Trail Difficulty – Easy
Trail Type – Paved Path
Distance – 2.6 Miles
Elevation Gain – 0
I was worried the first hike would be boring with all the leaves gone, but there was a lot of beauty.
I was so excited to get away from the computer and start on my first hike. We are very lucky as we live close to a local trail that runs ten miles along a river. You can park at various locations on the trail and walk, bike, or run for however long pleases you.
You can’t get much flatter than this for starting out.
My original plan was to keep it short – I didn’t want to overdo it. One of the nice features of the trail was 1/4 mile markers to track your progress. When we got there we discovered the snow had covered all the markers. We decided to try to make it to the next section so I could track my progress. After only walking for ten minutes we spotted a blue heron.
We saw this blue heron right when we started, great way to start the hike.
Halfway there we discovered a Christmas ornament hanging from one of the trees. There was nothing else around it – just a small symbol on a quiet trail.
We saw this ornament hanging on a tree – it must have a story.
The walked seemed a little a little long, but there was so much to look at that I ignored the ache in my legs. Once home I tracked out trail in Google Earth and was surprised to see that we had covered 1.3 miles each way.
This was more a walk on a path than a true hike, but I am still fired up to do it again next week.
My Hiking Journal 
also, please forgive the ‘man’ bit if you are female. :s
I love that you took a camera with you! Keep up the great work….You can do this! Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to seeing more posts!
I have to credit my Poor Long-Suffering Husband with the photos (though I took the one of the path). We took pictures of ourselves too and we are starting our own little hiking folder…
Me likey !
@Bella – maybe I can pass them along someday like you passed along the Machu Picchu pics – I am still so grateful.
keep walking, keep showing us pics. I love it. Blue Herons are magical birds. What a blessing to see one as you start this new endeavour.
@Crowing – I agree! I did some research “Sighting a heron before a hunt was a sign that the hunt would be a good one.” http://www.symbolic-meanings.com/2007/10/08/symbolism-of-the-heron/
I am hunting who I was suppose to be!
I am cheering you on each step of the way. My husband and I were going to go to Peru a few years ago but had our plans disrupted. I applaud your goal and hope you get there! We just returned several months ago from a year in Mexico and had a fabulous time. I feel very blessed for the experience and hope you are able to realize your dreams!
@Paint A year in Mexico sounds lovely – and plans on trying again for Peru?
love the ornament photograph! so stark and lovely and tells a story all on its own 🙂
Thank you – my husband took that shot – I knew it would be wonderful. I wonder who hung it and why.
love all the photos, especially the flat trail head photo … that is exactly what any journey looks like, right? it has to begin somewhere, and once you start putting your feet on the trail and taking a few steps, you have changed from having a plan to executing a plan.
great photos, and what a great idea … to keep a hiking journal … good work!
@ntexas – I know, I just couldn’t resist when I saw it (it was one of the few that I took). I was actually thinking of bruiser when I grabbed my camera.:-)
Can you believe the poor guy has NEVER felt snow under his big ole paws? When it rains, he likes to stand in the rain, proud and tall, with his head raised towards the sky, like he is soaking in every drop. I told him you’ll be having another hike Sunday, and I swear he smiled. 🙂
@ntexas – It sounds like he is very loved, I will look for a rabbit when I am taking my photos 🙂
If you have a smart phone, I really like the iMapMyFitness program. You can use the program without a smart phone too – http://www.mapmyfitness.com/
One thing I really like is that is creates a map and also allows you to track your fitness level, trail information and post it to FB or other services.
When I was working on my 50 trails in 52 weeks I really found this “gadget” to be fun and inspiring to use… I wanted to see my progress and it was a huge motivator. I also took a lot of pictures of the trails and the fun thing was that it didn’t matter if you hiked a trail more than once – each time it is different.
PS I LOVE the ornament photo… I also find random things like that on occasion and wonder what the impetus was for the placement.
I have an Ipad – not really good for taking on a hike though. So far I am having fun tracking my hike on Google Earth. We just got back from Hike two – am going through the photos now. I also love finding things on the path that make you go hmmm…
Hiking is such is a great hobby – I am glad to see more people take it up. Good luck on your project! 🙂
Thank you – I am looking forward to getting off the paved paths and into the woods.