A Raccoon Stole my Cell Phone

No. That is not a metaphor.

No symbolism or hidden meaning.

For real, a raccoon stole my cell phone.

How, you might ask? Well, one beautiful spring day Drew and Lori packed up their camping gear and hit the road to the Savage Gulf State Natural Area. I found a great little article online about the Collins West campground.

You leave your car in the lot, register for a free campsite (or sign your name on the clipboard if you are only hiking for the day), then hike about a half mile to the campground area. There are about 5 sites (spread apart very well). A gorgeous overlook is not even a tenth of a mile further, or you can visit Suter Falls (1/3 mile) and Horsepound Falls (2.5 miles).

It's an awesome area and I definitely recommend you try it out. It's free after all! You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere on the top of a mountain (though it's really a plateau). But if you forget something in the car, you can easily hike back out to retrieve it.

But back to the story......here are 4 Things You Should NOT Do While Camping at Collins West:

1. Neglect to bring a lighter for a camp fire because you didn't do enough research into the rules/allowances of the trail and campground.
2. Bring only 2 small headlamps, one of which is getting weaker by the minute.
3. Leave your cell phone sitting on the ground by the (unused) fire pit while you set up your sleeping bags and nifty inflatable pillows inside your tent (25 feet away from said fire pit) at dusk.
4. Bring only one other technological device that tells time and don't charge the battery before you spend 2 nights in the middle of the forest.

Once I realized my cell phone was not where I left it, I began to freak out. I also started hearing noises in the dark. Drew thought I was a loon for being so convinced that an animal stole my phone.

But man, those raccoons are ballsy! We are standing about ten feet away from the (unused) fire pit (in the pitch dark, mind you, while I clung to Drew's arm like a baby) when I hear rustling noises very close by. We see the green, beady eyes staring at us like the intruders to their home that we are.

I asked him if he wouldn't mind bringing my cell phone back.

But he didn't listen. Funny thing.

I'm sure the park ranger who came to check our permit the next night thought I was a loon too. But I know the truth. There is a criminal raccoon on that mountain.

They don't call it Savage Gulf for nothing.