Take a Hike

hike - Morro das Aranhas - caminhada de curto percurso - Restinga - Floripa
Originally uploaded by Adrenailha

When I was in about the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th grade, I seriously can't remember anymore, I was a Boy Scout. My friend Bryan's dad was our scoutmaster and he would take us camping about once a month. In order to earn some badges, we had to go on a hike for a day and sleep on the ground during a freeze, I'm pretty sure thats called the Polar Bear badge. The hiking part, I'm not so sure.

So a group of us kids went up to someone's land north of town to camp and hike. Let me see if I can recall everyone's name: Bryan, Matt, Ryan, Patrick, Trevor, Edward, James, John Arthur, Rusty and Justin. I'm not sure if all these people went on this particular trip, but they were part of our group at one time or another.

Poor Rusty could not pronounce his Rs. He would pronounce a Y in its place. Unfortunately for him his last name was Reed, so he was known as Yusty Yeed. One night we were lying in a tent and he said started complaining that his back hurt. "I'm lying on yock," he kept yelling. It took us 10 minutes to figure out what he was talking about.

Back to the hiking story...we were supposed to pack our backpacks so they were something like 20% of our own body weight. We had to pack 3 meals, a sleeping bag, first aid kits, extra socks, etc. After hiking for several miles, we noticed that Matt was way ahead of everyone else. While everyone else was complaining about the weight on their backs and dragging, Matt was walking like he was only carrying himself.

Finally, Wayne, the scoutmaster asked everyone to stop and he was going to search Matt's backpack. While everyone else was carrying at least 10 lbs of supplies, Matt had a backpack with two sheets in it. I can't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure Wayne made all of us take one item out of our backpacks to put into Matt's.

When we got back to our camp the next day, we found out that the only things that Matt had brought on this trip in his backpack were the two sheets, a machete and a pair of roller blades. He took the roller blades out for the hike.

Eagles

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Originally uploaded by Mattias Sundt

I've had two memorables eagles in my life. One of them was when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I was lying 2 on hole 6 at Paducah, a par 5 500 yarder. About 150 to 100 yards out from the green there is a valley and at the end of that valley is a creek filled with cattails before the 30 degree incline the last 100 yards to the green. I was about 100 out, so I probably hit a nine iron or a pitching wedge. I couldn't see the green, but I found my ball in the hole when I arrived.

A few years later when I was in high school, I was practicing with my friend Eric and our golf coach. I was lying 1 about 150 out on hole 3, a par 4 about 320 yards. I remember I hit a seven iron. As soon as the ball went into the air I could tell it was going to be close. From 150 out I could see the ball fall into the hole.

Is it just me or...

circuito guarah ilha do mel
Originally uploaded by tanapraia

...do people look really dumb making hand signs? Pictures of this just grate on my nerves.

Fishing

Originally uploaded by hnhnzam827

I can't remember when my dad taught me how to fish.

Note to Self: Ask your dad about the first time you went fishing.

Footsteps

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Originally uploaded by courtney_sikes

When I was a child I was very content with being alone. In my late adolescence, I had a lapse where being alone was the worse thing in the world. I have now returned to a younger state. I better get used to it. Now if I could only turn this solitude into something.

Baked potatoes

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Originally uploaded by statnurse

For some reason the microwave will not make baked potatoes. Every time I've tried, the potatoes are left with a about a centimeter layer of soft, baked potato goodness, while the rest is has hard as a raw potato. I've ruined about five potatoes in past two years because I keep forgetting this.

I could probably make a baked potato in the oven but I don't want to turn on the over in the summer, and I don't want to use up that much gas for just one potato.

Maybe I will find someone selling them on the street.

If I owned a boat

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Originally uploaded by winewolf1@prodigy.net

When I tell people that I own a condo on the lake, the first question they ask is "Do you have a boat?"

Note to self: People only care about boats.