Linking up with Marcy today! Goodness she has fantastic writing prompts!
(Don't Be) Too Timid and Squeamish
And I'm linking up here this week too! Yea for finding this linky!
FlogYoBlog Friday @ Where's My Glow?
And I'm linking up here this week too! Yea for finding this linky!
FlogYoBlog Friday @ Where's My Glow?
The sun was just beginning to warm the earth when we dropped our card in the box. There was a "sign-in" at the entrance to the trail and we were requested to leave a note about how many were going, when we were leaving and when we expected to return. This was common practice. The trail was well used, but it was unusual to see more than a couple of other people at any given time and there were wild animals around.
We had come and camped at the trail head campsite the night before in hopes of getting an early start and hiking farther than we ever had before. Sunlight was streaming through the evergreens, the moss on them glowing bright enough that it felt as though it might be the source of the light. Hummingbirds darted about and leaves occasionally rustled with unseen creatures as we hiked the path in the Bitterroot Wilderness Area. I was in front this time. We had gone backpacking before and Mr. Y had led. That was a poor choice. My pace was no match for his and about an hour into the hike, I was done. Today though, I was leading the parade.
We had come and camped at the trail head campsite the night before in hopes of getting an early start and hiking farther than we ever had before. Sunlight was streaming through the evergreens, the moss on them glowing bright enough that it felt as though it might be the source of the light. Hummingbirds darted about and leaves occasionally rustled with unseen creatures as we hiked the path in the Bitterroot Wilderness Area. I was in front this time. We had gone backpacking before and Mr. Y had led. That was a poor choice. My pace was no match for his and about an hour into the hike, I was done. Today though, I was leading the parade.
I took my time, appreciating every flower, every insect, and every animal I saw. By the time we stopped to have lunch, I was still feeling full of energy and excited to continue our hike after our brief intermission.
We stopped by the stream, refilling our water bottles. Mr. Y spread a space blanket out on the sandy beach, while I retrieved the crackers, sausage and cheese whiz from my backpack. We sat at the water’s edge, watching fish jump and an Osprey flying about. It was such a romantic spot. The day was almost surreal. As we sat, enjoying the cool breeze, an unfamiliar sound suddenly came galloping down the trail. We turned in time to see a riderless horse go galloping by. Mr. Y jumped up and ran to the trail with me lagging behind. It wasn’t long though before we saw someone jogging down the path after the horse. That was such a relief! We were concerned that we'd find someone injured.
After that bit of excitement, we packed up our lunch and space blanket, refilled our water bottles and got back onto the trail. The trail pretty well followed the mountain stream, making for indescribable scenery. Occasionally we’d stop by the water’s edge to observe. It wasn't unusual to spot a river otter or two. They joyfully played in the water near to opposite bank, as if no one was around, diving and splashing and acting like toddlers. It was also very common to spy a trout swimming in the stream.
Time flew by and before we knew it we’d come to a fork in the trail. Going to the left would take us away from the stream and it was late in the day. We had already gone about 8 miles and were unsure about whether or not we felt we could hike all the way to the next water source before dark. The fork to the right continued along the stream, but again, we realized after looking at the map exactly how far we’d gone and decided we were ready to set up camp.
We walked a little past the fork to a nice shady clearing and began to scope out the spot. I immediately saw something I had never seen before, an ant hill about 3 feet tall, covered in big red ants. This was very disturbing to me. Next to spiders, ants are my second least favorite crawly creature. I questioned Mr. Y about the spot, concerned about agitating the ants. He thought I was being silly and reassured me that it would be fine. I wasn’t buying it though, and at my insistence, we decided to go a little further. That was when I froze. At that exact moment I spotted what I knew was a snake. Not a little snake, a big snake, about as big around as my arm. It was tan and it was slithering about next to a downed tree branch in the middle of the clearing.
“Snake.” I said. This snake wasn’t the first we’d seen today, but it was quite different and bigger than any I’d ever seen in the wilderness.
“Where?” asked Mr. Y. I pointed out the snake’s location and he said, “No, that’s just a couple of branches.”
“No it isn’t.” I said, refusing to go any further.
He looked again, squinting and tilting his head. He still didn’t see the snake.
“It’s right there!” I insisted, frozen.
Mr. Y picked up a good sized stone and threw it over towards the “branches”. That is when the snake lifted it's head and rattled its rattler.
“Holy cow!” said Mr. Y. “That's a rattlesnake!”
I said, “We need to turn around.”
“Ok.” he said.
We walked away from the shady clearing, back out into the sunny opening where there weren't any places to hide and decided that it was a much better spot for us to set up camp.
“I don’t know how you spotted that snake” he said to me, shaking his head. “I’m really glad you saw it. If there’s one, then there are two," he said to me.
Fantastic, I thought. This is the thought I need planted in my head 8 miles down the trail. At least it wasn’t a bear.
