After a tropical storm left waterlogged my trip to Costa Rica, I found myself still craving adventure. We had missed the opportunity to hike a volcano, go horseback riding and take a dip in the hot springs. Thankfully, I live in a place that has diverse landscapes begging to be explored, all within an hour drive.
Oregon is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I'm convinced of that. From our quietly beautiful mountains, to the ample forest, our scenic coastline, and rustic deserts, Oregon is majestic. So this summer, I'm taking the roads less traveled to explore my home state.
My first Oregonian Adventure took us an hour and a half south of Portland to Silver Falls State Park. I had hiked this trail once before as a kid, long before I could ever appreciate its beauty. You see, I used to take this all for granted. But after a tough battle with a pancreatic tumor a few years back, my outlook changed drastically. And it was then that I began to realize that there was a whole world I hadn't seen. I wanted to see the falls again with my new perspective and really let their beauty sink in.
That did not happen during our trip on Sunday. In fact, I think most people would deem our hike to be a complete clusterf*&$. What was originally planned to be a 3.4 mile hike became much longer during our adventure. My dear friend, Leslie, and I ended up hiking a mountainous trail for a total of 8.5 miles. We realized we were lost at mile 4. We'd stayed on the trail, but because it is for hiking and mountain biking, the trail splits off at various forks throughout the duration of the trail. They all lead in a loop to the same trail, never indicating where the exit points are to get back to civilization.
At mile 4.5, our water supply was gone. We hadn't anticipated that we'd be out longer than a few hours. Or that we'd be on a trail that didn't actually lead to the falls. The supplies we brought were limited.
We started to notice signs of dehydration around mile 5. It started with chapped lips. A little later we realized that we had stopped sweating. When your body stops sweating, it's prioritizing your systems and allocating water to the most important. About mile 6.5, my fingers began to tingle and swell. That's when we knew we would have to get moving and come up with a solution.
We hiked to the top of the ridge line to get a better view and figure out how to get back to the car. We spotted a road, and then we're faced with a tough choice, right or left. Our foggy brains tried to retrace our steps to figure out which direction to go as our phones didn't have reception. We tried to figure out which direction we were facing by looking at the moss on trees. Pro Tip: moss grows on all sides of the trees in Oregon, not just the North side. There were no definitive land markers, signs, buildings or people. There was just a seemingly endless forest cut in half by a road that we had no idea where it went or how long it would take us to get there. So we decided to choose based on the "Eany, Meany, Miney, Mo" method. We went right.
We wandered calmly, enjoying the scenery, cramps from dehydration began to set in. We maintained a great attitude and worked together and encouraging each other as we went. With different company, I might have panicked a little bit, but Leslie is ever the optimist.
When we finally got back to the car at 8.5 miles, we had learned more than we ever realized we would.
First, always ALWAYS bring twice as much water as you think you will need. Second, a good attitude makes all the difference. And third, when you work together as a team, the results are always better.
I'm so thankful for my friendship with Leslie (and the amazing friendships I've cultivated over the years with many wonderful people). I truly believe that the relationships you build are the most important treasures you will ever find. Leslie's attitude and smile are contagious, so I'm thankful to have been lost on the woods with such a smart and uplifting lady. What could have turned out to be a bad situation, turned out to be a great bonding experience and an important life lesson.
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