Hiking. What a ridiculous activity. Going for a walk for the sake of..umm...walking. To quote my daughter: "this walk walk walking is good practice for walk walk walking." I think a donut and a cup of coffee makes a bit more sense than "walk walk walking." Oh, and it's walking with a big heavy weight on your back. Why? So you can sleep on the ground and not shower for a few days. Yeah, that's pretty stupid.
So how did a sensible person like me (and I am quite sensible, I agree with myself over 90% of the time), get into hiking? Am I a fitness buff? I'm really more like 2 of them, speaking in terms of total mass.
One day, while sitting in traffic after a stressful day in the office, I looked up and decided "life is more than this."
Ok, I made that up. The real reason is a bit less noble.
The real answer is "guilt." Yes, good old guilt. My son pulled me into a "father/son" activity, and I didn't want to be lame by not going. And after a couple trips, a very odd thing happened...I realized I like hiking. As for sleeping on the ground, I still do not understand that part of camping.
Specifically, we have recently gotten involved with a Battalion group, the middle school / high school group for Christian Service Brigade. (at Annapolis Evangelical Presbyterian, a sister church to our church) CSB is not unlike Boy Scouts, they have uniforms, merit badges, go on camping trips, etc. But the particular group my son has joined skips the badges and uniforms, and has narrowed it down to hiking, dodgeball, service in the local church, and training the next generation of Christian young men. In the past year, I've really enjoyed the Battalion trips, spending time with the other dads, and the boys.
But this blog is not specifically about Battalion...instead it will try to focus on the things I'm learning about hiking, and the numerous mistakes along the way.
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