Yesterday's Adventure - Beware

(This article was originally published on March 2, 2012 on the old blog )


Yesterday,  I was reminded of an OSHA saying:

Is better to lose one minute in life… than to lose life in a minute.

I can be pretty naive at times I suppose. Part of that can be attributed to my belief that there is good in every person somewhere. But, where good is, evil is also present.

I found a couple of parks that I had never been to before and decided on a destination for the day. The park I chose was highly recommended by hikers on several websites. Mountain bikers gave high marks and praised the upkeep, cleanliness, and safety. Fishermen posted on wildlife sites about the beauty & bounty of fish at the park online as well. The park was listed on several family recreation recommendation sites also. I just had to go see this hidden local gem :-)

I have been all over my town, city, county and several others by myself exploring. I never gave the safety of this particular park a second thought, especially after so many high regards listed on public sites by so many people!

Following GPS, I located the park. I parked & noticed how many cars were present. There were many. I left my car, locked it & went to a beautiful fishing dock :-) The water was low, but it was lovely :-) The surrounding trees, shrubs, and spring flowers were beginning to emerge. Life around the dock was thriving. It was absolutely beautiful!


As I walked along the first & only part of a trail I got to see, I soon realized I was surrounded by 5 men. They were coming toward me from all angles. They spoke one at a time to perhaps make me nervous. Nervous people do stupid things. I heard several of them all at once in my mind though as I quickly evaluated my predicament.

Hey Baby.
Take some good pictures?
Whatcha got there?

One whistled a cat call.

Where are you going sweet thang?
Come here, we just want to talk.

One unbuttoned his pants. I had a knife clipped to my blue jeans (as I usually do) but it was dull :-(  (I can't find my good knife that has made so many hikes with me.) I hadn't planned on taking a long hike so I didn't bring my regular gear with me.

I quickly evaluated my surroundings:

• I was surrounded by 5 angles.
• Wooded area.
• No large rocks, branches, random wrought iron, wire on the ground, or strong vines to use for defense. There was nothing to use as an element of surprise.
• No one else around. I realized how stupid I had been.

I have 12 phone numbers listed on speed dial. After the 5th one, I reached a friend. I began the most random conversation I have ever had (and that's saying a lot for me).

OH Hey Sweetie!! You are? I just found the coolest park. Yeah, it's off XXX highway. Really? you're coming this way anyway? Great!! I can't wait to see you sweetie!! You're just 2-3 minutes away, really? Oh man, I would LOVE to show it to you! I love you!

Please bear in mind that my friend could not hear me well. Signal was not strong and he could only understand a few words that I was saying. Thank God he didn't hang up on me!!

Fishing? YES, there's a dock here and we can fish sometime. Oh, did I tell you that I heard back from the doctor? I HAVE CRABS. So, you'll be here in a few seconds? Great!!

While on the line with him, I had twisted off the trail, into the thicket and toward the lake. Two men didn't follow. One man behind me from another direction proclaimed,

She crazy! She going into that snake water. Forget that man.

With only two men left following me, I swiftly waded through the water with the phone plastered to my face. I'd rather take a snake bite than face what they may have done to me! I dared not to repeat myself and give away  the fact that my reception was not the best. I kept saying to my friend at different times in different ways,

Stay with me. Stay with me.

When I reached my escape trail, I glanced behind me. I had lost the other two men back on the other side of the lake. Their fear of the snakes was enough to deter them. I got in my car and sped out of there! I took a valuable lesson with me: Is better to lose one minute in life… than to lose life in a minute. 

Thank you OSHA :-)