ALSO,

I haven't been posting because I've been too sore. Stupid, eh, but true. In a way.

A few weeks back we hiked 8 miles and it was rough, on the muscles; the scenery and the trail and the experience were all wonderful. Last Sunday, one day less of a week after the first hike at Headwaters Trail, we had another go. The entire trail is something like 11.6 miles. And we hiked the entire trail.

That may not seem like much to you, but holey moley was it hard. It's 5.3 miles in and then you loop around and come back. The entire fourth mile is very steep uphill. Everything after that (so that would be the entire fifth mile and then the .3 mile that felt like five miles all in itself) is barely a trail and completely overgrown with lots of stuff. I thought we were in the middle of a jungle or something. The "trail," if you can call it that, at that point is so uneven and rocky that it was a good thing I had such great hiking boots (that Mike bought me in January when I was out here for a visit) that provided ankle-saving support, no doubt.

I am so glad I did it, and I even have a picture of myself by the "End of Trail" sign to prove I was really there. But I tell you that will be the last time I make it that far. I felt the last mile and some was overrated. We have decided to hike 10 miles the next time around, for at the five-mile mark is a beautiful secluded little part of the redwood forest with streams and logs and growing things (i.e. ferns, wild purple irises, other things for which I know no names) everywhere, where we sat and ate our lunch (I have never eaten a more delicious turkey and swiss and avocado and black olive sandwich in my life as the one I ate after hiking five difficult miles).

I didn't know mere walking could be so hard. I no longer think of hiking as "mere walking." My muscles felt it for all of last week. I've just now recovered enough to type blogs again! My goal is to hike those 10 miles until they are not so difficult anymore.