Oh, friends. I’m not a fitness junkie. At all. I wish I were one of those people who loved nothing more than going for a run, or even someone who could stomach the idea of going to the gym. But I’m not.
But… I try. I really do. So when our good friends asked us to join them on a 9-mile hike, I thought, well that won’t be too bad. It’s probably just a trail and we’ll go at our own pace. GOD, I WAS DEAD WRONG.
Without getting into too many details, I’ll just say that this was the most intense thing I have ever done. It was not a beginners hike, like we thought. It was one rock hill after the other. I summed up my experience in a Facebook status:
“I cried twice, climbed rocks, had an anxiety attack, threw up, and wanted to die on a rock. And I’m still smiling and love this dude. Seriously, oof. If you want to test your relationship, go hiking.
Also: I would never make it on The Walking Dead. That’s clear now.”
Seriously. I was playing a mental game of “keep moving or else the walker will eat you.” Anyways, we made it. I feel super accomplished and so proud of both of us. Joe was such a trooper and so so supportive. His words of encouragement (along with adrenaline and my need to get the FUCK out of the woods) got me to the end. We keep laughing about it now, but man it was brutal. But hey… now we have a great memory and it will definitely make for a great story for our future kiddies. I feel like the whole experience really brought us closer together, as sappy as that may sound!
Anyways, the point of all this backstory was to bring you to my trail mix recipe. I threw this together and it really helped us power through. We noshed on it the whole way – so much ginger! If you are not a fan of ginger, well I am so sorry for you. It’s so delicious and super good for you (especially for nausea). Even Joe was loving it, and he is not a big ginger fan.
It’s so easy. All you need is:
- 2 cups almonds
- 1/2 bag Enjoy Life mini chips
- 1 cup diced candied ginger
- 1 cup broken up pretzels
- 1 cup dried cranberries
This made 2 full mason jars for me. Add more or less, depending on what you want. You can also add whatever the hell else you want, because it’s your trail mix. This was just a heavenly combo for me, and I am SO GLAD I BROUGHT IT ON THIS HIKE.
I told myself I would never hike again while going through the woods, but I am not so sure if that is true. I am feeling pretty good right now, and I think if we choose our own path and pace, we’ll have a better experience next time. Oh… and now we are signing up for the Color Run this September. Who am I? xx bianca
p.s. If anyone has ran the color run – share your experiences below!
I did a color run in Rochester last summer and while it was of course super fun basking in jets of colored powder, the location of my race blew! It was around a community college campus and made for such a boring route.
I feel like pretty much any location trumps that one, so I’d say you’re gonna have a blast :)
-Taylor
Oh no – that sucks!! Providence is beautiful, so I think it should be a good route… hopefully!! Glad to hear you still had a good time, though :) Thanks for weighing in!
Such gorgeous colors! Trail mix is a must on a long hike. 9 miles?? You are more courageous than I. I feel I am an athletic person, still 9 miles sounds daunting. Way to go on trekking through. I’ll bet your ass will be sore for at least another week. 😉
Thank you! And oh my gosh, I can’t believe we did it. I KNOW you can do it, trust me!! If I can, anyone can LOL and you know I am still sore!!