Giddy

I am not one to show much excitement or get overly animated.

But yesterday I was downright giddy for a few minutes.

Yesterday was the first time since last summer that I was able to dip my toes into the Kanarraville Creek. For some reason, this hike hasn't been mine to enjoy this season and I've been anxious to visit this long-lost seasonal friend.

By the time I reached the first slot, not only did I forget my numbed feet but I nearly started jumping up and down.  I couldn't wipe the grin from my face and words like, "awesome", and "spectacular", kept escaping my mouth.  I snapped frantic photos of the same things over and over....as if I'd never seen this place before.

For some reason, this hasn't been our clients' favorite hike this summer. I'm just shocked by that.  I think most of our summer hikes this year, don't involve much scrambling and aren't technical.  We usually hike on well maintained trails and we hike quickly.

Kanarraville requires you to slow down a bit, to use your hands often and watch every step you take.  And while it takes almost 3 hours to move 4 miles, I feel like it is much more of a workout than traveling faster in shorter amounts of time.  Your core is constantly engaged.  Your upper extremities are assisting and at times, carrying your body weight.  And, it's been a long time since I've had war wounds, as I call them.  Scratches and bruises are common when you are bouldering along sometimes.  But I wear them with honor.

Hiking in Kanarraville Creek is also a mental challenge.  Your mind and eyes are constantly searching for and avoiding obstacles and simultaneously your senses are being over stimulated.

Someday I'll take a "real" camera in there, with some "real" photo taking skills and then MAYBE I'll be able to capture this sliver of heaven on earth.

Until then, I'll just stick to being giddy when I visit my seasonal-friend.