September 11, 2001, from the Appalachian Trail
I didn't want to accept what was happening on September 11th, even when I saw it on television. Maybe I was feeling some kind of shock, but I just drove until I reached the section of the Appalachian Trail that I maintain.
As I walked up the mountain, I remembered my first trip after I had just become a maintainer. It was a clear spring day and I enthusiastically scanned the ground for litter. I remembered how I spotted something that I thought was a discarded shotgun shell buried in the trail, and how surprised I was when it turned out to be a New York City subway token. I couldn't believe that I found this piece of civilization carelessly discarded in the forest, but I was even more surprised when I looked south and, for the first time, I noticed the New York City skyline. I knew for certain because I could recognize the twin towers of the World Trade Center. That view from the Appalachian Trail, on that crisp spring day, marked the beginning of my memory as a proud new trail maintainer.
When I finally reached the ledge, I saw the distant smoke rising in a tall cylindrical cloud. My memory was forever changed. September 11, 2001 was a clear crisp day too.