The first time my fast red car failed to start when I returned to it after driving to my destination without issue, I called a tow truck. The driver tested my battery and said it was fine. I turned the key again while he watched, and it started. I felt a little silly, and drove on home.
After it happened another time when I was twenty minutes outside of town, I took it to the shop. Several months and several hundred dollars later, the problem was still not fixed. So not only have I been stuck at home due to the pandemic, but I felt like I couldn’t do the only thing available (drive somewhere and explore outside) for fear of being stranded. I gave a little toast to the red car last Sunday (it was the first car I ever really loved), and I traded it the next day for a still sporty but sturdier model.
The elation I felt at being able to get in the car and go exploring reminds me a little of how it feels to be well again after being sick. You don’t realize how bad you felt until the contrast of feeling better comes along.
As I hiked on the Laurel Highlands Trail near Ohiopyle on Monday, I decided this should be the summer of hiking. When I got home, I drew a circle of 120 miles around my house and started researching new hikes. I’ve been on all the ones around here a thousand times.
Yesterday I decided to try one I found on this list called the New Germany Trail Loop, near New Germany State Park. I’d never been before, but since the hike had the same name as the Park, I figured I would either see a sign or consult a park map once I arrived.
Solo adventure tip number 1: Do not rely on the internet for directions. It worked just fine to get me to the park itself, but once there I had no service at all. (You may also have noticed that the list of recommended hikes I found provided no directions at all.)
The park had a beautiful lake with cabins nearby, but the maps did not list any of the hikes from the list. All the ones they did show were less than a mile long. I’d just driven 45 minutes, and I wanted to go some distance.
I saw a ranger drive by and followed his truck. Turns out he’d never heard of the New Germany Trail Loop, though he worked in New Germany State Park. He told me about the Monroe Run Trail about “5 minutes” away. I wondered as I drove if the ranger’s five minutes was the same distance as mine.
Turns out you have to go past New Germany State Park on 219N, then past the entrance to Savage River State Forest, and shortly after the shooting range and the correctional center (somehow this pairing seems odd?) is the sign for the Monroe Run Trail.
The trail’s beginning seems unremarkable. I soon wound my way down through the woods and found the stream that gives the hike its name. I stepped carefully on rocks for the first crossing, but soon gave up and just walked right through. The water felt deliciously cool on my feet and legs.
I probably crossed the stream at least ten times. The trail winds back and forth across it and doesn’t seem heavily traveled. Someone had been there with a chainsaw to clear the trees that blocked the path, but they didn’t make it very far.
Someone else long ago built these careful stone walls next to several sections of the stream, and I have no idea why.
The fact that I had to climb over or duck under as many tree branches as there were stream crossings added a little variety. Sort of the same appeal as those obstacle-filled running races, I thought, though I’ve never done one.
Nothing like spending several months in your house to make all the shapes and patterns in nature seem nothing short of amazing.
When I finished, I was really hungry. Solo adventure tip number 2: Bring more snacks!
I remembered a little cafe called Cornucopia a friend has raved about multiple times, and it turned out to be just a few miles away. They were open for takeout only though, and I didn’t feel like waiting 20 minutes for a meal I’d have to eat while sitting in my car. Luckily there was an ice cream truck not too far away.
I will confess that I have resisted these kinds of solo adventures for years, though I really don’t know why. It just doesn’t seem fun, I would tell myself when my other self suggested I just go it alone.
Maybe it’s the pandemic, maybe it’s the new car. Either way, I’m really happy that the independent adventurous self has finally won out.