Once upon a time, I liked a boy…
(yeah, I was totally boy crazy..this is no secret. It was embarrassing.)
It was in Horn Creek, Colorado when it happened
(…no, not when I first liked the boy… well I mean I guess that’s always possible. But no, no… when I got lost. On a mountain.)
So it was our day to climb the mountain, Horn Peak. My dad + me along with a good sized group of our dearest church family friends. I was pumped. I loved hiking but a mountain?! How cool is that! You even get a certificate at the end which was also cool. I was such a dweeb and I loved myself for it.
So we set out for the all-day hike and my gosh was the air crisp and clear. The smell of pine and wood, the smell of earth; it enveloped the senses. Well… not all senses.
So, we hiked to the top and it was a blast. Being with my dad and our friends truly was wonderful. We got to the top and there was this animal that looked like a groundhog (see picture above, far right. He wanted to be in the picture! Plus, I think it’s called a marmot?) Anyways… Friendly little guy. Climbed all over us wanting so desperately to be loved (I mean hey – he must be so lonely up there! Also, let’s be honest. He just wanted our food.)
We stayed for a bit, enjoyed our snacks, then headed back down. So this boy that I liked, he was an experienced mountain-hiker (I’m sure there’s a word for it but I can’t be bothered…). He started off on his own and I decided to follow. I’m a pretty fast walker and figured I could keep up. Yeah, well…. I couldn’t. He had no idea I was following him (or maybe he DID?!?! To the boy I followed that day – I know you know who you are – did you lose me on PURPOSE?! haha I wouldn’t put it past you…)
Anyways, so like I said, the mountain air sucked all my oxygen away and I made the impulsive decision to follow an experienced mountain-hiker all in the name of CRUSH.
I actually made it quite a ways and then I lost him. Or he lost me…? So there I was! Stranded! On the side of a mountain. It was cold. I was freezing with my windbreaker jacket, no food, no water, no map… I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive…
Back up.
No. I’m sorry I just did that. It was for the fun of it. It was bright and sunny and a gorgeous day. We had eaten, I wasn’t hungry nor cold. But I really WAS lost and scared to death! I didn’t know what to do so I just sat down. Right where I was at. I thought the area looked familiar but I was afraid to go further and make the situation worse. I have no idea how long I waited and then I heard a voice calling my name. A good family friend (who’s daughter ended up taking piano lessons from my husband, ironically) found me! All the other hikers had made it back and when I wasn’t there, too, they got worried.
To my humiliation, I wasn’t that far from our camp site. To my even greater humiliation, by the time I returned, everyone knew I was lost. They had sent people out on HORSEBACK looking for me. Aghhh! I had to walk back through a bunch of friends and family in my humiliation and then went and hid for a good portion of the day.
Everyone was kind about it and told me I had done the right thing by sitting down and waiting. That’s great and all.. just wish I hadn’t let my heart run off with my brain.
Moral of the story? I don’t know. Don’t get lost on a mountain because of a silly school-girl crush…
The End.
The Nashville Wife 
I remember that day. I was the last one to reach the summit, everyone was ready to go back down by then. You did fine and lived to tell the tale. You should be proud of yourself, that was a tough hike.
LikeLike
Haha thanks!! It was a fun hike and I loved being there with all you guys! I figure if you’re going to make a fool of yourself, you might as well own it and share it. Make others laugh 😆 Thanks for the comment! I don’t always remember all the details so it’s nice to hear it from another perspective 🙂
LikeLike