10 Thoughts While Hiking The Black Forest Trail

1.       Not all matches are equal! Those free ones you picked up at a restaurant 11 years ago don’t create fire, they’re what you call kindling!

2.       This begs repeating, vertical feet and horizontal feet are different.

3.       Met a man along the river heading to fish, when I said I was from Lancaster he rattled off in Dutch, because obviously we all speak Dutch. It’s helpful to have “I don’t speak…” phrases in multiple languages at the ready for such occasions. Inevitably, however, this backfires on me, because the mere utterance of the foreign language connotes some level of understanding of said language, regardless of the phrase spoken stating otherwise. 

4.       When an iMessage says “Delivered” it doesn’t mean that the person received it. In light of this fact, a “no response” to the multiple attempts at texting does not automatically mean the person is lost, separated from their phone, or unconscious in a ditch. Sometimes it just means no cellular service exists deep in the middle of nowhere and the phone was placed on airplane mode.

5.       Relying on a fire to cook an evening meal only works when there weren’t downpours on and off the entire day. Day 1 meal was replaced with Day 2’s meal.

6.       Sweet potatoes are heavy, refer to #5.

7.       Little toads love rain and jumping on the trail. Bigger toads stay to the side of the trail and wait for you to approach and then jump, which causes you to jump too. It’s a fun game they play often!

8.       If you’re going to uproot, make sure you’re grafted into a strong support system.

9.       Don’t underestimate the comfort and joy of finding a rock couch.

10.   Sometimes the path is clearly marked, and sometimes you must look hard for the mark or get out the map to find your way. The map you use makes a big difference!