I went for a long hike this afternoon in the heat of the day. I wanted to see how I fared. Luckily, I had plenty of water with me as I needed it. I had also filled several empty two liter bottles of soda with water to add weight to my Kelty backpack to simulate a full load of gear and supplies.
It was a pleasant hike other than the heat and the storms I would later run into. I walked way out spring road into the country. I hiked out to the point the road turns to dirt and the pavement ends. I would say around four miles out.
On the way home, I stopped by a large pasture and sat in the tall grass next to the road under the shade of an oak tree. I pulled out a bottle of water and an energy bar and started to refuel for the journey home. Several cows came ambling over to the fence to see if I had anything to eat.
“Sorry girls,” I said. “I don’t think you all would like an energy bar.”
They were very tame and watched me intently. I walked over to the fence with a handful of clover I had pulled out of the ground. The tamest cow took the clover and started munching on it. I rubbed her great neck and behind her ears. There were gnats and flies flying all around her and she twitched the muscles under her skin and thrashed her tail trying desperately to dissuade her attackers.
By this time, I could start to hear the far off rumbles of thunder. I threw my backpack back on and started down the road at a good clip. It was a race for time as the thunder grew ever louder and the sky darkened. Soon the sun disappeared and the wind picked up greatly. It felt wonderful, but I was growing ever more concerned that I would get caught in a storm.
Finally, I had lost the race and was still several miles from home. On one side of the road was a sprawling pasture and the other side was a creek and a dense thicket of hardwood trees. I climbed over the fence, across the creek, and ran up into the woods just as it started to pour rain. I covered my backpack with its rain cover and put on my poncho as I sat down against a large oak. I would wince with every bright flash of lightning and subsequent crash of thunder. Lightning like that can be scary especially if you are sitting under a large tree right out in the middle of it with no shelter. I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
As is typical with these afternoon thunderstorms in the south, the rain soon stopped and the sun came back out. I was soaking wet despite having my poncho on. It had rained so hard that water had run down my face and neck inside my covering. I walked the rest of the way home kind of dejected as it is uncomfortable hiking in wet boots and socks. I managed to rub a few blisters on my toes. The first thing I did when I arrived home was to shed my wet clothes and footwear and take a long, hot shower. Man, did it feel good.
I love experiences like that. To me that is what hiking is all about. The adrenaline I feel in such experiences is so palpable and invigorating. Getting wet is just a mild inconvenience compared to the joy such encounters bring to me.
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