soundproof rooms, only with a better view.
If it happens to be snowing it’s all the better. There’s something almost magical about exploring the forest while flurries gently drift through a leafless canopy.
Joshua Cheston’s dream-like drone footage of a recent frosty Mohican morning captured that sense of magic perfectly. It reminded me again of how magnificent Mother Nature is and how fortunate I am to witness it every week as long as I see the forest and not focus on the trees.
