Gazing around the mountain terrain, the first thought that comes to mind about describing this landscape is green. Everywhere I look there are lush trees that are painted a vivid green. Even the once mud colored tree bark is now enclosed in a blanket of green moss. The harmonious chorus of the woodland animals that lurk in this forest can be heard at all times of day. All around me the forest seems to come to life as I hear the bustling of the trees and plants that encroach everywhere I look. The strange sounds of this forest can either seem comforting or menacing, it just depends on your situation. I find the soft pitter-patter of the rain drops falling onto the oversized leaves to be very relaxing. It takes my mind off of why I’m in this forest in the first place.

Family bonding, as my husband called it, is vital to every healthy family. I think of my family as a close knit one, and we often go on vacations to exotic beaches. But, we have never vacationed in the woods. Both my husband Emmett and my son Masen are very fascinated by nature. I, on the other hand, not so much. I do love camping and hiking, but only for a day or two. Anything longer than that and I start to miss things like plumbing and running water. So as you can guess, I was a little reluctant when Emmett suggested that we go on a weeklong camping trip. However, seeing my son’s face light up when Emmett discussed this trip made me agree without hesitation. In the weeks leading up to this trip, we would all go on daily hikes to build up our stamina, each day the hike would become longer. Along with our stamina building, so did our excitement, Masen’s favorite topic of discussion for the next six weeks was the wildlife in the forest and if we were going to encounter any bears. The day before we headed out to the National Park we packed up all of our gear. Backpacks, food, water, first aid, and tents were all loaded and ready to go. Being the smart campers that we are, Emmett checked the weather constantly to make sure that we wouldn’t have any problems with Mother Nature while camping. The forecast was sixty degrees and sunny, perfect weather for late September.
During the two hour drive down to the park I could hear Masen’s excited chatter from the back. Every once in a while he would ask if we were there yet, and if we were going to see bears, since Masen had a slight obsession with bears. We finally arrived and unloaded, securing everyone’s packs onto their back and stretching out our muscles. Then we trotted off into the wilderness with our gear, and a map to lead the way. The first day had gone off without a hitch, and we arrived at our designated camping spot ahead of schedule and had a nice bonfire before cuddling up in our tent. While we slept, the temperatures had dropped more than expected but we came prepared with extra layers of clothes and fleece. Upon waking that morning, we stretched out our stiff muscles which were not yet accustomed to the hard ground that doubled as our bed, and we prepared breakfast over the campfire.

“Okay, we should start packing up our things if we want to reach the next campsite before dark.” Emmett called out from the lake where he was washing the dishes from breakfast. Even in the dim morning light I could still make out Masen’s grin that mirrored his father’s. Once Emmett returned with our clean dishes we packed up and were on our way. This hike was a bit more difficult since our muscles were slightly sore from the ground that we had curled up on during the previous night. We planned to trek about fifteen miles before reaching our campsite, and we fit in smaller breaks during the day. We came across a small oasis while we had stopped for lunch. Hidden behind thick brush, there was a waterfall, the water glistened in the afternoon sun and a cooling mist brushed our faces from where we stood. It looked like a wall of blue satin with silver threaded into it. Masen had climbed over the brush that surrounded the pond where the waterfall emptied and leaned down to test the temperature of the water. “How does it feel Masen?” I called. He flashed a broad smile at me and motioned for Emmett and I to climb around the brush to where he was. We stood there for a minute and gaped at how the water flowed as smooth as syrup down the basalt rocks. I was snapped out of my trance when Emmett, who was just next to me, was now in the water splashing around. “Boys! Come on you’re going to get sick from all that cold water!” But before I could even finish my sentence I was drenched with water. While I was processing what had just occurred, giggles erupted around me and I knew who the culprits were. I retaliated by bounding into the aqua pool while splashing around. Within seconds a full on water war erupted and we submerged ourselves into the crystalline water. Our joyous shouts filled the air and it wasn’t long before we were out of breath. Flopping our soaking wet bodies onto the grassy bank, grins were plastered on our faces as we heaved with laughter. The aroma of the nougat sweet flowers drifted over and I inhaled deeply, falling into a state of bliss.

It wasn’t until Emmett spoke that I came back into reality “Come on love, let’s dry off.” “Oh, okay. Where’s Masen?” I said. Emmett’s goofy grin stretched across his face “He’s setting up lunch now.” He said. “Okay good, how are you feeling? You’re not sick or anything are you?” I reached up to feel his forehead, but I was met with a laugh and found myself tucked into my husband’s comforting arms. “Honor, you worry too much, relax. Let’s go eat.” Emmett’s deep voice was soft and gentle as he held me. I sighed, not wanting to leave his warm embrace. “Can I just stay here for a moment? You’re warm.” Emmett’s grip tightened on me, but it was still gentle. “That’s fine with me, although little man might have a problem.” I was momentarily confused but then I felt our son’s little body wedging between us, wanting to join the family hug. Masen’s little voice was muffled from between us, “Guys, are you going to come eat lunch?” A chorus of laughter rang out and we untangled our limbs and sat down on a fallen tree that was doubling as our picnic table. We chattered about the next leg of our hike while we ate. A soft breeze rippled through the trees, rustling the leaves and leaving goosebumps on my skin.  “Masen it’s getting colder, you really should put on another layer.” I was growing concerned about the falling temperatures even though Emmett had reassured me multiple times. “Okay mom, but I think everyone should too.” Masen said. I laughed before ruffling Masen’s golden hair. “That’s a good idea sweetheart.”

It wasn’t long before we were hiking again. We soon came to a little clearing which was our campsite for the night. It resembled more of a meadow, with wildflowers sprouting up in places and billowy grass swaying in the breeze. Our tent was quickly pitched and a campfire was blazing. After our dinner, the three of us were wrapped up in an old quilt next to the fire. The twilight sky was a dusty blend of burgundy and persimmon that flowed through the sky in soft brushstrokes. The crackling of the fire was relaxing, and combined with the warmth the fire projected, Masen was fast asleep. His narrow body was curled up and tucked between Emmett and I, with his golden head resting in my lap. I ran my fingers through his feathery locks and looked up at my husband. “You know, I’m really glad we took this trip.” I said. Emmett’s warm smile was illuminated by the glow of the burning embers as he answered. “Me too, it’s nice to be camping with you. Even though I’m perfectly content with being anywhere as long as you’re by my side.” I felt my cheeks heat up at his response, as they always did. “And Masen by our side.” I said. His emerald eyes looked into mine, “And Masen.” He agreed. “Speaking of, we should probably get our little man to bed.” I nodded. So we both carried our son to bed, and curled around him once we were in the tent. I leaned over to an already sleeping Emmett and kissed his forehead. “I love you” I whispered. Then I drifted off into a blissful sleep along with my family.

When I woke, the first sound I heard was rain pounding against the thin material of our tent which was blowing furiously in the hurricane-force winds. My heart sped up in response and I whipped my head around to where my husband and child lay fast asleep. With the next clap of thunder, I jumped onto my husband who woke immediately and grabbed me tight when he heard the storm that was raging outside. I tried to talk to him, but my voice was drowned out by the whistling wind. By this time, Masen was wide awake and looking between Emmett and I with panic and terror in his eyes. I knew that my face mirrored his expression, and I held my arms out for Masen to scurry into. For awhile our family stayed huddled in middle of the tent, and Emmett was the one to break the silence. “I think the storm is dying down, maybe we should sleep through it.” Instantly, the ground shook with the vibrations of the thunder and our faces were illuminated with a flash of lightning. It was as if Mother Nature was responding to Emmett and she made the storm increase tenfold. “Emmett it’s getting pretty bad, I’m not so sure we should ignore it.” I voiced my concerns even though Emmett probably already knew what I was going to say. He looked at me with a mask of confidence plastered on his face, but I knew he was just as scared as Masen and I. We stayed huddled for only a few moments more before Masen’s trembling voice brought me out of my thoughts. “Mom, I think I felt water fall on me.” My head whipped up to the ceiling of our nylon tent to see a hole had been ripped in it by some flying debris. The high speed winds weren’t helping matters, and soon the hole grew larger and more rain was flooding our tent. I quickly grabbed our blanket to protect our heads from the frigid rain. “Great!” I yelled against the roaring storm that was now inside our tent, “Now what are we going to do?” Emmett’s eyes met mine and he yelled back, “I guess we have to wait it out, the closest town is thirty miles from here.” I thought about the town that he had circled on our map, it was a small town, but I’m sure we could seek refuge there. Emmett looked around our flooded tent, trying to find our map of the trail we were following. His eyes grew panicked when he couldn’t find it in the tent. “I can’t find it!” Emmett’s voice now had concern seeping into it, and was bordering on hysterical. We all looked fearful as we realized what this meant, we have no directions to get us home. By now the sun was starting to peek out from the horizon, and golden rays of sun were glowing our tattered tent’s walls. It was an hour until the rain had slowed to a drizzle and by then, we unzipped our tent to see the wreckage left by the storm. Tree limbs were hanging low and some had been completely snapped off by the wind, and the field that was once lush and green was now a muddy pool of rainwater. The supplies that we had left outside had been blown away and fear started to creep into my mind as I looked at my family. We were now lost in the woods with no map or supplies to keep us alive.