if this isn't worth posting about, i don't know what is
this may be dejavu (sp?) for any of you facebook readers....
so, last wednesday, i went to the head honcho to find out which rotation i would be switching to the following week, and i found out that i had a four day weekend!! with my current rotation i had sat and sundays off, and with my upcoming rotation i had mon and tuesdays off...i was like "dude, that's sweet!...but, i'm probably on call for most of those days...well, then i went home to check my calender and saw that i wasn't oncall for any of those days!!! it was a miracle and all the other VTI's were astounded and super jealous...so, i knew that i really wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity..so i started planning some adventures...
so on saturday, i went to the bronx zoo with a coworker, micheal, and his wife, becky, ...and then their two friends (a couple) joined us there as well....the guy friend that joined them, was sssssoooo my type physically...he reminded me of this boy i used to have a crush on when i was a kid (who was a friend of my older sister back in the day)...i realized as the day went on that he was jewish and i thought of doctor nick saying that i was going to find myself a jewish boy out in NY and laughed to myself...but, anyways, he had a girlfriend..so i was basically the fifth wheel the whole day, but i didn't really mind, nothing i can't get over anyways...so, the zoo was absolutely amazing!!!! i thought that it was way better than the san diego zoo...the habitat's were all very large and the animals had a ton of room to roam and keep away from the humans if they liked...i really liked it a ton!!!
at the end of the day, we said good bye to micheal's friends, and it was the awkward goodbye where i just met these people but theyre hugging their friends goodbye so when it came to me, we (the girlfriend &i) kinda did the awkward ok we'll hug sort of thing...and then her boyfriend came up and i didn't mind hugging him whatsoever ;) but then he kissed me on the cheek and i totally immediantly went red and i was very embarressed...haha
so on sunday, i planned to go and climb bear mountain...it's gorgeous area north of NYC...sarah gave me this adventure book in june that gave directions of a hike to do there..so i figured out how to get there (i had to go to port authority and take a bus up to bear mountain...) so i decided to do this 10 mile hike on sunday , and i was soo excited..the hike was described as being strenuous and beautiful..so i thought "perfect!"
so i arrived at bear mountain inn (where the bus drops and picks you up- but the inn is temporarily closed down) at 1015a, and i started following the trail...now, the last bus to pick up from bear mountain inn was at 515p...so, i wanted to be done with the hike by 4p, that way i'm for sure ready to go and relaxed by the time the bus comes...
so i'm doing the hike, and i'm absolutely loving it!! it's so gorgeous, and it felt so good to be back in the wilderness, testing my body to it's limits..or so i thought were to it's limits at that moment...
and the hike was strenuous...it was a forested mountain with very rocky rocky paths..and at moments took all my limbs to climb up the huge rocks..and unlike my other hikes, it was up down up down..instead of up one way and down the other...so, i had been hiking since 1030a, and at this point it was 3pm, and i still felt like i had a ways to go...so, i really start hallin it...and i'm really pushing myself..but, i'm still really enjoying the experience..
well, now it's 425p, and i'm still not near the inn..and i'm kinda getting nervous b/c i wanted to be done by now..well, i have one more step to my directions, so i figure i'm close..my last step says to take a right on 1777 trail (blue tag) and it will lead you to the inn...so i'm on the blue trail, and come up to this little gravel road..and there's a sign that says i'm in military territory and to make sure to stay on the trail...but as i cross this little road to continue on the blue trail, the blue tag is no longer there and the inplace of it, is a red and white tag...so i'm very confused, and don't see any blue tags down either ways of the little gravel road either..so i think to myself, that the best option is to stick with the red &white trail b/c the gravel road is probably military...
so, it's 440p, and i'm getting really nervous, and now i don't know if i'm heading down a trail leading me closer or farther from bear mt inn..so i decided to choose the red & white trail, and that i would run so i could see it where it led as soon as possible..so i ran the red and white trail..going up and down hills, jumping over dead trees, and hopping off and onto rocks covering the path...i run this path but feel like it's not going anywhere..well, then the path splits...and i can go either to the right down the red and white path, or to the left down a circle marker path labeled 1779..and that's when i realized that the circle had the numbers on it, and i remember seeing more circle markers at the little gravel road, and i think that maybe one of them said 1777...so, now i run BACK to that point...i roll my ankle at one point, but not to the point of stretching any of the tendons, but i'm definitely worried about it happening, but i have no time to stop running at this point..i'm making sure to control my breathing and had tied my backpack as close to my body as possible to prevent it bouncing...
so get back to this intersection, and only one way of the gravel road (the left way) is labeled..and it's labeled as 1777W..but my directions say to turn right onto the 1777 path...so now, i'm not sure if i should turn right onto this unlabeled portion of the path, or turn left on the path labeled 1777 even though directions say left...so i decided that the directions did me well this whole time so i would go right...so i start running right, and i run and run or about ten minutes, but then the road starts splitting up into other roads, and the directions definitely don't state anything about splitting paths..so i don't even know which road to take, so i decide that i have to go back.( i look at my phone, i've had reception the whole time, but now i have none of course..so calling someone for help is not an option)..so i run back..now, take into consideration that i had been strenuously hiking for the last six hours, and before any of this madness occurred, i was thinking how good of work out this had been and how sore i would be tomorrow.my toes were killing me because of all the uneven ground and having to wrap my feet around rocks and also from a lot of toe stubbing)...well, on top of all that i've been running for the last 35 minutes and the last time i ate was at 12p b/c i thought i'd take a snack at three, but ended up not having time, and now there was definitely no time...so i'm running back up to that same spot and my right thigh muscle pulls, but i keep going, knowing i have no time to walk... so, i'm now back at the evil spot where everything went crashing and it's now 513p (and i'm freaking out b/c the bus is supposed to be there by 515p..) so now i have two more options, and the second had lingering in my mind but never thought i'd actually truly consider....
so option one: i could run down the 1777W trail and see what happens...but who knows if that's leading me closer or farther away, and the last thing i want is to be stuck in the forest once darkness hits and in possible military zones..i think of all the nature shows i've watched and how i can't actually recall how the survivor guy actually accomplished anything...so at this point, i've 99% most likely missed the bus, but i just want to get back to the inn where i know the bus will be in the morning and where i know i'll get cellular reception..
so then there's option 2: i could go back up the path i came from in the beginning of all this and see if i see something on the way back..and if not, i know that i did cross a highway at one point, and if i had to, i'd try hitch hiking my way home...so then, i'm running back up the trail where i orignially came from, and all that's going through my head is "i can't believe i'm about to hitchhike, i can't believe i'm about hitchhike..."...so i get up to the road, and i had to walk the last ten feet b/c i just couldn't run any longer..i get to the road, and as i'm about to put my thumb out, and i say under my breath, "please, God, keep me safe"..so i hold up my thumb and four cars pass by..the second car is a mini van with a woman driving and i think "oh please oh please, she'd be safe" but she avoided eye contact with me and kept going..i longingly watch her go by, and then i see that the car infront of her had pulled over ahead up the road...it was a red truck, with a male that looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's, and i could see him clearing off the seat..i walk up to the truck and just keep praying to God on the way..i look down at my phone, but i still have no reception...i hold it tightly in my hands anyways...i go up to the side of the truck and ask him to roll down the window...now, remember i've been running for the last 40 min, pushing my body to it's true limits..i'm sweating and huffing, and i'm can't believe what i'm about to do...
so he rolls down the window, and he's like, "you were asking to hitch hike right?"
and i say desperately, "i need to get to bear mountain! do you know where it is??"
and he says, "well that's bear mountain there" (and points to an obvious mountain)...and i'm like, "no, i mean, i need to get to bear mountain inn..my bus is coming at 515, and i know i already missed it, but i need to get to the inn anyways" (at this point it's 517)..
and he's like, "well, did you follow the trail?" i tell him how the blue trail disappeared and i couldn't figure it out..he says that the trail is there, but that it's about an hour more of a hike...and i take a deep and just spit out what i was dreading to actually say: "well, can you take to bear mt inn?"
he looks hesitant and says that it's back the other way and that he was about to merge onto a highway going the other way...i don't say anything...i don't know what else i could do...and then he says after a long pause "ok, get in the car..i hope you don't have allergies b/c there's dog hair everywhere"...
i say "thank you thank you thank you" while in my head i continue praying for my safety...and he does a 360 turn..i have no idea if he's really taking me towards the inn or not, i have no clue if i'm going north south east or west...he asks me more about what i was hiking and i show him the book and explain more how the trail disappears..he says how he's a volunteer with the trails, and that he helps maintain them..he doesnt know them all by heart, but he knows exactly how to get to bear mt inn..i say that i just pray to God that the bus was delayed somehow...so as were heading down a curvy road, i see a bus and it's flashing port authority above the windshield..and i knew that was it..that was the bus to take me home!
so i yell "that's it! that's it! that's the bus!!"
and he manages to drive infront of it so that it had to stop...i say "thank you thank you thank!" i shake his hand, tell him " i'm jena by the way", and he says "GO GO!"
and so i jump out of the truck, and run up to the bus..the door opens, and see that it's the same man that took me to bear mt earlier that day..and i'm soooo relieved, and i say in paniced mania "i got lost!! and i had hitch hike!" and he says "calm down, calm down, go sit down"
i do what he says, and realized that i announced to the whole bus that i hitched hiked and everyone is looking at me like i'm a mad woman..and of course the bus is three quarters of the way full...
so i'm sitting on the bus, and my body begins to crash...my sympathetic nercous system was on full blast, and all my adrenaline was flowing through my body.. and now my body was coming down fast..i felt like was going to puke and just tried to hold it in as we're driving down these winding up and down roads...i had orignially thought that i caught the bus on the way to the inn..but realized after about ten minutes that we were heading back to NYC, and that i had caught the bus on the way out...
i just couldn't believe that i was actually on the bus on my way home...when just twenty minutes before i was thinking how i would have to survive the night in the middle of nowhere..i then i thought about how everything was perfectly timed..that if i had decided to run any further or walk more and run less, that i would have missed that man on the road, and would have missed the bus and that opportune moment...and i just couldn't believe how it came together...
so i'm happy to say, that i'm home safe and sound..and i realize that yes, in order to experience life out here, i need to do a lot on my own, but that next time i need to start out with a little smaller goal, and do a trail where you go back the way you came instead of doing a circle where you don't have a choice to turn around once youre too far in...and if youre going to be on your own, to have a more detailed map and a compass...
the night before my climb, i had called my parents on a whim and asked them to keep in their prayers for my hike tomorrow...my dad said he prayed for me three times during the day on sunday...
and it's funny how things even out in life..b/c on my way to port authority sunday morning, a man in his 20's who looked like he hadnt slept at all and just finished partying for the last 12 hours approached me and asked if i knew how to get to port authority, well, any other day before that morning i wouldn't of had any clue, but that was exactly where i was headed, so i was able to help him get there and get home...
then, on my way home after all the madness, an older polish woman asked me how to get to the R train to queens, and she was headed the completely wrong way, so i was able to take her exactly where the train was b/c that was the same spot that my train picked up at...so, it's weird how all in one day two people approached me for help, and i then approached another for help, and we were all able to help eachother in one way or another..
so, last wednesday, i went to the head honcho to find out which rotation i would be switching to the following week, and i found out that i had a four day weekend!! with my current rotation i had sat and sundays off, and with my upcoming rotation i had mon and tuesdays off...i was like "dude, that's sweet!...but, i'm probably on call for most of those days...well, then i went home to check my calender and saw that i wasn't oncall for any of those days!!! it was a miracle and all the other VTI's were astounded and super jealous...so, i knew that i really wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity..so i started planning some adventures...
so on saturday, i went to the bronx zoo with a coworker, micheal, and his wife, becky, ...and then their two friends (a couple) joined us there as well....the guy friend that joined them, was sssssoooo my type physically...he reminded me of this boy i used to have a crush on when i was a kid (who was a friend of my older sister back in the day)...i realized as the day went on that he was jewish and i thought of doctor nick saying that i was going to find myself a jewish boy out in NY and laughed to myself...but, anyways, he had a girlfriend..so i was basically the fifth wheel the whole day, but i didn't really mind, nothing i can't get over anyways...so, the zoo was absolutely amazing!!!! i thought that it was way better than the san diego zoo...the habitat's were all very large and the animals had a ton of room to roam and keep away from the humans if they liked...i really liked it a ton!!!
at the end of the day, we said good bye to micheal's friends, and it was the awkward goodbye where i just met these people but theyre hugging their friends goodbye so when it came to me, we (the girlfriend &i) kinda did the awkward ok we'll hug sort of thing...and then her boyfriend came up and i didn't mind hugging him whatsoever ;) but then he kissed me on the cheek and i totally immediantly went red and i was very embarressed...haha
so on sunday, i planned to go and climb bear mountain...it's gorgeous area north of NYC...sarah gave me this adventure book in june that gave directions of a hike to do there..so i figured out how to get there (i had to go to port authority and take a bus up to bear mountain...) so i decided to do this 10 mile hike on sunday , and i was soo excited..the hike was described as being strenuous and beautiful..so i thought "perfect!"
so i arrived at bear mountain inn (where the bus drops and picks you up- but the inn is temporarily closed down) at 1015a, and i started following the trail...now, the last bus to pick up from bear mountain inn was at 515p...so, i wanted to be done with the hike by 4p, that way i'm for sure ready to go and relaxed by the time the bus comes...
so i'm doing the hike, and i'm absolutely loving it!! it's so gorgeous, and it felt so good to be back in the wilderness, testing my body to it's limits..or so i thought were to it's limits at that moment...
and the hike was strenuous...it was a forested mountain with very rocky rocky paths..and at moments took all my limbs to climb up the huge rocks..and unlike my other hikes, it was up down up down..instead of up one way and down the other...so, i had been hiking since 1030a, and at this point it was 3pm, and i still felt like i had a ways to go...so, i really start hallin it...and i'm really pushing myself..but, i'm still really enjoying the experience..
well, now it's 425p, and i'm still not near the inn..and i'm kinda getting nervous b/c i wanted to be done by now..well, i have one more step to my directions, so i figure i'm close..my last step says to take a right on 1777 trail (blue tag) and it will lead you to the inn...so i'm on the blue trail, and come up to this little gravel road..and there's a sign that says i'm in military territory and to make sure to stay on the trail...but as i cross this little road to continue on the blue trail, the blue tag is no longer there and the inplace of it, is a red and white tag...so i'm very confused, and don't see any blue tags down either ways of the little gravel road either..so i think to myself, that the best option is to stick with the red &white trail b/c the gravel road is probably military...
so, it's 440p, and i'm getting really nervous, and now i don't know if i'm heading down a trail leading me closer or farther from bear mt inn..so i decided to choose the red & white trail, and that i would run so i could see it where it led as soon as possible..so i ran the red and white trail..going up and down hills, jumping over dead trees, and hopping off and onto rocks covering the path...i run this path but feel like it's not going anywhere..well, then the path splits...and i can go either to the right down the red and white path, or to the left down a circle marker path labeled 1779..and that's when i realized that the circle had the numbers on it, and i remember seeing more circle markers at the little gravel road, and i think that maybe one of them said 1777...so, now i run BACK to that point...i roll my ankle at one point, but not to the point of stretching any of the tendons, but i'm definitely worried about it happening, but i have no time to stop running at this point..i'm making sure to control my breathing and had tied my backpack as close to my body as possible to prevent it bouncing...
so get back to this intersection, and only one way of the gravel road (the left way) is labeled..and it's labeled as 1777W..but my directions say to turn right onto the 1777 path...so now, i'm not sure if i should turn right onto this unlabeled portion of the path, or turn left on the path labeled 1777 even though directions say left...so i decided that the directions did me well this whole time so i would go right...so i start running right, and i run and run or about ten minutes, but then the road starts splitting up into other roads, and the directions definitely don't state anything about splitting paths..so i don't even know which road to take, so i decide that i have to go back.( i look at my phone, i've had reception the whole time, but now i have none of course..so calling someone for help is not an option)..so i run back..now, take into consideration that i had been strenuously hiking for the last six hours, and before any of this madness occurred, i was thinking how good of work out this had been and how sore i would be tomorrow.my toes were killing me because of all the uneven ground and having to wrap my feet around rocks and also from a lot of toe stubbing)...well, on top of all that i've been running for the last 35 minutes and the last time i ate was at 12p b/c i thought i'd take a snack at three, but ended up not having time, and now there was definitely no time...so i'm running back up to that same spot and my right thigh muscle pulls, but i keep going, knowing i have no time to walk... so, i'm now back at the evil spot where everything went crashing and it's now 513p (and i'm freaking out b/c the bus is supposed to be there by 515p..) so now i have two more options, and the second had lingering in my mind but never thought i'd actually truly consider....
so option one: i could run down the 1777W trail and see what happens...but who knows if that's leading me closer or farther away, and the last thing i want is to be stuck in the forest once darkness hits and in possible military zones..i think of all the nature shows i've watched and how i can't actually recall how the survivor guy actually accomplished anything...so at this point, i've 99% most likely missed the bus, but i just want to get back to the inn where i know the bus will be in the morning and where i know i'll get cellular reception..
so then there's option 2: i could go back up the path i came from in the beginning of all this and see if i see something on the way back..and if not, i know that i did cross a highway at one point, and if i had to, i'd try hitch hiking my way home...so then, i'm running back up the trail where i orignially came from, and all that's going through my head is "i can't believe i'm about to hitchhike, i can't believe i'm about hitchhike..."...so i get up to the road, and i had to walk the last ten feet b/c i just couldn't run any longer..i get to the road, and as i'm about to put my thumb out, and i say under my breath, "please, God, keep me safe"..so i hold up my thumb and four cars pass by..the second car is a mini van with a woman driving and i think "oh please oh please, she'd be safe" but she avoided eye contact with me and kept going..i longingly watch her go by, and then i see that the car infront of her had pulled over ahead up the road...it was a red truck, with a male that looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's, and i could see him clearing off the seat..i walk up to the truck and just keep praying to God on the way..i look down at my phone, but i still have no reception...i hold it tightly in my hands anyways...i go up to the side of the truck and ask him to roll down the window...now, remember i've been running for the last 40 min, pushing my body to it's true limits..i'm sweating and huffing, and i'm can't believe what i'm about to do...
so he rolls down the window, and he's like, "you were asking to hitch hike right?"
and i say desperately, "i need to get to bear mountain! do you know where it is??"
and he says, "well that's bear mountain there" (and points to an obvious mountain)...and i'm like, "no, i mean, i need to get to bear mountain inn..my bus is coming at 515, and i know i already missed it, but i need to get to the inn anyways" (at this point it's 517)..
and he's like, "well, did you follow the trail?" i tell him how the blue trail disappeared and i couldn't figure it out..he says that the trail is there, but that it's about an hour more of a hike...and i take a deep and just spit out what i was dreading to actually say: "well, can you take to bear mt inn?"
he looks hesitant and says that it's back the other way and that he was about to merge onto a highway going the other way...i don't say anything...i don't know what else i could do...and then he says after a long pause "ok, get in the car..i hope you don't have allergies b/c there's dog hair everywhere"...
i say "thank you thank you thank you" while in my head i continue praying for my safety...and he does a 360 turn..i have no idea if he's really taking me towards the inn or not, i have no clue if i'm going north south east or west...he asks me more about what i was hiking and i show him the book and explain more how the trail disappears..he says how he's a volunteer with the trails, and that he helps maintain them..he doesnt know them all by heart, but he knows exactly how to get to bear mt inn..i say that i just pray to God that the bus was delayed somehow...so as were heading down a curvy road, i see a bus and it's flashing port authority above the windshield..and i knew that was it..that was the bus to take me home!
so i yell "that's it! that's it! that's the bus!!"
and he manages to drive infront of it so that it had to stop...i say "thank you thank you thank!" i shake his hand, tell him " i'm jena by the way", and he says "GO GO!"
and so i jump out of the truck, and run up to the bus..the door opens, and see that it's the same man that took me to bear mt earlier that day..and i'm soooo relieved, and i say in paniced mania "i got lost!! and i had hitch hike!" and he says "calm down, calm down, go sit down"
i do what he says, and realized that i announced to the whole bus that i hitched hiked and everyone is looking at me like i'm a mad woman..and of course the bus is three quarters of the way full...
so i'm sitting on the bus, and my body begins to crash...my sympathetic nercous system was on full blast, and all my adrenaline was flowing through my body.. and now my body was coming down fast..i felt like was going to puke and just tried to hold it in as we're driving down these winding up and down roads...i had orignially thought that i caught the bus on the way to the inn..but realized after about ten minutes that we were heading back to NYC, and that i had caught the bus on the way out...
i just couldn't believe that i was actually on the bus on my way home...when just twenty minutes before i was thinking how i would have to survive the night in the middle of nowhere..i then i thought about how everything was perfectly timed..that if i had decided to run any further or walk more and run less, that i would have missed that man on the road, and would have missed the bus and that opportune moment...and i just couldn't believe how it came together...
so i'm happy to say, that i'm home safe and sound..and i realize that yes, in order to experience life out here, i need to do a lot on my own, but that next time i need to start out with a little smaller goal, and do a trail where you go back the way you came instead of doing a circle where you don't have a choice to turn around once youre too far in...and if youre going to be on your own, to have a more detailed map and a compass...
the night before my climb, i had called my parents on a whim and asked them to keep in their prayers for my hike tomorrow...my dad said he prayed for me three times during the day on sunday...
and it's funny how things even out in life..b/c on my way to port authority sunday morning, a man in his 20's who looked like he hadnt slept at all and just finished partying for the last 12 hours approached me and asked if i knew how to get to port authority, well, any other day before that morning i wouldn't of had any clue, but that was exactly where i was headed, so i was able to help him get there and get home...
then, on my way home after all the madness, an older polish woman asked me how to get to the R train to queens, and she was headed the completely wrong way, so i was able to take her exactly where the train was b/c that was the same spot that my train picked up at...so, it's weird how all in one day two people approached me for help, and i then approached another for help, and we were all able to help eachother in one way or another..