Some Days You Get Lucky - Misadventure at Colorado Bend (Park #3)

 

Principle Number 1 of the 7 Leave No Trace Principles 

- Plan Ahead and Prepare*

What's that expression I use all the time? "Do as I say, not as I do." 

I often joke about it, but this day was no joke. I even TEACH the Leave No Trace Principles every time I teach a class. Somehow I messed up, got complacent, whatever. 

Spoiler alert: This story has a happy ending and is a reminder of why we drill children (and adults) on safety. Apparently you can make a mistake and sometimes recover if you start making better choices.

Here are a few of those rules:

Plan ahead.

Travel in pairs.

Hydrate and bring more water than you think you will need (and drink regularly).

Make sure someone knows where you are hiking.

STAY TOGETHER.

When you are lost (we were never lost) stop and let rescuers come to you.

Here's the tale:

A friend and I decided to start hiking in the state parks in our area. Some would be a repeat and others would be hiked for the first time. We were doing this in lieu of sampling the Appalachian trail which is too far away and (we decided) beyond our abilities.

Colorado Bend would be our third park and the last one until it cooled off in the fall. While early spring here was lovely and wet, the summer kicked in early and temperatures were spiking into the 90s earlier than expected. This day would be warm, but we were planning to start early and be done around noon.

More spoilers: What went wrong? It's easy to second guess ourselves now, but I think it was an overestimation of our abilities (mine anyway) and an underestimation of both the rigor of the trail and the heat. The heat rose quickly - hotter than forecast and was exacerbated by the radiant heat from the limestone surface of this part of the park. It was like being in an oven. 

So, we made it down to the falls (barely falling due to drought) in spite of what was an abysmally marked trail and began our return. We stopped in patches of shade on the return. We still had some water but it became clear that we needed to stop, sit down, and call for assistance.

Fortunately, we stopped in the spot where cell connectivity was available.**

Let me share that the "SOS Emergency Call" function of a cell phone worked.*** I spoke to the 911 operator, then the San Saba Sheriff's dispatch. Because I knew our location, I relayed that information as well as our condition to them. They, in turn, called the park office.

We sat and fretted. We drank more water. We chatted about who might come to our rescue. We hoped we would not hear any helicopters.**** And then we started hearing voices.

Three members of the park staff aided us in getting out. They had more water and we drank it. They knew a short cut and we took it. We walked out. I'm not sure about my friend, but I was thrilled to have some assistance up and over and down the rugged surface and boulders of the shortcut through a dry creek and up to a spot where a park officer waited in a truck to drive us back to our vehicle.

We drank more water.

We collected everyone's name (and they collected ours for their report). They assured us that we weren't the first call they had gotten this year. We WERE the first call for the interim park director who was one of our rescuers. [We joked that this was actually a training exercise for him.] They also said that they had been surprised by heat.

So, no harm-no foul. We got in our vehicle and turned on the air conditioner. We talked about how lucky we were. We expressed relief there were no ambulances called and no helicopters on the horizon - and that we had not needed any. We stopped for more cold drinks and headed to town for lunch.

In town, my phone reminded me that my emergency contacts had not been notified YET because of poor cell service and I realized I needed to call and let everyone know I was fine before they started getting notification.*****

One more rule for us no more "difficult" trails.******

Here are some photos of the day. There aren't many and most were taken in the shade.

It was a hazy day as I dropped Zelda at day care. We knew the park trails would be a bit much for juggling a dog.

Bewick's Wren sang as we headed down the trail to the falls. It should have been a good omen. A sign?

I love doves.

I took no shots of the seeming moonscape of much of this trail. I was trying to preserve energy and focus on a safe journey back to the car.

LIZARD - I think it is a whiptail.

I'm sure in the rainy season water comes rushing down this creek-ish thing. Not this day.

Um...see that trickle. There's your waterfall.

I love the crazy forest feel here with vines and all...wish the whole trail was shady. Just saying.

This is a very small bit of waterfall. You have to scoot around towards the river and get in an incredibly awkward position to get the shot. I'm not sure it was worth it.

There is supposed to be an enormous waterfall right here. Wait. Go to the kitchen and turn on the faucet. Close your eyes. Imagine a waterfall.

Fox Squirrel

It looks cool. It was NOT.

Like I would do something like this...well.

Pecan?

It is lovely - look at that canopy!

That squirrel was making the rounds.

The access to the river is steep. One must pull oneself up using the cable. 

Quartz Crystals

If you know me, you know I make fun of places named for geological and botanical features (like Flat, Mound, and The Grove in central Texas. I consider this shows a complete lack of imagination). I think Bend was named for the "bend" in the Colorado (HELLO - Colorado Bend State Park.). I still worry about what will happen when "the grove" is cut down.

I'm sure you have noticed the same thing we did - COLD DRINKS sign.

NOTES: 

* https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/

** Two trails cross about a half mile from the parking area. There is a bike rack there  for folks with trail bikes.

*** Okay. I did have to redial 911, but then everything was fine. 

**** Do you have any idea what a med-evac flight costs? 

***** My emergency contact DID get a notification and then a map of my location every 15 minutes until I could get home and "Google" how to turn the thing off. The good news is that it all worked, my friend and I are here - no heat exhaustion, no heat stroke, no fall or other injuries. We are a little older and (hopefully) a great deal wiser.

****** So far all 3 parks have had great maps (and mostly good trail signage). The maps indicate distances and the "difficulty" of the trails. We have traveled easy and moderate trails with no problem. NO MORE DIFFICULT TRAILS!