Glistening Peace

The trail begins at the ridge road and descends, gradually at first, into the tropical rainforest. The curry-like fragrance of the spice trees and the twittering songs of the tropical birds surround you, as does the overarching canopy of the trees. Still feeling like you’ve entered another world, the wooded path climbs steeply upward again until it comes out on the canyon rim. What a dizzying drop-off! What a spectacular view! Far below is the green-treed bottom and far across are striated red cliffs. The gulf between is wide and deep — vast enough for helicopters to glide free, along with the tropicbird with its long feathered tail. Once hikers have reached this red clay ridge, they tend to traverse it gingerly, wary of the railing-free edge.