Autumn Hiking with the Boys

Fall is lookin like a real nice one

As most of my stories on this blog seem to do, this one starts off with Reggie and I waking up.

This hiking adventure starts with being asked by a rotary member (through Reggie's host mom) if we would like to accompany him and his son on an overnight hike up to a cabin.
Reggie and I were not too excited I guess you could say, but our exchange training kicked in and we said yes anyways. Boy were we glad we did.

We woke up at my house on Saturday morning a little earlier than your typical weekend sleep in.
Both Reggie and I borrowed a hiking bag with waist straps as to take some of the weight off staying overnight off our shoulders.
Picked up by the nice Rotarian, we went to pick up his son, then to the mountain.

From the get go, it was clear I had over packed a little, but I'm no weight weenie so I didn't mind too much.
My legs did however, when I got about an hour into the hike with what seemed like fifty pounds of added weight. This made a two hour hike feel like a five hour climb and when we finally reached the top, all I could think about was resting and relaxing.

Might have blacked out for a moment right here

Not even that high up smh

After some food and much needed immobilization, we were served more food.
Somewhere along the line, the question was asked to summit, about another 2 hour hike but I don't think I was in the right state of mind for 5 more hours of climbing so Reggie and I politely declined along with everyone else. Besides, the visibility wouldn't have made the walk worthwhile.
I went to sleep early and slept surprisingly good for a 5 in. thick mattress that had probably seen better days.

I woke up feeling rejuvenated and ready to summit however no one else in my party shared my energy.
We all laced up our boots, groaned and put on our packs, and started the much more difficult hike down.
Without a pack, going down might have been easier, but with it, forces my legs to become heavy duty springs in a truck with far more weight in it's bed than originally intended.
Like I said, I'm no weight weenie but I wished I hadn't packed as thoroughly.

I don't know, I felt that it was obligitory

I am really glad I said yes to that trip. Like Stephen Finch says, "You never know what doors going to Grandma's birthday party might open up."
(Or something like that, I probably made it a lot more poetic.)
And ya know I think that's probably a good lesson for people back home too. Doing the things that seem like they might not lead anywhere is always better than staying home. It seems like the experiences with the craziest stories always start off the most regular and mundane beginnings.

I think I'm gonna end this awesome blog post with a quote that I think about a lot from The Office:
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."
-Andy Bernard
That quote really hit me when I heard it and i think it reminds me to remember moments like my dinner with Reggie in the mountains while it's happening, to take mental pictures because one day, that's all it will be...
A memory.