Ouch

It took some will power on my part to make it to the park for a bit of hiking. I usually like to be there at 8AM to get it over with and avoid the sun. I made it out at 12PM. I asked a couple of people if they wanted to join me but they already had plans, so I went alone...not the smartest thing. For the first stretch I saw no one and I started to get a little freaked out by some noises. Sounds like someone stepping on branches or random noises. There was this one sound that really got under my skin. It took me about an hour to figure out it was coming from the water bottle in my jacket pocket.

I have not been hiking in a long time and I can tell. I was struggling with ascending and struggling with descending. Ascending is a problem because it takes a lot out of me, signs of my age and further proof of being out of shape. Descending is a problem because I don't trust my footing. I was right about not trusting my footing. I took a fall when I thought I was stepping on a root and it turned out to be a twig that gave way. I was not hurt only got a little dirty.

So there I am descending and my phone rings...there was a message. I called my friend back and we started to chat. I told her it was ridicuous to be communing with nature and have a cell phone attached to my ear. Since we had not spoken in a while, we decided to talk until I lost reception. I finally saw some people on the trail...and what do they see. A hiker with a cell phone. It's not as bad as a hiker with a cigarrette hanging of his lip, is it?

It was great to be out there although I am now exhausted. It's a different kind of tired. I think I might go out again next weekend as long as the rain stays away.

5.68 miles. Let that be my minimum distance for this year.