Of Shoes and SUVs

Well ladies and gentlemen as I step foot in the frozen mud of the once melting tundra I heave a small sigh of relief. It is an odd welcome, cold, unresponsive, unyielding. Try to force your way through with too much pressure, you can leave an impact, one as serrated and abrasive as the refrozen pools and puddles scattered around. Given enough time and patience the ice will eventually recede, leaving in its wake a a mush that will not only receive your steps, but absorb them completly and at times refuse to let go. To say its messy would be an understatement, and every step taken despite all caution runs the risk of getting in too deep, and possibly leaving a shoe behind. There doesn't seem to be a set plan one can take to try and help people, what works with one can either miss or worse, aleinate, another. One can try to stay on the high ground, flit from mound to mound keeping relativly clean and pass through easily, leaving little imprint on the surface. The tracks we leave aren't permanent, their permanence is only determined by the frequency of use. The longer the tracks last the higher the chance it can grow into a trail for others to follow. Through its use others might be able to arrive at similar destinations and then decide to continue on or branch off on their own. To all the trailblazers, pathfinders, and anyone who has ever left a shoe behind, here's to your efforts.