After a lovely breakfast of pancakes, bacon and coffee (a must-have for any start of the day), we started getting ourselves ready for “the walk.” The walk was intended to follow a trail or two through the Beaver's Bend State Park, and if we “happened” to stumble on a geocache along the way, then so be it. With GPS units in hand, sunblock on bodies, and water packed, we started our trek into the unknown (well, we knew where were going, because of the GPS unit and maps).
We decided to walk along the creek area for most of the journey, as the dogs seemed to like to have ready access to the water. After doing a trail that looped around a hill, we (well Ian, Chris, Bobby and Danny) went off to find cache no. 1. Success! Caleb and Skylar ventured along with the boys, however Bosely and Colby stayed and helped me protect the lunch items. I have to admit that it is quite fun to watch the GPS update with the speed you are walking, along with the direction that you are heading — not to mention the distance between where you are, and the destination you hope to get to. (As it turns out, the distance is calculated “as the crow flies,” so to think you only have 1.3 miles to go, does not take into account the 2.7 miles of trail you have to use to get there.)
We settled on a nice location along a creek for lunch where we enjoyed our sandwiches, chips and cookies. The pooches loved the area, as the water was shallow enough for them to enjoy a wade, and deep enough for a good swim (even if unintentional). Bosley amazed me as he leapt from one side of the bank only to land in the water. He didn't seem to mind, as he did it again later. Colby likes to wade, it seems.
After lunch we decided to take the “short” trail up to lookout mountain. The sign post advised that it was only 0.7 miles away … of course to be a lookout, you need to go up. As the heart started to beat at full capacity, and the legs began to tremble, it reminded me of the movie “Picnic at Hanging Rock” (an Australian film about a group of schoolgirls who go wandering through a mountain only to mysteriously disappear). Obviously Miranda (a character in the film) didn't have a GPS unit (how times have changed). After an eternity it seemed we found the end of the moutainous trails, settling at a lovely stream in a shaded valley. Hmmmm… doesn't a valley mean we have to go up? Yep! More mountains, and more trails through them. Finally we returned to the cabin, and collapsed. Victory!
Now for some recovery time, and then onto the nighttime activities.