Where The River Flows

I wrote yesterday about the melting snow, and some of the things that happened because of this. In a way, it was kind of miserable walking along these trails in these conditions. But it was also an exciting new adventure. I had never been out in weather like this before. It wasn't easy, but it was fun.

I saw melting ice, and slushy wet ground everywhere I went. This made me eager to get to the bridge that I liked to stand on and watch the river. I wanted to see if it had risen at all because of the melting snow. That was one of the main reasons I came out here today. I figured it must be very full by now.

As I walked further down the path toward the river, I noticed more mist up ahead. Of course, that wasn't unusual by now. It was the other thing that I saw that was unusual. There was a dark spot on the ground. It was hard for me to see it, because it was still pretty far away. But as I walked closer, what it was became very clear.

The path was completely flooded! As I got near, it became obvious to me what had happened. Not only had the river risen because of the melted snow, but it had risen above it's banks, and was now flowing out onto the nature trail. There was water everywhere, and it was moving fast.

I stood on the edge of this new section of the now completely flooded river, trying to find a way through this new barrier. I still wanted to try and get to the bridge, but things weren't looking good. There really was no place to go. This water was flowing very fast, and it was very deep. In some places it would have come up to my knees.

Now, you may be thinking that I could just walk along the right side, on that snow that's still there. After all, there are other footprints there. Why not try it? I thought the same thing, until I looked a little closer at it for a few seconds. That snow was actually piled up a little bit along the edge of the path. It was very deceptive.

Those footprints were not as fresh as they seemed, and the snow was actually sitting on top of the flowing water somehow. If I would have stepped on the snow, I would have sunk right down. It wasn't very deep there, but it would have come up to my ankles. I really didn't want to get my feet wet in this weather. It wasn't very cold, but it wasn't exactly warm out there either.

After finally realizing that there was no way to pass this flowing river from here, I decided to turn around and maybe search for another way past. I now knew that I probably wasn't going to get to see the bridge today, but there were alternatives to this. I had other places to go, and it was the river that I really wanted to see.

Maybe if I tried another path into this area, I might be able to get a little closer to the river. By now, I really wanted a few photos of the flooded river at it's best. I just wasn't really sure anymore how I could do that. Maybe on my trip back toward the front of the park, I could figure out a way.

I began to think that I should go back and see if I could get some good photos of some birds that I heard coming in. Maybe I'd be able to see them this time. It was a warm day, so maybe there were other animals out too. I had to find something since this part of my journey was abruptly cut off. What was I going to do now?

After walking for a little while, my legs began to really hurt a lot. Walking through this deep slushy snow wasn't easy. I started to become discouraged. The flooded river flowing back there was an amazing new everyday adventure, but I wanted more. I had only just begun this hiking trip. Right after I decided I might leave the park, I found something new. And I'll show you what it was, tomorrow.


Related Posts (Take a look at these, you'll be glad you did.)

• When The Snow Melts
  
• Because Of The Huge Windstorm
• After The Blizzard
• Unpredictable Winter
• The Mist