I honestly have no answer, no reason at all, for why it has taken me so long to write this. I also don’t know why I haven’t been hiking. It’s not like I have less time now. My sister works basically every weekend, so I have definitely lost my hiking buddy, but is that really an excuse? I don’t think so. Hiking is my happy place. I was talking to my friend Jeremy about it last night, in fact. I love it and I hate it. I love it because it is so good for my soul, and I hate it because it is so hard on my body. I love it more, and in the long run so does my body. So again, why haven’t I been hiking? I don’t know. I’m broken in some way. I’ve been spending most of my time lying around watching tv. Today and yesterday, I literally watched the entire first season of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Yeah, broken. I’m not going to settle for broken though, so I’m updating the page and I’m getting back at it.
In August, shortly after my last post, my sister and I did go on a hike. We headed up Highway 26 to the Enid Lake hike. It begins on the Pioneer Bridle Trail. The trail starts right on Highway 26. It’s very near the pull out for chaining up when it’s snowing. What I didn’t realize, because I didn’t read the entire description, is that it pretty much hugs the highway the entire route. Do not like. It was lovely, don’t get me wrong, but there is something about not being able to hear cars and other people that is so soothing. Add to it, that when we hiked this route it was when they were blasting on the highway so there were tons of workers and machinery everywhere…very un-zen.
There were some fabulous things about the hike. Notably, the delicious huckleberries that were in full bloom brightened up the hike quite a bit. We ate so many that we felt a little sick. We also got to take a nifty tunnel. It was strange. Somebody had spray-painted the word BATS all over it and then there were pictures of both baseball bats and bats, you know the flying things. Somebody had a lot of time on their hands.
The hike was 9.5 miles round trip and 1570 feet in elevation. I didn’t really look that up ahead of time. My sister did not appreciate it. She was looking forward to a chill hike because she was in the middle of wedding planning and just wanted a break. Oops. Many complaints were had. As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy it when she complains. It’s amusing to me. It was so long ago, I’m having trouble remembering what we talked about. However, I do remember that I had just had “active-shooter” training at school. Although that sounds terrifying, it was actually empowering. I learned take-downs. You better believe I used a tree in the woods as a doorway and took Jessie down. I had to show her what I learned, right? I did it slow, like half speed. She was fine.
When we finally arrived at Enid Lake. It did not impress. Enid Lake is not so much a lake as it is a small pond and/or swamp. As far as 9+ mile hikes too close to the highway go, it was definitely underwhelming. We laughed, heartily, at it’s pathetic-ness. Then we headed back.
The thing about this hike is, it wasn’t that good, but it was still so much better than how I spend my time on any other day. Hiking is always good. Even when it’s bad, it’s good. Even when it’s a stupid swamp by the highway, it’s better than most things. Get out there. Find yourself. I know I need to . . . again.
For information about Enid Lake click here.
52hikesin52weeks 