Scouting November 25, 2009

On the day of Sunday November 25, 2009 I woke up feeling miserable. I was nauseous and worn out. I had started feeling really ill the night before and I wasn’t feeling much better when I woke up. The first half of my day was spent lying in bed and wallowing in my misery. However as the day went on I decided that nothing was going to keep me out of the woods when I had time to be scouting. Jessica and Harry were out visiting some family so I had the time and I decided that I was not letting anything hold me back from getting out in the woods and getting my job done. After some thought I even decided that the fresh air may help me feel better.

The shower and clean up that I did before heading out gave me a temporary pep up but I soon felt myself dragging again. I had not been able to force myself to eat much but I knew I needed some sustenance so I grabbed a bite to eat and forced it down. After getting some food down I hopped in the truck and started the 20-minute drive to the area I was going to scout.

After I finally arrived at my destination I took a deep breath, put on my backpack, and stepped out of the truck. The beautiful mountains and clear trail helped energize me a little and I started off on my journey. Knowing I didn't have very long and not being sure how long my energy boost would last I took off at the quickest pace I could manage. My body felt like it had been through the ringer but I knew if I could get myself in to my destination then I would have to find the will to get myself out. The trick would just be to force myself up the hills to get to where I needed to get go. The trail was actually a logging road and it was quite the mix of frozen icy ground where the sun didn't reach and a muddy mess where the sun did shine. My feet felt heavy but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. About half a mile in deer sign begin sporadically appearing. It was muddy enough that I could see how they were using the road to travel but there wasn't a lot of sign. However, the further I went in the more sign appeared and the bigger and deeper the prints were. I was feeling upbeat mentally but feeling beat physically.

Despite the fact that I was seeing positive sign, a sign of a different type turned me around and heading back to the truck. About a mile in to the journey I felt like I may be nearing the end of my scouting trip. This was the first time I had traveled this trail though and I only had a guess as too how far it went. My body was reaching its ending point and I came to a hill that overlooked part of the trail ahead of me. By my best estimation I could see at least a mile more of trail with no end in sight. Normally that would excite me but in my weakened condition this day that sight turned me around. The first chance I get I will be tackling this trail again but hopefully I will be feeling better and I will be riding a bicycle. It will be a perfect scouting trip and a fun ride!