Hiking

Yesterday, I went hiking with my dad, brother, sister and dog in Fayston, on Burnt Rock mountain. It was the first time in over a decade that we've hiked as a family - I have many fond memories of us hiking in New York during the summer. When I saw dad earlier this week and said that he and Dan were planning on hiking the mountain, I decided it would be a good time to go. Hiking is something that I've absolutely loved doing, and one of a couple things that I never seem to find the time to do (others being skiing and reading more).

I've hiked this peak before, as a scout over fifteen years ago now. Hiking it again brought back some memories, as I recognized some of the stops along the trail, and the top of the mountain. It was a relatively short hike - 4 miles all told, but it illustrated just how out of shape that I've become in the past year. When I was walking to school all the time (not to mention up and down the Norwich University campus, which is all hills), it kept me in fantastic shape. Since I've been driving to and from work and not really moving around as much as I usually do, I was out of breath a lot quicker than I should have been. Despite that, hiking again was fun, and getting to the top was breathtaking - it was pretty clear yesterday, and we had a fantastic view of the Mad River Valley.

It was the first time that I've gone hiking with Fionna - she really had fun, running ahead of us, taking in the new sights and smells. We only had to help her at two points, both rock ledges that she just couldn't figure out a way around.

I need to get into better shape - I'm paying for the hike today, as my legs are really sore from the walk. I suspect that even walking around town every day would be helpful. I should do that...