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non-prompt: having been there myself
aww, 6/04/14
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Around 7:45PM, I arrived back at Son's gray, 2000, Toyota Camry which we had parked over six hours earlier in the Massie Gap parking area. There were about four other cars in parking spaces awaiting their hikers. At any moment, I expected my 23-year-old son to emerge from the trail and cross the large, wide meadow to meet me.
I'm glad his driver's door lock is broken, I said to myself.
I can change out of my hiking shoes into my sandals.
I opened the driver's door and pushed the button that unlocked the other doors. I went around to the passenger's side and opened the back door. I unlatched my green and black hip pack that now held two empty water bottles in its side pockets. I placed my hip pack in the back seat. I tossed in my green jacket, which had stayed around my waist on the eight-mile rugged hike.
I picked up one of my trekking poles which I had leaned against the side of the car. With my left hand gripped toward the bottom of the pole and my right hand gripped slightly above where the top of the pole joins the bottom of the pole, I twisted, rotating my right wrist toward me and my left wrist away from my body, like I was loosening a cap off a bottle. After I loosened the pole grip, I pushed the top part of the pole over the bottom section; the pole magically became shorter. I twisted again in the opposite directions, tightening the shortened pole. I placed the pole on the car floor behind the front passenger's seat and repeated the process with my other trekking pole.
Both my trekking poles have silver duct tape wrapped around them, a backpacker's trick so as to travel lighter and not have to carry a whole role of heavy duct tape. I think all backpackers carry duct tape, the versatile fix-it aid.
I unlaced and took off my hiking shoes and then my hiking socks. It felt good to release my feet from their protective coverings. I put on my Velcro-strapped Teva sandals.
I rummaged in the grocery bag in the back seat and retrieved a granola bar. I closed the back door and climbed into the front passenger seat to munch my snack.
I wonder where Son is? He had wanted to go eat, so I thought for sure he'd be back here by 8:00. I gotta pee. I wonder how gross the privy is?
After finishing my almond-chocolate-sea-salt yummy bar and drinking some water from my cup that had been in the car all day, I grabbed some tissue and headed toward the privy which was located about fifteen yards or so down the hill in the woods. There were two privies, a ladies and a gents. I was surprised at how clean the privy was, and it even had toilet paper.
As I walked back up the hill, I thought for sure Son would be at the car.
No Son.
 |
| Massie Gap Meadow |
This isn't good, I thought to myself.
I have no cell service and neither does Son. I'm sure he's not in grave danger. Well, he could have fallen or something, but it's unlikely he would be severely injured. I wonder if he took a side trail and got turned around? He has water for the day and he has a coat and I'm sure other supplies in his day pack. I know he won't die or anything. But I'll have to find a phone if he doesn't show up soon. Maybe he decided to hang out on the ridge to see the sun set. Maybe he hooked up with those four hikers from Appalachian State.
It was getting dark. I turned on the light in the car and surveyed the small Grayson Highlands park map, the one given to park visitors as they enter along the winding road that goes up the mountain. I noticed light's out time at the campground was at 10:00 PM.
If Son's not back by 8:45, I'll have to start walking to the campground to see if I can find someone with a phone that has service. I'll call Hubby first and then call the park rangers. We couldn't do any looking for Son tonight, but we could start first thing in the morning. Hubby would have to call my pet clients that are scheduled for tomorrow. Hubby would probably make the two-hour drive up here tonight.
As the sun set, the air grew chilly. I took off my Teva sandals, put on my socks and put back on my Teva sandals. From the back seat, I grabbed my Catskill Mountain tie-dye sweat shirt that I had bought back in 2010 when I was in Woodstock and pulled it over my head.
I got out of the car and walked again over to the wooden split-rail fence. I gazed across the wide meadow; the trail at the far end was now fading into darkness.
A loan hiker appeared from the meadow, but it wasn't Son. I asked the hiker if he had seen another lone hiker, with a day pack. He responded in the negative; he hadn't seen any hikers. I told him my concern about Son, but the hiker's cell phone had no service. We said our good byes as he got in his truck and drove away.
As I stood gazing across the darkening meadow, I jokingly said to myself,
Son must be getting me back for that time at Roan Mountain when he had to come looking for me on the Appalachian Trail at 10:00 at night.
I heard voices coming from the road that winds on the left side of the meadow down to the horse stables.
Could that be Son? Did he hike back a different route with a hiker he'd met on the trail?
As the voices took physical form, I saw they belonged to a young college-age couple. The couple arrived at their black Honda car which I was standing near. We said our hellos and chatted a bit. I learned they were Virginia Tech students; the girl had just graduated. They were camping at the park camp ground; it was their first time camping.
I explained my concern about my son to them letting them know that both Son and I were experienced hikers which meant we were experienced enough to know that regardless of how experienced a hiker is,
stuff can happen on the trail.
The young woman's cell phone had two bars. Her provider was Sprint, not AT&T which was my and Son's provider. AT&T service sucks at the Highlands, and I wasn't too confident about Sprint's service, even with the two bars. Usually Verizon is the only provider that worked up here.
She gladly let me use her phone.
I tapped in the numbers for Hubby's phone.
I waited as the cell phone screen displayed the word "calling."
Then...it dropped. No connection.
I tried two more times.
Nothing.
***
Wings on my feet...(part one)
Wings on my feet... (part two)
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