While we are all practicing social distancing, Gov. Baker has declared it’s okay for us to be outdoors for “necessary activities.” For many of us, what’s needed is a walk in the woods or on the shore. After all, nature is the best therapist we have, proven to decrease anxiety and worry and to reduce depression.

Fortunately, here on the Outer Cape, we are blessed with numerous walking trails and beaches where we can find solace and comfort in seeing that nature goes about its reassuring schedule, virus or no virus. And at this time of year, with no crowds, we can easily keep our distance from one another as we pursue local paths.

Silvery oaks that grow low and twisted remind a solitary walker of the power of the wind that shapes the woods on the ocean side.

Joan Haskell of Truro hikes three or four days a week at Bearberry Hill. She’s dealing with social distancing by taking virtual walks with her daughter Ren Hui Jan, who takes her walks in Manchester, NH. Connected via their mobile phones, they share their sights with each other digitally.

Sarah Naciri emerges at the summit of Bearberry Hill, facing the great expanse of the Atlantic.

A forager’s basket displays the colors of Outer Cape finds: the rusty red stripes of reishi mushrooms rest on a bed of Usnea, the lichen, which has many uses — in dyes, tinctures, and as kindling.

 

 

 

Along the National Seashore’s swamp trails at Fort Hill in Eastham, buds emerge to greet a rainy spring morning.

 

 

 

 

Who says you have to wait until summer to go barefoot? Three-year-old Leela Okeanos has left her boots behind to run along the soft sand trails at Bearberry Hill in Truro.

 

The smell of new growth, the bracing breeze on your face, and the quiet of a tree-lined path can give your mind a respite. Erik Spencer’s face says it all about how a walk can lift your spirits.