Hiking is fun.

Today, on our usual lazy recover from the weekend and get ready for the week day, we got up relatively early, poured some to-go cups of coffee, and headed up to Little Si. Apparently it is one of the most popular hiking trails in the area, but rather than try it in years past, we opted for the shorter route on Rattlesnake Ledge (a gorgeous hike!). We have hiked Rattlesnake three or four times basically because its the shortest route in the area and I was too out of shape to do any longer distance. In fact, the 3 mile trail (total, up and back with an 1,100ft elevation increase) about kicked my butt every time. I got my usual red face, and heavy breathing and could basically barely function to enjoy the beautiful view at the top. This time, the 5 mile (and slightly greater elevation increase) Little Si trail barely made me break a sweat! The first 2/3 of the trail was pretty flat, meandering through the trees and rocks. A nice start to a beautiful morning. The last 1/3 of the trail picked up elevation pretty quickly and kept us scrambling over large rocks, tree roots, and around other people's dogs. Just as we were starting to get slightly winded the trail opened up to some bald areas with a pretty decent view of the area.

I was feeling pretty good about how much better shape I am in this year than I was last year at this time when we got to the top...but it was the way back down that made me feel great. We didn't see a whole lot of people on our way up (maybe because we started a bit earlier), but as we came down we passed a lot of other groups heading up. Towards the top I wasn't surprised that people were huffing and puffing. It was a decent incline, but the further down we got the more surprised I got. People all the way down at the easy part of the trail were chugging their water, bright red, and breathing heavy. I used to feel like one of the least in shape people on the trail. Now, I'm definitely towards the other end of the spectrum. Not quite there yet, but a vast improvement.

The jaunt back down was quick (except going down the big boulders). We ended the hike feeling strong, refreshed, and just generally happy about spending some time outside. Hiking is fun.