June 9: In hindsight, there was really no reason to worry but when you are 2 hours into your hike, its 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon and you can’t find your final destination, your mind starts running numbers like you are calculating the re-entry velocity for the space shuttle.
“Well I’ve gone 2 hours, sunset isn’t for another 4 so I should be good. But I need to get back, setup my bed, make dinner, jump in the Gulpha Creek to wash all this sweat off. So I should probably be back 2 hours before sunset. Maybe I can book it back and make up 30mins? Maybe I only need an hour at camp? Should I just turn around now… I just hiked all this way and I’m not gonna summit this thing? I have to be close at this point, right? Who cares if I summit? I do. When was the last time I saw another human?”
These racing thoughts are what were going through my head and even though I generally strive to avoid other humans on my hikes, it was a little disconcerting since this park is not that big and I didn’t think the Music Mountain Summit (high point in the park) was that far. After running the calcs in my head I told myself I would turn around at 5PM but I also really wanted to hit the high point in the park so I started running down the trail. The high point is only 1405ft but running along the ridge line led to a lot of ups and down which can be disheartening when you are running up a hill only to see it lead you back down. At 5pm I was running what was supposed to be my last uphill which again just lead to another downslope. As I debated with myself whether I could fudge another 30 minutes then sprint back down the mountain, I took my phone out to see if I could use my gaia gps app to see if I could tell how far I was from the summit. The gps worked and said the summit was just over the next uphill climb. I’m off and running… And I find this piece of shit sign…
Not specifically a summit sign but according to my GPS and based off the distances on the sign and my visitor center map, I had made it.
I briskly walked back and made it to my car by 7. Plenty of time before sunset. What was I worried about?
Matthew I wasn’t worried …Never lose sight of your “true north” and it will always bring you home, be safe buddy. I loved the geothermal baths in “Hot Springs”……..
Ha. Glad you weren’t worried. Tell my Mom.
William and I were just looking at your map and photos this morning. Going to be an amazing trip. Looking forward to following your adventures!
I’ll try to find a better way to put my road trip map on the website. I’m using Rand McNally Trip Maker to help me but I don’t know how to upload it to the website yet. Glad you guys are enjoying the photos.