Do more Hiking

Well, definitely not the mountain trekking. I was in Norway this summer trekking around a glacier. Man, it was hard. 11 hours a day. By the 2nd day we called it quits & decided to go find a hotel. I think I don’t need to rough it any more. Think I can do less bundu bashing & do more civilized walks. I think I’ve learnt my limits & I’m happy with it.

the metaphorical one, which is much better than a literal one… so while i was traveling in europe, i got to do some hiking in the breathtakingly beautiful Cinque Terre in Italy. it was a 6.4km (4 mile) hike (with an ascent of i forget how many meters, but it was a pretty decent ascent) from Levanto to Monterosso. it was the longest and hardest hiking i’d ever done, although i know for pros it was no big deal. i forget how long it took me… 3 hours? something like that. it took me longer than the estimated time because i had to take frequent breaks on the uphills. they got me out of breath very quickly. also, i was stopping to take pictures a lot. it was so beautiful!

i had never really had that experience before, of exercising to the point where the endorphins kick in and you start to get this high feeling, and you’re really tired but you just keep going, and you’re kind of delerious, but if you keep your spirits up (which i did by singing) then you feel great in a delerious sort of way. and every time you emerge from the trees and get another sweeping gorgeous view, it’s like a form of low-level euphoria that comes over you, and you have more motivation to go on.

and another amazing thing was when i reached part of the trail where the sun was really beating down and making things really hot, and then suddenly a wind would whip up the side of the mountain from the sea and be like a blast of natural air conditioning… ahhhhh!

when i got back i discovered that i had some pretty solid calves, stronger legs overall, and stronger arms and back… i’m so used to being skinny and delicate, it felt good to be stronger!

after two weeks my muscles are already atrophying again. guess i’ll just have to keep on hiking…

but first, i need better shoes.

i went camping this weekend with a bunch of people. before i went i was mostly excited but just the slightest bit nervous because the last time i had been camping was at girl scout camp, and that was a long time ago. hah! little did i know. it was more like a 48-hour barbecue. not really roughing it… there were flush toilets and a shower. not that i didn’t appreciate the toilets. but all the groups that were there brought music machines… it was a rarity to hear anyone playing live music with a real instrument.

don’t get me wrong, i had a great time. it was lots of fun, and i’m glad i went. i’m just saying, if i’d had my druthers, i would have liked to have felt a little more immersed in nature and less machine-dependent. esp. the canned music.

not knowing what time it was was great, though. so strange!

i did go on a little walk though (i wouldn’t call it a hike) along the stream that ran through the grounds. hopping from stone to stone; good fun.

A friend told me about another hiking club: http://www.wanderung.ca/ So hopefully as the weather gets better – I’ll do more hiking.

I starting hiking a few years ago and am completely hooked. The scenery is beautiful, and it’s a great way to clear your mind of stress.