Are you really lost if you can always get back to your car? Each mug is designed with a personal story in mind while also inspiring you to create your own story. Today’s mug story feature is my favorite mug “I’m not Lost, I’m Exploring an Alternate Route.” There is one main adventure that was the inspiration for this mug but since then, it has reminded me of a variety of situations on the trail and in life. That is why I believe this particular design will speak to you too.
Over a 3 day weekend, my friend and I decided to do a hiking stay-cation. On that Friday we hiked an intense 8 mile hike with quite a bit of elevation gain so that Saturday we wanted to take it easy. We chose a ¼ mile hike. On the map it appeared we would park on the street at the trailhead, hike in a short distance and view a beautiful waterfall.
The hike began on a service road. Oh, this is going to be easy! Water comes from above and drops down with waterfalls, right? We could hear the water so we must just follow this service road to higher ground where the waterfall should be. Hiking tip: It’s a good idea to look up the hike and read the description before starting out. (Even on what seems to be the simplest of hikes).
After the service road took us to nowhere, I turned on a tracking app so we could find our way back as we tried some not so well marked trails. We found the river. However, looking at the water flow were going away from the waterfall. We then followed the river upstream and saw some beautiful sights. The sound of the waterfall was nearby. Oh, we are so close! Wait, there is a huge boulder between us and the waterfall. So, we made our way back out to the service road where we noticed other hikers who would suddenly disappear. There must be another trail. We finally found it as we descended into a ravine. Yes, you guessed it, we were above the waterfall the whole time.
I’ve included my tracking map so you can see where we parked and where the waterfall is located. It’s okay to laugh. We did! Our “let’s take it easy” ¼ mile hike turned into about 2.5 miles. It was worth it!
