Maybe Soon?

Posted by Hilary

Today was Election Day. For a few weeks I had been harboring this notion of going to vote and then traipsing off into the hills. It felt very patriotic to me! But today, it's really rainy. Yucky weather--not the kind of weather that we like to hike in. See for all our talk, all our gear, we still are not the hardcore hikers that many of you out there view us as. Trust me, there are some hikers out there who are just nuts. They think nothing of hiking 10+ miles a day with a 30-pound pack of gear. They'll even be crazy enough to sleep in the wilderness and do another 10+ miles the next day. If it rains, they just deal. Last year, at our peak, Scott and I could hike 6 miles in a day. We would then promptly return home to sleep in our comfortable bed. We got caught in the rain only twice last year, and both times were miserable! If you've never hiked 2 miles in a downpour, it's an experience to say the least. To give you more perspective on all of this, I was talking to a hiker friend a few weeks ago who said he didn't mind hiking in the rain. He said setting up/tearing down camp in the rain was the worst. This is also a hiker friend who camps out in the wilderness during the dead of winter. See what I'm saying; there are some crazies out there!

That all being said, maybe soon Scott and I will be those crazies. I think that this summer we will be able to hike 10+ miles in a day. Not sure we'll be able to repeat the performance the next day after sleeping in a tent out in the middle of nowhere, but who knows. The fact is last summer was the beginning of our life as hikers. We both had hiked some as kids, but nothing close to what we're into now. I guess what I'm saying is that for all of you out there who think you couldn't do this, you can. It's probably more of a question of do you want to? If you don't, I completely understand. But for me there is this intense desire to get out into nature. I feel so peaceful and close to God out in the wilderness. I can even be hiking up some hill that is stealing every breath in my body, but I will still feel so grateful and happy! So that gives me hope that someday we will be deemed nutso hikers too. Maybe soon?