Beating the Winter Blues
Beating the Winter Blues
And The Cuivre River Hike from Hell
Last year at this time I was awaiting the return of Chasing Picasso, from the copy editor. The year before that, I was knee deep in book research trying to figure out what actually happened to that little oil painting stolen from the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1973. And the winter before that, I began researching St. Louis history to find clues of a potential buried treasure and ended up stumbling the forgotten story of a stolen Picasso. In other words, I was too busy to notice the air turning colder, the sky looking grayer and the daylight getting shorter. Without having a specific writing goal to chase I feel the effects of the seasonal change creeping into my psyche.
Other than writing, there is one way to get out of the winter funk and that would be to layer up and do some hiking. This is the best time of year to hike in Missouri because the bugs are gone, the dense trees are bare, and a hiker can see deeper into the wooded terrain. The only con is the leaves on the trail, which can create confusion if the trail is not well-marked. However, there is a great little smart phone App called All Trails. For about $30 a year the app provides GPS tracking when walking along a plotted trail. It comes in handy when the markers have faded or disappeared, an experience I do not want to have ever again.
Fall 2022 Hike on Welch Spring Trail (Abandon Hospital Ruins in the background) Jadwin, MO.
Nature is a great way to relieve stress or prepare for a stressful week at work. Unless of course, you find yourself lost in the woods. Years ago, my husband and I decided to take a short, Sunday hike at Cuivre River State Park up MO Hwy 61. I had a hiking book with a map pointing to a trail that would take us 30 minutes to walk. With such a short hike we didn’t bother to take water bottles, a compass, or snacks. We had our Motorola flip phones in our pockets to stay in contact with our kids. We drove to the park and found the trailhead. We were to follow a specific color marker, to stay on the trail. But the trail markers nailed to the tree had faded and somehow, we ended up on the wrong-colored trail. Instead of 1 mile, we ended up on the 7-mile trail.
We hiked through parts of the park trails that no one had walked the path for quite some time. The path went directly into grass that was over 5 feet tall, and my husband had to get a large stick and lead us through it. With no cell service, water, or map, I began to panic. The sun was beginning to fade, and the only thing I could think about was our children having to call the police and report their missing parents. I could clearly visualize the helicopter spotlight over the park. My husband was a military veteran and spent his first decade of service in infantry. He could tell the time and sense of direction from the sun, which was fading from sight because we were deep into the forest. I silently muttered the Our Father prayer for most of the trail as he pressed on like a soldier. His mission was to get us out of the woods before we collapsed from heat stroke.
We followed the remaining color tags on the trees and finally reached the other side of the small gravel trailhead lot where we left our white minivan. We were thankful, thirsty and eager to feel the car’s A/C blowing cool air onto our sweaty bodies. We headed for the park’s store for water and snacks a couple miles down the road. Four hours had passed since we started our “30-minute” stroll. Our muscles quickly stiffened up on our short drive to the campers’ mart. We looked and smelled like two vagrants looking for a forty-ouncer. When body odor offends campers, you know it’s bad. Our stench parted the market aisles like Moses parted the Red Sea.
On our way home I looked at the book’s trail map and saw that we must have turned at a unmarked connector trail and that’s how we ended up going as far as we did. From then on, we only hiked with backpacks, compasses, water, snacks, binoculars, maps, and most recently, the All-Trails app. No matter how easy the trail, we learned our lesson and over prepare. Full backpacks, hiking boots and traction poles garner some strange looks on the paved trails, but we’re always ready for the good path to end. It takes just one time getting lost in the woods to realize it’s better to be prepared than not at all.
I donated that specific hiking book to Goodwill. With any hiking books, the maps and trails can become outdated, like the path we accidentally took at Cuivre River State Park. Still, hiking books offer insight into some great, short get-a-way adventures for a perfect winter day. Just make sure you have the updated version of the trail map handy in case your phone dies and renders GPS pointless.
St. Louis - 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles (Available for different cities).
50 Hikes In the Ozarks (Johnny Molloy)