Hiking...

I think I've kicked the sickness. I didn't however choose the wisest way to move out of it. Last Wednesday I left the city with a group headed to the mountains. We were going to hike for 2 ½ days. It kicked my butt.

We drove about 5 hours (2 on a dirt/rock road) to one of the most beautiful regions of the country. The first day we hiked several kilometers and I will admit I was dead. I began to get really cold and got a fever again. I took a nap and some Advil and finally kicked it by morning. However the next two days I spent on horse back instead of on foot. We rode about 9 miles the second day.

I didn't realize it but we were almost done with the second day of hiking. I hiked in this same area 2 years ago. That time I tried to ride a horse. The problem was that the "horse" was about the size of an overgrown dog. I gave up on him when he nearly fell down the hill with me on his back. This time the horses were bigger, but quite stubborn.

So as I was saying we were almost done with the day's hike. The horse in front of me decided to make its own trail through some bushes. Mine followed. Then my horse decided to run me into a thorn bush. I tried to dodge by sliding to the side a bit. The saddle went with me. All of the sudden the saddle was on the side of the horse instead of the top. If I continued to hold on I was going to end up under the horse.

Instead I fell off. I landed in a thorn bush. Which sure didn't feel good. The bigger problem came with my foot. I've seen enough westerns to know that a foot stuck in the stirrup is not a good thing. Mine was stuck. I tried to jerk it loose but no luck. Finally I was able to raise the other foot and pry mine out.

Then comes the guide. Wasn't doing much of a job was he. He was about 5'6" and 125 pounds soaking wet. Yet here he comes to get the fat kid out of a thorn bush. I yelled, "Wait, Wait, Stop!" Then I directed him to a place he could be of help as I worked my way out of the thorn bush.

Almost got thrown off another horse on day three, so needless to say, I'll be staying away from the horses here for a bit.

There are some pics of the trip to the right.