A little while ago Patty went online and found a Charlotte hiking group on MeetUp.com. She joined and signed up for a hike at Lake Norman State Park in Troutman, NC. That hike was yesterday and Maegan, and I went along too. (Darah didn’t go with us.)
Maegan and I have gone hiking many times before, including Crowder’s Mountain last year, but this was the first time all three of us have ever been out hiking together. In fact, this was the first time that Patty’s gone hiking since 1998. The hike was listed as an easy-to-moderate hike on the Lakeshore Trail. The trail was 5 miles (8K) but Patty hurt herself mid-midway and we took a shortcut back after about 3 miles.
At least a couple dozen hikers were with us. This was the first time I’ve been hiking with a large group since I used to climb Mt. Poke-O-Moonshine in Kernersville, NY with my fraternity (at night by flashlight) in the early 1990s. It felt like we were a long line of marching ants. Patty thought the pace was great but I felt it was way too brisk. It seemed that most others in the group (and I guess Patty too) were mainly out for exercise. When Maegan and I hike we like to slow down and appreciate things we see along the way.
