Unexpected Victory

When we set off on the road to hike today it was with trepidation because the temperature was only around 30 degrees, but with the windchill it was supposed to feel like single digits. Lorrie, Morgan and I decided to be adventurous, dress in layers and suck it up.  I'm happy to report that the temperature was lovely.  When we got out of the car at California Woods Nature Preserve, I could tell I wouldn't need my hat and shortly into the hike my gloves came off.  Halfway through the hike we passed the car and all three of us left our heavy coats behind and finished the hike in our polar fleece jackets - unexpected victory!!! We hiked 2.7 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes on this beautiful sunshine filled winter day.

Instead of worrying about the temperature, we should have worried about the muddy trail and how slippery it would be.  One would think that the ground would be frozen since the temperature was in the teens overnight, but no such luck. There were times as we were hiking where my heart was beating really hard because I kept slipping and skidding on the mud and wet leaves. I thought about titling this week's blog: "Another One Bites the Dust", because Morgan took her first spill hiking uphill.  This was a very steep trail in some parts and there was a serious sense of accomplishment after tackling the hills. I, on the other hand, fell while traveling downhill.  Unlike my first fall that was slow with a graceful landing in a pile of leaves, this fall was fast, furious and resulted in a very muddy booty!  So, Morgan and I are both members of the Hit the Deck club.  Watch out Lorrie, I think you might be next! There is definitely something liberating about having some falls out of the way.

It was so great to be back out in the woods this week.  There were some really interesting sights. We saw a mini waterfall and a neat little cabin along the creek. There were some plants that were very green that Lorrie said were bamboo. For some reason, the fallen trees really stood out to us.  Maybe it was because there was just a bit of snow still accenting the forest floor. Along several of the hikes, we were amazed at how some of the trees grow, but this week was by far the most interesting.  There was a tree that looked like a backwards number 4.  For my mathy friends I took a picture from both directions.

I'm happy to report that I'm ten hikes down!! I won't be hiking next week as I will be traveling out of town for work and taking a few vacation days.  Maybe I will get a hike in, but it will be a California hike and won't count towards my 60 hikes within 60 miles of Cincinnati.  Until next time...