[In the woods]
Adrian Monk: Are we lost? Tell me the truth, I can take it.
Natalie Teeger: We’re… [Stottlemeyer mouths, "NO!"] …not lost.
Adrian Monk: Oh, my God! WE’RE LOST! -Monk

I’ve got a doozie of a story to share with you and our fabulous hosts: IA and Seriously Shawn

On Sunday I met up with Geeky and we went to lunch and then for a short little hike. The trail we went on is about an hour long, maybe less. We lost track of time gabbing away and somehow ended up on the wrong trail. We started getting worried when we didn’t recognize the path. We kept running into bicyclists and we asked a few if we were heading in the right direction. They assured us we were headed towards the parking lot.

Then it started getting dark and we started getting worried. We found a map and it didn’t have a You Are Here sticker, but we figured we were pretty lost. I thought the other side of the sign might have some more info, and when we looked, it was a huge picture of a mountain lion with a warning to beware of mountain lions in the area.

Geeky and I took one look at the picture, let out yelps of fear and ran like hell down the hill. We finally found the parking lot the bikers had been talking about, and by some stroke of pure luck, Ranger Bob. He gave us a map and pointed to the trail that we were on. He said we weren’t just a little off trail, we were MILES away from the car. It turned out our “little hike” was more like 2.5 hours of wandering. Ranger Bob took pity on us and drove us back to our car. We were absolutely mortified/so grateful. He even had to call it in on his radio that he was taking two lost females back to the park. He also confirmed that there were indeed mountain lions right where we had been walking, and that it was a good thing we were hiking in pairs.

He also lectured us about always carrying our cell phones (we had both forgotten ours) and advised us to bring pepper spray next time. He gave us a pamphlet about how a lot of the state parks are closing and how we can help. After being rescued by Ranger Bob I’m super motivated to help out. Here’s the website if you’d like more info: www.savestateparks.org

We got back to Geeky’s and couldn’t stop laughing at ourselves. I’m sure we were quite the sight. Two blonde girls completely lost, cold, and so grateful that we ran into Ranger Bob. Geeky’s husband teased us and said the typical guy response, “You guys might have had to get naked and cuddle for warmth.” Men! I called Match on the way home and he laughed and said, “You have the worst sense of direction!” It was still a really fun day and it was great seeing Geeky. I also got some great pictures. I wish I’d thought to take one of Ranger Bob! Next time we go hike we’ll definitely bring a map, our cell phones, and pepper spray!