We started on the trail and everything was going okay. Then we came around a bend to a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings. I thought Gollum was going to come from behind a tree and start talking about his "precious." This supposed trail was really a path full of rocks that were waiting to be stepped on the wrong way so that someone can break their leg so bad the bone sticks out. I looked at Keara and thought to myself that I love her, but this is some bullsh*t. "Light" hike my a$$. But the Soldier in me just kept on trucking towards Mordor with Gollum in tow.
Then I learned about switch backs. For those of you who don't know what those are let me explain. They are zig zags going up or down a hill or mountain. Now their purpose is to make it easier on you to go up a real steep hill. In actuallity they make you question all of your life decisions. Walking zig zags takes a long time and it takes you forever just to make a little progress up the hill. Halfway through these "helpful" zig zags I thought "WTF am I doing here? I have Ava with me doing this dangerous hike. What if I trip and fall with her? If I made the mistake of doing this, what other bad decisions have made in life?" Ya, this trip went real dark, real quick.
Once we got to the top the fear really sunk in. We had to go down steep zig zags that were covered with loose rocks and gravel. Thankfully Augie, Keara's boyfriend and my long time friend, came with us. He walked in front to test the trail and to make sure if I fell forward that he was there to grab me. Keara walked behind me to also make sure of my safety. Really they don't care if I fall, but Ava is number one and we were concerned for her safety. Everytime one of us slipped on the rocks/gravel my heart sank. Augie kept whipping around everytime he heard rocks because he thought I was going to fall down to the depths of hell. Lets just say it was a very stressfull hike down.
When we got to the bottom Keara checked her phone to tell Augie how many miles we hiked. As she's looking at it she sees that it is NOT a beginners hike, but a indermediate hike. Then we figured out that the family friendly part was really for mountain bikes., not 2 month olds strapped in a Baby Bjorn. At the end of any strenous activity you are supposed to feel accomplished. Eff that! I felt tired and wet from both sweat and Ava deciding to drool down the front of my shirt. I did love spending time with my friends though. Stay tuned for my Hiking Adventure Part 2...
Have you ever gone on a crazy adventure?
