Actually, I'm ground crew for G.G. and his buddies, who have decided to spend nearly every Saturday this summer hiking.
I'm on the pickup end, usually. And can I just say, some weeks are better than others.
Hiking at our elevation (7,000 feet at the base of the mountain; 10,600 feet at the top) presents its own challenges, most of which the guys, who have been doing this a long time, have overcome.
But sometimes one of them is dealing with an issue that surprises and annoys. Like a blister from new boots, addressed by (but not remedied-that takes a week or so) slipping on the old boots. Or like mild food poisoning that strikes about midway up a particularly steep portion of the hike and causes no end of angst, weakness, leaden legs, light headedness, and general malaise while it's running its course.
Sometimes the challenges are simply about lifestyle choices made up to that point, like choosing to consume generous amounts of (fill in the blank) pizza, beer, cookies, ice cream over a period which results in extra weight to haul and which stresses knees and backs and makes attaining a fitness level more arduous than necessary.
But I have to give it to the guys. They're nothing if not persistent in their exploration of local trails (our mountains are laced with them, some harder/longer/more technically challenging than others).
So tomorrow they're off again at o' dark thirty. Another spouse is on the 'drop off at trailhead' duty, and I'm on pickup.
Perhaps I'll show up with an ice chest full of chilled water and another batch of cranberry pomegranate margaritas. Those seemed to go over pretty well last week.
And then I can listen to them rehash the hike as they feel the cool A/C blow, and feel their sore but happy muscles begin to relax a bit after the day's trek.
That's usually how it plays out these days.
I'm on the pickup end, usually. And can I just say, some weeks are better than others.
Hiking at our elevation (7,000 feet at the base of the mountain; 10,600 feet at the top) presents its own challenges, most of which the guys, who have been doing this a long time, have overcome.
But sometimes one of them is dealing with an issue that surprises and annoys. Like a blister from new boots, addressed by (but not remedied-that takes a week or so) slipping on the old boots. Or like mild food poisoning that strikes about midway up a particularly steep portion of the hike and causes no end of angst, weakness, leaden legs, light headedness, and general malaise while it's running its course.
Sometimes the challenges are simply about lifestyle choices made up to that point, like choosing to consume generous amounts of (fill in the blank) pizza, beer, cookies, ice cream over a period which results in extra weight to haul and which stresses knees and backs and makes attaining a fitness level more arduous than necessary.
But I have to give it to the guys. They're nothing if not persistent in their exploration of local trails (our mountains are laced with them, some harder/longer/more technically challenging than others).
So tomorrow they're off again at o' dark thirty. Another spouse is on the 'drop off at trailhead' duty, and I'm on pickup.
Perhaps I'll show up with an ice chest full of chilled water and another batch of cranberry pomegranate margaritas. Those seemed to go over pretty well last week.
And then I can listen to them rehash the hike as they feel the cool A/C blow, and feel their sore but happy muscles begin to relax a bit after the day's trek.
That's usually how it plays out these days.
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