Hike on a Rainy Day

5/19/20

On Friday, May 15, 2020, I went on a hike in the rain while socially distancing with two of my friends. Shin, Ryan, and I started the hike expecting that the rain had been done for the day. We got to the Chagrin River Park in Willoughby with our rain clothes, expecting there to be at least some light rain. To our surprise, the sun was shining and the rain seemed to have disappeared for the day. We left all of our rain protection materials in our cars and went about our way of walking down the path. As we walked through the man-made path that leads us into a gallery of untouched nature, we stop along the river for a close up of the water. We began to discuss why there is a specific part of the river that looks like it is emitting waves, but the rest of it is smooth. Shin thought it was because there were rocks underneath the water that are in such a shape that the water had to bend upwards around them creating a wave-like appearance. Shin mentioned that because of this, the rocks that were forcing the waves would erode and the river would eventually be completely still. Although Ryan and I were not sure what was causing the waves, we were sure this was not it. Ryan and I concluded that the river most likely has natural divots that had been in the bed of the river. Thus causing some of the water to go down and back up creating a wave-like effect. We left the side of the river and continued to walk along the concrete trail deeper into the park.

As we walked across a bridge taking us to the other side of the river, we conversed about New York Drill. A type of rap music that is very popular in the five boroughs of New York, but making its way up the popularity scale across the whole world. Furthermore, we discussed artists that we enjoy listening to as well as the tragic deaths of a few of these artists. We discussed the impact artists like Juice Wrld, Pop Smoke, and Mac Miller had not only on us but on the whole world.

While walking it became evident that the wildlife in this park is very comfortable around humans. We were able to get up close to a fat squirrel, as well as spot and identify a blue jay and a cardinal among some other birds. In addition to this as we walked further into the natural territory, we found a large group of white-tailed deer relaxing on the side of a grassy hill.

The air that day smelled and felt damp, as it had been raining previously. It then began to drizzle. A few moments later, it was raining harder. About 10 minutes after this, the rainfall increased. By this point, Ryan, Shin, and I had decided to completely embrace the rain. We realized there is no point in being uncomfortable in the rain, and that we should submit to the rainfall. After all, Mr. Harris had just told us we should try it during the previous class. At first, experiencing the rain was a little bit out of my comfort zone, but the more I was rained on, the more fun the experience was. Soon we were drenched but continued our adventure. It felt like a large natural shower in a way. By the end of our trip, it felt like we had just taken a swim on a nice day. Although the rain felt good as well as exhilarating, the trip quickly turned a bit rougher. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped, and the rain had only gotten heavier. We decided we needed to start heading back. We had walked a whole lot further than initially expected, and that made for a cold, windy, and wet traverse back to our cars. In addition to this, none of us had towels. We each used old clothes that happened to be in the car to dry ourselves off. Even though this trip became a bit more uncomfortable towards the end, I would do it again in a flash. It was a surprisingly fun experience because of the semi-unexpected rain. When I think about it, the only time humans get wet like that is when they are taking either a shower or swimming. This is what made the experience so different. It was the fact that we were experiencing something we usually experience by man-made products (i.e. shower or pool.) It was a sensation that I had felt before but rarely experienced in my seventeen years of life. I highly recommend it.