To the High Fells
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” — Henry David Thoreau
I love trail running—even more than playing guitar.
I live in Western Pennsylvania, where the topography is a relentless series of foothills building toward the true Appalachian peaks to our east. There is no middle ground here; if you aren’t running straight up, you’re running straight down.
If you’ve ever seen the Pennsylvanian country, you know the land is beautiful. In the Spring, it is an unbelievable green—with creeks overflowing and grass growing faster than you can mow it. Our Autumn is a true Indian Summer, where the foliage shifts through every color in the earth-tone palette while the air stays a warm 70°.
But come November and December, the woods transform into a cold, damp Sleepy Hollow. The trails become a piece of American Gothic—eldritch and skeletal, with knurled vines hanging from every dormant tree. I love the grit of running through that landscape during the day, though I wouldn’t dare touch those woods at night.
I wanted to write an ode to East Coast trail running. The Celtic vibe of this piece is a nod to the arrival of Spring; everything outside is turning green again, and there’s a “get up and get after it” energy to Celtic music that perfectly suits the pace of a long run. It’s a driving rhythm, interspersed with a few sentimental breakdowns—much like the trails themselves.
“To the high fells” is available on Spotify and all streaming services:
How to play “To the high fells” | fingerstyle guitar
The guitar tab for this piece is beautifully written across 3 pages. I definitely recommend this piece for intermediate guitar players and up. Enjoy! The guitar tab is available below:
My song structure looks like this, in accordance with the guitar tab:
Verse, Verse End 1
Chorus
Verse, Verse End 2
Chorus
Verse, Verse End 1
[guitar tab] **To the high fells \\ Original by Evan Handyside | Celtic fingerstyle guitar
This song is played in a double drop-D tuning: D A D G B D