Got lost.

Well, my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter are on their way back from Wisconsin today.  I'm hoping their trip is pretty uneventful as they've had quite the difficulties just heading out.   First, their car was hit while waiting for an oil change.   The only vehicle in the parking lot and a guy runs over it with his truck.   Insurance company gave them a rental - with out-of-state plates.  I hope there's no state troopers out today or they'll be pulled over to check for drugs.... a pain in the butt when traveling long distances and there's no telling what people have used the rental for in the past.  And then, just as they left, they learned that the septic lines for the new house have collapsed and the bank wants more of a down payment for the closing...  I told them to go, enjoy the family, and we'll think about the crazy stuff when they get back...
Yesterday, I had nothing to do but housework and think about the funeral.   I didn't go to the funeral because I couldn't get time off (company only allows my immediate family) and there's an uncle who is just nasty and I didn't want to be anywhere near him during such a difficult time.   I haven't heard from my son since they got there, but the entire family is within a 15 mile radius, so I wasn't worried.  I'm sure they were surrounded by family members their entire stay.   And so, being a little bored yesterday, I decided to do some training for the bike race....
It was 92 degrees out and humid.  Not to mention smoke in the air from all the fires to the west of us.  And what do I do?  I take on the most difficult part of the course. AND, get lost.  TWICE.  I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't ridden the course before!   
I put a post-it note on my door with instructions where I was going.  Not that anyone would have thought to check or even cared, but IF something had happened out there, my best friend would have seen it when she comes over for Monday walk nite and would have immediately realized something was wrong and known where I went.   And I had my cell that can be tracked...
I started out at "the ballpark"... a small box canyon that looks just like a baseball stadium.  The trail comes down a steep hill right to the edge of it.  It's been over a year since I've been out there, but I figured I remembered it enough to get around.  Last time I did this stretch, I was going in the opposite direction and it climbed and climbed and climbed... I didn't think it would EVER end.  And so, thinking about going the other way, I was thinking it would be "EASY"..... HA! NOT!
I parked the van, headed up the road .2 of a mile and turned left and started climbing the steep forest service trail.   I did much better than I was expecting.   The hills are steep out there and I was able to climb the entire thing, sweating buckets the whole way - oh, btw... I was wearing my BRAND NEW BIKE CLOTHES that were 2 sizes too small in May this year (sorry, guys - women get this, lol)....
From the top of the hill, there's a trailhead for a mountain bike/hiking trail, and instead of doing it, I rode down the road to the crossing where the race course comes over.   Just as I got there, I saw this truck broken down on the side of the road.   And there was a lady walking... someone I knew!   I stopped, asked her if she needed to make a call or anything, and nope, the truck had overheated and she was just waiting for it to cool down before she headed out again.   We used to work together YEARS ago... and spent about 15 minutes talking about how life had changed for the both of us.   She was on her way to a GOLD MINE claim.  She said that after she left her most recent job, she and her husband decided to mine to make a living!   I'm surprised you can still make a living doing that!   Her husband had gone wandering in the trees, came back, and they figured the truck was ready to go, and they headed off... and I got on the trail, talking to cows along the way, and immediately got LOST the first time, lol.   Bikers have been CHEATING.  I followed their path thinking it was the course, and after the first drop down a hill, it climbed.   Since I hadn't been out there a while, I didn't think anything of it... but it climbed, and climbed, and climbed... and ended up coming out back at the trailhead/parking lot that I first came out of at the top of the hill. DARN IT!  And so, I turned around, went back down the hill, talked to the cows again, and got on the right path.... there went 15 more minutes...
Going the RIGHT way this time, I went down the hill, bouncing over rocks, dodging cow pies, winding through the trees and onto an upside down T of a road intersection in 5 minutes.   That was pretty cool and I was doing AWESOME!  WAY BETTER than I was expecting!   And so straight across and down the hill, and past more cows, cow pie debris flying off my tires, and I had to slow down because the old road had recently been graded...
And I passed 4 guys coming from the other direction and I teased them about how they were going the wrong way because this way was much easier, and they weren't in the mood for teasing, glared at me without a word as I rode by... and at that point, I had to eat my words...
I got to the bottom of the hill, started climbing across toward what I thought was the trail.  I remember the puddles... I remember the berns that prevented erosion... the trail turned and began climbing.... 
Something was immediately wrong.  Too many animals running around the logs... and the trail looked too unused for 4 mountain bikers (and a whole lot others) to have been practicing on it this year.  But I kept going... because I "remembered" the berns.... and it climbed, and climbed and I had to get off the bike and push it, and it climbed and it went steeper... yep, something was definitely wrong here.... I don't remember it being THAT steep... but it's the opposite direction than I was used to, so I kept going... and THEN I realized that the tracks in the dirt weren't mountain bike.  It had gone down to only one, and it was so wide, I realized it was DIRT BIKE (motorized).   Darn it!   I was on the wrong mountain!   And I was almost to the top of it!   So I turned around... hiked the bike back down the steep part, hopped back on back at the trail, rode over the berns... there went another HOUR...   And so I took the first turn to the right.   NOTHING looked familiar there.... BUT... there were mountain bike tracks!  So I followed them.... STILL nothing looked familiar, but it too climbed and climbed... and I got off and pushed the bike up another steep hill, watching the tracks as I went... and sure enough, THERE!   Something familiar!   The ridge with an open view of Rag Top Mountain!   I was on the right trail!  
It leveled out a bit and I got back on my bike, and I couldn't do it.   It was SO STEEP, my heart rate instantly jumped to 180 and I immediately had to stop because I couldn't breathe.   So once my heart beat went back down, I began pushing the bike... up... and up.... and up.... my heart rate WALKING was STILL 165!   It went on like that for about 45 minutes.   Every time it would level out and I'd get back on, the trail would go smooth for about 20 feet, turn a tight corner, and CLIMB... and I'd have to hop off and walk again....
I was still on the right track, came across a view I knew (and forgot my camera AGAIN), and kept thinking that pretty soon the trail would drop and I'd FLY back down to the van.... darn 50 year old memory, lol...
Obviously from that last remark, it didn't, lol.   I spent more time walking out on that trail than I did riding AND at some point cut myself because blood was running down my right leg (though it had stopped by the time I noticed it).   AND THEN, I came out of the trees to a road.  A road that shouldn't have been there!  WTH!  It COMPLETELY threw me off!   Tire tracks immediately disappeared, and the road was WRONG. It CLIMBED to the right where it should have gone down... went DOWN to the left where it should have gone UP... and it was NEW.  And then, I spotted the tracks going to the right so I followed them.... and came up to an old dilapidated building.  A building that obviously has been there for close to a century.... a building I've never seen before.   Darn it!   I was lost AGAIN!   But the tracks were still there... so I kept following them.... I figured worst case scenario, I follow it until I come out of the forest to a road and then figure out from there where I am (as long as I kept heading west I would find the road and I had my compass in my bike pack).... and the trail started to drop and so I rode down the hill and around the corner... and signs were becoming visible that there had been recent trail maintenance which meant I was still on the right path because the bike organizers had crews out the past 3 weekends getting the trail ready and I came around a corner and found a MOUNTAIN BIKER!   
And so I stopped and asked... "is this the trail to Higgins Gulch?"  And he says... "where?"   OH!   THAT'S NOT A GOOD ANSWER, lol.   And so I said "Higgins Gulch?", and he says.... "I don't know - this is my first time out here", lol.   REALLY NOT GOOD, lol... I should have said "the ballpark where a red van is sitting".   But my brain cells weren't working anymore and all I said was "how about the ballpark" and he says "where?" lol, and I said "the spot that looks like a ballpark" and he says "oh, you mean the clearing right next to the road" and I said yes, and he says yes, and we leave each other wishing each other a good ride.... you know, now that I think about it, I wonder if he ever made it out of the forest - it was already 5:30 by that point and he still had those nasty climbs to come out of, not to mention trying to find his way back to the trailhead - I hope he had a map....
And at that point, the trail dropped... HUGE downed trees that had been cut to clear the trail... if I'd known where I was, I would have stopped to count rings (guessing they were 200 years old or more), and found fences that I didn't recognize... canyon views I didn't recognize.... but the tire tracks were still there... and down and down and down... and the trail narrowed... and the trail went over rocks and bumps that I THOUGHT I recognized... and I thought that I had ended up on another nearby trail that I was also familiar with... and I was wondering if I'd have to climb the ridge on that trail that was so BAD that we used to have to slide our bikes down it - and I was going to have to go UP it - but I never saw it... down and down and down for 3 miles and I could hear gunfire and realized that it was coming from in front of me... from the direction of the ballpark - were they shooting at my van?... and if this was that other trail, I was going to ride right into the line of fire... and as I would drop down the hill, I'd wiggle my hand over - still gripping the handlebars - and ring my little bell that I use to alert pedestrians I'm coming in town - and the clear bell sounded loud in the forest, and then I could hear voices... and then rang the bell again and again... and nothing... no gunfire, no voices... all of a sudden, I came around a corner and started down a hill and there was MY VAN!   The trail had changed so much that the road it used to be was now just a singletrack trail!   I was NEVER MORE THANKFUL to get back to the van and quit right there!  (I had planned to ride another 5 miles up a snowmobile trail for more practice.)  Only about 9 miles (odometer malfunctioned at mile 6) and it took 3 hours, 42 minutes and I burned 4,273 calories.  Too tired to cook, I threw in pizza and made myself a chocolate shake for dinner.
TODAY, I was going to do that next stretch but it's already looking like it might storm.   And so I'm here on the computer, watching the weather.... worst case scenario I do aerobics and make some Halloween crafts.... LATER!