I was hiking the McDonald-Dunn Forest near Corvallis recently on one of our few clear days. I was attempting to hike from the Lewisburg Saddle Trailhead to the Peavy Arboretum, but I took a wrong turn. After consulting my map, I realized that I could still reach the arboretum by taking a small trail I’d hiked before. The Hole in the Bucket Trail is a small piece of connective tissue among the trail system, a shady series of switchbacks on which I’d never seen another person. A few switchbacks down I came to a trail marker with a Ziploc bag attached. The bag was affixed with a wooden clothes pin. I thought it was a lost-and-found item somebody had picked up on the trail, but inside the bag was a small quilted heart. I took a moment to analyze the find and read the words: “I NEED A HOME!” I considered leaving it there, thinking this thing couldn’t possibly be intended for me, but rain was expected that evening and for the next several days. The little heart would be ruined. I decided to play along, convincing myself it would be wrong to do otherwise and leave the heart at the mercy of the elements. Only after showing some friends a picture of my find did I realize that it was a part of something much larger, something global. My major takeaway from the experience is that there are no wrong turns, only the path you were meant to take all along. Not to sound too deterministic, but I truly believe that it was meant to be. I’m grateful for my find and for the knowledge that such a cool program exists.
