I learned a lot from this one. I set out to have an adventure in a Missouri wilderness area. I decided the trail I had planned to take wasn't as interesting as some of the others, so I went off script. Then late in the day I lost the trail (it's a wilderness area; calling them trails is rather an exaggeration), so I hunkered down for the night then set out at first light again. I checked in with my mother on Saturday night and again on Sunday morning, but then the cell service went away so I couldn't send the updates I wrote hourly. I had also failed to tell her not to call for help. I had several maps and a compass, so I knew which way I had to go, but it got confusing at times and I'd rather meander around the lower elevations instead of going over. I was never actually missing, and for the most part wasn't lost (due east. follow the sun. follow the compass). No hurrying, just a leisurely stroll in the woods. And when I finished my phone went crazy, including 911 trying to locate me. They didn't seem amused when I told them my exact location to within a few feet, but I think that's because of the major effort to locate me. I drop off the grid for a few hours and find police, fire, feds, multiple search parties, a drone pilot, and a rescue dog. Seriously.
But that wasn't the end. Back home, you see, the work grapevine had been very busy. Mother had called a friend in law enforcement, who told someone, who told two someones, and suddenly I was the talk of the town. Naturally the story also got worse. I started hearing the rumors of people trying to find me to see if I'm still alive. Yes, I was quite alive, tired from 2 days of hiking, sore feet but nothing more severe (except a bit of sunburn). To misquote Mark Twain (appropriate considering the locale), the reports of my death/mauling/mangling/puma attack/random disappearance in a national forest are all greatly exaggerated.
The funny thing is that it's still one of my favorite weekends of all time. I can't handle the stress that comes from relaxation.
But that wasn't the end. Back home, you see, the work grapevine had been very busy. Mother had called a friend in law enforcement, who told someone, who told two someones, and suddenly I was the talk of the town. Naturally the story also got worse. I started hearing the rumors of people trying to find me to see if I'm still alive. Yes, I was quite alive, tired from 2 days of hiking, sore feet but nothing more severe (except a bit of sunburn). To misquote Mark Twain (appropriate considering the locale), the reports of my death/mauling/mangling/puma attack/random disappearance in a national forest are all greatly exaggerated.
The funny thing is that it's still one of my favorite weekends of all time. I can't handle the stress that comes from relaxation.
