Adventures in being a bad fiancee

[jethrien]

It seemed like a good idea, really, it did.

I like hiking - I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors. chuckro didn't. He's not fond of exercise, and he grew up preferring to stay inside and play with his Gameboy.

But skiing is an outdoors, physical activity that had seemed daunting, too. And once I got him to try it, he ended up liking it and having a good time.

I thought hiking might be the same way, too.

Apparently, I was wrong.

I will admit that my mother was right. We should have taken the really easy trail. Mostly flat-ish, rambling through the woods for 15 or 20 minutes to a spectacular overlook, watch the hawks for a bit, go home. But we'd driven all that way, and I hadn't been on a real hike for two or three years, and I missed it. And I didn't quite remember how steep the trail out of the basin was.

So my father and I insisted that we take the full trail. Which is a really nice hike - down one side of the valley, across the valley floor, up the other side, and back along the ridge. There's about 20 minutes of steep hill, and then the ridge is all bouldering. There's also two very short stretches of actual climbing involved. My brother and I did it when we were significantly younger and shorter.

And, well, in my memory it wasn't as ambitious a trail as it is in reality.

Chuckro was happy enough on the way down and on the flat section. But miserable on the way back up and along the escarpment. Because, well, it was hard. Really pretty hard. And this was pretty much the first real hiking he'd been exposed to.

So apparently I blew it. Mom was right, I should have eased him into it. Now he doesn't believe anything we say. (For the record, it was my father who declared that we were halfway up and we'd be at the top in fifteen minutes. I said it would take twice that. I was right. But I'm afraid now our credibility is shot when it comes to predicting how much more physical exertion there will be in the near future. Thanks, Dad.) Somehow, I doubt there will be much hiking in Chuckro's future.

Oops.

Comments

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Can I come with you? And perhaps leave Chuckro in front of a nice fireplace somewhere?

[shnayder.livejournal.com]

Sure! I'm not sure it's a good idea to try in the winter though, at least by that route. I want to anyway--it'd be amazingly beautiful if the stream was all frozen. We shall see :)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I'll volunteer to hang out in the lodge! It's the oldest log cabin in the Northeast, I think. I've spent hours there before reading while my dad and brother hiked.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

There we go. We can hang out in the lodge, perhaps watching some terrible cult tv or reading comic books, and let other people go trip over rocks in the cold.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I don't think they have a TV... Keep in mind, this is a glorified log cabin.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

I'm up for this whole staying in the lodge idea, at least if the activity is hiking. Too bad your outdoors preferences include a strong aversion to water, though--whitewater kayaking/rafting in West Virginia is very high on the list of fun outdoorsy trips. All the beauty of nature with the fun of speed and not a whole lot of sweating.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree with that one, too.

Apparently we'll be needing to schedule some mass outdoors trips that involve board games for half the party.

[(Anonymous)]

Subsitute an arcane novel (especially one translated from Urdu written in the 18th century but recently rediscovered) for the terrible cult TV and add some hot chocolate and brownies, and I'm there.