To Takoma Park — A Self-Explanatory Letter 



It was the joy of our lives to be once more "hitting the trail," 

 lustily as ever, Sunday last, under the brave lead of one who 

 started the community hike here, and who, after three months 

 wanderlusting in other lands must rejoice to find that a few brave 

 scouts have kept up the good work here and made of us "some 

 hikers." And right here let me say, John Boyle, that was some 

 hike you gave us last Sunday. Two hundred and fifty people 

 will bear me out in the statement that it takes a gospel measure 

 of grit and strength to do an eight mile stunt in one afternoon. 

 That your walk lengthened into a two-part affair, moonlight and 

 daylight combined was, I judge, as much a surprise to you as to 

 those of us who had such a jolly good time going Indian file along 

 the beautiful, winding way of the Northwestern branch. 



Now I must stop off to say something: of the rejuvenating effect 

 of a wanderlust. When our little world grows old and gray in 

 our sight we need to go out where the skies are a flawless blue and 

 the flowers bud and blossom still. When we are a bit stale a 

 wanderlust is the place to find that freshness of feeling, the gift 

 of women and men of genius and culture whom Hamilton Mabie 

 describes as those who get the most out of life and develop their 

 inner resource. A trip back to nature assuredly increases our 

 zest for work, deepens our delight in life and helps us to keep that 

 innate freshness and charm so essential to all real culture. 



Truly it is wonderful how the interest in the Community walk 

 here has grown. Not only residents but many transients have 

 availed themselves of the privilege of joining the band for a mid- 

 week or Sunday afternoon walk, and the magic of outdoors has 

 slipped about them and they have come not once but many times 

 again. A young man of my acquaintance purchased a wheel 

 at the beginning of the season and thought to learn something of 

 the surrounding country in that way, but he went once with the 

 hikers and it's all up with the bike now for that has been relegated 

 to the woodshed and seeing the country with a lot of enthusiastic 

 hikers is deemed far preferable People have joined our ranks 

 from far and wide. We know no North, no South, no East no 

 West but everyone is welcome and not the least of our pleasure 

 in hiking has been meeting people from other sections of our 

 beautiful land. 



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