restorative to people who are mentally fatigued or socially stressed. I
get it. I love being alone in nature when it feels safe. (Women, not
surprisingly, tend to rate being alone in nature as more stressful than
men do, because of concerns for safety.)
Right after setting out, I came to a sign on the trail, marking the
first of nine stations. I pulled out a piece of paper with Korpela’s
English translations. Station one was a cognitive task: it showed two
line drawings of a busy picnic scene around a lake. I was to find and
count all the differences between the two images. For example, one
included a woodpecker on a tree limb while the other showed no
woodpecker. There was also a brief questionnaire asking me to rank
how I felt on a scale of 1 to 5. This is called the Restorative Outcome
Scale, frequently carted out for psych studies. The statements include
“I am feeling calm and relaxed,” “I am alert and focused,” “I’m
enthusiastic and energetic” and “All my everyday worries are away.”
I’d repeat both tasks at the end of the hike and compare my scores.
Farther along, station two sported a sign instructing me to look at
the ground and the sky, breathe deeply and relax my shoulders. “Feel
your mind and body becoming calm,” it said. When I looked up, I saw
power lines, which deflated me, until I remembered that this trail is
lit for winter skiing. That made me happy again.
Station three asked walkers to listen to the sounds of nature and
“let your thoughts run free.” Also, “you may squat down and feel a
plant.” Station four asked me to walk to a spot nearby where I feel
peaceful. Station five: identify your mood and state of mind. And so
on, through to finding an element of nature from the view in front of
you that could be a metaphor for yourself. I chose a tall tree
sheltering smaller trees. I missed my kids and was getting sentimental
now.
At the end of the walk, I retook the cognitive test and
questionnaire. If you score more than ten points higher on the scale,
the interpretive sign essentially tells you that you need to get your