Kids Need Adventure

We got up at the crack of dawn to head out. Just as the skies were starting to get light, we were heading up the trail. It was a beautiful walk at first -- mountain meadows and forests, lots of wildlife, peace and quiet.

Coming around a bend, we saw a doe and her two fawns, standing just a few feet from us in the brush. Jack and I moved forward, trying to grab our cameras. As we moved forward, they shuffled peacefully off a bit. So we closed the gap. Then they moved a little more.

Soon they had enough of this cat-and-mouse, and hopped off into the forest.

At this point, Jack and I look around. Where's the trail?

It was nowhere to be seen.

Looking at our map, I didn't know exactly where we were (no GPS) but I knew that there was a set of switchbacks somewhere up above us. Jack was convinced he could see a trail further up the mountain, so he hiked up a ways. When he got there, he didn't _think_ we were on a trail, but it sure looked like the trail was another 50 feet up! So, just like with the deer, we ended up climbing the mountain. We must have rock-climbed between 200 and 400 up. For a 42-year-old tech nerd like myself, it was plenty exciting.

After a long time of bush-whacking, eventually we really did find the trail. That was a special moment, let me tell you! Jack said "I'm never ever going to leave this trail again!"

It was a good learning time, however. We talked about how people get lost in the woods. (Usually people go in circles, never making a decision and sticking to it). We talked about the importance of having and reading maps (we were able to know the big picture even though we weren't exactly sure where we were. For instance, we were able to know that the trail was on the ridge above us, and that the switchbacks went up the mountain to the ridge) We also got to go over emergency procedures.

Looking back, perhaps we should have just tried to backtrack. But at the time, we were sure the trail was "just a few feet farther along" I'm sure many folks get lost like that. Best I can tell, we must have missed a switchback while chasing the deer and walked along a deer path instead of the real trail for a hundred feet or more.

It also would have been nice if the Blue Ridge Parkway would actually put blazes on their trails. It's easy enough to do, and it makes the question "are we on the trail?" a lot easier to answer.

We could view last week's hike from the summit,
which was well worth the trip

At this time of year in the Southeast, a haze obscures the view.
The polarizing filter and HDR techniques can help cut through some of the clutter