Another short hike at Huilo Huilo to yet another stunning waterfall. The twist on this hike is that Katie and I became separated from the kids. We’ve gotten into the habit of letting them hike ahead of us, often times out of site.
Katie and I arrived at the parking lot thinking the kids would be at the car. No kids.
Katie waited with the car, and I ran backwards on the loop trail, expecting to run across the kids who we had somehow passed. No kids.
I met a Chilean couple who didn’t speak English, but in Spanish I asked if they had seen two children. They had, on the other side of the trail. I knew now the kids were quite far away from me, perhaps walking in the wrong direction.
I kept running the one mile loop backwards, never catching the children. When I arrived at the parking lot, out of breath and concerned, the kids hovered around their mother with their heads hung low.
They had taken a wrong turn. Instead of returning to the parking lot, they had turned back onto the start of the trail.
The lesson learned: Always wait for the group at a fork in the trail.
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