The Time We Got Lost On A Mountain

Where was my family when this happened? We were in a wild forest, on a mountain, in the middle of nowhere. Hopelessly lost.

On a nice summer day, my family decided to go hiking on Mt. Baker, in the state of Washington, U. S.A. We drove there and started mid-day on a bright, sunny, well-kept trail. There were lots of people around us, too, enjoying the sights and sounds as they walked along.

As the day went on, we started to meet less and less people along the way, but we weren’t worried – we assumed everyone had done the trail earlier, in the morning. The sun was not right above us anymore – it was beginning to set. We decided to stop where we thought was halfway (the trail was a loop) to have a snack and some water. After that, we continued our hike. By then, we saw about two people every half hour, but definitely not the crowds of people we’d met at the beginning.

The trail became very narrow, and, sometimes, not even visible. But my dad kept leading the way. After about an hour, we realized something was wrong. There was no more trail. We had been cutting through bushes and trees which clearly had been growing there for a while, with no feet stepping on them constantly. We kept walking anyways. My dad figured we’d turned off of the trail, but we would find it and get back on it soon. My mom told him we should turn back. He didn’t listen. My dad was determined to keep going and finish the loop. The sun was quite low now, it was beginning to get closer and closer to darkness. We also ran out of water because we hadn’t expected such a long walk. My sister and I were scared. What if we never found our way out?

After another 100 years of walking, my dad finally gave in and we decided to come back where we came from. The problem was, we didn’t have flashlights. Blindly, we made our way back to the trail, and, already so tired, went all the way back to our car. We didn’t stop to enjoy the views this time around. It was dark and all we wanted was to sit down and have some water. Finally, 8 hours after we started the hike, we came back to our car and exhaustedly plopped down in our seats, immediately taking out the snacks we had in the glove compartment and gobbling them up.

Although this experience was tough and scary, I also learned a lot that day. First off, I learned not to listen to my dad when he so reassuringly says that he knows the way when he really doesn’t. But second of all, I learned to be more prepared. This time, it was about bringing more food and water, maps, and a flashlight, but I know that there will be other situations for which I will have to be prepared. Now, I will bring more than what I think I will need because you never know what can happen. Sometimes, you get lost, but be prepared to find your way out.

What I did well: I think I told an interesting story that was nicely organized.

What I would like to improve for next time: I want to experiment with putting in dialogue and adding more of my own feelings on the experience.