Trail Blazers

Last Thursday we hiked Pena Adobe like we do most days of the week these days.  As we were heading up the regular trail we hike on, there were two young guys ahead of us and they turned right where we normally turn left.  It's at a point on the trail where you can either go left, go straight ahead up a very steep path which ends up on one of the upper trails or you can turn right.

Being curious, I kept my eye out for them the whole way up because I wanted to know where this trail led.  Every time I saw them, they were on the low side of the hill and following the contour of it and then either they or we would disappear around a bend and I'd lose sight.  When we reached the rope swing, they were coming straight up a steep hill and then they turned right.  Finally we reached the tip top of the hill where the tower is and there they were coming up the very same trail we were on only a minute ago.  Where did they come from?  It puzzled me because I kept looking to see where there might be a trail connecting to the one we were on and I never did catch sight of one.  It was then that we two decided to walk the same trail on Saturday.  Today.

Arriving at the location where they turned right, we do likewise.  Right off the bat I notice that the trail appears to be a little less traveled than the normal trails and I mention this to Mike but that doesn't deter us and we kept on trucking along our merry way.  Perhaps we should have taken this as a warning sign because after a way the trail became smaller and more weedy and more tilted sloping downward so that our feet were no longer walking flat, they're at a sideways angle making the going more difficult.  Dang.  The trail kind of disappeared.  It just vanished and my eyes quickly began to scan the hillside to see where I went wrong.

One thing you need to know about me, I walk fast.  I always have.  I don't know why.  I'm always in the lead going up or going down the hill.  Or wherever we go for that matter.  Mike is always trailing behind me somewhere like a little puppy dog.  Even my children trailed behind me whenever we went for walks all those years ago.  Lately I've been trying to force myself to walk more slowly, I really am and I have been making myself go slower but for some reason, I still get ahead.    

Alright, back to my story.  I'm looking around and see all these little trails, much more narrow than the normal looking trail.  They're cow trails leading this way and that way.  We end up taking one of them that looks a little wider than the rest thinking this must be it.  Then it happens again that the trail appears to disappear out of nowhere.  And again.  And again.

Feeling frustrated, we realize that we need to get up to the main trail because this is going nowhere fast.  I look around for what I think would be the safest route to get my husband up to the top trail and I see something that goes straight up (and maybe a little scary) but looks doable.  It's either this or we continue doing what we had been doing and I was afraid of where that might lead.  It was looking pretty iffy and could get a little hairy if we continued this nonsense.  I didn't want to leave things up to chance and convinced Mike that the best and safest thing would be to get to the top and main trail way up there.  Poor guy.  His eyes followed to where my finger was pointing and he tried with all his might to see a better trail around the hill.  It just wasn't happening.

We climbed this very steep hill.

I took the above picture after we had climbed more than halfway trying to reach the upper main trail.  When looking at this picture, please keep in mind it doesn't appear to be as steep as it really is.  Pictures can be deceiving.

Getting closer.

Almost there.  I'm getting closer to the top trail.

Going up this steep grade, it was not easy trying to figure out secure spots to place my feet.  Ended up getting some very pokey stickers in my socks and my hands got pricked from falling forward into the hill trying to prevent myself from falling down the hill.  Thinking to myself how difficult it was for me, I was a bit worried about Mike and kept telling him to make sure that he doesn't stand straight up because I was afraid if he did that he might end up taking a tumble down the hill.

Careful, Mikey.

It was a little tense moment watching him come up but I wanted to hurry and get up to the main trail to be there to give him my hand and pull him up. We both made it in one piece and I'm proud to report no injuries. 

Darn, I wish I knew the way those guys went.  Maybe next time...  Maybe not.