Jungle Adventure

I have heard that one is not compelled to tell the details of his stupidities to others. Today, I’m going to ignore that rule.

This morning I left the resort property for a run. While I had told two of my peers the night before that I’d be running the morning, nothing was definite including the direction, distance, or even certainty of my run. In other words, nobody really knew where I was. Mistake #1.

Soon after leaving the property, I passed a sign indicating there was a nature reserve 6km down the road. While I hadn’t really intended to run 12km, I figured that direction would be as good as any other. Because I had expected a short run, perhaps 5km or so, I ate no breakfast, brought no food, and carried a bottle with about a mouthful of water.

I ran in the direction of the nature reserve, passing a few construction vehicles on the way. The road is undergoing improvements in preparation for the building of a new resort. After approximately 5km, I passed the point where the road improvements were actually taking place, waited for a front end loader to dump its load, and continued on.

I next saw the entrance to the nature reserve on my right. A sign explained that the loop was approximately 1200m, would take 2 hours to complete, and was passage was completely forbidden without a guide. A phone number to arrange a guide was provided. At this point, I had not seen anyone since the construction site, and the road was dirt and clearly not often used. I decided that a 1.2km trail should take no more than 10 minutes to explore, and this time would allow me to rest enough for the run back.

The trail began as a well-defined path through some tall grass and tropical plants. Occasional yellow wooden posts marked the next bend. The scenery was beautiful, and despite the marked trail, the feeling of exploring something that not too many people before me had seen was strong.

While I would not consider myself an experienced woodsman or survivalist, I have spent significantly more time than the average person camping and hiking. I can follow a trail, have a descent sense of direction, am at least somewhat surefooted in the woods.

The trail quickly changed from an open grassy area to a more dense tropical forest. The ground was littered with rocks that required careful steps to avoid tripping. However, there were still wooden posts every 15m or so, and I was not having any trouble following the cleared trail.

The obvious wooden sign posts became sticks with yellow marks stuck in the rocks. The jungle became denser. As I continued, I came across a number of points where vines and tropical bushes had grown across or over the trial. In each case, I was able to crawl under, walk around, or somehow circumnavigate these obstacles.

At three of these points, I distinctly remember thinking ‘this is no longer a good idea’. However, I ignored that thought and chalked it up to my regular worrying personality and perhaps some fear of the unknown. Mistake #2. After what I would estimate was between 10 and 15 minutes of hiking, I crawled under a bush for about 2 meters. When I came out on the other side, I walked about 5m to an odd-shaped triple cactus and at that point I could no longer trick myself into thinking I was still on a trail. I decided to turn back.

I turned around and it was as if the trail had simply disappeared behind me. Until today I have never experienced this. Attempting to retrace my steps, I searched for the bush I had just crawled out from under but was unable to find it. Using the cactus as a home base, I walked in a large circle in an attempt to find the trail or the bush. After perhaps 5 minutes of searching, I returned to the cactus, reoriented myself, and again attempted to find the bush in the direction I knew I had come from, but again was unable to find it.

At this point, I felt I had two options. I was not disoriented. I knew I could begin walking back in the direction I had come from and I might find the trail. On the other hand, I the trail had twisted and I could find myself walking parallel to it through thick jungle. As I was perhaps 1km from the road by this point, this was not an appealing prospect. Furthermore, I might get disoriented without a trial to follow and end up walking in a different direction, not finding the road and no longer being able to find my way back.

My other option was to follow my ears to the ocean. For some time I could hear the waves at a distance I estimated to be about 200m. I figured that even without a trail I could walk through the bush in a constant direction until reaching the beach, and that that point reaching the hotel would be simply a matter of heading West along the beach.

After a last look around, I decided the later was the better course of action. I can say that leaving my cactus ‘home base’ was difficult, despite the fact that it afforded no real haven as I had already proven to myself. I set of in the direction from which I could hear the waves, and after perhaps 50m of bush I found a trail. I believe it was the same trail as it had the same yellow sticks, but I was unwilling to walk back along it to find out as by this point the noise of the waves had grown and I felt I would soon be out of the jungle.

Sure enough, I continued on the trail and eventually broke out onto a sand dune above the water. Walking only 5m or so from the trail head, I turned and looked back. Despite that I had been on a marked trail, there was, even at that distance, no obvious break in the jungle face. I turned towards the hotel and began the long walk back.

While this was an adventure, and everything ended well, I will definitely put more stock in warnings I hear about being prepared and about how easy it is to become lost in the woods. Getting lost in the jungle: Another life experience ticked off the list.

And now, a picture of a cat: