Recently, I led my daughters, friend and her daughter on an all day adventure which also turned out to be a bit of a learning experience. I knew where I wanted to go ultimately, but we took the scenic route in order to make stops along the way. That all worked out fine. At the first stop, the girls jumped from rock to rock down in the swim area and tested the water temperature. My friend got ideas for her summer vacation. We all got some steps in. I was not yet mentally constructing my list of five things to know. Everything still seemed so rosy.
The next stop enabled us to find a frog before he swam away. My friend found a rock to take home and tumble. I thought it might be banded jasper. I’m excited to see how it turns out. I had no idea she was even into rock tumbling!
The way was filled with possibilities (and quite likely, more than five things to know)
I’d forgotten the wealth of hiking trails that branched from this road. There were more opportunities to explore with every passing mile. We stopped at two campgrounds too. We’ve established an annual girls camping tradition, and I wanted to show my friend these two possibilities as one has a great beach. The other is just plain pretty.
Eventually we got where we were going all along
I was familiar with Vermilion Falls as I’d been there with the family roughly 14 years ago. However, I failed in doing my research when it came to the Vermilion Gorge. I made assumptions about where it was, and what we’d need. I’d done no research about the difficulty of the trail. Because of my lack of planning… we never “technically” reached the Vermilion Gorge. This is when I started a mental list of five things to know.
Failure is often the best educator
While we technically did not arrive at our ultimate destination, we did achieve more than 10k steps and saw new terrain, but before I’m permitted to lead another adventure, I will keep these five things in mind:
- Just exactly how long is this hike you’re embarking on? I had a map, but I didn’t bring it along.
- What is the terrain? My daughters were attempting this hike in rubber slide sandals. More appropriate footwear may have been a better choice.
- What supplies are needed? Thankfully, we did have some water and Gatorade, but more snacks would’ve been helpful.
- Where is the most convenient bathroom stop? Hiking on a full bladder is not fun, and squatting in the woods isn’t always an option.
- What time of day will you arrive and finish? Nothing is more stressful than having to hurry down the trail, so that you’re not stuck in the woods after dark to get eaten by wolves.
There’s surely more to know
This list is hardly exhaustive. Nor is it in any particular order or importance. It’s simply more of a few suggestions to keep in mind, so that you and your friend don’t wind up in the woods with three hangry teenagers who’ve completely lost interest and can only be plied into compliance with ice cream.