Not Out Of Breath, Almost Out Of Time

Yesterday was a crazy day that, yet again, taught me the valuable aspects of being healthy.  I went on this hiking adventure with my friend Angela – who has also received a Lap Band – and we drove all the way up past Ellijay in the North Georgia Mountains.  We stopped off first at this adorable place called the Hillcrest Apple Orchards (Ellijay, GA is known for their apples).  

Look at these beautiful apples!

What's wrong with this picture?

All of the wonderfully awful-for-you things you can make with apples!

This woman is the doughnut lady. I prefer to call her the Devil.

My new personal trainer. He's waaaay cheaper than LA Fitness

So, on we went for our hike.  We couldn’t find the original trail we were going to do, so by the time we got started on another trail it was late in the afternoon.  This was a completely isolated hike – not some commercial place where there’s a gift shop at the end of it, which was part of it’s appeal.  

There should have been more of these signs along the way!

We hiked up the trail – no problem.  I was feeling so energetic!  This was by far the most fit I’ve ever been doing a hike.  My speed seemed good and I wasn’t so “in my head” about getting too exhausted or whatever.  

About to head Into The Wild...

God's footnotes that Fall is arriving! My favorite season.

So pretty.

The weather was perfect – a little overcast but not stormy or raining.  We made it up the mountain and then back down – and I thought that surely we were almost done with our 6-mile trek.  Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Not only were were only a little over half-way, but WE WERE LOST!  The trail was perfectly laid out until you reached the bottom of the mountain where there was this creek.  All of the sudden, it was like the trail stopped.  Only forest.  And thicker forest.  We looked around us to find this creek with a small plank of wood laid over it but it looked like it let to nowhere.  Was this the “Bridge To Nowhere” that the candidates were speaking of?  

Taken right before The Bridge To Nowhere

It was starting to get dark outside and I began to get really nervous because I didn’t want to be stuck out in the middle of the woods after dark.  I began to hear strange bird sounds and it all felt like an all-too-familiar Horror movie – Or a story you’d hear on CNN and you’d think, “Why were those girls out in the middle of the woods past dark, anyway?  They deserved to be attacked by that hungry bear!”  

We tried going in one direction and that wasn’t right.  Then we tried in another direction and that way was worse.  And time wasn’t on our side because it was getting darker every second.  Like I said, I wouldn’t have minded as much if it was in the middle of the day – but since it was getting dark outside – that’s what made this a little more nerve-racking.  Angela had her cell phone with her (I know it sounds wrong to have a cell phone with you when you’re out in nature – but let me tell you – I had never been so glad to have a cell phone with me!)

I was like, “Angela!  Call the Park Ranger while we have a signal just so they know we’re out here…”  So Angela called the Ranger and told him that we were lost out in the middle of the woods and it was getting dark – and neither of us had a flashlight.  Well, after the phone call – we didn’t want to waste any more time, so Angela and I crossed that creek and found ourselves on a new path.  The weird thing that threw us off was that there were signs taped up to a tree saying, “Trail —–> This Way” which was in the complete opposite direction of where we were going.  And then we stumbled upon this wooded bridge that our guide book said we were supposed to cross – but the bridge was completely in shambles – that nobody and their mother should cross it.  So we just crossed by walking through the water and over the rocks and then headed back up this path which led us straight up the mountain.  

It was at this point that I realized how GRATEFUL I was that I am in such better shape now!  I was hauling ass to get up the side of the mountain and it was steep and rocky and it was getting dark.  I think we had about another 2.5 miles to go – but since it was straight up the windy mountain – It was a tougher hike.

Eventually we saw that “Flat Creek Loop” sign so we know we had about 1/4 mile to go (who knew when I snapped the picture above I’d be so happy to see it again!)  We made it out alive!  We walked out of the forest just in the nick of time – I swear, it felt like seconds later it was completely dark outside.  

I’m a pretty big adventurer but also don’t like to play with Mother Nature because I’ve learned in different situations that she’s not kidding around.  I really enjoyed the hike yesterday and you could see the leaves starting to change.   

But I think next time when I visit Ellijay, I’ll just hang out with that doughnut lady.