Lost (By Heather Zimmerman)
This is a big volume week for us. Today I went for a skate rollerski in the morning and then went for a jog in the afternoon. I haven’t been running as much this fall, and the few runs I have had always seem to be either warming up or cooling down from other activities. So, I was pretty excited today to have a straight run in the afternoon. I decided to take advantage of this and head over to the Seeley Hills Trails; a system of ski trails that also have single-track trails weaving throughout. I fell in love with these trails over the summer when I was living in the Meyer’s cabin, a short 10 minute jog up the road. However, it had literally been months since I had been over there.
It should be noted at this point that these trails are notoriously known for getting lost on. Even locals talk about continually getting turned about on the trails. I wouldn’t even go on the trails this summer unless my run was going to be over at least an hour and a half. This was because once on the trails I could never find my own way out, I would just keep running until the trails sort of ‘spit’ me back out.
This afternoon when I headed into the woods I entered the trails through a different point than usual. I had parked my car down at my coach’s house, and entered onto the lower trails. The beginning of the run was amazing! It was overcast, but surprisingly warm. The leaves coated the trails, crowding into the ruts left behind by bike tires. It was one of those days where my body quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm and I felt like I could have peacefully trotted through the woods forever. It’s funny that I felt this way, as I would test that “forever” theory a bit later on.
I am not sure exactly what it is that makes these trails so enjoyable, but they are hands down some of my favorite trails EVER! I was just running around grinning this afternoon. My excitement only elevated when I thought about skiing on the trails this winter. Winding through the woods, up and down hills, I pictured myself gliding along these same trails on snow. I can’t wait!
I had planned on running for 1:45, which meant I would finish around 5pm, which would be just as it was getting dark. With 10 minutes left I cut off on a different trail, which I thought was bringing me right to the trailhead. I was wrong. After 15 minutes I got to a well-worn dirt road and took a 50-50 chance deciding which direction to go in. I went left, which was up hill. My only reasoning was that going down would be too easy, and therefore couldn’t be the way out. So up I went. The minutes ticked by and darkness was closing in fast, as I knew it would. Eventually I got to an intersection with a few signs and a trail map. There was just enough light left to make out what the sign said. I tried using the indiglo from my watch to see the map, but it was a hopeless attempt. However, the sign had an arrow that pointed right for the OO trailhead. Finally, something I at least recognized! Another sign said that I was on Phipps Fire Lane. I remembered skiing by a sign for this road whenever I was on OO, so I knew where I would be coming out. Of coarse, I had no idea how far I was from OO. My pace had picked up by this point; I was tired of running and anxious to get out of the dark. With an overcast sky I didn’t even have the luxury of moonlight.
I finally made it out to OO around 5:40 pm, almost 2 1/2 hours after I had started. I was so excited to finally be back on OO that I am pretty sure my face was covered with a huge, foolish grin. However, the grin faded pretty fast as I headed up the hill back towards Seeley and my car. My knees hurt and my feet were tired. As I ran along I tried to decide whether I should just run back along the road or stop to try and get a ride the last couple miles. I opted out of running the whole way back and instead pulled off on Gouger Rd. I decided that, despite feeling completely rediculous asking for a ride, I’d had enough. I jogged up the dirt road, heading toward Juli Lynch’s house, to ask for a ride. However, my adventure was not quite over. As I came up over the top of the hill I heard a rustling and looked up to see the dark black outline of a bear. I am usually not too scared of black bears, but tonight I was a bit skiddish. I stopped in my tracks and waited for the bear to move back towards the woods. As soon as he had reached the trees I took off in a dead sprint, yelling “Hey. Hey bear. Hey. Hey bear.” I am not exactly sure how fast I was moving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had set some sort of speed record.
My run finally ended at Juli’s with her husband giving me a ride back down into Seeley. I climbed into my car at 6pm, an hour after I had expected and completely exhausted!
