For several years, I’ve wanted to be a hiker. The person who says, “Hey let’s go walk such and such trail this weekend and get a good hike in!”.     Seems like it would be great exercise.  Seems like great fun, until I’m outside sweating in the woods.

Let me explain a bit about myself.  I am a person who can be so adventurous until it becomes a reality. I want to do ALL the things until I must get off the sofa, leave my comfy house and actually do ALL the things!   When I do plan something on the tiniest side of adventure,  I whine and complain to my sister about having lost my mind and agreeing to whatever it is.

This is how I found myself out hiking Kennesaw Mountain last week. My friend’s daughter was on Spring Break and the only thing she wanted to do was have her “Auntie Lisa” walk the mountain with them.  I couldn’t turn her down and picked the day.  When Wednesday came, I prayed all day for rain.  It was going to be 85 degrees – in APRIL!  Not to mention the record-breaking pollen count over 14,000! Between those two, I surely thought I would die on that mountain.

There was traffic and then I got lost meeting them. It was hot. There were bugs and critters. My knee started acting up (as did my friend’s) but we made it to the top. My “niece” was SO happy.  We took pictures and videos and my friend, and I sat on the bench and rested. Although I wanted to call an Uber to get back down, we walked down the mountain but took the street to avoid potential injuries.

After collapsing into the car and driving away, I had time to think about the experience.  Yes, it was great to make my “niece” happy but it also kind of made my day. The scenery was beautiful, and we met all kinds of people on the trail. One gentleman even gave me his stick to help me along the way.  People had been friendly.  My friend and I had wonderful conversations and shared many laughs during the two hours we were together. My body, although sore, had supported me throughout the hike and would rest well that evening. I call this a win!  Maybe I CAN be a hiker………