Overdue for a vigorous hike I chose to hike up a cell tower mountain that overlooks Red River, NM. Cell tower mountains almost guarantee you a short steep hike, with a commanding view on top. They are under-rated as hiking opportunities.
The hike started in an area logged ten years ago, so there were plenty of stumps to look at, but also lush grass, flowers, and a new generation of trees. I just appreciated the open views while they lasted. Soon we were bushwhacking through a typical forest—opaque and gloomy. Plenty of strawberry vines grew there, but no berries. But the walking was still fairly easy since we walked a ridge line, where trees are less thick.
We enjoyed the views at the top, and then put it in reverse. Things went 'downhill' on the way back down, in more ways than one. The GPS stopped working. Apparently it had just barely worked on the way up, but on the descent we had left the ridgeline, so the forest became too thick. What a ridiculous Catch-22: the GPS would only work if we were on course. But then, who needs it?!
Getting lost in the woods is a bit like drowning—only slower. You can panic yourself into circles. It can be maddening to fumble through the GPS menus and worry about false information. Still, this aggravation kept me from obsessing about bears, or feeling claustrophobic like I usually do in a forest.
Once I read a book on wilderness survival that recommended against depending on GPS. Thus I had a magnetic compass along. This was very satisfying: how many times in my life have I ever gotten any good out of a book?
Unfortunately I had paid no attention to the compass on the way up. The only hope was to walk back uphill to the cell tower where the GPS worked, correlate it with the compass, and then to walk back down the mountain, paying attention only to the compass.
I hate to get ahead of the story but the reader has probably already concluded that I did make it back alive. I fell only once, but the forest floor was such soft green mould that it was not unpleasant. It made me feel oddly at peace with this hideous forest.
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