TheBanyanTree: me and the tree

[Sachet]

I've been hiking since before the kids were born. Heck, I grew up
camping and hiking. So that's a lotta years of hiking.

Jim sometimes teases me about being prim and prissy about cleanliness
and what outfit I will wear where and my penchant for matching stuff.
So he's amazed that if certain facilities are not available when we
hike, I make do with what natural cover nature provides for a gal. Men
have it so easy....no great worries about modesty or finding a
convenient spot that's not too exposed along the trail. Fortunately, I
have strong leg muscles and can emulate the Chinese way of assuming an
efficient position for a gal.

I've been very fortunate in that in all of my many years of hiking that
has been all I've ever needed to consider. Today my lucky streak came to
an end. Nature was very insistent, we were miles & miles & miles away
from anything resembling an actual modern convenience and so I scouted
along the trail looking for a tree that had fallen, thinking that would
be helpful. We each carry a backpack so that we have a first aid kit,
water for us and the dogs, snacks, antibacterial hand wipes (that are
biodegradable - just in case), a camping blanket, a knife, compass,
flashlight, etc. We prefer trails that aren't very busy so we want to be
prepared, as smart hikers tend to do. It always amazes me to see people
on some of the more rugged trails with no backpacks, wearing tennis
shoes and nothing to drink. As Scotty says, people like that ensure his
job security. (He's a Critical Care & Mountain Rescue paramedic)

So anyway, the big old fallen tree looked perfect, it was well off the
trail, tilted up off the ground a few feet at one end, lotsa privacy and
even some sunshine made it through the surrounding tree branches; which
was good because it was darn cold out today at that elevation. I tested
the log before I sat on it. Common sense ya know. It seemed to be very
heavy and very secure. Well...evidently it wasn't as stable as I had
anticipated. I had just gotten situated, told Jim (who was on the trail
with all three dogs) to remember to be my look-out and check the trail
in both directions, when all of the sudden the log shifted, tossing me
up and over backwards, feet in the air, bare-behind making very hard
contact with the very cold, but thankfully, very soft, but also very wet
leaves (it had snowed a bit in that area and was just melting).

I don't know who was more surprised - me or Jim. It was such an
incredibly awkward position. I couldn't get up. Jim was bent over
laughing so hard he was of absolutely no use, so I had to figure out how
to get my feet down off the log, my bare skin off the very cold ground
ASAP and try to maintain some sense of dignity. But then I got the
giggles and that challenging concept flew right out the window.

On the drive back home Jim randomly burst into laughter. He thinks I'm very
entertaining.