PORT ANGELES — What we often do, says poet laureate Elizabeth Austen, is move through space while our minds are somewhere else.
This Saturday’s Hike and Write — or any walk, for that matter — is a chance to go the opposite way.
Austen, the Washington poet laureate who offers workshops around the Evergreen State, will lead a walk and writing session on the Smokey Bottom Trail beside the Elwha River this Saturday morning.
“It’s one of the best places to see the [Elwha River] restoration,” said Port Angeles Library manager Noah Glaude, who planned the outing.
An Olympic National Park ranger will join Saturday’s “Hike and Write” to show participants the riverside revegetation work and the bed where Lake Mills once lay.
This is all part of the “Elwha: A River Reborn” exhibit at the library, 2210 S. Peabody St., through Aug. 29.
Free walk; registration required
The Saturday walk is free, with participants asked to meet at 8:30 a.m. at the library for carpooling to the trailhead.
Pre-walk registration is necessary. Sign up by phoning the Port Angeles Library at 360-417-8500. Or visit the North Olympic Library System site, www.NOLS.org, and click on “Events” and then “Port Angeles.”
Smokey Bottom is mostly flat, Glaude said, and no hiking or writing experience is required, though participants must be 18 or older.
Austen’s techniques for pairing a hike with poetry, meantime, can apply to other summer days on a trail.
She’ll start the morning by reading some poetry from writers like Mary Oliver for inspiration.
Next, Austen will ask hikers to consider a question or dilemma in their lives. It could be “Should I leave my job?” or “Do I owe an apology to that person?”
The question isn’t one to be dwelt upon, Austen said; it’s just something to add another layer to the hike.
As she walks, the poet will encourage her companions to jot down what catches the eye and ear, using their five senses to be present to the landscape they are in.
About halfway through, everyone will sit down on a rock, a tree stump or the earth to write. Austen will offer a writing prompt, and the hikers will put pen to paper for about 20 minutes.
For those who don’t go on this Hike and Write, Austen posts short video writing prompts — and information on other poetry-oriented activities — on her blog, www.WApoetlaureate.org.
On Saturday, “people are free to write whatever they want,” she said, while this outing is especially suited for those who aren’t used to writing poetry.
“It’s a very low-pressure situation,” nothing like a classroom. “We’re all enjoying playing outside together and seeing where that might lead our pens.
“Another beautiful thing about creative writing is that we can begin it without knowing where we’re headed,” she said.
“What will I discover?”
Camping experience
One of Austen’s better-known poems is “The Girl Who Goes Alone,” about her sense of freedom on a solo camping trip.
While she urges lone hikers and campers to be careful — tell friends where you’re headed and when you expect to return — Austen said her time alone exploring the wilds gives sweet nourishment.
A solo hike, she believes, symbolizes the fact that she’s the author of her own life.
It feels great to follow her own sense of curiosity and desire to be out in the world — and not have to wait for someone to go along.
At the same time, Austen is no bushwhacker. She knows her way-finding skills are not the greatest, so when she reaches the end of the marked trail, she turns around.
“There are many ways we go alone,” Austen added: Starting a business or thinking a radical new thought are a couple.
“To have activities where I am my own compass,” she said, “is crucial to my development.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
