A few days ago I went on a hike. The picture above was taken at the end of that very long and tiring day.
It was meant to be an 8.5 hour stroll through the woods covering about 15km. For the first 6 hours or so, I took my time, snapping photos and merely enjoying my surroundings. Then around 1:40pm the trail completely disappeared, it had been a bit overgrown all along but now the trail was nowhere to be seen. At this poing, i had covered around 11km and my pick up time was 3:00pm. I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out where the overgrown trail led. No luck. I knew then I would have to retrace the path that I had just walked, only now I had just over 2 hours to do it, (not to mention the place i now headed was not the pickup spot). I had no other reliable option and i didn't care to spend the night in the woods without any gear.
I began my run. I will never forget this particular run through the woods. The ups and downs and crumbly terrain. I somehow made it back to where i was dropped off some 8.5 hours earlier by 2:52pm. I was not home yet, Pete would be looking for me at the pickup which was a 45 minute drive away.
I lay down, my heartbeat shook my entire body. I decided to wait for Pete or a hitch to where Pete was. (this is when i took the above picture)
I slept. . . I woke at 5:15 and decided I had waited long enough. I needed to get home. At this point i could now stand and walk without getting a sick feeling. I began walking in the direction of home which was only about 6kms away.
I ducked in the first drive i came to and asked for a ride. A local pig hunter drove me home.
It was a day to remember.
