Kalliope 2015 | Page 57

piece of nature, and yet, I was such an intimate and detailed piece. I was part of something so universal at that moment. There was no me being on the earth and the earth being a rock under my feet. There was just being. I imagine now that when people say you must be one with the earth, what they really mean is to find yourself so connected in nature that you cease being an individual entity and begin to just exist. I discovered an entirely new meaning to my life on that voyage and I continue to do so in every wild excursion I take. But I fear nothing will ever affect me as Dolly Sods has. I hiked into the wild, and I hope I never hike out… for the mountains have called, and I have replied. 57