Winter Camping Trip

Early labor started at 1 a.m., and contractions were becoming more consistent by around 7 am. At 7:45 am, I got the phone call that the doula had been called, and I moved the van to the park across the street, I.C. King Park.

I worked for a few hours while enjoying my coffee and then had an egg salad wrap with alfalfa sprouts for breakfast. My daughter and granddaughter video called, and we had a sweet little chat. As we were chatting, I finished packing my backpack and started heading out on the hiking trail. I had seen a few people start hiking in that direction, so I just followed where they had gone. Bad decision.

About a half mile in, I realized that I was on a service road that turned into nothing but a natural gas pipeline and train tracks. By this point, I was on the All Trails app and tracking where I was going. It appeared that if I trekked on a bit further, I could pick up the official trail, so I kept going. I did, in fact, find a trail, but it wasn't the official trail mapped on All Trails. I later found out from a mountain biker that there are a myriad more trails, and All Trails isn't updated like another app that the bikers use.

As i hiked, I saw in the clay what appeared to be a bear's claw. Five nails, about the width of a man's hand, ran through the muddy soil about 4-6 inches long and one inch deep. I didn't stop to examine or take a picture, just in case there was a bear nearby.

I came to a "hub" where there were four signs and four trails going in different directions. As I was looking at my map, trying to decide which trail to take, three bikers came my way. Two of them were together, and one was on his own. He was very familiar with the area and was explaining to all of us the different trails and which ones might be preferred. I chose the "Easy Peasy" trail because I had an hour or two and wanted a little bit of a hike. I wasn't ready to head back to the car just yet.

Parts of the trail were very muddy, so I carefully navigated through these areas, trying not to sink my shoes too much into the mud. At some point, I decided to exit the Easy Peasy Trail and take the "Connector" headed to the Lower Lake Trail. Once again, I found myself lost, hiking the gas pipeline, but with GPS and map in hand, I found the lake and the Lower Lake Trail. It was beautiful.

I hiked along the water's edge a good mile, finding a few spots where I could easily access the water if I wanted to cold water plunge. It was a warm day, high of 54, so it would have been perfect, but my phone battery was very low, and I needed to get to the campground early. No cold plunging today.

About 2.5 miles in, my phone died. I took a quick look to see the general direction I was headed to get back to the van. "Hike along the lake and then at the bottom edge of the lake turn left," I told myself. I hiked another mile to a bridge and met a young woman with a dog. I asked her if she knew how to get to the parking lot. She said that I needed to go back three way I had just come along the lake, either the upper or lower lake trails to get to the parking lot. I questioned her, saying that I had just come from that way, but she was sure that was the way I needed to go. I turned and headed back the way I had come another 0.7 mile. My gut told me that this wasn't right. "Is there a different parking lot, " I wondered as I walked. Then my head started thinking about how I might come to the wrong parking lot, ask someone for directions to another parking lot that I really didn't know how to describe, only to be pushed at gun point into a truck and never be seen again. I planned how I would fight and scream and poke them in the eyes with my walking stick. Then, if that failed, I would beg for my life playing that I must meet my new grandson. My head couldn't stay in this space long.

I found another hub with multiple trail connections and a map. The map was confusing, and exactly where I was at the moment was unclear on the map. There was scratching in the acrylic that said something that resembled "here" on the map. I was looking at the trails labeled on the signs in my hub, trying to find where I was actually on the map. I still couldn't make sense of it enough to know which way to go. Now I'm good at maps, so it wasn't me that was the problem here. There were just too many trails going so many directions, and I didn't have a starting point.

I could hear a bell in the distance, so I waited, hoping it was coming my way. Alas, there's a friendly face, the biker who had pointed me the right direction before. "I'm lost," I said. "No, you're not; you've got me!" I told him that my phone had died and asked what the fastest way to get back to the parking lot would be. He explained that I should take the "Expert Trail" a half mile to a hub where I would pick up the Easy Peasy Trail, where I could go either direction, then to another hub where I would find the Dog Park Trail. The parking lot would be next to the dog park. "Is there another parking lot?" I asked. "Oh yeh, but you don't want to go there! That parking lot is all drugs and sex trafficking." Thank you, guardian angel! Now I'm not sure who would want to sex traffic this grandma, but my apprehensions about this other parking lot were confirmed.

I headed up the Expert Trail. It was a more difficult hike with elevation changes. By this point, my pubic bone and left knee were beginning to ping. I'm also breaking in my new hiking boots, and my big toes were hurting on the top and medial sides. When my foot pivoted into dorsal flexion where the top of the shoe indented, it was cutting into the top of my toes.

I found my way back to the hub and had to choose which way to go on the Easy Peasy Trail. "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe, catch a tiger by its toe..." I summoned my mother's spirit for direction. I headed right. I noticed familiar territory on this trail and could see the previous holes in the clay from my walking stick. After almost another mile, I came to the second hub. Left or right on the Dog Park Trail? I could hear the dogs barking to the right, so I chose right. Another half mile or so, and I arrived back to the parking lot.

I'm not really sure how far I hiked today, but I'm guessing at least 5 if not 6 or 6.5 miles. Lessons learned...

Hiking Rules
1. Phone must be fully charged, and minimal apps in use. (Mine was at 60% when I headed out today.)
2. Download the trail map previously and screenshot the map ahead of time. When the battery gets below 20%, turn off the GPS.
3. Pack double the amount water that I think I will need.
4. Seriously consider carrying, depending on state laws, etc.
5. Let someone know where I am hiking.
6. Start at the proper trail head.
7. Use an old-fasioned compass. I think I will purchase one with my REI gift card that my daughter and son-in-law gave me for my birthday.

I arrived to the campground around 3:30 pm. When hooking up the water, the pipes under the ground broke, and water was spewing everywhere. I called the office and left a voice-mail since they had left early for the day. They fortunately received my message, and two men in traditional brown winter overalls came rolling up in a golf cart to repair it. Once hooked up, I cleaned the van, reorganized the cargo box, showered, did laundry, made dinner, and washed the dishes. Oh, and I opened the overhead bin, and a can of Seltzer water hit the top of my foot.

Well, she's still in labor at 9 pm. When there are no words... 🙏🫃👶🤱👀🎉🥳🙌 Baby Edison, Pepper wants to meet you.Read more