Pine Fever

(Listen to this video's audio while reading.)

When we arrived at the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park, we had already driven several hours with all six members of my family and all our gear and luggage shoved into our Chevy mini van. We finally spilled out of the car. I couldn't help but close my eyes and breathe in the tangy smell of pine trees all around me. So refreshing after so much time spent in the desert.

For the first time in weeks, there was something above my head other than the tent or van roof. Ponderosa pines with their fluffy green branches and stoic red trunks reached above me. Sunlight filtered through the branches and a few patches of blue and white sky could be seen far above. Kaibab squirrels with their tufted ears, black bodies, and grey tails scurried around the pine forest floor, up and down the trees. From where we parked, I could see the empty space in between the red trunks where the canyon dropped off. Tree trunks, then simply blue sky.

Looking down at my feet, I saw pine needles, brittle and soft, instead of sand and rocks. A smile spread across my face as I was reminded of the feel of the forest. It wasn't until then that I realized I was weary. Weary of travel, weary of dryness, weary of dust and dirt. My entire being longed for a touch of familiarity, something to remind me that this was still the same planet as that of my beloved Pennsylvania. These trees, although entirely different from the forests of my home, were close enough. Being under the canopy of those trees was a feeling that I cherished. At that moment in time, that grove of pines I found myself in was equal to paradise.

I extended my arms and stretched, relishing in the smell of mingled pine and dirt.

“Yeah,” said an older gentleman getting out of the car next to me as he looked at my display of joy. “Me too.” He stretched out his arms, moaning a little as his muscles experienced movement for the first time in hours. I smiled at his youthful exuberance. This was going to be the best campground yet.

~~~

Two summers after that trip, I started working at the camp I went to as a kid. It was spectacular to bring that experience of camping and the outdoors to an entirely new group of kids, experiences that I cherished from my childhood.

The camp is over three hundred acres, so there are several parts that are virtually unexplored except for a few hiking trails. One of them is a stand of hemlock pine trees. I would go back there to relax, detox from a long day with the kids. While I would wander that path, I would think of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The massive Ponderosa pines and the spunky Kiabab squirrels. It’s funny how something that consoled me as a fourteen-year-old kid away from home was pulling me back to itself. 

It may have been at that point that I realized I was infected with pine fever.