A Walk in the Park

We went for a family walk this afternoon around a nearby lake. I had already taken my daily exercise walk, so this was a bonus. We’ve walked around other lakes in our area, and they all have paved walkways, and are pretty flat. This was our first time exploring this particular lake’s walkway, and it turned out to be quite different.

The walkway is only paved maybe ten percent of its length, and the rest is dirt trail up and down sometimes fairly steep terrain. You have to keep your eyes on the ground watching your steps among all the roots and rocks. And the trek must be about 20 miles.

Well, okay, maybe it was only 2 or 3 miles. Actually, I usually don’t mind a good hike through non-paved terrain; I often enjoy it. But having to do it with an eye on two young boys, a wife, my own footing, and those sneaky joggers and bikers who don’t call out their approach in the twisting and turning and narrow path makes it extra tiring—I only have two eyes. We weren’t prepared for as long a trek as it turned out to be. We hadn’t brought our water bottles with us from the van—we won’t make that mistake again.

After about three-quarters of the way, I ended up carrying the boys on my shoulders (one at a time) to give them a rest and still keep up our pace. Unfortunately, neither of the boys like riding up on my shoulders. They were both kind of scared, and wanted to hold my hands while they were up there. Try walking up and down hills, across roots and rocks, with 30 or 60 pounds on your shoulders, and holding your hands above your head—it ain’t easy.

When it got to the point that neither of the boys wanted to ride on my shoulders, and they obviously couldn’t keep up any pace, my wife stopped with them so they could rest. I walked on to get the van, and then came back and picked them up where the trail crossed a road.

All told, it was a good walk. The boys did surprisingly well, considering the distance and terrain, and no one complained. Well, I think I complained a time or two. (Really, it turned out much longer than I expected.) We’ll have to do that walk again sometime —but maybe not in the hottest part of the day, in July.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com