We Went Swimming in our Snowsuits

Inspired by the beautiful Northeast autumn that we’ve been experiencing and the lovely walks we’ve been going on, Kyle and I decided that we’d take up hiking as a hobby.  Which, 20-20 hindsight, is sort-of like saying, “Dude, I like climbing stairs.  Let’s go rock climbing!”

None the less, we went to the sporting goods store, purchased ourselves some bonified hiking boots, and drove up to Lake Placid.  The place is riddled with well-marked hiking trails, and enough gorgeous scenery to choke a walrus.  We found a lovely little trail, a mile long that ends at a scenic pond.  The perfect trail for a couple of beginning hikers.

The good news is that we learned.  Things like…

1) What we were doing before?  Not hiking. That was actually more like strolling through a grassy state park.  Hiking?  Is on a mountain.  With steep inclines.  And big rocks.  Lots of big rocks.  Oh, and mud!  Fucking mud, I’d only been wearing my new boots 20 minutes when I managed to accidentally step into the world’s deepest mud puddle.  Awesome.

Look at those muddy boots. They're so sad!

2)  A mile is really far to walk when it’s uphill and your path is covered in rocks. We were really proud of ourselves.  We were kicking this trail’s ass!  That pond totally had to be right around the corner.  And then we saw the sign.  The one that said that we’d only gone .2 miles.  The one that told us that we were sad and pathetic people.

3)  A pea coat and messenger bag is not what one would call “appropriate hiking gear.” Turns out, you need more equipment for hiking than just boots.  Like, a backpack that holds more than a water bottle and iPod.  And a coat that doesn’t constrict your body in a wool sauna.  And a shirt that keeps the girls a little more…ahem…secure.

Like I said, the good news is that we learned.  And once we get ourselves some proper equipment, we’re going to go back to that trail.

We’re totally going to kick that mile’s ass.