The Restart: Alone in the Wilderness Part II

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The Restart: Alone in the Wilderness Part II

The Restart

After the restart, I decided to stop for half of my peanut butter sandwich, which was calling my name already at this point. My anxiety decreased as I went along, and I started to enjoy the scenery instead of trying to rack my brain about whether or not I had seen it before.  I stopped for my snack and rested my feet.  The terrain had been fairly level and forested thus far, but the next session was a long, steep hill that was actually on a road instead of in the woods. 

At first, the road did not look that steep, but loaded down with my pack I was soon out of breath, feet aching, muscles cramping.  I crested the top of the hill, feeling tired but happy that I had made it up.  I was thrilled to start the down hill and get a bit of a break.

The Downhill Experience

At the time I wasn’t aware, but if you’ve ever walked down a hill with a loaded pack, you know it actually isn’t as great as it sounds.  You think, Oh good… It’s downhill now.  BUT, it’s not like coasting down on your bike.  Your toes start jam into your shoes, your knees quake, and your quads pound with every footfall. My backpack felt like it was pushing me alone!  Suddenly, before I could do anything to stop it, I was falling forwards, slow-motion style, and rolling down the road. 

I came to a stop like a coke can having been tossed from a moving car and lay on the ground on my stomach dazed and discarded.  What the hell had happened?  I attempted to stand up, but couldn’t!  My pack… the lumbering sod… was too heavy and squatted there on my back, pinning me to the ground.  My knees and my hands were stinging.  Worst of all, I was embarrassed.

The Aftermath

I lay there for a few moments, pondering how my grave stone would read. “Here lies Felice, beloved mother and wife, crushed under a hiking pack. RIP”. Rolling onto my back, I shrugged off my backpack straps one at a time and crawled away from the pack. I wanted to throw the damn thing, but lifting it at this point was just out of the question.  If my toes weren’t already barely hanging on by a thread, I would have kicked it!  Instead, I just sat there, nursing my bloody knees, aching from exhaustion, and scowling hard at the pack.

As I sat there, in all my bruised and battered glory, the universe decided to add insult to injury and provide a witness!  I’ve only seen one other living soul since I started this damn hike this morning, and now a car is slowly driving past me.  Trying to salvage whatever shred of dignity I had left, I grab my backpack, prop myself against it with my feet sticking straight out in front of me, pull out my lunch and start eating like it was exactly where I wanted to be!