the night sky over Zion National Park (photo: National Park Service)
A backpack, a flashlight, a sweater, water. Your friend takes hold of your hand. The sky lights the trail—stone, dirt, trees and pinecones as big as bear paws. You hope you hear wolves. You hope you don't hear wolves. You arrive safely and lie down on red shale. All the planning comes down to this. From your pocket, you pull out a message and read it to the sky. So does your friend. Now you wait.
Listen to this soundscape of a lone wolf howling from earth.fm. A distant lone wolf calls near a canyon rim in eastern Arizona. Listen here.