Extreme Hikes

My wife dubs my hikes as "Extreme Hikes".  I don't like hiking on paths, following a predefined, explored, safe route so that yuppies can feel like they're adventuring in the woods.  No, my hikes don't have paths and often involve scaling fences, small cliffs, trees, and anything else we come across.  If you're going to be out in the woods, you mine as well be out exploring the unknown.

I went hiking with my friend Joe a few months ago, and nearly died of exhaustion.  Since becoming a computer programmer, I have gained a lot of weight, and have gotten into really bad shape.  No one would guess I was a decent cross country runner in highschool.  Since that revealing hike a few months ago, I have trained in the weight room at work and walked every day.  My second hike with Joe was much smoother, and we scaled the mountain with relative ease.

We begin our hike heading up the spine of the mountain nearby my house.  It's a little steep, but climbable.

The trees are still leafless which led to beautiful views the entire way up.  The last half a mile or so is very steep, and requires climbing boulders that appear to have been involved in a rock slide many, many years ago.  My friend leads the way.

A moment of triumph as we reach the top.  This appears to be the highest point of the mountain.  It was roughly three miles of climbing up to this point, with some very rough terrain.

After exploring the top, we come across a cliff.

The view from the top is absolutely amazing.

Who would have thought so many natural treasures were waiting on the land within 3 miles of my house.  Going forward I plan to take a major outdoors adventure like this at least once a month, and hopefully with increasing ease each time.