Well...I finally got out yesterday. I have been out here in San Angelo for a month and yesterday was the first chance I've had to get out and do some hiking. I went to the State Park and it was...an experience. Sitting back and looking at my brief (5-6hr) jaunt, I can't help but laugh...it was a comedy of errors. I just wanted to post it, pics will come later, and see how many of you have had similar days in the woods.
First off, it started with my alarm not going off, so I didn't get out of my apartment until about 10 a.m. I wanted to get an early start because it was my day off. Then, I got crappy directions to the park and ended up going a good twenty minutes out of my way to get there. Oh...before I even left, I did my pre-hike ritual of unpacking all my gear and re-packing it to make sure I have everything I might need and I jacked up the zipper on my CamelBak.
I get to the park and realize I don't have any cash on me to pay the $3 entrance fee. They don't take CC, so I have to drive back out and get cash. Awesome. By now it's a little after noon and I am already debating just going back to bed. I FINALLY get into the park and find the trailhead, so I strap on the CamelBak and go. About 3 miles into it, I start feel hotspots on the bottoms of my feet. Weird, I know, it's never happened to me before. I stop and re-adjust, check my insoles and continue on my way. All is fine and good for about the next hour of hiking until they pain starts cropping up again. So I stop to sit down and take a look at my feet and REALLY inspect my boots/socks. This is when I found out, by the sharp pain in my thigh, that my Kershaw Scallion had come open in my pocket. The "safety" broke again and caused the knife to jab into my leg when I sat down, causing all kinds of pain and blood. I throw off my pack to get my FAK and find that it is no longer attached to my pack.
So...I am left with a choice, turn around and go back or just keep bleeding and hiking. I inspect the cut and it doesn't look too bad, so I continue on. After about another 30 minutes, I decide I want some chow. My mom bought me a nesting kit from REI for Christmas, so I packed it to try it out. I got everything set up in a flat spot. My WetFire burner and tablet, metal cup, soup is ready to go in.
AND I CAN"T GET THE DAMNED THING TO LIGHT!!! That's right, it's too windy to get the WetFire cubes to light. So...I eat the soup cold :barf: and continue on. The whole time, I have been taking pictures of the West Texas landscape: plants, prairie dogs, snakes, birds, a butterfly who flew beside me most of the way, and...I got some video of two male roadrunners duking it out...except I DIDN'T. My batteries died, so I missed out on that.
By this point, it is starting to get a little dark outside, so I decide to head back. I am pissed, sore and still seeping a little bit of blood, so I hike back to the truck. I get back and toss all my gear in the bed of the truck and decide to swap out my boots for a pair of slippers. That's when I find my FAK, laying on the back seat of my truck. I clean up my leg and go home.
Ordinarily, my hikes are relaxing and a great chance to get out in nature. This one, however, just pissed me off. Anyway, I thought I would share my tales of fun. I love the woods and I will probably go back tomorrow, but these kinds of days really put a damper on things. Anyone else have one of these kinds of days?
