So my husband wanted to do something with his parents in town. He decided on Hidden Falls Regional Park near Auburn. Beautiful park with waaaaaaaay too much dog action going on for me! Ok, yeah, I was interested in seeing the falls, but I am by no means a nature girl. An active day for me is walking around at a flea market or mall. My idea of exercise is walking around the block and coming back home to veg or nap! Needless to say, I knew this "hike" wasn't going to be my cup of tea. It seemed ok on the way, but I was mentally thinking about every slope and hill and trying to calculate how hard the trip back would be. Luckily I was distracted by the beauty of the park property. Lush trees, rolling hills and the sound of nearby water. When we got to the falls it was such a nice viewing area that I momentarily forgot the coming return trip. I should have been sitting to regain my stamina. When we did decide that it was time to leave, it was to hurry back to try to connect with someone by a certain time. That didn't make for a relaxing hike back. In fact, we were hurrying and I knew no good could come of that. We tried taking the supposed "easy" path back to the parking lot, but to me it seemed that it was longer, if not so much steeper. With the pressure to get somewhere else by a certain time, we were hiking at a pace that wasn't helped by the fact that I could feel a tinkle coming on. No bathrooms of course, except at the parking area about a mile away. You betcha I did!! I knew I couldn't hold it!! Anyway, it was a beautiful trip that I am STILL feeling the after effects from!!! Can anyone say shin splints?? I wouldn't do it again unless I knew that I could make my way back at my own pace with frequent stops to rest. That eliminates me doing the hike with my husband who set the pace and apparently felt NO PAIN!!! Ugh!!
