The Misadventures, Episode 3

     On this, the third Trail Tuesday of 2013, Suzie Q and I rolled out of bed for a late-starting day of hiking. Though we set out with Sky Pond in mind, an unexpected road closure set that back two weeks. However, we were lucky enough to trek the Onahu trails again this summer. Though our second choice was
deemed unfit for hiking, we did aim for Granite Falls when we hit the trail. If you remember, our adventures last year had Devi in the falls themselves, which was more adventurous than she'd planned. We made no such plans for this trip!
     Our drive on the way out took about four hours. Many photo opportunities offered themselves up, and the ranges were more than accomodating this morning. Photogenic and lovely, we were taken aback by the recurring views that beckoned, again and again, to our hearts and eyes. The scenery was magical, setting the way for another gorgeous wild adventure. Our tiredness prompted coffee and wake-up jamming-- we did need to coax our bodies out of the car and onto the trail.

     Trekking, of course, brought back many memories of our hiking family from the summer prior. Zac's laughter was with us along the trail-- carried on the wind, in our hearts, and on our sleeves. Especially green this time around, we marveled at the water as we walked followed its rumble through the wild.

     Wandering through (and only minorly lost once!), we were unable to make it to our b-plan destination, Granite Falls. The damage done by the recent wildfires was clearly etched into the foliage when seen from afar; it was not 200 feet from the fork where we turned off that the blackened edge of the mountain was visible. Encouraged by fellow hikers, we elected to follow the trail to its loop from Onahu Creek to Long Meadows and down the Tonahutu trail. The meadow, breathtaking as always, was full of green and home to a calm river that we recalled fondly. Peeking in at the Field of Gold, we reached the end of our hike only 5 hours after beginning it. We were so jazzed and so proud!!

     As we sauntered through the denser part of the Onahu trail, we suddenly remembered how dead it had been, and how the beetles seemed to ave brought the forest to its knees. This, in the midst of playful nerd-jokes interspersed with sudden philosophical thought, was such a beautiful insight. What was deplorably decayed last season has sprung up anew-- isn't that the way of things?

     All things considered, this was a very short hike. Clocking in at just under 11 miles, both myself and my counterpart came to the end feeling warmed up for the real thing. Oh, silly geese.






     Missing the trail already, and looking forward to our next adventure.