Not Lost

If you know what trail you’re on, where the vehicle you came in is located, and how to get back to civilization if that vehicle is gone, you are not lost, even when you get separated from other hikers in your group.

But let’s start at the beginning of this three-trail story, covering Willow Lake, the new Trail 742 off Copper Basin Road, and the Copper Basin Loop Trail, which begins at the Aspen Creek Trailhead.

On September 1 I was doing my normal four-mile loop around Willow Lake when I came across the Trekabout Club, the City of Prescott’s hiking club, which does one-hour hikes on Tuesdays and two-hour hikes on Thursdays. The one-hour walks are too short for my liking, and the two-hour hikes often conflict with my schedule.

When I came across them at Willow Lake my hiking buddy Russ Pilcher was with 25 others members, packed together like sardines. Russ was kind enough to invite me along.

Jenny Cobb, another hiking fiend, was leading the hike and I wanted to chat with her, but I couldn’t pass the others and catch up with her till the end of the hike. 

After our chat I continued on my loop, and she was going back to take photos of the abundant flowers since they didn’t have time to stop. That should have been a big signal for me.

Russ, who probably regretted it later, talked me into coming on the Thursday hike off Copper Basin Road. It sounded intriguing.

Due to recent rains the flowers were indeed abundant, and the colors just jumped out at us. The problem was that I was constantly stopping to take photos of the flowers and no one else was stopping. Apparently the Trekabout Club does not stop to smell the roses, or any other flowers.

So I had to keep playing catch-up with the group. This worked okay most of the way. At about the midway point they were approaching a scenic overlook where they’d planned a short break.

One hiker told me we would be there in about ten mutes as they climbed a bit of a hill. This time I stopped to tie my sneakers as they disappeared around the side of a hill.

Apparently when they got on the other side they turned left to the scenic overlook. I missed that turn, and about twenty minutes later I wondered why I was alone. I didn’t catch up to them till we got back to the vehicles. It was mostly a good laugh, though Russ thought it was annoying.

The leader said he saw me when he last looked after making the turn, but he didn’t realize I didn’t see him. Some in the group were concerned. My bad.

The part that was hilarious, but could have been dangerous if we were on a more remote trail, was that I called Russ several times, but his ringer was off; Russ called me several times, and my ringer was off. Experts advise hikers to take cellphones, but they don’t mention needing to keep your ringer on.

Russ summed up the hikes with the Trekabout Hiking Club. “We are not communing with nature. We are getting a good workout. That’s what I like about it,” he said.

A couple of days later I hiked the Copper Basin loop with hiking buddies Terry and Diane. The loop was 6.5 miles and for most of  the hike you’re going up a long hill. We did over a thousand feet of elevation, but we took several breaks to take in the scenery, which made for several wows, and the flowers.

This is not to say that one type of hiking, or one type of hiking club, is better than the other. It isn’t. You just have to find the right hiking style or group that fits you best.

Vive la difference!