Some hikes start with a plan. This one started with me driving to my intended trailhead… and getting distracted by a hill.
You know the kind. It’s just sitting there off to the side, looking all promising and mysterious, like it has a viewpoint and a life-changing moment waiting at the top. So naturally, I did what any reasonable person would do and abandoned the original plan to go investigate the hill instead.
Bella was fully on board immediately, because new places mean new smells and an unlimited supply of things to inspect. 🐾
We climbed up and reached the top… only to discover it dead-ended. No grand reveal. No magical continuation. Just the universe politely informing us that we’d arrived at the end of the line.
So we turned around and headed back down, because what else are you going to do, build a new trail with your bare hands?
From the top, I spotted another road and decided to give that a try next. It looked like it might lead somewhere interesting. It did not. It led somewhere I’m not going to describe because it wasn’t pretty, and this is supposed to be a blog post, not a public complaint.
So we did the sensible thing: turned around again, returned to the car, and settled for a short, peaceful walk to a spot where we could see a lake.
That part was genuinely lovely. I ate lunch with a view while Bella handled her main responsibilities: perimeter checks, breeze analysis, and making sure I didn’t get any silly ideas like “staying out in the rain on purpose.” 🥪🌲
Then the rain showed up.
Not polite rain. Not “misty, atmospheric drizzle.” This was pounding rain, with big fat, white raindrops that made it very clear we were done with our little lakeside moment. We packed up and got back to the car as quickly as we could, because suddenly the hike turned into a sprint against weather. 🌧️🏃♀️🐕
Still, even with the detours, dead-ends, and the dramatic downpour, this hike did something important:
It brought Bella and me to within 3 miles of our yearly goal of 364 miles.
So yes, we got rained on. Yes, I wandered into at least one bad decision and Bella followed along like, “Sure, I guess we’re doing this now.” But we’re right there at the finish line, and honestly, that part feels pretty great. 🎉🥾