Fontainebleau

Foret de Fontainebleau is an enormous mass of woods about 40 minutes by train from Paris. Wanting a break from the hustle and bustle of Paris, my friend Lindsay and I are eager to hike here, so we decide to venture out to the tiny town of Fontainebleau. Due to minor metro complications and other delays, we don't make it until 2 PM. The train dumps us into a random part of the town and we have no idea where we are. The maps are confusing so we stand like idiots in our ridiculously "I am American" get-up - spandex leggings, sweatshirts, running shoes and backpacks. Nothing is more dorky-tourist than the backpack. It's sunny out but a few ominous clouds are rolling in. I ask someone "Ou est le bois?" (Where are the woods?) She points and says, "c'est la, c'est partout." (it's there, it's everywhere). Not helpful. Eventually we decide to visit the tourism office, which we have to take a bus to. We ask the woman at the tourism office where the closest bouldering area is (bouldering is essentially rock climbing without a harness on little rocks). She says 6 km, which is a bit far. I'm nervous we wont' make it there and back before dark, so I ask her, "is it dangerous to hike in the dark?" She responds, "No, not at all! The trails are well-marked. It's fine." 

We finally begin our hike through the Fontainebleau. The sky is still overcast, and the temperature has dropped significantly. The forest is beautiful - the fall leaves scattered across the ground make for quite the picturesque scene. We walk along at a good pace, chatting about life and whatever else comes to mind. We make it about 2 miles maybe, when it starts to rain. We think this is a good time to turn back. 

There is a fork in the trail. I choose the path on the left because it seems right. But actually I have no idea. So we go that way, walking quickly because of the rain. Suddenly we emerge from the forest onto a major highway. I panic. I have no idea where this is. We don't remember coming this way. Where are we??

It's pouring rain, the map is soaked through nor does it really make any sense, so we decide to ask someone in their car where the hell we are. Lindsay speaks in French to one guy. A minute later she looks at me and says, "He wants us to get inside his car, he says he's a cop and can take us back to the train station." Absolutely not. I shake my head and we walk away. I'm quite scared at this point. I think maybe we will die. I try to think of ways to spend the night in the woods. I panic because it's raining and I don't think it's possible to make a fire in the rain. Lindsay is so calm and I don't know how she stays so calm. We backtrack and make it back to the fork in the paths. We take the one we didn't go down before. Soon we realize that this trail is marked with the correct trail markings. If we had just checked the other trail, we wouldn't have gotten so lost. I feel stupid for misleading her. 

We power-walk at an insane speed, trying to get out of the damn forest. Finally, as our asses are on fire, we make it out right as night falls. We're cold, wet and shivering. It's still pouring, too. I can no longer feel my fingers or feet. After grabbing a coffee to warm us up, we make it back to the train station and jump on the next train back to Paris. On the train, Lindsay and I reflect on our experience and try to decide if we're lucky or not.