We continued along the new found path for awhile, happily noting markers on trees, cut branches, and such signs of human presence. It seemed that every time it would start to become faint, we would find another educational sign to confirm our way. A few times, it would branch, and Grandpa or Philip would venture ahead to determine the correct way. In this manner, we made slow but steady progress. We really had no way of know how far we had traveled or how long we had yet to go. By the sun and Grandpa's, we could tell that we were heading in the generally correct direction of west. The girls were all troopers. Even Hollis walked nearly the whole way, with some rests in Daddy's arms and some patches with Mommy lifting her over logs and high tangled roots.
It really was a rough trail. Very little effort had been made to maintain it. We scrambled over logs, under thorny branches, around tree roots, across muddle trickles of water. We noted that it would have been impassable in rainy season. It was not too difficult for abilities, however, and would have been thoroughly enjoyable had the trail been clearly marked and distances noted. As it was, we were continually in doubt as to the trail we were on and distance traveled. While we were on another stretch of clear trail, we met a couple of hikers from Finland. They had come from the same direction we had and had decided to turn around and head back, since they did not know how much longer it was to Ton Sai Falls. They had been hiking about half the time we had, being young and unburdened with four small children. I wondered if maybe we should turn back, but we were hot on the trail and figured that we could make better time than we had been on a trail as distinct as it currently appeared.
We threaded through a brake of tall bamboo and gazed at a large marginally helpful sign posted to a tree. An arrow pointed one way toward Bang Pae Falls and another arrow the opposite direction toward Ton Sai Falls. That was it; no distances, no map, no further elucidation. As the onward trail was still easily recognizable, we continued on our way. We heard water running and wondered if it was the falls. It was merely a stream, which we splashed across, mostly managing to stay on rocks. At this point, I realized that we had gradually been descending and now we started to climb again. At the top of this ridge, the trail swiftly became faint and split three ways. We were dismayed. For some reason, we had begun to feel that the trail was going to remain clear all the way to Ton Sai and that we were going to succeed in our goal. Now it suddenly became extremely like that we would have to trudge all the way back.
Philip and Grandpa did their customary reconnaissance runs but none of them proved fruitful. The most promising trail, across the ridge, stopped abruptly at a huge windfall. The others gradually became fainter to the point where it would be guesswork to follow them. Up to this point, our educated guess as to the direction of the trail had been fairly quickly backed up by another form of confirmation. However, none of the options seemed promising and we risked running into another questionable spot further on. It was apparent that the trail was not going to easily lead us to our destination. We knew that if we turned around now, we should have enough time to get back before dark fell and that we had gathered enough mental markers to find our way. Crestfallen, we made the intelligent decision to return the way we had come.
A challenging hike is fun the first time, especially when you are anticipating a new and beautiful destination. It is not so fun to have to traverse the same difficult terrain in reverse only to end up where you have begun. Yet we all did so cheerfully. Eris was excellent at pointing out plants, turns, and tricky spots we had noticed before to confirm our way. Meriel doggedly continuing on her own two feet, only getting a piggy-back ride from Daddy for a short way. Hollis navigated some tricky patches, with Mommy swing her up steps her short legs couldn't reach. Grandma helped make sure Simeon's head didn't get smacked or poked when I ducked under briars. I certainly recalled the part when I had to squat and waddle like a duck under a whole stand of fallen bamboo canes. It was not rewarding to repeat.
Grandpa led the way, and the rest of us followed willingly. We did try to make a point to look around and confirm that we remembered various parts, as we certainly did not want to end up lost. We found the place where we had scrabble down the slope to join the trail that was "so clearly marked!" It was not to easily to scramble up, especially due to the lack of unprickly branches to grasp. We all made it without event, then all of a sudden Grandpa said he didn't recognize where we were. We looked around and thought that we remembered a particular grouping of narrow trunks or an unusual twist of a branch, but we couldn't be sure that it didn't just look eerily familiar as the whole jungle started to look alike. Now the whole hike there and back, I had been praying for wisdom and safety. But now, I think, we all prayed more earnestly. Despite our precautions, had we managed to get lost after all? It was trending toward late afternoon, when snakes become more active. I prayed that God would keep all snakes away from us; I didn't even want to encounter a non-venomous one.
Grandpa crashed through the jungle from a different angle and recovered the trail. He had merely missed the turn off by a few feet and had very quickly discovered his mistake but hadn't quite been able to find the right way without a different viewpoint. Sending up prayers of gratitude, we followed with renewed vigor. It didn't take us long to reach our picnic spot and from then on we were certain of the way out. Along the way, Philip had caught a spot where he had cellphone service and called our van driver to return to Bang Pae to meet us. When we asked Philip if he thought the driver had understood, he said that he understood enough to chuckle!
When we reached Bang Pae Falls, the girls were too weary to even ask if they could swim. We wished we could have rewarded their perseverance with a swim but felt that we needed to get back to our driver. Once we arrived at civilization, I was happy to let Simeon off my back to get down and run. He had plenty of energy. Hollis also found some renewed reserves and started running around. Our driver was indeed waiting for us, as was a kind woman living in the park with her daughter to run a little food shop. She explained that she had seen us go in and had waited for us to come back. She did not know whether we had made it to the other side or were still wandering in the jungle. Six hours later, she greeted us welcome relief. She doled out a bunch of bananas to the kids and provided us with plenty of water. She also brought out a bag of clothes her daughter had outgrown to give to our girls. I was glad that our returning to our starting point had given her some peace of mind, at least.
Our trek was a success in that we got away from the crowds and touristy mess of Phuket; we enjoyed the challenge of the hike and time in nature; we did not get lost; we stayed safe. I don't think we would have been happy with a guide; he would very likely have encouraged us to turn around before we were ready, saying it was too difficult for the children and possibly told us part way through that we couldn't make it all the way because the trail was too overgrown. For some reason, the Park has decided to not maintain the trail, maybe to try to rip off people who want to hike with overpriced guides. It is really a pity, because it could be a lovely hike. As it is, there is no reason to go out of the way to visit Khao Phra National Park. In fact, Phuket itself has little to offer that isn't somewhere else in Thailand with fewer crowds and fewer hawkers. Oh well, now we know!
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