“One Music” by Bob Rich is an essay about Split Rock Mountain that is a contender in the current Champlain Area Trails Travel Writing Contest. I find it to be a well-written essay with beautiful prose that is very striking.

Nature’s Music at Split Rock

Rich talks about the geological history of Split Rock Mountain including a mention of the past mining operations on the mountain, as well as discussing the nature and wildlife around him there. Rich does a marvelous job describing nature, and he seems to convey the essence of the forest through his writing.

Throughout his essay he returns to a metaphor of nature creating music that at one point he says “is enhanced by reflections on the rocks, trees and wild creatures of this place.”

He ends his essay by mentioning his realization of the importance the Split Rock Wildway, which is a preserve and wildlife corridor between Lake Champlain and the high peaks of the Adirondacks. This preserve will help keep this track of nature existing for future generations of wildlife and humans to enjoy.

The following excerpt from “One Music” describes a tense encounter between Rich and a timber rattlesnake along a Split Rock trail. Be sure to read all of the other stories in the contest. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite to win a $250 prize! Voting ends on May 31st!

“…A deeper inheritance encompassed my human history when I met a timber rattlesnake in one oaken trail. A reminder that the sunny glades were more than mine, its chord of alarm emptied my entire body of all but a thundering heart. Cicadas or chattering squirrels could hardly approach the rattlesnake’s primal timbre, and perhaps only hummingbirds could appreciate the blurred frequency of its vibrating tail. When my senses adjusted to the surge of adrenaline, I saw the coal-colored reptile basking in a messy oval nearly twenty feet away. The hefty, hairless creature looked out of place in the forest, and the incredible thickness of its body compensated for its undetermined length. When I saw the triangular head slightly raised in coil’s center, I remembered what it means to be animal…” [Continue reading “One Music.”]

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