Dorland, Day 2

Excerpt from my journal:

My first full day.

Started the day with an empty fridge, and my canned dinner really didn't hold me over. So I broke my cardinal rule of never shopping hungry and ended up buying enough groceries for a family of four. Oops.

Later in the day, I found myself cutting my hair. Apparently I needed some bangs? I mean, they look cute, but this was a clear sign that I have no idea what to do with myself in isolation. Red flag?

So I took myself for a hike. There's a one-mile trail on the Dorland preserve called the Upper Springs Trail. With the strict warnings about taking a walking stick and looking out for rattlesnakes ringing in my ears, I left with a little hesitation in my step and quickly encountered more wildlife than I was prepared for! Within minutes, I came upon a deer and we scared the bajeezus out of each other, which gave me the jumps for the remainder of my hike. I'd heard of bob cats, coyotes, and mountain lions in the area. Not to mention the aforementioned rattlesnakes. So much to worry about that I'm not accustomed to! I'm certain that later I came upon a large animal of sorts in the brush that I couldn't see. It made several breathing/snorting noises. All I could think of at the time was being eaten by a cougar, but now I'm pretty sure it was a peccary or something pig-like. Wow, I'm such a chicken! Really not accustomed to hiking alone. The trail also swarmed with bees, which is great since they are so endangered, and I saw a HUGE iridescent beetle, a bright blue bird, tons of yucca blooming and producing fruit, and of course an abundance of wildflowers. The desert is so lush this time of year. It was a beautiful hike, but I sang loudly the whole way to make noise and scare off large animals! What am I going to do with myself? Haha.

But, I came home, did research, and learned you should never hike alone in this area; it's known for mountain lion attacks. Well, GREAT. I had planned to hike a lot. I'll just have to figure something out!