And Me Without My Legs!

I am one of those kind of gals who when she takes up a new hobby she is all in, I want all the cool toys that go with the hobby. Those of you who know me know of my large collection of scrapbooking toys. When scuba diving was our hobby I was always looking for cool gear, stickers, shirts etc. Now I have moved to hiking as my primary hobby so it stands to reason that I am all about the gear. Cool boots, got 'em. Thick socks, check. Nifty sweat towel, definately have it. Cool hiking pants with zip off legs, two pairs in my arsenal.

As we have been expanding our hiking trail selections we tend to do some of the trails frequently because of the convenience. The University of West Florida multiuse trails are one of our frequently hiked trails. The trail is a good distance at 9 miles, it is a loop trail, it is well shaded, it is well marked, and it is well cleared. It is the well cleared part of the trail that has caused me to become complacent about my zip off pants. I have started wearing them as shorts when we do this trail and leaving the legs at home. It is ridiculously hot here still!

Today was going to be a UWF hiking day but when we received a text from our hiking buddies saying they weren't coming I decided that maybe we should try something new...I am also very easily bored! As we are sitting in our driveway I make this decision to go to a new place today and chose the Tarklin Bayou State Park. We looked up directions and headed off. It wasn't until we arrived and got out of the car that it occurred to me that I didn't have my legs. Oh well, how bad could it be? Right?

There is a trail map posted and there are actually three trails. One is paved and we all know that is NOT hiking! One trail is approximately 7 miles - Perfect! Oh but wait, according to the trail map this trail is very wet, possibly up to two feet of water most of the year. TWO FEET! Oh well, we have hiked wet before so off we go.

In all fairness the trail wasn't bad. We did have to do some creative trail blazing to get around several of the wetter areas. The entire trail wasn't swampy like this and we did come out to a beautiful beach on the Perdido River. But without my legs I was having all sorts of grasses, weeds and briars constantly rubbing my bare ankles and calves. And I kept expecting something to jump out and bite me.

I am amazed that every time we hike a new trail or situation I learn something from the experience. Today I learned that while I don't always have to wear my legs, I should always take them with me so I can have the option!

We ended up completing the trail without getting wet but I am confident that if there had been much rain recently this would have been a very different story. I also did a lot of thinking about how to treat snake bites today and have David in there researching this for me as I write. I hope that is information I will never have to use but better to be prepared!

Happy Hiking