Solitary

I walk alone. This is good because I am always stopping to take a shot of an interesting flower, to gawk at the view, to cock my ear at the sound of a bird, to wrinkle my brow at the silhouette of a tree or to simply catch my breath on a steep climb.

When people are with me I complain constantly, annoyed at being pushed at their pace. I made a New Year’s resolution, some years ago, to do the Lawson waterfalls walk without whining. I did it – once.

Now I walk without others and mutter and grumble to myself or just go slower on the steps because the Mountains are best enjoyed in solitude, even from myself.

Mount Solitary
from Echo Point, Katoomba

Words to Walk With:
From the Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth
Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.