By: Elaine Best and Addie Lawrence, Editors
Addie: When stress is high and every professor has masterfully coordinated their assignments to fall into one self-destructing nexus of despair, Elaine and I like to escape into the wilderness. Despite our plans of rejecting society as a whole and living as nomads among the trees, we usually return to campus unscathed – but in a journey to Camp Croft, a single wrong turn put us in the beginning of a horror movie.
Elaine: I had yet again entrusted my life with Addie as she drove us through back roads and slopes to our destination. All seemed well – we had even found a sign that said Croft Park. We were set. But then we drove through the park and ended up at some railroad tracks. And then we ended up down a no outlet road. And then we ended up turning around the road to go to the Spartanburg Gun Club. We turned in front of a white farm house and we saw a man standing in the distance holding something, staring at us. We appropriately screamed.
Addie: Eventually, we made it to the park unscathed. We hiked along the leaf-covered trails until we reached a salt deposit surrounded by a trickling stream. As we approach the end of the semester, I can’t help but think of the Crawdad that Could. He was a large specimen, camouflaged against the rocks in the stream. The current was mild against our toes, but to the crawdad, it was momentous. It was the perfect metaphor for life as a Wofford student. No matter how many times he was pushed back by the current, he kept on crawling forward.
Elaine: I faced my own challenges with a tree bridge. I am not fond on relying on dead things to carry me and not drop me down a ravine. Addie, however, has no problem scampering across such obstacles. I believe this is also why she does not fear her own driving. I was encouraged by my hiking companions to take a leap of faith and go for it, even if it ended in my demise. Foolishly, I did so. I made it across successfully. Honestly, I have no idea why they were so scared to cross it – like, come on guy, let’s grow up a little bit.
Addie: Be the Crawdad that Could.
Elaine: I think the big takeaway here is getting lost can be its own adventure but turning around at the Spartanburg Gun Club is not ideal.
