One thing about me is I'm very big on plans. Jeremy (one of my brothers from Pr.18.24 if you're unfamiliar with that blog) got me to take the Enneagram personality test, and my top trait is "I must be orderly/planned to survive" the test is pretty accurate. I was already a little thrown off because the plan had changed from meeting my friend at his house, to him meeting me at the drop off location. Initially I was ok with the change, but then it changed even more. The play didn't end on time, and he was later than we had planned. The sun was starting to go down, and I really felt like I had to get moving. I sent him a text letting him know the keys to my car were under the driver's floor mat, and I gave him the keypad code to get in, and told him I was heading into the woods.
Based on maps I had looked at, and my knowledge/experience with the area, I knew where I was headed. I started on a trail around the southern side of the lake I had sat by the previous year, and then onto a trail in the field behind it, that led back into the woods. I found a spot with a pretty clear path off of the trail and headed into the woods to find a two trees to set up my borrowed hammock between for the night.
I found a place that wasn't visible from the trail, and set up the hammock. It wasn't supposed to rain that night, just be a little windy, so I didn't set up the rain cover that my co-worker had included, a decision I would come to slightly regret. I managed to get everything set up ok, it's amazing how easy these hammocks are to use, I really need to get one for myself. I put my sleeping pad in, then put my backpack where my head would be to use as a pillow. I made sure everything that wasn't going to be in the hammock with me was organized, then did my tick check ritual and climbed in for the night.
The hammock wrapped around me, and immediately I felt comfortable. It had an attached bug net, so I'd have no issues with mosquitoes, and I began to wonder, "God what do you have to say to me this year?" As I laid there and listened, the nervous feeling I had been having since I left my house was not going away. I had asked my friend to text me when he had gotten my car, and I was still waiting for his text. I was getting worried for some reason, and I just couldn't relax. I decided to head back to the parking lot and wait for him to show up. This is where I began to ignore my basic instincts.
First off, I didn't take my pack. If I'm walking in the woods, I always have my pack, always. I didn't take it because I was coming right back; there was no need to grab it, walk to the parking lot, and walk back to just put it back in the hammock. It would be fine for the 10 minutes I was gone. I did grab my head lamp and flashlight, as well as my phone, and was getting ready to walk out. Typically, when I go to an area I'm not 100% familiar with, I'll open the map app on my phone and drop a pin where I've set up camp, or parked the car, just so I don't have any issues. For whatever reason, I ignored the instinct to do this. I had my lights, and it wasn't going to be that hard getting back.
I got back on the main trail and headed for the parking lot. I had texted my friend telling him that I would meet him by my car, and ended up waiting another 10-15 minutes for him to get there. When he finally made it we talked for a few minutes, and he asked me if I was ok, obviously my outward nervousness was evident, and I told him I just wanted to get back to my hammock. He prayed for me and then we set a time for him to meet me the next day. I headed back into the woods, the light quickly disappearing, and made my way back to camp.
I got back to the spot where I had left the main trail and headed into the woods. I had forgotten how quickly it gets dark inside the trees, and how dark it actually gets in the trees. (I feel like I again need to say, don't try this at home. don't go wandering alone in the woods at night, you could get seriously lost and potentially even die, so don't follow this example of my stupidity). I had my head lamp on, but it was my cheap one, so it really didn't do all that much. I walked past trees I remembered and turned where I thought I had turned, but I didn't see the trees I had set my hammock up between. I had picked them because they stood out, but in the darkness, everything looks the same.
I walked back and forth among the trees, shining my lights in every direction, really wishing I had set up the orange rain cover, but it was no use, I couldn't find the hammock....
Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
No comments:
Post a Comment