10 hikes on my bucket list

I recently read Wild by Cheryl Strayed so I'm on a bit of a hiking-daydreamer kick. Don't get me wrong, I am not an avid hiker. I'm not even a good hiker. I'm slow and take a lot of breaks and have never even done an overnight camping hike. But look at how much room for improvement I have! I definitely want to get better and learn more skills, so the next time I go to Europe I can do more outdoorsy things and avoid the big cities.

1. Old Rag Mountain, Virginia

This was my first intense day hike that I did at the end of my freshman year of college. It would be fun to do after I graduate this year, just to see how I've changed.

2. The Jordan Trail, Jordan

I remember reading an article in National Geographic about the "new" trail that spans the length of the country of Jordan. Jordan isn't one of the most popular countries to travel to, so it would be cool to say that I've hiked the entire length of it.

3. Overland Track, Tasmania, Australia

Mainly because it's in Tasmania and it looks pretty. It doesn't take much to get me excited for a hike!

 

4. Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand, India

Because who wouldn't want to walk through a place called the valley of flowers???

5. Hallelujah Mountain, China

1. Because I like anything with spiritual/gospel references
2. LOOK HOW COOL THOSE MOUNTAINS ARE

6. a "wild hike" on the Great Wall of China

This is apparently a thing I didn't know about until I started googling for this post. I also have a friend who camped (which is slightly illegal) on the Great Wall and she said it's one of her favorite experiences.

7. Kaieteur Falls, Guyana

This hike leads to one of the biggest waterfalls in the world. Imagine the soul-crushing amount of awe you would feel by witnessing that in person.

8. Canada

This isn't specific to anywhere in Canada because, even though I haven't been to Canada at all, I can already tell that it's one of the most gorgeous places on Earth so I'd be happy hiking ANYWHERE.

9. West Highland Way, Scotland

Since I lived in Glasgow for 5 months, I heard people talking about this trail all the time. I wish I had planned better while in Glasgow so I could've done the trail while I was there, but sadly I didn't have any proper hiking gear with me. Hiking the West Highland Way would allow me to appreciate the beauty of Scotland in a whole new way.

Humpback Rock via Appalachian Trail Conservancy

10. The Appalachian Trail, USA

Okay, definitely not the whole thing. I don't think I'd ever dedicate 6 months to a single activity, especially a hike. But I would love to do a portion of the AT. Ideally, I'd do the entire Virginia section since it's my home state and is the most beautiful in my humble opinion.

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Researching for this post reminded me how there are SO MANY HIKES in the world yet SO LITTLE TIME. I need to get started!

This post is a part of the monthly Travel Link Up!

Do you have any recommended favorite hikes I should do?

slow and steady climbs the mountain

Photo by Paul Morris

"Did you know what you were getting yourself into?" he asks, looking over his shoulder from ahead of me.

No, of course not.  Do I ever fully realize what I get myself into?

My head is pounding.  My heart traveled up from my chest through my throat and has now landed in my head, pounding at my temple.  Am I supposed to feel my heartbeat in my forehead?

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It's Thursday and I'm climbing Ben Arthur, otherwise known as the Cobbler, which overlooks Loch Long.  I know I'm not the fittest person in the world, but I've climbed mountains before.  I should be able to do this.

I did my research beforehand.  Ben Arthur is 884 meters (2,900 feet), about 5.5 miles long and on average takes four hours.  I've hiked Old Rag in Virginia, which is 1,001 meters (3,284 feet), 9.1 miles and took me and my friends the good part of a summer's day to complete.  Old Rag is higher and longer than Ben Arthur, so I figured that if I could complete that and survive, then I could survive the Cobbler.
I definitely survived, but barely.  I genuinely thought I was going to die at one or two or twenty moments.

Slippery rocks and snow and ice and wind gusts that try to knock you off your feet is the perfect combination for near-death experiences.  The fog hindered our visibility, so we could neither see the top of the mountain til we reached it, nor could we see the bottom until we were already there.  It's terrifying scrambling down rocks for what feels like hours and to only see cloud above you and cloud below you.  It feels like the twilight zone.

I have never been that scared in my entire life.  We came down the face of the mountain, on the incredibly rocky side, wind gusts so bad that I literally had to lie down on a rock and hug it for dear life until the wind decided to cool its tits for a bit.  My legs were actually shaking from how anxious I was.
Have you seen that movie Everest?  It was like that, except with oxygen.

People I've talked to have climbed Ben Arthur and they make it sound like a walk in the park.  Good for them, but this was one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) things I've done in my life.  I'm writing this two days post-hike, and my legs are absolutely killing me.  I have never been this sore, so my body agrees with me when I say it's the hardest thing I've ever done.

This hike was routine for some people, including the Glaswegian we met at the peak with expensive hiking gear who has climbed Ben Arthur multiple times and decided to do it that day just because he "had the day off".  But for me, it might as well have been Mount Everest.

I'm weak, but I'm getting stronger.  I may get tired, but at least I never give up.  I'm proud I can say that.

Glasgow Week 7: Mountains and Lochs

Wow! I think this is the first time I've gone a whole week in between posting.  I do have two posts that I'll publish soon though: one is a book review of sorts, the other is a story of how I swear I almost died hiking last Friday.

So, what did I do this week?

Wednesday was spent sleeping, but I deserved it that day.  Thursday I went to the Necropolis again, but it was pretty rainy, so it was basically just my friend and me in the entire graveyard.  We also went to the Glasgow Cathedral right beside it.  This was my first time going there without wearing a hat or beanie that I had to take off inside and reveal my messy hair.

Fun tip about the Cathedral: if you go to the lower level in the back, there's a prayer request box where you can write your request (anonymously) and have the bishops pray for you.  (Bishops?  Ministers?  I'm not sure what they're referred to here.)  I'm flummoxed about where I stand religiously (aren't we all?), but it is nice to know that someone is praying over me.

Friday was hiking, which I'll spare the details for my longer post.  Let's just say that it's currently Wednesday and my legs are still vaguely sore.  It was hard to walk Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and even rough going downhill on Tuesday.

Saturday was fun even though I could barely walk.  My group went to Stirling Castle, which I recommend that you pass if you have limited time in Scotland.  It's very updated, so it doesn't even feel like an old castle.  What's the point of visiting a castle if it's not old?  Ja feel.

We then went to lunch in some random town and then to Loch Lomond.  We went to the top of the hill next to the loch (hello legs it's pain time).  If you want good pictures you don't have to go on the hill; just go to the little beach around the bend, and you'll have a beautiful view.

After that, we went to a distillery, whose ticket I lost so I can't recall the name.  (Which is weird, since I swear I held onto it, so hopefully I'll find it soon.)  I like the idea of whisky making, the culture is cool, but as a drink, I'll give it a pass.  I'd rather have a Dr. Pepper.

On Sunday I just watched a lot of Brooklyn 99 (see a trend?) and edited my paper.  I think I'm going try to get ahead on all my papers so I have more time during my spring break to travel.  Figuring out travel plans is stressful!!!  I still have no idea how I'm going to get my luggage home in order to go to eastern Europe for two months.  It's looking like none of my family can visit me and shipping luggage is WAY too expensive.

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How has your week been? Any advice on how to get my luggage home?