As a teenager every Easter weekend was spent camping at Zion National Park. My family had a favorite camp ground and a favorite camp spot (near the water, under the shade, close enough to walk to the bathrooms/showers). Yep, that’s how we camped; toilets and showers were a must. (It must be noted that our camp trailer also had a working shower and toilet.) Every year we would also go on the same hike. It was one of the few handicap accessibly hikes in the entire park.
Yep, that’s how my family hiked; we went on the same hikes that people in wheelchairs could manage.
(I’m embarrassed to even share this with the interweb.)
(And yet, I’m about to share more.)
After I graduated from high school and moved away to college I never returned to Zion or went on any hikes, handicap accessible or not. I married my first husband shortly there after. When I married him I knew I was marrying into a family that enjoyed spending time in the outdoors. (And by “spending time in the outdoors” I mean “spending time hiding behind trees and bushes killing defenseless animals.) (Let’s try to not turn this into a discussion on hunting. I’m just saying that the ex’s family was not like my family in that regard.)
While my first husband wasn’t a hunter, he did like to fish and hike. He went fishing almost daily….sans me. He rode his mountain bike and hiked with his friends occasionally. Again, sans me. here towards the end of our marriage I remember going on one hike with him. I can totally see the picture he took of me during that hike. I did not look like I was having fun. Maybe it was him, maybe it was the hike, I can’t be certain.
That last hike had to have occurred somewhere around 1998. That’s about 12 years ago.
When I married The King I knew that while he liked the outdoors, he wasn’t planning any hikes up Mt. Rainier in his future. Fine by me.
This summer something odd happened. The King decided he wanted to go camping as a family…in a tent…out in the open. And oddly enough I thought it sounded like a good idea. On this first camping trip (to Mt. Rainer, strangely enough) the family’s we were camping with wanted to go on a hike at Mt. Rainier. Dude, I did not want to be the one person that was all “dude, you want me to walk up a mountain, while I could be back at our camp site eating s’mores, FOR NO GOOD REASON?!” So I went along and acted like hiking was no big deal to me.

Whatever, it was a big deal. First off, it was hot out. Secondly, THERE WERE SHEER CLIFFS. Thirdly, dude, the trail was long and straight up. I was tired and sleepy and just feeling a general sense of laziness all around.
While I enjoyed spending time with friends, I was pretty sure it was going to be my last hike. At least for another 12 years.
The thing is, The King loved the hike. My Sweet Babboo loved the hike. LOVED IT.
Thankfully, right about that time, I found some new meds that started to work. Gone was The Tired. We were also introduced to Geocaching. And made some new friends in our church congregation that loved to hike.
Put this all together and what do you get?
A family of hikers, that’s what.

We started to stalk the returns section at REI (referred to as “the basement”). We found The King some fancy new (slightly used) hiking boots. We found Babboo some new (slightly used) hiking shoes. And then we found me some new (slightly used) hiking boots. We were now officially “people who hike”.

Since the house is pretty much done, our Saturdays have become more open. Lately, we’ve been using our Saturday’s to go on hikes with different friends, my in-laws, and even some with just the 3 of us. We’ve hiked in other states and other countries.

I’ve even gone hiking on business trips.

While it’s highly unusual for me to be hiking so much, it’s even more highly unusual that I’m enjoying our hikes. I even commented to The King on a recent hike “I sure do like hiking!”

He about had a heart attack hearing those words come out of my mouth. And frankly so did I.

After talking to my dad last week about a recent hike we’d taken, he said “I didn’t know you guys were so into hiking. Next time you’re in Utah for a visit we should go on a hike.” I had to laugh (on the inside). The thought of my parents going on a hike IN THE MOUNTAINS was comical. The only thing they do in the mountains is ride their huge 4-wheelers around.

Yesterday My Best Friend Who Deserted Me And Moved To Reno (aka: May) sent me an e-mail where she said something to the effect of “don’t be offended, but it’s hard for me to picture you taking a hike. Do you do it dressed in all black and wearing heels?”

She knows me very well.

But she knows an older version of me. She knows the person who was ruled by The Tired. I totally understand what May was saying to me and it made me feel good to know that I had been able to change. And for the better, I hope.

I tried to count the number of hikes we’ve taken since that first hike on Mt. Rainier this summer, and I can’t. There are too many to remember.

And I like that.
(Oh yeah, The King plans on hiking to the top of Mt. Rainier this summer. I don’t plan on going with him!)
(Yes, these are just some of the pictures from different hikes we’ve taken. All since last summer.)