Hiking Mishaps

On Saturday I traded in my long run for a hike with my sister instead.  It was a beautiful day so we decided to drive the convertible to a state park that is a little further than where we would normally go.

When we got to the park, we neglected to look for any of the maps that are normally posted near the trails. Instead, we just saw this sign and we picked a route and went with it. It was easy to find because there were yellow dots on all the trees along the trail to let us know which way to go.

This was actually the easiest part of the hike.

It was NOT an easy hike though. At one point it was straight up and very rocky. We even passed a few people who had to stop and take a rest along the way. There weren't any benches there but there should have been.



We finally made it to what was called "Lookout Point" on the Overlook Trail.

The view was great but I thought perhaps the trail continued.  There was a family already at the lookout and we talked to them for a bit. They told us that the trail did indeed continue up further.   The wife explained to us the trail continued up to the power lines and once we got there the view would be amazing! We walked on a paved road a bit before picking up the trail again.

The first part was very rocky and we had to watch our footing. The trail led us up a hill towards the power lines. We didn't think this part was very well marked and wondered if we were going the right way.


We finally came to this sign. This here is where the hike went all downhill (but only in the literal sense).  Our overlook trail had ended and we were now headed on the other trail but instead of turning, we continued to hike up the power line. I was pretty concerned because we didn't see any other hikers and the further we went the taller the grass got on the trail. Pretty soon we were wondering if it really was a trail. We conversed about what kind of animals could be up here. We would totally be okay seeing a deer but what if we saw a bear or a bobcat? What would we do. We both admitted that we didn't know what we would do. Do we remain quiet? Do we make noise? We came upon a pile of animal feces that was very large ( I never thought I would be writing the word feces on the blog), but it was so large that it had to come from a bear. Okay, now we were frightened.

We mentioned again about how poorly this trail was marked.


And then this happened. What? Clearly this can't be the right way. Why would this creek be in the middle of it.  Well, there had been a lot of rain lately so maybe it wasn't really a creek but just a piece of the trail that got flooded.  Nope, it was a full fledged creek and the current was roaring pretty good.  Okay so now we stood there debating should we try to cross it or go back? 


Neither one of us wanted to go back up the so called trail up the power lines where who knows what was lurking in the tall grass.  Besides, we could tell that beyond the creek and the No Access Gate, there was a road! But the creek was wider than it looked in this picture. We thought we could jump over it but the land close to the creek was very marshy and we were about to sink.  Lacey was pretty sure she could make it to the other side, but I wasn't so sure.  She thought maybe we should take our shoes off and just walk through it. I didn't even have to think about that one, I WAS NOT taking my shoes off. Okay, then we jump!


We both made it and walked a little ways to the road behind us. We had no idea where we were.


We stood on the side of the road trying to get a signal to check google maps, but of course no luck.  We were hoping that one of the people who drove by would stop and ask us if we were okay so we could ask them where the road led, but no luck there either.



We continued walking along the road until we looped back around to the lookout point we visited the first time.

We made out way back down the mountain, to the parking lot, and back to our car.  We were so happy to be done. We spent the rest of the afternoon at our local beach.  While we were there we were looking back at the pictures on our phone and I realized that the arrow on the Boiling Springs Trail was pointing the other direction. So yea, the trail that we were on really wasn't a trail. No wonder it wasn't clearly marked and there were obstacles.

And that was our story about our hike!  Ever have any hiking mishaps?




We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.

23 comments:

  1. Hey, at least you made it to the lookout point! What a view. You are so lucky to have access to such lovely trails.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes we were glad to see a familiar landmark at that point!

      Delete
  2. getting lost is part of the fun! Glad you found your way back :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true! If we didn't get lost we would not have a story to tell.

      Delete
  3. I'm not adventurous like that. No trail that's clearly marked? I'm outta there :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my! I love hiking but I am scared of seeing wild animals. Mountain lions will stalk you, so you will prob be attacked before you even know what is happening. You HAVE to fight back. But being attacked by a mountain lion is very, very unlikely. If you see one, do NOT RUN. Same with bear. Do NOT run from a bear. With a bear, you have to act very big and tough. Talk loudly. Look big. Back away slowly. Glad you gals are okay! This is a running blog, surely you have talked about poop before. :) We bought two bottles of bear spray before going to Shenandoah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually a mountain lion was my very first thought but I remember you writing about them and saying how they are rare around here.

      Delete
  5. No hiking adventures since the places I've gone are very well marked and active. The running trails here are a different story. I know someone who came across a rattlesnake a couple weeks ago. She got out of there real quick.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like a fun adventure overall but glad to hear you didn't run into any bears!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh dear god no - I could not have gone on an unmarked trail like you guys did. I am a "turn around NOW" type of hiker, LOL. Glad you guys made it out safely, and without encountering any wildlife!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At some point we had the " we came too far to turn back now" mentality, but yes, I was frightened.

      Delete
  8. Oh wow! That would definitely have been scary.

    We have definitely done hikes where the trail wasn't clearly marked leaving us to wonder where the heck to go, and whether or not we were even on the trail still.

    I'm glad you guys didn't get mauled or bitten of permanently lost. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yikes, I would have been freaking out...but I know a part of me would have been determined to figure things out, too. Glad you made it back safely!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow it was pretty easy to get off trail, huh? Glad you found your way back safely. That lookout point is stunning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I should have been paying more attention to the signs. If we actually went the right way we would have had an even better view. I guess there's always next time!

      Delete
  11. I have had soooo many hiking (and trail running) mishaps! At least the trails you were on looked beautiful and you had some good company. Glad you found your way back to your starting point.

    ReplyDelete
  12. LOL, that was quite an adventure. I've been on trails I wasn't sure was a real trail, but turned out to be correct. I've also been on a non-trail, but wasn't too far off. At Yellowstone we learned that bears don't like to be surprised, so it's best to stay on a trail (where they expect people) and make people noises -- like talking. And, hike with a guide who has bear spray and knows how to use it. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Probably a smart move not to take off your shoes and walk through unknown water. You definitely would not want to cut your foot on rocks or anything unseen. Looks like a fun time despite the mishaps

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.