Hiking (is) for Dummies

So I've done it. Finally. After living in the Adirondacks for about 2 1/2 years altogether, I have finally gone hiking. And I have to admit, it imparts a feeling of accomplishment in me. But it also seems pretty pointless. Here's the lowdown:

Casey decided that it would be entertaining if he dragged my lazy ass up a mountain. I found it rude that he felt I should exercise by huffing and puffing my way up a giant pile of rocks and trees and dirt to look at even more piles of said material. But I agreed nonetheless. We decided our first adventure would be Little Panther, a .6 miler down the road from where I'm spending the summer. It took us a good chunk of time to get there because my "shortcut" happened to extend in the opposite direction. Oops. So anyway, we get to the trailhead and put our shoes on and get all ready to attack this thing. We get about 3 feet into the woods and the trail decides it's going to shoot practically straight up. I immediately begin wheezing, and so begins our ascent. We come to the conclusion about a third of the way up that we're not cut out for this whole "hiking" thing. Especially when we pass a couple descending. The woman is pregnant. Not just "look at me I have a little bump you cam barely tell I'm nurturing a life inside me" pregnant. I'm talking full-blown, out-to-there, "I'm 3 weeks late and boy can you tell" pregnant. She smiles at us and says "excuse me". I want to kill her.

For the sake of the unborn child I let her pass and Casey and I keep going. I'm afraid to admit how tired I am until he stops, turns around and says "well that made me feel inadequate, how bout you?" I am relieved.

So we get nearly to the summit and I'm starting to feel good about myself when we hit the clearing and what's the first thing we see? An elderly man WITH A CANE! being helped over to a boulder by an elderly woman. Talk about a kick in the teeth.

That was our first hiking experience. I'll recap the following 2 with the next post. Cheers.