The hike was enjoyable and we didn't have any difficulty following the trail up to the waterfall. We reached the falls and played around and enjoyed the scenery until it was dark. Then it started to get a little chilly and we decided to make our way back.
It was some time later before we realized we were not on the trail. It turns out the trail up to the waterfall is not as visible on the way back for some reason and we had wandered into the brush. We decided to try to light the lantern once more to see if we could find the trail. That failed so we lit the next best thing which was Paul's "Hunter Dan" camouflage hunting hat. That was good and proper, not to mention helpful. It burned and rained down dripping blobs of petroleum based textile until the flames reached Paul's fingers and he quickly extinguished the hat.
Near the base of the mountain we were on is a railroad track which spans the length of the mountain. We realized that if we continued down the mountain we would eventually find the railroad tracks and we could follow them until we found the park where the car was parked. We crawled through branches and brush as we moved downward. We incurred scratches and branches in eyeballs. It got darker and darker as we continued to not find the railroad tracks.
We were very nearly resigned to living on the side of this mountain for the rest of our days when we finally came upon the railroad tracks. We felt that we had gone quite a ways north in our meanderings so we headed south along the tracks for several hundred yards until we came to an impenetrable bush growing on the tracks. We had worked so long and hard at finding the tracks in the first place that we were absolutely not going to leave them even for a moment to circumnavigate this bush. Since we weren't entirely certain that we were going the right way anyway, we turned around and headed back along the tracks in the opposite direction. After a couple of miles in the northward direction we felt certain that we were definitely not going the right way. So we turned around and walked back a couple of miles plus several hundred yards to the impenetrable bush. It turned out not to be so impenetrable. We pushed easily through the bush and were filled with hope when we saw afar a streetlight that we believed to be in the parking lot of the park where we left the car. We hurried onward and eventually we were safe back in the park with the college students who were enjoying a large bonfire.
It was at this point that Paul realized his keys were missing. These were the keys that we needed to start the car that would take us back home. There was a hole in the pocket of Paul's sweat pant-like pants and the keys were long gone. We began scouring the park where the college folk had tried to help us light the lantern in the hope that they had fallen out before we actually went up the mountain. The friendly college persons helped us look but to no avail. The keys were not there. The college students offered to take us down to the Bridal Veil Falls gift shop to use a pay phone to call for help. They were very thoughtful and kind. Paul used the phone to call home and his sister Robin answered. Paul explained our predicament and Robin kindly responded by hanging up on him. Thanks, Robin! You are a treasure.
Fortunately our college age friends were still nearby and they offered to take us home. We were very grateful and accepted their offer. As we were being taken home I began to feel things crawling on me. All over me. When I grabbed one of these things it turned out to be a caterpillar. There were many and they were crawling in my hair, on my arms and on my legs. I repaid the kindness of the college peeps by leaving a pile of caterpillars on the passenger side floor of their car. It was the least I could do.