Off the beaten path

Bob and I decided to go for a "walk" the other night. Mind you, I asked for a slow and casual stroll. We decided to go to this nature trail nearby that had a few twists and turns. I knew what I was in for a bit. Afterall, it is the woods. Anyway, when we get there and look at the trail map it shows that part of the river trail we want to walk on is cut off by some rocky cliffs and you either have to a) turn around or b) go back behind the cliffs and then connect with another trail. Please notice that there is no option c. That is, until my husband created a third choice. I am sure you have guessed by now what route we took: c) over the cliffs. Being the adventurer that I am, I agreed to it after many "Are you sure?" questions and others of the same sort.

So as we are climbing up over and around boulders, trees and hills making our own path (without a machete), my mind cannot help but think about the possibility of one foot slipping and ending up at the bottom of the cliff. Walking wasn't even the scary part, it was that my mind wouldn't stop having grotesque pictures of my body lying at the bottom twisted into an unusual pretzel shape. Anyway, once I communicated this ever growing fear and Bob offered to turn around, the competitive side of me spoke up: I am not turning around, we are already into this. So we kept going.

Maybe the fact that we were pratically rock climbing without gear should have been a warning that this wasn't the best idea. Maybe the skeleton I found of something resembling a bobcat with fangs still intact should have made us go back. Maybe that we had to crawl on all fours to climb up a steep dirt hill, or that there was a huge black snake inches from Bob's foot, or the fact that we were climbing on territory that more animals traversed than humans should have posed a red flag. But no. We were explorers. Or really, Bob was and I was just that annoying sidekick saying "Are you sure you can get us back to the path? We are lost. It is going to be night and no one is going to find us. I am going to get in the river and swim back to our apartment."

I think there became a point where we both were feeling like "Uh-oh." But of course Bob wouldn't admit that. But I have to give it to him, just when I had reached my limit and all the weak, scared comments were starting to pour out of me, he found the path he knew was there. Gosh. If I could have only waited 5 more minutes to start my complaining then I would have arrived victorious and brave. Oh well, I guess the true side prevails again. It did end up being really fun though(for the most part). Bob says it was his most favorite hike so far. Goody! Guess that means we're doing it again?!