The Corn Maze

With October now come and gone I am reflecting on traditions we have developed since our move to the Northwest 7 years ago.

We naturally decorate every year,  Our front yard graveyard changes shape and form each year, but its a mainstay.


Instead of buying pumpkins at the local grocery store or big box store,  we actually wander through the pumpkin patch and take the time to pick the perfect pumpkin.  In a pinch, we can still grab them at the store, but the preferred choice will always be the Pumpkin Patch, fresh off the vine, not staged on a bale of hay.

The Corn maze is new to us. Living in Orange County, California we didn't have fields of corn and corn mazes. So we went to our first corn maze in 2006 and they have since become and annual tradition for us. For anyone who has never seen or done a corn maze, let me tell you about it.

They are like the labyrinth of hedges you see in movies like "The Shining" and "Harry Potter-Goblet of Fire".  They are walls of corn 7-10 feet high 3-6 feet deep planted and plowed and harvested in a such a way as to create a Maze. They are intended to shut out the noise and lights of the nearby city and people, to transport you someplace else.  Some Mazes are indiscriminate in their design, and others like the ones on Sauvie Island are two miles of winding paths which from and aerial view are a reflective of a Trail Blazers or Oregon Ducks logo.


Corn Mazes can be done in the day time, which is great for family entertainment, or for the more adventurous at heart, they can be done at night when they are frequently deemed "Haunted Corn mazes".

The Haunted Corn maze is easier than the the one simply done at night without haunting because at least there are Haunted Cast members staged at various points throughout the maze who can help direct and guide a lost wanderer in the right direction.  The unmanned maze requires, in addition to nerves of steel,  more focus, a sense of direction and confidence. 

Newbies should always start with the Daylight mazes.  As you gain confidence and comfort with your ability to wind your way through a maze, you can venture into the Haunted Maze, and when you are an expert, try you hand at the Maze at Night, completely unmanned.

Our first year in the Northwest, after hearing from some friends at work about how much fun they could be, the boys and I decided to hit a corn maze close to our home. Our only mistake was starting off at the expert level because we chose to go after work in the middle of the week. Jeff was sick and did not join us, so I took the boys and they each brought a friend. I realize now, I didn't really think that through very well because that left each of them to pair up, and me alone.  That summer I had injured my right ankle and was barely recovering still wearing the brace when we hit the maze that cold October Thursday night.   We paid for our entrance and made our way across the farm fields to the corn maze. It was enormous.  As we entered the maze both sets of boys took off challenging each other  as to who could make it through the fastest and I began my own journey, alone.

I was confident that I could do this, I am good with puzzles and I had a map of the maze, how hard could it be?  I soon ate my words and found out that I have no sense of direction when my field of vision is closed off.  The boys loved it.  They wound their way through the maze forwards and backwards several times. Sadly, and somewhat embarrassingly, after and nearly 90 minutes in the maze, I was a mess.  I was disoriented, claustrophobic, and panicky.  I had fallen down on the slick rain drenched trails numerous times, and my ankle was unable to support me any further.  I was using corn stalks to pull myself up and to hold myself steady, and I was certain I would never find my way out.  I could hear voices of other maze travelers through the walls, and even thought I heard my boys and their friends a time or two, but I never saw anyone.  I was going in circles, and going nowhere slowly.  I finally used my cell phone to call Jeff and tell him I was lost and alone and that perhaps the only way out for me was rescue.  He just laughed.  Finally as if by miracle, the boys realizing they hadn't seen me since we arrived, organized a rescue party. They found it hilarious when they learned I had never made it through, and that I needed them to help me find my way out.  a short ten minutes later we were drinking hot chocolate by the fire pit and I was wiping mud off my shoes and jeans getting ready to go home.  I was laughing to avoid crying, but happy that the boys liked their new found annual adventure and I knew we had a tradition in the making.

My advice for first timers to ensure maximum fun and return desirability, always have a partner.  Start off in the Daylight, then try a nighttime. Having someone with a sense of direction is a plus, but remember your senses are compromised when your field of view is obstructed.

I could have decided never to go back after that first time, but never one to run away from a challenge, I faced my fear and got back on the horse (or back in the corn maze as the case may be) the very next year, with Jeff at my side, and made it through in record time, for me (although beating a record of two hours was pretty simple).

The corn maze, the pumpkins, the hot chocolate and hot apple cider, its all so natural and so fresh, its almost quaint.  Its a tradition we will maintain for years to come and the next generation in our family will know it as tradition.  A tradition started with my boys and carried forward.  Halloween is simply the precipice of my favorite time of year, and I cant wait for the smells of Thanksgiving and Christmas to come.