Lost....Isalean Bar....Reward Offered For Safe Enjoyment

Old DeSoto...WOW

I woke this morning after the conclusion of  my "Isa Guru 9 Day Cleanse Challenge" in great spirits, anxious to enjoy my first Isalean shake after the two day Deep Cleanse that ended the challenge.  Looking out my window as I relished my shake, realized it was a perfect day for a walk...no; not just a walk, a jaunt...more than that, not quite a hike, maybe a half hike, sort of like someone who does a half marathon before participating in a full out marathon.  Beautiful billowy white clouds looking like marshmellow fluff floating acoss the intense blue sky, their bottoms a steely gray, as if they were thinking about, but had not yet made up their minds to be a storm.  The temperature almost balmy, especially for a day in the middle of January...you know the kind of a day it was, one of those rare days in the middle of winter when you can ditch the heavy winter coat, put on shorts and a thermal hoodie.  The kind of a day where you almost have a duty to get outside and frolic.

Finishing my Isalean shake, I was STOKED, convinced it was my duty to God and country to throw on some hiking shoes and go out for an adventure in the great outdoors...skipping my shower, I got right too the task at hand, getting dressed and gathering the necessary items for my great adventure...

 

Camera...check

Belt mounted lens case with zoon lens...check

Knit hat...check

e+ Energy Shot...check

Apartment keys...check

Realizing I was probably going to still be out scouting the countryside come lunch time, decided I should take one of my Isalean Bars with me...this was a special day, so grabbed one of my FAVORITES...the one sure to bring a smile to my face.

It was a beautiful day outside, I was anxious to head out, in a hurry...previous experience should have told me this was not wise, but come on, this WAS A PERFECT DAY!...it was as if Mother Nature herself was beckoning me to come commune with her.  So, checking my gear one last time I pulled the door shut on my apartment, descended the flight of stairs and stepped out onto Main street of our small wee hamlet to greet the sun shining down on me...yes, it was a PERFECT DAY for a half hike, something more than a walk, or a jaunt, a sojourn of sorts to be one with the earth.

I walked up the street, made a left onto Post Hill Road, made another left and headed up to our Rail Trail...always a good start for such an aventure, it's path through time providing numerous opportunities to head off in different directions with each eventually ending up at the same final destination.  I was a man with a plan...or perhaps a goal, or maybe I just wanted to take the day off and go out and enjoy such a beautiful day, a day that we do not often see in the midst of a cold, dark desolate winter...as I briskly strolled down the path...no, it was more than  a stroll, my stride had purpose and conviction to it.  It was a beautiful incredible January MONDAY, and I was blowing off work and going on a half hike.  As the Blue's Brothers would say, I was on a mission!

About two miles and a few pictures into this quest a challenge, or was it a canundrum arose...I was thirsty, in need of water.  I went through my various and assorted pockets...OMG...how could I have not remembered to put a bottle of water on my check list? 

There was that brief moment, but then training and experience took over, my time in Boy Scouts and the Navy bringing two quick thoughts to mind...A) Don't panic, and B) Be prepared...have to love that Boy Scout Motto.  As these two thoughts were solidifying in my mind, up the trail on the left I spyed a ancient rock face with a sparking new crop of icecles inviting me to harvest one or two.  I quickly plucked and ate a couple of small ones, then grabbing a larger one in my gloved hand continued down the path my thirst quenched, a disasterious and quick end to my half hike avoided.

I hiked up and down hills, wondered off the trail scampering over slippery rocks to explore this and that, snapping a picture here, picking up an old broken bottle there to hold up to the sun as I admired the color and sparkle seen in the ancient, long discarded glass.  I veered to the left, meandered to the right, always in a round about way heading in the right direction, not a care in the world. 

Somewhere around 1:30 in the afternoon judging by the position of the sun, I realized all this physical excertion had me feeling in need of sustinance.  It was at almost this precise moment of mental clarity that my steps had brought me to the edge of a small babbling stream, a rather large stone (probably a long ago relic left behind during the ice age) that was remarkably suited for sitting offered me a perfect place to enjoy lunch, wash it down with some icy cold water as it made its way down from the mountains that surround our area.

I tamped down the snow around the boulder...had decided it was far to big to be called just a stone.  Carefully laid my camera and other gear in a safe dry place, cupped my hands and had a generous drink of the icy water, reached into my pocket for my Isalean Bar...it was not in the pocket I had put it in.  Assuming I had mistaken which pocket in which it had been placed, I began methodically checking all my other pockets of which there were many.    Alas, the search over and complete, a sad realization took hold...somewhere along the way in all my trapsing here and there, my beloved Isalean Bar had slipped out of my pocket, was gone!

 

Now I know what you are thinking..."Sherwood, its just an Isalean Bar, you can get another." 

No, you don't understand...this was not just another Isalean Bar, it was my favorite Isalean Bar, a Chocolate Cream Crisp Isalean Bar, the finest in the land, a delicious low glycemic meal alternative beyond compare!  With tears in my eyes I realized my Chocolate Cream Crisp Isalean Bar was gone, even worse, LOST, alone somewhere in the woods, abandoned and left to fend for itself.  How could I have been so careless?  MY GOD, what had I done...a poor, defenseless yet delicious Chocolate Cream Crisp Isalean Bar laying there, out in the woods, exposed and alone!

Gathering my gear, a bit desolate...AND HUNGRY, I carried on, completed my half hike...I had to, it was a duty bestowed upon me, but throughout the rest of my great adventure, my Isalean Bar was never far from my thoughts, my pangs of hunger a constant reminder of my carelessness.  As the crescent moon hoovers in the cloudy night sky above I find myself worried about that poor bar, wondering if it will be all right, if it will get its chance to fulfill its own destiny of bringing a taste delight to the lips of some fortunate soul, providing them with a nourishing meal in the shape of a bar?

So if you find my beloved Isalean Bar, tear apart the protective water proof foil pack and enjoy your reward.