Up, and up, and up, and up....

I married a very athletic, outdoorsy man. I also love the outdoors, and enjoy being active, but my level of athleticism doesn't even hold a candle to Isaac's. I'm fairly positive he could just pick up and run five miles easily, even though he's not a runner. I, on the other hand, take a while to work up to being in shape. It's just not fair that guys (from my observance) can take a week or two break from working out and then pick up where they left off no problem when girls (me, in particular) stop working out for three days and seem to be right back at square one. Not fair. Anyway, my point is that these days I don't get that much exercise due to the long hours of class and studying in the evening, so I'm not in the best shape I've ever been in. But we wanted to go snowshoeing on Saturday, and I figured I could man up and keep up with the boys. It was Isaac and me and our friends, Brian and Robby, and God gave us a gloriously blue-sky, sunshiney day for our adventure. Brian and I were the rookies at snowshoeing, but it's not hard to catch on to...really, it's just like hiking but with big pieces of plastic on your feet. It's actually really fun, and I came prepared to fully enjoy the day despite 20 degree weather and freezing cold snow. If you recall, I don't do well in the cold, so I had thick wool socks, spandex, snow pants, and three more layers under my coat. About 20 minutes into the hike, I realized that was about three more layers than I was going to need. I had no idea the day would ever come when I would be at the top of a mountain, covered in snow, with super low temperatures surrounding me, and I would be too hot. Never in a million years. But let me tell you, we were shredding layers quickly as the incline got steeper and steeper.

So, I thought we were going to this well-known hiking spot that seriously everyone you talk to has been hiking at, so I wasn't thinking it was going to be that difficult at all. I mean, if all these other people do it all the time, I could do it no problem. It's something I definitely have to keep in mind because I knew these guys were all three in really good shape. I thought I had my bases covered, but the trail just kept getting steeper and steeper and I began to wonder how out of shape I must really be if I am getting out of breath on a trail that everyone hikes. Little did I know...It wasn't until we reached to tippy-top of the pass that Isaac casually informed me that, no, this actually wasn't the hike I had been thinking of. It was all in the same area, but he had decided to hike this specific mountain instead. Funny man. I don't even think this hike made him that out of breath.

The end of the story is that is I didn't die, although I may or may not have felt like I was going to pass out a couple of times because my heart was beating so hard. And with any hike, once you get to the top, it's an easy trip home! And it strangely feels like it was totally worth it once you heart has a chance to regulate again. This is us at the top, although I am aware that it doesn't look very high at all from this picture. Yes, looks can be deceiving. It really was fun and we had a great time together. Happy Valentine's Day to us!