Actually, I’m Probably Not Qualified to Dispense Hiking Tips. But You Should Read This Anyway.
Either To Learn From My Mistakes (A Cautionary Tale?), Or To Feel Transiently Smug Because Your Outdoorsy Mistakes are Superior to Mine (I’m Totally Ok With That; We Can Still Be Friends).
Tip #1: Don’t forget your shoes. Bring both of them.
Are you focused, like my family, on getting more exercise? On connecting meaningfully with the great wide yonder? Do you yearn for rocks and mountains, sunshine, breath-taking vistas, increased heart rates and sweat induced euphoria? By all means, go for a hike. Walking briskly up hills and over crags is great for your quads. Fabulous for your gluteous maximuses. Superb for your calves, ambrosia for your heart and lungs. And lovely for your psyche. Hike locally if you can (what is woman, or man for that matter, without her country? Her rocks, her mountains?). Take the family, take the dog. And definitely take sensible hiking shoes, for everyone (except the dog).
On a recent, spur of the moment family hike, I forgot a shoe. Sounds unlikely, I know…how do you leave the house with one shoe and not notice? Well. It could happen to anyone, if there was a puppy involved. Which there was; a really cute puppy in training…sort of a maverick, loose cannon puppy. She created a diversion, distracted me while I was grabbing stuff (shoes, for instance). After which I walked out of the house in socks, with only one shoe in hand, my family waiting for me patiently in the car.
I didn’t realize my mistake until we arrived at our hiking destination and I bent down to put the other shoe on and couldn’t find it. We considered going back for it, but. It was hot outside, getting hotter by the minute. And it had taken nearly twenty to drive to our starting spot. There were some in my party (not the puppy) who were already having second thoughts about hiking at all. I weighed my options, looked closely at the trail. Licked my finger, held it up in the breeze (not really; that just sounds cool). And decided that retrieving the missing shoe wouldn’t be worth stalling the hike. I did, after all, have a sock on the shoeless foot. Of course it was the foot with the compromised toe, but still. Covered by a sock. The gravel in the trail looked relatively…smallish, not too jagged. And Ezra (who’d sampled the hike a couple of times earlier) assured me it wouldn’t get too rough.
I hiked in one shoe. Got all the way to the big rock with Ezra and Nora (Frank and Meisha stayed behind with the by now overheated puppy). And it was ok. Exhilarating, actually. We did it. We took in rocks, vistas, accelerated pulse rates, together time.
And that is all I have to say about that. Really, take shoes. But if you forget, remember this story, and take heart.
Tip #2: Seriously? You think the Woman Who Forgot One Shoe has other useful tips? I don’t. But I can improvise. How about this: No shoes, no shirts…no…Um. It would be smart to take water? Definitely take water. If you take a puppy, consider packing a small pond, or a brook.
The end.
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Is this what you call a hike with a lot of “sole”?
or were you trying to teach Mimsie to “heel” by example?
Well, whatever, you “toe’d” us and warned us about the dangers and pleasures of one-shoed hiking.
Sorry. I couldn’t resist.
I love your puns Cynthia. Made me laugh. (= (=
uhm. I just love you. Love the metaphor for life. So, often, we are only equipped with one shoe on a rocky path through life. 🙂 I think it works? 🙂
Yes, that works. Thank you Andie! Love you too.
You get the devoted hiker of the year award for sure!!
Tabetha recently posted…House Tour: Thing 3’s Bathroom~*
Add to that the awards my sister has nominated me for (REI Cinderella Look-Alike Contest Winner, Happy Homemakers X-Treme Sports Hall of Fame, Shoeless Joe Jackson stand in), and I’m just a happenin’ gal. Well, a hoppin’ gal. (= Hope you’re having a great week… I’ll be heading over soon to see what you’re up to.
You are hardcore! I would have went back home if I forgot my shoes!
I’m really not hardcore, I’m just trying to be like my little sister. (= Actually, it wasn’t a long hike, the trail was more dust than gravel…and I had kids who were on the cusp of mutiny. So it kind of felt like a no-brainer. Thank you for visiting, Bethany!!
Oh my gosh this is so funny! I am amazed that you went ahead with your hiking trip without a shoe. You are seriously a trooper and I’ll take outdoorsy advice from you anyday 🙂
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Thanks Ally!!! And while we might have a lot of fun on a hiking adventure together, I really don’t think anyone should take outdoorsy advice from me!
Thanks for visiting!
Shoeless Joe Jackson comes to mind. Only, you weren’t shoeless, exactly ~ and he was a baseball player, not a hiker. I wonder if he had a dog? I know he had a bat. Anyway, it only took one game without shoes for his nickname to take. His superior skills may have helped.
But you’re not lacking there! One hike with one shoe could win you similar fame ~ the question is, with what name? “One Shoe Guru”? I think it fits ~ and if the shoe fits . . . as they say . . .
Love,
Leah
P.S.
This adventure officially qualifies you for the Happy Homemakers X-Treme Sports Hall of Fame.
Further notice regarding induction ceremonies pending. Good two shoes required.
P.P.S.
You might also consider the upcoming REI sponsored Cinderella Look Alike Contest.
Leah! Sistah! I so love your comments! This should just be copied and pasted and put right into my post.
Cinderella Look Alike Contest indeed. Perhaps the Cinder-girl whose magic had worn off…(=
And I think all the Happy Homemaker Extreme Sports Hall of Fame spots are filled by you already. My in-laws will never forget (seriously my father in law brings it up every time I see him) that you lugged two five gallon buckets of cement up my stairs in Benton City. (=
I was tempted to not believe this craziness!. Lynaea, this is by far the most exciting hike I’ve heard of in some time. Bravo for now wimping out but sticking in there. Don’t know if I would have done so.
The hike really wasn’t bad. While that rock does look daunting, the trail simply wound up behind it. No Amazonian efforts on my part to scale a cliff. Ezra did show me though where Maurya had climbed out onto it and sat atop the nethermost tip. She is soooooo in trouble when I see her again someday. (=
Plus. The trail did have gravel and the occasional rock in it, but nothing worse than what I’m used to traversing barefoot in my backyard (we have gravel paths that are actually more formidable). The hardest parts actually were when it got steep and dusty…