The First Chapter

Today is my birthday, and one of the gifts I received was a book titled 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles; Sacramento.  A good friend asked me what I wanted and I gave the lame answer of "I dunno, maybe a gift card?" After her well-deserved response of "Boring!" I gave it some more thought and reflected that I had been thinking about doing more camping and backpacking this year, so camping/hiking stuff was what I wanted. 

Then I realized that I would have to tell that to my friend, whose idea of roughing it is a hotel with no pool. 

She likes nature as a concept but not in practice, and was therefore completely baffled by my request: "I have no idea...like a water bottle or a bottle of beer???" As much as I loved that answer, that wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind.  But she said she'd figure it out and figure it out she did (with the help of her boyfriend, bless his heart).  And so all day today, I have been studying the trails, trying to decide which place I'll be going first. 

As visions of hiking boots danced in my head, I entertained the idea of sharing my hikes with everyone I know.  Too bad that's only a good idea in my head.  Most of my friends are not of the trail-traveling variety.  Besides, part of what I love about the great outdoors is the solitude, either complete or relative.  I enjoy hiking companions, just not too many.  Its a hike not a party.  Groups of eight or so are about my limit most times. 

So I kept daydreaming about the impossible scenario of bringing all my friends along to the uncrowded trails, and an idea occured to me.  I could take them with me, in a way.  Or rather, I could bring it to them.  Through photos, stories and maybe a video or two, I could bring back the way nature makes me feel.  Descriptions of beautiful vistas, breathtaking heights, and dizzying drop-offs have sounded lovely even to my staunchest anti-nature friends.  Even if they only enjoy hearing about it, I can still share the feeling. 

And that brought me here.  I've decided that I will work my way through my new birthday book, and when I am done with that, I'll work through another and another, with the goal being to expand my travels a little at a time.  Each of my posts will include maps of my expedition, photos galore, and my thoughts on my experiences.  They may also include goodies like short videos, area histories and info on local eats.

So enjoy and I hope this inspires you to get out and enjoy nature! (just not while I'm out there, kay?)