At the beginning of this summer I was stressed out by my life's activities --"losing it" mentally and 40 pounds overweight.
I knew there was a solution. I started going on two and three-day backpacking trips in the Seneca Creek Backcountry.
I set up my simple camp and marvel that I, a retired senior citizen with artificial knees, have the privilege of being out in the middle of nature when I choose. I am also thankful that I have such opportunities close to home.
I came back from the first trip -- I only went a mile each way -- feeling relaxed, at peace, and ready to start on my diet. My neighbor, a native of the Harman area, told me that when her late husband was feeling stressed, he'd go up on "the mountain" (the Roaring Plains) and come back home refreshed.
What's wonderful is that we have such opportunities so close to where we live. I am a native of California and have found the same psychological renewal in wilderness areas and deserts of the West and in the lake country on the U.S.-Canadian border. But I don't have to go out there for my renewal.
The West Virginia Wilderness Coalition has proposed that both the Seneca Creek Backcountry and the Roaring Plains be designated as federal wilderness areas -- forever wild, where most of us can choose to get off our wheels and be in the middle of nature, perhaps miles from the nearest road.
We have so many opportunities for recreation -- resorts, golf courses, ski resorts, trails open to bicycling, and down south, hundreds of miles for ATVers on the Hatfield-McCoy Trail system.
Let's be sure that we set aside areas for quieter, more spiritual renewal as well.
Helen McGinnis
Harman
