Woman vs. Wild

This small city girl has never been hiking....up until today.  Thanks to one of my best friends, "Mountain Lady," I finally experienced my first trek up a mountain/ginormous hill and through the woods.

Black Diamond Mines is a really cool place! If you're ever in the East Bay Area check it out....but don't take small children. At least I wouldn't take mine...but I am pretty paranoid.

The thought of wild animals freaked me out all weekend, I got pumped up today, and then we pulled up and all I could think about was a possible mountain lion trying to eat my face. And I watch Animal Planet, I know rattle snakes can strike up to 6 feet away.  Those crazy thoughts quickly left my brain after we started walking. This girl is waaaaaay out of shape!  Mountain Lady left me in the dust a few times. It wasn't 'frah la la' as I once thought. It was pretty hardcore, especially for someone who definitely don't work out enough. When we made it to the top it was absolutely beautiful! By the way, I didn't suck in the beauty of it too much because I was way out of breathe!

After what felt like eternity to these legs of mine my Mountain Lady tried to cheer me up and tell me she was proud. *tear*

Oh but the pain doesn't end there.

When going down, up, and down again...just to get back to the bottom...we made it to a part where the trail wasn't so wide and a cliff was directly next to the trail. Let me tell you a secret....I AM AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!  I think the mental pain was way worse than the physical pain. My heart was racing so fast, probably faster than coming up the trail! I tried to focus on the trail itself, but I could see that huge drop from the corner of my eye. The drop seemed to stretch deeper and deeper...just like in the movies when the person looks down and the bottom seems so much further away...yeeeea.

After that part of the trail ended there was the rocky part. I found myself sliding down huge rocks just to get to the next step. Hanging on to trees so I wouldn't fall. You know, the cool stuff, just like I was Woman vs. Wild.

I didn't get too many photos of my first hiking experience, because I was just too exhausted and then afraid, and then exhausted again! I am so happy that I went though. I am on a mission to get healthier (although chocolate will never leave my life) and to get more in tune with nature. I am looking foward to next time.

Let's embrace wildlife...not literally, don't go hugging mountain lions...and nature, it's a beautiful thing!

Until next time friends!