Sunday, July 5, 2009

It seemed like a good idea at first

So yesterday Hubby and I went for a hike. Without the kids, there didn't seem to be a reason to attend the parade, small carnival or fireworks. We were feeling a bit sorry for ourselves so we decided to spend the day secluded in the mountains. We packed our backpacks will all the necessities plus a few things we didn't think we would need but you never know. One of those items was a raincoat for each of us.
We hiked for three hours up the canyon stopping on occasion to catch our breath or eat something. We were attempting to find a lake that was supposed to be at the top of the canyon. When we got to the top of the canyon, there was a sheer rock face with a beautiful waterfall. We were trying to decide if we were tired enough to turn back or if we wanted to go ahead and keep going over the rocks in hopes that the lake was there. The weather quickly decided for us. We were in a stand of trees when the thunder and lightning started. We turned around and started down. It was apparent we were going to need the raincoats so we stopped and put them on just as the rain started. We kept on traveling keeping an eye out for a rock overhang we could sit under just in case things got worse.
Things got worse. Soon the rain turned to hail. We found a shallow rock overhang that protected us from the ice, but poured water over us and quickly soaked our pants and shoes. We decided that wasn't a good idea and ran down the trail looking for something better. Soon the hail got BIG and I know we have a few bruises from it today. The average ball of ice was the size of a marble but some were bigger. Hubby and I were running as fast as we dared down the now slippery trail. Our poor dog was whining and yelping running as close to us as he could hoping we could protect him from the hail. We never did find anywhere to get out of the weather and just decided to get down the mountain as quickly as possible.
What took us 3 hours to hike on the way up, we traveled in one hour on the way down. 30 minutes of this we were pelted relentlessly with giant hailstones. The rest of the way we were walking through cold, icy slush that had formed on the trail. We ran along side the trail as much as possible but there were places we had no choice. Half way down the mountain we stopped to wash the rocks and mud out of our shoes and for Hubby to wring out his socks. By this time my feet were bleeding from wearing my wet sandals.
When we were almost back to the trailhead, I slipped and muttered a calm "Oh s%#*" as I tumbled head first into a wild rose bush. Hubby gave me a hand and we made our way, wet and cold to the jeep.
What started out as a nice hike turned into a real problem really fast. If we hadn't had our raincoats, we would have been in real trouble.

5 comments:

  1. Good thing you guys packed those extras or you're right, you might have been in real trouble!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, even though it may have been uncomfortable it sounds like you and your husband had a good overall experience. It beats sitting at home watching some guy on television tell you how to fix a toilet.

    Hey, Maggy. Glad you are back.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When stuff like that happens to me, I classify it as an adventure. And I agree with the Hermit, your 3 hour adventure up the mountain must have provided some rewards, and maybe a lesson learned for those you share the story with.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You can all laugh at me and call it an adventure, you weren't freezing and getting pelted with ice! lol. You are right, if we had headed to the city and gone shopping instead we would have complained that going on a hike would have been more fun and a lot less expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am all for wonderful adventures even the hairy ones, lol.

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We are happy to answer questions, join in debate and conversation, or just say hi. All we ask is for respect. Respect us and others. Keep it civil. Obviously we aren't afraid of cussing but we don't like anyone degraded or invalidated.

We also know we make mistakes. Feel free to call us out. You can't improve things that need it if you aren't aware of it.

If you have an opinion share it but know if it is going to cause hurt to someone we care about we will not approve it.

Most of all have fun!!