2015-10-17

【Aiden in English】

        Fall season is coming. At least, that’s what all the meteorologists say. It doesn’t mean fall has yet arrived, which I can believe. The temperature has literally dropped a maximum of 10^oC/5.5^oC from the end of August to mid-October when it seemed like in the mid-seventies or mid-twenties. The leaves, unless I’m color blind, are still basically green. And the fruits and vegetables don’t seem to be growing any better than usual.

        The Delaware River is so huge that it cuts Appalachian Mtn. through across numerous states of the eastern US. Containing many natural beauties, it flourishes at this season if it were fall, which it isn’t. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area happens to be an area covering along a part of the river where it runs parallel with the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border. I must say, it would be an amazing view if it were fall. With so many trails to choose from, Dad and I decided to take what seemed to be was the easiest one. Of course it wasn’t, but at least we could enjoy the scenery even though it wasn’t fall yet. The path twisted and turned, around trees that looked exactly like the last one I pasted. The color green appeared a lot, considering it was not fall yet. After a while and climbing down a small cliff, the trail ran parallel to a stretch of the river for at least half a mile, and many bikers and hikers passed by, having unfortunate looks on their faces, since it was not fall yet. The ground became a dull brown, and mud seeped into my shoes. It had gotten to a point where I was just looking down at the path and my foot steps that I lost track of the direction. After another hour, the trail looked to go on pointlessly. It never came into contact with the river. Instead, it branched off into some winding woods that freaked me out. I had already walked around an hour. And so with aching feet, it didn’t take too much persuasion to turn me back. Besides, it wasn’t even fall yet.

        The return was nearly just as uneventful, except the part where we got lost. You know, it’s tough memorizing where you are with your head down. It was the worst, because we were facing an intersection in which both options were quite hard to reverse since each path went on for a long, long time. When push came to shove and our brains were just about to explode, a quick eny-meny-miny-moe decided our direction. At first, obvious signs signified how badly I was wrong. But perseveringly, I discovered the very dull branch where I whacked my head on earlier when my head was studying my shoes. I guess looking down at the ground all the time has its benefits.

        Although it wasn’t fall yet, the Delaware Water Gap created many experiences and even ones that I wasn’t expecting. Life, I guess, is just as unpredictable as meteorologists and fall sometimes.

【紅霞譯文】

        時值秋季，至少氣象學家這樣播報，但並非意味着秋天已經降臨，這一點我堅信不疑。自八月底至十月中旬，溫度頂多下降10^oF／5.5^oC，始終徘徊在75^oF／24^oC上下。除非色盲，否則我不難發現，樹葉依然綠沈，水果蔬菜好像已不及從前長勢旺盛。

        特拉華河幽長，南北縱穿阿巴拉契亞山脈及美東若幹個州，自然美景比比皆是，在果實成熟的日子裡，“秋景有時飛獨鳥，夕陽無事起寒煙”，但眼下尚未進入最佳狀態。特拉華河谷國家遊憩區恰好鎖定賓州與新州交界地區特拉華河流域，每每金秋季節，一幅幅碧雲紅葉綠波翠靄的妖嬈畫面準保叫你流連忘返。這裡山徑很多，而我和爸爸偏愛簡單易行的小路，當然荒郊野外從來沒有平坦大道可言，好在身邊層林疊嶂，即使缺少紅葉之靜美，我們依然陶醉在大自然的懷抱。山徑蜿蜒曲折，沿着看似一模一樣的蒼松翠柏繞來彎去，以綠色為主旋律的莽莽林海尚無及時做好入秋的準備。稍過一會又翻過一座矮小石崖，山徑與特拉華河並排同行至少半英里以遠，騎車人爬山者從我們身邊擦肩而過，無不為遲到的秋天而深感遺憾。地面土質漸漸變暗，我們的鞋子沾滿了泥巴，接下來只好低頭仔細看路，結果偏偏疏忽了前進目標。就這樣繼續個把鐘頭之後，我們才意識到迷失了方向，所走過的山路其實早已偏離河岸，而即將應對的都是曲徑通幽的羊腸小道，頓時我渾身直冒冷汗，這一個小時冤枉路將我的腳板打磨得疼痛不已。我們二話不說立刻打道回府，決定不再找尋秋天的蹤影。

        除了剛才迷路的地方之外，我們歸程的經歷波瀾不驚。光埋頭幹事不抬頭看路恐怕很難把握方向，其後果往往非常難堪。當站在十字路口不知何去何從時，我們明白，一旦走錯路再要折回來需花很多功夫，一想到必須馬上定奪去向，我們的腦袋瓜恨不能快要崩裂，所以只好聽天由命，手心手背甚至靠掰手指來撞大運。無奈開頭錯失良機，我完全沒有留意那些顯而易見的路標；但吃一塹長一智，我努力捕捉記憶，冷不丁發現那根曾因低頭走路而撞到腦袋的樹枝。由此說來，低頭走路也有好處。

        儘管秋天姍姍來遲，但走進特拉華河谷國家遊憩區回歸自然，讓我學到很多意想不到的東西，也許天相無常，氣象學家沒法預測到位，而季節本身有時也拿捏不准。