Glade Tripper – Jarod's Stories and Experiments

“Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out
Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out, now”.
Beatles – ‘Day Tripper’

I got a good reason for taking the easy way out to the Everglades recently. Ernest Coe backcountry campsite in the Everglades. Pretty much the exact same on the flip side. I wanted a simple and peaceful camping trip, unlike my previous. This time I would take shortcuts to dilute the chances of struggle.

I borrowed a bike to eliminate the hiking and time. I didn’t pack light because of the bike. I brought a meditation pillow that can double as a sleeping pillow as well. And I brought an additional bag to carry the raw vegetables and fruits. This would probably be my last outing this season here, as the wet season is approaching, and with that means the downpouring of bugs. So many, they say, that the ranger office doesn’t even open for permit registration. People simply do not come.

I began on Friday, midday, on the bike. She took me halfway there, now. In two days, Sunday driver followed. The sun was up and it was warm. I loaded the bike with the bags, put on the backpack, and took off. Loading a bike is more of an art than I ever would have imagined. I reached the backcountry campsite of Ernest Coe in no time. I set up the tent, stripped off all of my clothes, and indulged in the nature of natural silence.

On Saturday, the first thing that I ate in forty days was a star fruit. Star fruit. Delicious! It was simply breathtaking. It followed by some broccoli, and later an orange. I spent nearly an hour eating each, slowly chewing, savouring every texture, smell, and flavour; every bite. I collected wood, dropped my first log, and placed the twigs in the center of the grass. Near dusk, I built my first fire, learning how ignorant humans can be in making a fire in the wild, and its potential consequences. My aim was simply to eat a cooked apple. It was delicious.

I read two books that weekend, The Wisdom by Ptah-Hotep and Gilgamesh. And the second half of the journey adjourned Sunday. Simple and peaceful. What a big teaser. Took me so long to find out…I found out.

The Alligator Meditation

Bare, I was sitting in the wild, the heat of the source reflecting on my back. As my mind cleared, I was not sure if I was having a vision of sound coming from ahead of me, in the trees, or if it was a result of the meditation. It sounded like a sasquatch was crunching the ground, step by step, closer and closer. As I sat still, in the sitting pose of yoga, my heart was doing the opposite of what meditation brings. My knife was near. An alligator plowed out of the woods. With her mouth half open, I wondered if this was the same alligator that smiled at me? It was near the same size, and this one obviously was not scared of any human. She sat down, keeping his mouth half open. I just watched. She just watched.

As we both sat there, time stood still. Her mouth had closed, and she had settled in. But she didn’t seem close enough to me. So, she hesitantly stood up, and walked slowly closer, at a diagonal. There was a split in between the trees that I assumed she was heading for but she wasn’t ready to leave yet. She decided to stop and sit back down again. Her eye never left me. My eyes never left her. True love, right?

I was meditating on the alligator. As I stared at her, clearing my mind, the world wrapped around her. Her black eye never blinked. It stood out as the surrounding forest seemed to drip like paint around her green and hardened body. As the trees melted away, she stood up and I came to, unblinking. She acknowledged our mutual existence and left, thanking me for the time shared as I remained, unmoved, yet deeply moved. I continued breathing and sharing.

camp alligator — Kind of hard to meditate with this guy chillin so near.

The Flower Listener

There was a flower that was found, and as I held it I thought,
If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who sought.

There was a flower that was tasted, and as I absorbed it I knew,
If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who is anew.

There was a flower that was inhaled, and as I smelled it I felt,
If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who has dealt.

There was a flower that was observed, and as I saw it in peace,
If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who will release.

There is a flower that is silent, and as I hear it, everything expands,
“If he who listens, listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who understands.”

“To listen is better than anything, thus is born perfect love.”

The Human Sacrifice

“Why have you traveled so distant a journey? Why have you come here to me, over rivers whose crossing is treacherous?” – Gigamesh

This is a tale of great woe and great success.
The peaceful culprit has overcome obstacles and challenges in the wild.
His thirst for conquering the next adventure is always at hand.
Constantly attempting to prove his survival to himself.
His chosen land are the Everglades.
The Everglades are a beautiful place unlike any on Earth,
Full of adventure and wild danger.
And peace.
Look at the animals of all shapes, colors, fragrances and sounds, spread as far as the eye can see.
Observe the plants of all shapes, colors, fragrances and sounds, spread infinity.
See the trail and surrounding trees and grass in the water as far as one can walk.
Look at the ground and see the remnants of the hero.

The rain stopped; it was time for him to depart.
All he wanted was to reach the end of the path.
It would hold his destiny and fulfillment.

He packed his possessions, hanging them from the vehicle like a fashioned balance, and started to peddle.
He had the chance now to beat the rain.

As he began, the balance was off but it didn’t matter,
What the destination yielded was worth the challenge.

With straw helmet on, and dark lenses for his blue eyes,
The teetering velocipede barely could hold a straight line.
Weaving around dips and holes, he may as well been drunk on life.

No task is too challenging for this hero.
He came upon his second great challenge.
Flies the size of hornets swarmed him,
One landing inside his glasses.
Attempting to remove it almost toppled the unstoppable force.
Successful, biting ensued over the rest of his body.

Speeding up in hopes to out fly them,
The man continued his battle.
One went down, then two.
The rest didn’t notice.

Many died on fast contact with his hat and glasses.
The last thing that goes through a bugs mind when it splats onto an oncoming object,
Is its buttix.

Moving like a snake through a clearing,
Dodging holes and slapping himself every few seconds,
The animals of the Everglades laughed in disbelief.
Yet he continued in agony, each moment more frustrating than before.

The goal was more important than the path to this hero.
And it was getting closer.

The rain returned at full speed.
The hero had won! The flies had been gunned down by nature; ironic.

The legs peddled faster.
He came upon his third great challenge.
The holes were now filled with water, the water blended with the ground.
If he would hit any hole, the entire ship would potentially flip.
The man started laughing in disbelief at his misfortune.

With full attention, the rain slowed down.
As he looked around, he realized he was being circled by the flies.
Vultures, he thought, they were not getting close yet, teasing for the oncoming feast.
All they needed was for the rain to let off just a bit more.
He peddled faster.

No matter how hard the hero journeyed, the enemies continued to circle him.
And the rain weakened; it was time.
The hero yelled “No!” in anguish.
His possessions were wet, he was knee deep in splattered mud, and he was being attacked by carnivorous insects.
A thought of his fortune in having a bicycle crossed his mind, only to be removed by another sharp pinch on his back.
He swerved to the right in an attempt to hit the perpetrator, nearly going off path into the alligator creek he was near.
Managing to stay on the path, he started to slap all over his body.
Trailing a path that looked like a ribbon in the wind,
The hero was about to fall victim; he did not believe he could make it to happiness at the end of his journey.

Up ahead there was a one foot wide clearing with two deep puddles on both sides.
A tight rope; a bridge over an ocean.
Any swerving there and he would join the ground.
It was coming closer and closer.

As it closed in, the horse flies biting away,
Straight was the only way forward.
All the while being eaten alive.
All the while trying to balance an unbalanced bike.
All the while attempting to brush away the predators.

Attempting to move forward in a straight line was the final challenge.
The victim released a yell as he stopped his frantic battle with nature.
Sacrificing himself to maintain the way,
The warrior fell silent in his concentration of the path.
Being eaten alive to finish his journey to the end of his path.

In such suffering, inflicted by his greed of advancement,
The flirting of acceptance crept through his body.
The journey ended shortly thereafter, as the destination was achieved.

But once he was finished, he sat there in disappointment.
Not only of his putrid poetry attempt,
Mimicking lightly of a great ancient story,
But of his journey itself.

The human sacrifice died that day to live, however.

I have come this far through a living hell.
But it is not as I thought.
How can one be satisfied with accomplishment if the path is errored in resistance?
I reached my goal but I failed in reaching it.
Only now I see this.
Only now is my satisfaction based on the experience of this journey.
The Everglades are a beautiful place unlike any on Earth,
Full of adventure and wild danger.
And peace.
Look at the animals of all shapes, colors, fragrances and sounds, spread as far as I can see.
Observe the plants of all shapes, colors, fragrances and sounds, spread infinity.
See the trail and surrounding trees and grass in the water as far as I can walk.
Look at the ground and see the remnants of my path.

“Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out
Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out, now.
She was a day…. tripper, Sunday driver, yeah!
It took me so…. long to find out, and I found out”