897. Meridian, Lauderdale County (MS07)

Government center?  It’s not the traditional old-school courthouse I felt Meridian must have, but several important county offices were based there, so it would have to do.  It was early, I was cold, and I already felt like I was running behind at six in the morning.  I had planned to be up earlier, but I slept in until 5:30 because I’m a bed-loving slacker.  I also realized I could have done my photography the evening before to save a few minutes that morning, but Meridian was small enough that those few minutes would have been inconsequential anyway.  I drove to a nearby lake and began walking on a trail into the wooded surrounding hills.  After a little while, I broke from the trail and began heading uphill into the trees.  I crossed a ditch that would have been a stream had there been enough water and kept going up.  As hikers and physicists will tell you, distance as the crow flies means much less when elevation changes are involved.  I kept walking up and up and even found myself breathing hard, my breath drifting off in foggy clouds in the Mississippi air, but still I continued.  Every time I felt I had gained a few hundred feet of distance, it only turned out to be about a hundred thanks to the slope, and yet I continued.  For a few moments, I thought I was lost.  I thought I had the right direction, but I felt I wasn’t getting to the right place.  Once I found and began following a bike path, I realized that my coordinates had been jumping around a bit, possibly because of the trees, and I had gained some elevation I didn’t need.  At least I got to correct my course going downhill.  I was led to one final hill and resumed climbing once more.  And after an unexpected encounter with some barbed wire, I spotted my quarry (more factually the green chain securing my quarry to a tree).

Ladies and gentlemen (or however you identify, I don’t mean to be gender assumptive), I give you Bonita Lakes, the oldest cache in Mississippi.  Inveni, inscripsi, reposui.  And with that, my work in Meridian was complete.  All that remained was to make my way back to the car.  Luckily, there was a more significant hiking trail at the bottom of the hill.  As always, hard way in, easy way out.  I warmed up the car, got some breakfast, and made my way to next destination of my day…