In addition to our nightly walk this evening, we also went for a nice romp in the woods this afternoon. The phone company was apparently stringing new wire down our block and in the process, interrupting our Internet connectivity all afternoon. So since we were stuck without reliable access, we loaded up the truck and headed for the woods.

There's a nice section of forest just west of town where an old quarry has been turned into state gamelands. A beautiful trail winds up and over a steep rocky hill, then loops back and returns along a series of rushing waterfalls behind town. It had been a while since I've walked back there, and with the leaves quickly turning, today was a perfect Fall day for a hike.

Grey afternoon fall hikes always bring out the ominous character of the woods. In the dull forest light, with wind blowing noisily in the treetops and leaves falling quietly all around, there's an odd stillness that is only found in Fall. The day was cold and grey and the woods were lonely. And to top it all off, we even managed to get lost.

In the intervening year or two since I had last walked these particular trails, a lot of activity has apparently been going on. There are new paths winding through the old abandoned quarries and in the technicolor grey light of early Fall, they all somehow managed to look the same.

The first rule of getting lost, of course, is to know where you are. Even though we found ourselves wandering cluelessly in circles, I was well aware of all of the boundary trails on every edge of the game lands. Eventually, I figured, one of the winding trails had to intersect the outer loop.

And eventually it did. But not before Michelle nervously asked me several times, "Are you lost?"

It was an absolutely beautiful day for a stroll through the woods, and an even better day to get lost. Some days, the only way to find yourself is to wander off and get lost.