Another Pimiteoui Adventure

It's been six years since I last experienced drama on the Pimiteoui Trail.  This time, it was a planned trip with some of my wackier friends.  It was a hot, humid day on the trail, but before we hiked, we had a nice picnic under a shady tree on Grandview Drive.  Here's our "before" picture at the top of the trail:

We had to ask a stranger to take it, because Leslie's attempt to set up her camera to take it automatically was a fail.  She finally got it all set up, but it got knocked over while she was rushing to get into the picture:

About five minutes into the hike, feeling good.

A much-needed break after we survived a rough uphill section.

This was supposed to be our "after" picture, but due to my stupidity, it ended up being our "mid" picture.  Having done this trail several times before, I thought I was very smart and forward-thinking to drive separately so I could leave my car at the Forest Park Nature Center.  The plan was to hike to that point and drive back up to Clara Jo's car, which we left at the beginning of the trail.  I even said, "You girls are going to thank me when we get to my car and don't have to hike back up to Grandview Drive!"

Notice no one is thanking me.  That's because we're all crawling under my car to look for the extra key.  That's because I left my keys in Clara Jo's car, way back at the top of the trail. 

The moment of craziness when I realized we weren't going to find that extra key.

Wishing for death. 

 

 

 

We ended up hiking for about three hours.  I had to stop and rest several times so I didn't pass out.  My friends, who are much more fit than I am, were very gracious about having to hike all the way back up that steep trail after being promised a ride. We never did take an "after" picture, because we were all too hot and exhausted.