One hell of a hike

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So today I went on a hike that ended up simultaneously being the most intense and amazing trek of my life. I had no idea what I was getting into. Molly and I were expected a light, after lunch stroll, but it turned out to be a straight beeline to the tip top of a mountain that most people opt to visit via cable car. But within a few minutes, we realized we were going up, straight up.

After an hour of intense up up up and amazing views of the city below, Molly decided to head back or else die. Well, she didn't use those exact words, but I'm pretty sure if you were to ask her now she'd say that yes, she very much felt like dying at that point. Or at the very least lying down in the grass and taking a two year nap. We both were already exhausted but I was determined to make all the way. There was a restaurant at the top and you could just barely see the tip of it peeking through the trees and the clouds, daring you to keep going. So on I went. Even if it meant being super lame and stopping every few minutes to take a break. I discovered that I could rationalize all my trail-breaks by renaming them photo ops. That gave me an excuse. But seeing as I had only passed one person by the halfway mark, I guess the only person I had to rationalize this to was myself.

About fifteen minutes after Molly left, I stopped at an overlook and talked to a old man in incredible shape that put me to shame. He had to be at least sixty five and told me he had lived in Interlocken for forty years and that he still made sure to do this hike about twenty times a summer. I was so impressed! He laughed at me for having on chaco sandals and not hiking boots, calling them slippers, and wondered why in the world I didn't have hiking poles or company.

As he was leaving the lookout, I met up with another lonely hiker who was also unprepared but excited. He was from Alabama of all places, and went to Auburn so I shared the water I had gotten from a mountain stream and off we went to tackle the rest. Somehow, many blisters, stumbles, and water breaks later, we reached the top, where the cable car riders were calmly dining at the restaurant and looking at us like we were wild mountain people, sweaty and disheveled and emerging from the forest. It was such an exhilirating feeling to make it to the top, especially after taking the cable car down and seeing just how far we came. The weather was still perfect and we met back up with Molly and all ate swiss chocolate and ice cream cones and thought about how lucky we were to have such a perfect day. I think I might have to do it again before I leave!

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