Jesse knew he was lost, but he didn’t really want to admit it, especially to Cherylynn. Why did he suggest hiking for their first date? He looked up trying to locate the sun, but the trees were too thick and the sky overcast..

“Where had he lost the trail?” he wondered. They had made the trek to the lakeshore and enjoyed their picnic on the beach without incident. Cherylynn was a great hiking companion. She was so knowledgeable and knew which plants were edible and which were medicinal. 

Jesse had been quite impressed with her and tried to show off a little bit by spending the first fifteen minutes of the return hike pointing out the different species of trees along the way. He guessed that’s why he took the wrong trail, looking up at the trees instead of paying attention to the trail markers.

He was about to admit his mistake, when he heard the sound of water. They must have circled back to the lakeshore. Well, at least he could get a bearing from there and find one of the trails back to the parking lot.

But when they stepped out from the trees the sight that met them was not the lakeshore. They had stumbled upon a small waterfall feeding a stream.

“Oh!” Cherylynn gasped. “Such a pretty little waterfall. And look at how clear that water is. It must be a natural spring. It’s coming from the rock.”

“We should refill our water bottles then,” Jesse suggested. “We’ve gotten low.”

Cherylynn laughed. “Well, we took a few wrong turns during that last wander. I was beginning to wonder if you knew where we were.”

Jesse sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. I was trying to impress you with my knowledge of navigation and I couldn’t even keep to a well marked trail.”

“It’s ok,” Cherylynn replied. “Let’s take a break here and figure out which way to go. It’s amazing this place isn’t on the trail map,” she added after checking the pamphlet they picked up at the trailhead

“No, it doesn’t seem to get any human visitors. The only tracks are animal,” Jesse said. “Deer, raccoon, and hmm, what’s this guy?”

“Skunk,” Cherylynn said, smiling. “Hope he doesn’t come back soon.”

“My feet are hot,” Jesse said, sitting down and stripping off his shoes and hiking boots. “Wow!” he said as he plunged his feet in. “That’s cold!”
Cherylynn laughed. “Natural springs usually are. It’s probably warmer where the water pools down there. But don’t fill the water bottles there. Grab the water straight from the spring. Less likely to have bacteria.”

Jesse complied and filled the water bottles while Cherylynn slipped off her socks and shoes and dropped her feet into the pool. “Definitely warmer here. The sun has had a chance to get to it.”

“Speaking of the sun,” Jesse began. “I’m a little worried about the time. I really have no idea how off course we are, or which way the car is. I don’t want to get caught out here after dark.”

“We better be smart about it, then,” Cherylynn said, pulling out a compass. “We know the lakeshore is to the east, but we wandered for 45 minutes without paying attention to what direction we were traveling. We could make our situation worse if we head straight west from here and miss the trailhead. There are a lot of acres of state land out there to get more lost inl.”

Jesse sat down next to her. “Not that I mind being lost with you, but I was hoping to make a better impression on our first date.”

Cherylynn smiled. “We’ll be fine. We have fresh water here and what’s left of our picnic lunch. I suggest  we follow the stream back to the lakeshore. From there we can find the trail, or at the very least, walk out to that town that lies to the south and get a ride back to the car.”

“That could take several hours. I don’t think we have that much daylight left,” Jesse said with concern as he pulled out his cell phone. “I was afraid of that. No signal here.”

“Then let’s camp out here,” Cherylynn suggested. “Don’t get any ideas,” she added when Jesse looked surprised. “It’s just practical, that’s all. Our phones aren’t working. We have maybe two hours of daylight and if we have to be stuck somewhere, I think this is a pretty good spot.”

“Ok,” Jesse agreed. “This is going to go down in history as the weirdest first date I’ve ever been on.”

“Is weird bad?” Cherylynn asked. “I guess I prefer this over dinner and a movie where we end up talking about nothing at all and then you walking me awkwardly to my door. Besides, you should never go hiking unprepared,” she said, pulling out a lighter. 

“A lighter!” Jesse said, surprised.

“And fire starter,” Cherylynn added, pulling out another baggie with a strange bundle in it. “If you wouldn’t mind gathering up some dry wood.”

“Good thing we’ve had such a nice stretch of warm weather,” Jesse said sitting down next to her after bringing back his last load of wood. It shouldn’t get too cold overnight.”

“It’s starting to cool down though,” Cherylynn replied. “I better get this fire going. We’ll have to take turns feeding the fire through the night. Did you bring a sweatshirt or jacket?”

Jesse shook his head. “I didn’t intend to get stuck out overnight.”

Cherylynn pulled a sweatshirt out and put it on. “Sorry, I don’t have one for you,” she said.

“What are you, a Boy Scout? Always be prepared?” Jesse asked.

“No,” she replied. “I just know better than to set out on a day’s hike without taking some precautions. Too bad you haven’t learned that lesson yet,” she teased.

“I’m learning it,” Jesse said. “And I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.”

“At least you picked a pretty place to get lost in,” Cherylynn replied. “I can’t get over this waterfall. We’ll have to pay attention when we walk out so we can figure out how to get back to it again.”

“Again?” Jesse asked. “So, there’s hope for another date?”

Cherylynn laughed. “I don’t think it’s safe letting you hike on your own. No telling what would happen to you. I’d feel responsible.”

Jesse smiled. This was the best first date he had ever been on.

© Sharon L Letson, 2023. All rights reserved.