the time I was utterly lost in the forest

 Seriously. Last week I set out for a hike with my little sister's little dog. The plan was to walk from Owen Sound to nearby Inglis Falls along the well worn Bruce Trail. Well, I don't know whether it was me or the trail, but something went awry. I have already visited the falls, so I knew they were seriously beautiful and not too far away from Owen Sound. It was supposed to be about 10 kilometers there and back. I'm sure it would have been for a person who had thought to bring a map or a compass. I did not consider any of these things in my excitement to get going...

 All the trails are marked with these little paint splodges on trees. Different colours indicate which trail you're on.

Violet (she's pretty cute, isn't she?!) and I made it to the falls safely. They were even more beautiful than I remembered and we stayed there for a long while exploring and climbing rocks in the sunshine.

 

 

It was the journey home that got us turned around. Actually, I'm sure that Violet the dog knew exactly where she was going the entire time. It was likely only me that went the wrong way. Even though I reached a point where markings on trees seemed to want me to go either all directions at once or they would simply disappear altogether, I managed to enjoy the beautiful walk and amazing life in the forest that day.

These tiny little guys were no bigger than a pomegranate seed!

 

 

 

Even though I was cursing the Bruce trail at the time for sending me on a wild hunt for the next white rectangle painted on a tree, the walk was still utterly fabulous! Violet and I took 2 hours longer than we should have to find our way back (and were spit out on the motorway with a long walk home) but I put that all down to my complete lack of navigational skills. We spent the last hour or so of the walk scaling steep craggy rock up and down endless slopes - serious adventure time! Even the energetic little pup was knackered by the time we emerged from the forest, covered in bug bites and mud, twigs in my hair. Can't wait to get lost in there again very soon, although, I think I will bring along a map next time!