I’ve been spending a lot of time planning for hiking lately. Interestingly enough, this was never a “sport” that I was very interested in prior to moving to Montana. If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, by now you know that Montana is responsible for a lot of changes in my life; it’s definitely served as my place for “pioneering” and exploring new frontiers. First of all, hiking can be hard, even if it doesn’t necessarily fall into the extreme sport category…as I’ve recently experienced, a day hike can be an intense mental and physical challenge. I was the most sore I’ve been in a long time after a six hour hike last week. Our visiting friend from DC and I gained almost 2,000 feet in elevation on our hike to Hyalite Lake (here I am pictured at the top, relieved to have food in hand), passing eleven waterfalls along the way. Now I’m getting ready for our last retreats of 2008; this weekend’s yoga and hiking and the october 5-10 weeklong. That will be a lot of hiking, on trails with lovely names like Beehive Basin and Lava Lake. I’m really looking forward to it. I find that there is a wonderful sense of accomplishment from hitting the trail, especially one with a natural landmark such as a lake or waterfall as a destination. You work towards that goal with determination, but also get the chance to savor your surroundings along the way.