I decided to take today off because of the unseasonably warm weather. Last night Kent and I researched some hikes in the nearby National Park and decided on one with tons of waterfalls. Since this would be a hike without the kids, it gave us a chance to do one that is a little longer and more difficult. So, we had our plan set.
I started to feel a little apprehensive about being out of cell service for a few hours, but we would be done no later than 1. So we dropped the kids off at school, ran and errand, then we headed to the mountain. The park was nearly empty at 9 in the morning and the weather was beautiful. It seemed to be a perfect start. We pulled into the parking lot about 9:30. Even though Kent felt we were not in the right place, we headed out. We knew the first trail on our route was a horse trail and we found that across the street from the lot. Ha! I was right after all.
After following the horse trail covered in snow for over a mile, we had some more doubts that we might not be in the right place. Around the 2 mile mark we hit one of the trails we knew was on our planned route and took it. The mile marker said 3 miles to the next trail that would loop and lead us back. It all sounded good to us. We began descending the trail, which was pretty darn steep, feeling grateful that we did not need to return via this route.
The trail soon was bordered by an awesome stream. It was beautiful and started forming waterfall after waterfall. We stopped on a few occasions to take pictures and enjoy the amazing scenery. We were having a great time descending this beautiful trail and not doing too bad on time.
Unfortunately, we arrived at trail signs at the bottom of the mountain that said the other trail was 5 miles long. WHAT!!! The whole trail was supposed to be 7.3 miles, and we had now traveled 5 miles. That meant we should have between 2 and 2.5 miles. Yes we figured it was going to be all uphill and we had read it was all stairs. All this seemed so much better than going back up the miles we had come down. But 5 miles was WAY more than we were prepared for. So we went to the parking lot that was at this end of the trailhead to read the map, which was not available at the trailhead we had taken from inside the park. Unfortunately, the map did not show what we remembered about the trail we thought we were on. Uh-oh.
So it was now 1pm and 2 hours before the kids would be getting off the bus. We had been on this trail more than 3 hours, so taking the same route back and being home in time for the kids did not seem possible. Finding someone that would take us the 50+ miles around the mountain was not likely. Therefore, we needed to find a way to call a friend to get the kids off the bus and then begin the long hike back to the car. We asked a few people whether they had cell service and all the answers were no. However, we did ask a really nice couple that offered to drive Kent to a local store to use the phone.
45 minutes later he had talked to a friend that was going to take on this task, even though it was going to take some creative shuffling on her part. So we headed back up the trail. After all the downhill hiking, I was looking forward to some uphill climbing. However, this feeling faded about a mile up. Wow that was a lot of stepping up from one rock to another and at times felt a little like I was crawling. We had to take breaks here and there to catch our breath.
We made it back to the road about 3:30 and decided to take the road back to the car instead of the horse trail. As we approached the road we saw the parking lot we were initially supposed to begin from. Unfortunately, our parking lot was almost 2 miles up the road. We slowly trekked by to the car and headed home.
After getting Kent home for work, picking up the kids and thanking my friend, I headed to get some food. We had taken snacks and water on the hike, but we did not realize we would be out there so long and had very little to eat all day. After some nutrition delivered to Kent and mine eaten, I decided a shower was very needed. I was covered in dirt from head to toe.
Now that the kids are home, we have eaten and I am clean it is time to reflect on some of today's lessons. Don't hike on a new trail without a map and confirming you are in the right location. My husband obviously loves me. Not once was he mean or nasty about the fact that I led us on the wrong trail and caused us to wander in the woods for over 5 hours. My friend Stacey and her husband are awesome. I am soo grateful to them for being there for us today.
Even though today did not go perfect, in the end I was reminded of God in numerous ways. The amazing beauty of the landscape we traversed, the couple that trusted us and wanted to help us make sure the kids were safe, the fact that my friend answered her cell phone at work (she always has it on silent and in a drawer, but today it was on her desk. Also, she happened to see it ringing and picked up a number she did not even recognize).
All in all it was an adventure that we will remember for a long time, and it has broken my desire for a day long hike for a while. I will get back out of there this spring, but with a map, an accurate altitude change expectation and shorter distance trail.
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