Two days after I visited Rainbow Springs, I went on a second solo journey. My destination: the San Felasco trails. A coworker, Marsha, told me all about them, and how there are two trails that are about 5 miles round-trip. I woke up that Friday excited for adventure. My body ached for the satisfaction that comes with being outside, unplugged, away from the bustle of my daily life.
I borrowed a backpack suit for day hikes from my roommate Jordanne and set off. I had pretty vague directions from Marsha (off of Millhopper Road), but I was pretty confident that I would be able to find it.
Except I couldn't. After driving up and down Millhopper Road about six times, and my GPS timing out on me because it couldn't locate any signal in the middle of nowhere, I decided to just turn back and call it a day. My bladder was full and I needed relief, not to mention the fact that I was wasting gas driving around for 30 minutes looking for a destination that I was obviously not meant to reach.
As I approached 441, however, I found the Devil's Millhopper. I've heard interesting things about it from friends who had already visited, and I decided to settle for the next best thing.
Upon arrival, I immediately emptied my bladder and began my descent into the sinkhole. So. Many. Steps. I witnessed several people climb up and down the stairs multiple times, exercising. Crazy, I thought.
When I finally reached the bottom, I took a few pictures, observed a mother cooing over her baby, and proceeded back up the stairs. Again, so. many. steps.
At the top of the path, I followed a path titled "nature trail" and hiked the 0.84 mile trail. It didn't take me long, maybe 15 minutes, but I did stop halfway through to eat lunch. I enjoyed my pb&j and tortilla chips on a bench beneath the sun and thought about how grateful I was that it wasn't raining, like the weather forecast said it would. Most memorable part of my hike: a three year old girl complaining about how bored she was, and her father scolding her that nature isn't boring at all.
Sweet, you are so active. It is so good to be as independent as you are. Pbj s are the best adventure food.
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