Hikes

I bet you have all been wondering about the status of my hiking goal. “She said she would go on 12 hikes! Has she been on even one hike yet? Well if she has she sure hasn’t blogged about it, the bitch.”

Well haters, I have been on a hike. One hike. So far. It was just outside of Chapel Hill, NC with Moose and K5M. I can’t say it was an especially vigorous hike, but I CAN say it was an especially enjoyable one. We walked along a little creek that widens into some sweet swimming holes that I sure would have liked to dip into, had the weather been warmer. On the other hand maybe I wouldn’t have. You see Moose and all of his Chapel Hill buddies had spent the previous evening regaling me with crazy SNAKE STORIES!! Apparently there are many snakes in the area, including and especially SNAKES THAT HANG OUT NEAR OTHERWISE SUBLIME SWIMMING HOLES!!! And guess what you guys? You know how you (I) thought that only water moccasins could swim? WRONG! They all swim! And you know how you (I) thought that when they swam they sort of skimmed along the surface of the water? WRONG! Lots of them can swim UNDERWATER!! SNAKES!! UNDER THE WATER!!! JUST WAITING TO SLITHER-SWIM OVER TO YOU AND BITE YOUR BOTTOM!!! As you may have deduced, I find this information very alarming. But the hike was nice anyway and I didn’t see a single snake. SUCCESS! Aside from snake talk the other remarkable thing about the hike was how far apart the trees were. In Oregon the forests are super dense and lush, and in Colorado the landscapes are full of extremes- rugged tundra, steep, rocky mountainsides (duh), and expansive deserts. In the Duke Forest the trees had yet to bloom and there was an even layer of fallen leaves on the ground. The woods seemed eerie, quiet, genteel; not as wild as the forests of the West. It was weird! When we got back to the trail head and checked out the sign we discovered the forest had recently been thinned. Ad then it all made sense.

On another hiking note, guess who was accepted into the Signal Fire Summer Retreat, a seven day backpacking trip in the Mt Hood wilderness? If you guessed “Willow” you are correct! The retreat is designed for artists, but I applied as a writer/social practitioner (with my Power Year) and I got in! I am 40% thrilled and 60% terrified. What if I get a crick in my neck and then have to carry a heavy pack all over the place for the next 6 days? What if it rains the whole entire time? What if I get bad blisters? What if I’m not tough enough for this? I haven’t been backpacking in at least 10 years and I’m not exactly “fit.” What if I’m the slowest hiker and everyone thinks I’m a whiner? (Note to Self: Don’t whine.)

My dad gave me an REI gift certificate to get me geared up for the trip so I’m going to buy boots this weekend. A pregnant friend has offered to let me borrow all of the fleece and smart wool and other stuff I need since she’ll weigh about 200 lbs by the time summer comes around and won’t necessarily feel like powering up a hill and making camp. Also she won’t fit into her camping clothes. On the other hand she’ll have a cute blonde baby by the end of the summer so I’d say we’re both winners.

So I need to start hiking in earnest to be ready for my trip! Do you want to hike with me, dear reader? Like maybe tomorrow? Or next weekend? I have a whole list of amazing hikes curated by Ahab (who also happens to be the founder of Signal Fire.) Lemme know! We can climb mountains together!