moulton falls…by way of…

date hiked: april 28, 2007
distance: unknown

i find this odd mixture going on inside today. what i find most interesting is that my hike today seemed to match my life’s experience this week. if i had to pick a few words to sum it up, i would choose bewilderment, confusion, and shock. i’m sitting here on a cliff…not a soul around. i am at moulton falls. it is beautiful here, providing a sense of peace that reminds me that there are still safe places in the world.

yet this was not the hike i set out on today. i planned to hike the siouxon creek trail, a 12-mile hike in the gifford pinchot national forest. i became lost while driving to the trailhead. the problem is…in case you haven’t noticed…i can be a tad stubborn. so after two and a half hours in the car and my third rendition of the musical big river, i reached some form of acceptance. and a trailhead. not the trailhead i was looking for…but why not hike this one? big creek falls is a short 1.4 mile hike to a beautiful falls. at least, that is what the hiking book says. i wouldn’t know. i never made it to the falls. apparently, when the roads to a trailhead are strewn with trees that have fallen in recent storms, then it is likely that the trails are covered with trees too. personally, i was having too much fun traversing trees to think it was a real problem. until i realized i had to climb over a ton in a span of a hundred yards. and, i face planted over one tree into the dirt. for just a moment, i was disheartened to find i wasn’t a monkey. monkeys do not fall over trees. i decided to turn around.

on the way home i decided to come here…moulton falls. i’ve been here many times. i have my thoughtful spot…on the cliff. i can find a place to put the confusion. come to enjoy it, the way i would enjoy looking for a lost trailhead. i can reflect on the journey. bewilderment, shock, confusion, awe, peace, safe.

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