Today was our last long hike - we planned to hike several hours at Hyland Hills ski area. Our intention was to spend the majority of the hike walking up and down the ski hills.
From the onset, we were a little challenged. As we drove to Hyland Hills in a torrential rain, we asked ourselves "who else would be as crazy as we are to be hiking in this kind of weather?"
Well, as luck would have it, the whole experience was an excellent equipment test (as well as a body test) as we hiked the steeper hills in the pouring rain. You can see from the photo above we will not be taking any cotton clothes on the trip as they get wet and stay wet! (we knew this already!)
We learned that we definitely need to have everything in our packs in plastic bags (similar to when we go to the boundary waters). We learned how much slower we hike with increased elevation (we had been feeling much too smug)! Finally, I learned that my right knee doesn't love going down hill, so I will be buying my own personal knee brace to take with us. Up to this point, I've had absolutely no knee problems, so once again, I was "taken down a notch" for being a little too smug! :-)
In spite of the rain, we once again marveled at the beauty of the great outdoors. We've been humbled today, but in retrospect, the whole experience will serve us well!
After our hike, we met for a late dinner to discuss final logistics and compare equipment we are planning to bring. Greg and I got to spend some time with Tom and Chanda, Kevin and Kris' neighbors, who will be joining us for the second half of the trip. We are all excited about our upcoming hike!
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