Yesterday was the second of my hikes at South Chagrin Reservation. Since I just barely made it into the forest trails last week, I decided to hit the woods in a serious way this time around. A couple of friends (the kind and patient duo of Joe Neville and Karl Konz) and I trekked around several trails in the "heart of the forest" (at least that's what the map said), for the most part following the contour of the Chagrin River. Now, the tricky thing about forest trails...they all pretty much look exACTly the same to me. Even while following a trail map (the ones provided by the Cleveland Metroparks have proved to be next to useless) AND using my new fancy shmancy compass/thermometer/whistle/LED light/magnifier/mirror (It called to me from the shelf at Dick's Sporting Goods), we managed to amble around in circles, repeatedly coming back to the same landmarks. That's also the thing about circles. One minute you're going east, the next west, then east again, then west again--so who knows where anybody's headed?
When, eventually, we made a command decision to head across the River (I had to apologize for Joe and Karl's shoes), we found all kinds of new things, including the Sulphur Springs Trailhead and picnic area--kind of a surreal scene, complete with a doppelganger of Cousin Eddie from the National Lampoon movies (we're talking wife beater, cut-off jean shorts, shin-length white tube socks, and white Reeboks--I'm a jerk) and some people walking around in the shallows of the river carrying a cat. Weird.
Past Sulphur Springs, we did a lot of uphilling, meandering around, seeing barely any trail markers, though they weren't exactly necessary because we could actually see SOM Center Road from the trail. Nature is a funny thing. It has no trouble being itself next to its opposite, whereas I had trouble avoiding grumbles about the sound of the cars interrupting my "natural" experience. What did I expect, really? We weren't exactly in uncharted territory--thank goodness, though it kind of felt like we were when we eventually got so turned aro
und that we decided to screw it and do our last mile and a half of hiking along the highway to get back to where we started. Joe's GPS, unlike mine, is actually helpful. Lovely homes along SOM Center and Miles Road. Really, quite lovely. Just go on and call me Nature Girl from here on out. Fiasco? Perhaps. But things could've been worse. For example, I could've gotten us all killed by yellow jackets. That would've definitely been worse. And we could've been so self-involved that we unintentionally ignored all that nature, even in small doses next to major highways, has to show us. She really is beautiful, when I let myself see her, when I get over the fact that I'm not in my realm, but in hers. As Father Gary says, "Don't let your road map keep you from getting lost and collecting seashells." So, in essence, were we lost, or just allowing ourselves to be where we were?
*Insert reflective pause for existential moment*
"Not all those who wander are lost..." J.R.R. Tolkien
We ended our excursion with a little drive into Chagrin Falls for some shakes at the Popcorn Shop. Nice day....Nice day.
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