Nature+Walk+by+James+Donovan

James Donovan Composition Bouton Narrative Paper Nature Walk I was visiting a small, quiet island just off Maine’s coast for a week in the summer. The house belonged to my friend, and he had invited me to join him in the trip. The house we were staying in had no electricity, only bare necessities really. We could play cards, take the boat out, swim, but one day we decided to walk down the large flat rocks that made up the shoreline. It was beautiful day out, sunny and clear, and we kept a slow paced stroll up until we could no longer see the house. Then came a brilliant idea: circumnavigate the island’s coast by foot. We decided it couldn’t be that large, so without food or water, and only sandals and the clothes we had on, we started what we thought could be no longer than a one hour walk. With this nonchalant attitude, it was deemed unnecessary to alert anyone to our plan. Time went on, but ambling across the stony ground with fairly warm water washing up next to us did not get any less enjoyable. We didn’t see any houses, people, or even boats out for a while. We just enjoyed following the wide-open walking space of the shore, letting the natural path lead us the bends and turns of the island geography. Our feet remaining unphased by our distance so far, we carried on. More time continued to go by, and still no signs of houses, or really anything identifiable. We started to wonder how large the island was, and that we should turn back. But one of us would convince the other we must be over halfway, so turning back would be pointless. This mentality kept us going until the walk began more torturous that fun. A few hours in, the terrain became more unforgiving. Flat rocks twenty feet wide turned into steep and jagged faces that at points were so narrow and vertical, we had to use tree roots jutting out above the water to continue in the right direction. After large obstacles we would take a rest, to check if we had cell service perhaps to call for a pickup, or to again reassure ourselves, the distance ahead must be easier and faster. This change to such a rugged atmosphere should have been red flags that our journey couldn’t be that wise. We both maybe knew that there was distinct possibility that we had entered a situation over our heads, but to admit it was much harder. Neither of us wanted to be the one to complain, so thoughts remained unspoken. Instead, excitement from the goal to complete our task created a sense of adventure that could quickly diminish hesitancies. Cell service was never found, so my friend and I chose was to continue on rather than turn around, hopefully making it back before night. Heat began to play a factor as it reached late afternoon, as we had little shade traveling on the shoreline. Going in the water wasn’t the safest option for cooling off; it had become quite rough. Instead we decided it might be faster, and cooler to cut through the island. We entered the dense wooded inland, hoping to maybe find a real hiking path. We found nothing but very hard to maneuver plant life that we later realized included poison ivy. The shade provided little relief, as the nuisance of hundreds of mosquitoes took the sun’s place. After a little less than an hour, we decided to head back towards the shoreline, knowing that at least it was a path we could follow. Hours continued to pass, and now we both were incredibly tired. We tried not to rest too much though, because we really now were fighting a realistic battle against nightfall. We hoped someone at the house had figured out what we had done, and taken a boat around the island to look for us, but that never happened. I realized that this might end up being the longest walk I’d ever done in my entire life. Finally we reached what we thought was the main point of the island. We started seeing small houses, most seemed uninhabited for the time being, but it was a promising sign. The thought that we might be close gave us a new bit of energy to push on. But with the discovery of the point came one of the most frustrating obstacles: huge mud flats. We began to trudge through the fine, silt like mud, myself in sandals. Almost instantly, we would sink almost a foot deep, our feet being sucked in like quicksand. The extra effort to continue moving was awful. I began trying to rip my feet out quicker, and in the process managed to lose one sandal and break the other. The flats continued on for quite a bit, their smell becoming increasingly nauseating. Finally we came to solid ground again, finding a grass path we thought looked familiar. We followed this path for maybe another hour until finally we saw people walking towards us. My friend’s parents had gone out by foot to look for us, not possibly knowing how far we had gone. We made it home quickly and almost collapsed, exhausted from the entire day without food. The sun had just started to go down, and we were happy to be back. No one appreciated our irresponsible journey much, but after getting a full meal and a long sleep, I think we remained content with our accomplishment, no matter how imprudent and headstrong our decision was to continue. Common sense is a dangerous thing to ignore, but with two teenage guys on vacation, the odds stack up against listening to such wish thoughts.