“I should’ve taken the longer route, the easy route, the suggested route,” I told myself as I slid precariously down the mountainside, the thin layer of my denim trousers serving as my only remaining vehicle. But, NO, I had to take the EASY route. After all, the GPS reported it was ONLY 361 feet to the cache from the parking spot on the ridge!
In short order I discovered the error of my decision, but by then the cache was only 200 feet away, down a slope shrouded in dense coastal fog. I slipped and tripped and scrambled. Sixty feet more and I’d have it. I stopped to pet a lizard that awaited the sun’s rays. Fifty-six more feet and I’d be there.
Fifteen feet further I discovered that the same cold rocks that served as the only relatively safe path down this route also served as a cozy bed for a rattlesnake, coiled for a rest, probably too cold to strike, but too dangerous for comfort.
My choices: Turn back empty handed or slide 15 feet down the slick dry grass to the “easy” trail below. Where the potential for a new Jeep was involved the choice was obvious. I eased away from the snake, took my seat and reverted to childhood, half giggling, half scared I’d encounter another rattler crotch-first.
The cache? Well, it was an easy find, RIGHT on target. Lo and behold no one had grabbed the Jeep Travel Bug I’d hoped to find there. It was mine…all mine to have and to hide!
Then came the final decision: straight up…just 361 feet, or the “easy” way, now miles roundabout back to my rig.
I’m a Jeeper at heart…what do YOU think?
By Jennifer Best 2004