This weekend I met a personal goal that turned out to be more challenging than first anticipated. It was to hike the entire Bull Run Occoquan Trail, which is about 18 miles. It was a test of endurance for me as I knew it would take at least seven hours (including lunch break). Luckily, my hiking partner, Rebecca, is just like me. She doesn’t require a lot of breaks and walks the same pace that I do.
We miscalculated the effect the heavy spring rains would have on the trail as well as the time it would take to deal with those effects. It ended up taking nine hours thanks to flooded creek/stream crossings as well as trails covered in mud so slippery it was like walking on ice at times.
Now I had expected some of the water would be more than ankle deep which is why I had thrown some sandals in my pack for such crossings.
Uh, try hip (for me) and waist (for petite Rebecca) deep water. The first crossing at mile 10 was made easier by a strapping college boy. He gallantly offered to wade in to see just how deep the streaming water went when he and his dad came across the two of us pondering that question. Then he took his boy scout duty to a new level in terms of helping “old ladies” in crossings. He provided a steady hand as we walked with the other hand holding our boots and packs aloft. My fear of snakes must have been all over my face as the boy offered more than once during the crossing if I wanted a piggy back ride. I declined as I refused to be a bigger wimp than I was already being. But I did consider it.
Second crossing around mile 15 was tad trickier as we had no clue as to the depth because of all the mud in water. Plus it was totally still which made me fear water moccasins even more. We found a fallen tree not too far off the trail that served as a bridge across the 30 feet or so of water. But between our fatigue and muddy boots, we feared we’d slip and tumble into the water if we did the balance beam walk.
I straddled that tree like you would a horse and inched my way across. I hugged the sides of that tree so hard my inner thighs got a little chaffed along with a massive wedgie! Thankfully Rebecca did NOT have her camera as I’m sure I looked ridiculous.
And when I triumphantly stood on the other side, feeling such a sense of relief... I slid down that steep, slippery bank back towards the water. As luck would have it, in that mud was a few tree roots that I caught during the slide down that stopped me from plunging into those murky depths.
By the time we reached the end, I was covered in mud and exhausted. Plus I had brushed up against some poison oak so my lower calf had some ever so lovely red blotchy marks. It wasn’t until I got out of the car, that I felt like I’d been hit by a train. Every muscle ached as I dragged my self up to the shower.
But I am so pleased with myself. General George Patton was right. "Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”
