Eclipse and a Hike

Monday, August 21st, 2017

There we were, a mighty convoy of three vehicles filled to the brim with people, on our way to Paradise Ridge. Everyone knew it'd be great, and as we all piled out onto the little gravel space to park, we were totally reassured; there was only one or two other cars there. This in and of itself was quite the feat, for we figured all the good places to watch the eclipse around Moscow would be crowded to the fullest with Mosquitoes staring up at the heavens in awe. But no, not here. We basically had it all to ourselves. Perfect. Now, a choice lay out before us: take the normal gravel path up, or the fun little footpath through the underbrush. With unanimity, the group plunged forward toward the fun way. Jex was along for the ride too, so naturally I ended up at the back of the line, since she wanted to stop and smell every other twig, and so we walked along merrily, with the sweet almost silent sounds of nature humming about us; it was a beautiful summer day, the type that makes you want to fall into some tall grass, stare up at the sky, and wonder in awe at the majesty of it. A couple hundred yards later, a few of us in the back of the line did just that when we opened up on a cute little glen with not quite waist high grass gently brushing our legs as we walked past. A few of us couldn't resist the urge to jump into it and thoroughly enjoy the lush grass.

By and by we made it to the top. Not long after, it started. The moon came into view, just a little at first, but slowly and surely covering up the sun. All the eclipse glasses were promptly looked through, and I pulled out my welding hood to take a look. It was pretty cool! These things take a while to fully actualize, so we all settled down in the grass and talked happily, checking back every couple minutes to see the progress. Jex, meanwhile, was more than happy. I let her wander around, and she stayed near the group, now here, now there, but always with somebody petting her or playing with her ears, or enticing her to move over to them. She loved it, but even more so she loved it when I was there with her. At one point Christy was petting her, and while Jex was sitting she had her head turned toward me with those anxious eyes as if to say, "Are you fine with me being over here? Call me and I'll be there in a second!" I laughed and scooted over next to her and then she was fully content. Ahh, I could go on and on talking about how sweet, gentle, and amazing my dog is, but there are other things to talk about, and you probably don't want hear any more on how cute she is, but let me tell you this: not only is she great with the people, but she's always down for an adventure too. I called her to the edge of the group, and then we went on a quick run down part of the hill, across the side, and back up the other side. I didn't even need to hold her leash, she just loped along right beside me, following wherever I ran. It was great!

Then, it was 10:27 I believe, or somewhere around there at least, the moon covered 93% of the sun, the most it would for where we were at before it started to uncover again. By this time the temperature had dropped significantly, and the little sunlight that did make it through cast the world into a strange limelight of semi-darkness. It was something new I'd never seen before. There weren't any clouds in the way, not a storm on the horizon, no wind kicking up for a tornado, but still the light danced like something was going to happen. It reminded me of that world in The Magician's Nephew when the two children encounter the huge, old, dying sun, which doesn't give light quite like it used to. And then, its peak reached, the sun slowly came back out again, the light came back, the warmth too, and soon enough everything was back to normal.

Once again, a decision stood before us: go back down the way we came (boor-ring) or go down a different way. If our track record is anything to go by, you already know which path greeted us on our return down the ridge. Three of us, Brooke, Anna, and Sarah, had already left down the way we came, because they were tired of waiting for us to get our stuff into our backpacks and get going. The rest of us, however, went down the new way. Almost right off the bat, we were encountered by a steep hillside, requiring careful footwork to not take a tumble. Once at the bottom, we continued on, and it quickly opened out onto a nice grassy path wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side. Talking happily the whole way down, we soon realized that we'd need to cut across to the right to get back to our vehicles, since the path we were on was taking us down sharply to the left. Thankfully, a path popped up into view and, being at the front of the group this time, I immediately turned onto it, as it was going the way we needed to go. About a hundred yards later though, it died off, terminating in a sea of underbrush canopied with little trees and above them, the tall skeleton of the larger trees that give the hillside and the surrounding ridges their shape.

There wasn't a moment to lose. Why the rush? I'd seen it many times before: the Council of Directional Decisions. The problem I have with the CDD is that it never works. Everybody puts in their thoughts as to what the group should do, and after a long arduous debate, a decision is finally reached, and usually it's the wrong one. Even if it happens to be right, tons of time has already been wasted, and if it's close to dark, this can be very bad. As it was still only mid-day it wasn't a huge problem, but I didn't feel like waiting around for the CDD to convene. In times like these, it's often best if someone who knows what they're doing just scouts ahead and sees what's what and then continue on from there, so that's exactly what I did. Dropping my bag and handing my leash to a friend, I bounced off through the underbrush, weaving my way betweenst the branches, brambles, and what have you. Soon enough I came to the edge of the ridge we were on, and I looked across it to the next one on the other side. This ridge wasn't wooded at all, but was covered with head-high brush and shoulder-high bushes. I'd have to make it to the other side and climb the opposite ridge if I wanted a good view of where we were heading, so I started off into my dog-run, a trot that I can keep up for miles at a time without stopping, perfect for maneuvering forested areas and uninhabited spaces. After several minutes I came up to the other side, crested the point, and saw, across the way a fair distance, a glimpse of the road that lead to our vehicles. I wanted to make sure it was the right road first, so I rung Anna to ask them to let out a shout so I could hear if it was the right road or not.

Well... Anna answered alright, but she said they hadn't made it back to the cars yet. There had been a slight difference of opinions as to which way was the right way, and they weren't quite sure where they were. This made things extra interesting for me. Now I needed to find them as well as lead the rest of us back to the vehicles! Thankfully though, Brooke took up to singing when Anna answered the phone, and I could hear her off in the distance. They weren't far away at all, and I ran up the hill a little way, and soon enough we met. They were glad to see me, and I was happy they weren't lost. After telling them to stay where they were at and that I was coming back, I loped off to the rest of them. I also called Luke to tell him to go ahead and start going the direction I had left in, and by the time they were halfway down the first ridge I met back up with them. From there we fought our way through the brush, me doing the best I could to stomp down a clear path for everybody. Most of the girls had worn shorts and their legs were gets beat up pretty good by all the thorns and scratchy underbrush, so I did my best to pick the clearest path forward.

After much walking and slow going, (large groups of people never move quickly, especially in single file!) we finally met back up with Brooke, Anna and Sarah, who were still waiting for us. Then we continued down the hillside. Again we encountered some very thick brush, and so I ran ahead to find the best path down to the road. Several minutes later I was back with a good way to go, and we were off once more. At long last we made it back to the road, and that was that. Everybody had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed their trek through the woods, but nobody was as happy as I. It's been too long since I've had a nice romp through the woods, and it refreshed me to my bones and lightened my heart. What a marvelous world we live in!

Then, with my truck bed filled with people, we tore up the dust and ran down the gravel road. The wind waved through my face and brought with it all the smells of the countryside that remind me why I will always love it. Ah, to run, explore, and enjoy the small little things that make this world great would take a lifetime. Don't take your life for granted; every day is a blessing.