Today was as crazy as it gets. I headed out a massive state park. It's a two hour drive to and two hours back. To the park, I got tailed by a sheriff on a long 20 mile two way road..he eventually got annoyed with me for going speed limit and went around, speeding. Lol I saw a big ass Turkey Vulture too take flight right next to my car. Massive bird. We were on winding roads carved in the slope of Texas hills.
(Scenic view at the park)
Now, what seemed like forever, I finally made it to the park. No game warden at the entrance, I had my reservation anyways, so I went in. It was beautiful here. Some trails were closed. I hiked and scaled one that, apparently, was off limits and had a small picnic on the rocks.
I decided to climb down using paracord because the rocks weren't that stable (hence closed off). Also didn't feel comfortable bouldering because I don't want to put my hands in a crevice where a rattlesnake could be chilling in.
Here's where my adventure turned into a misadventure and a serious survival situation...
Leaving the park, I noticed my phone had absolutely no service. I used GPS to get here, once it's locked in a route, it doesn't need service to keep functioning...but it needs service to start up and put in a new route. I had none of that, no map either, couldn't call anyone. I was completely off the grid.
It was getting dark, I drove down long 20, 30 mile roads I was familiar with. But ended up circling around the whole county back to the state park. I manage to find signs telling me the directions of certain small towns I know I crossed and followed them.
I made my way through one where white tailed deer was very abundant. Hard to see here, but if you can see the hindquarters of these two deer I'm impressed:
I ran into an entire heard of approximately 30 deer. They all froze on the road terrified. I honked a few times splitting them like Moses parting the red sea. It was pretty funny. Also, I found a gas station but they didn't have maps. The lady didn't bother helping either, so I stocked up on food in case I'd end up completely stranded.
It's pitch black now, I'm headed south to (I hope) my city with help of a compass and following the signs. I still had no service until I drove up a slope of this one hill and got a pocket of service. All the messages went through, so I pulled to the shoulder, turned on my hazards and cabin light to set up GPS, and read what was sent. I was completely lost, alone, 17 miles away from the next town, on the cliffside with an elevation of 50 ft or more. My windows were down, there's no ac in my car, and that's when I heard @SW-User close by. A Mountain Lion!!! Sounds like a screaming woman in the dark, but I knew there wasn't civilization anywhere, this was a BIG cat. Instantly, I rolled up my window and got out of there. GPS back on, I was headed the right direction!
I obviously made it back home but man, when I was lost in the hills by myself in the dark...I wanted to panic but I didn't. I thought of all the scenarios I could come up with. I know I would've been okay if the situation got worse, eventually being found. But I just shoved the fear down, and pushed on knowing I'll eventually hit a town/city with service and find my way home.
@wackidywack Yeah, I learned so much on that journey. It wasn't about the destination, but THE journey. What I learned: You can't rely on anyone but yourself, you can't rely on technology either because that will fail you too, when you're in the wilderness you are on an equal playing field with the rest of nature so [b]there's no learning curb for ignorance[/b], be prepared and do things the smart way. Definitely a humbling, funny, and scary adventure.
SW-User
@XReaganX On the bright side you made it home safe and no doubt learned some valuable lessons about preparation and basic needs in a similar situation.. maps and basic survival gear should always be a part of any future excursions. A great story with a happy ending.
