I have done something different today!

So last night after work a bunch of people came over (specifcally Travis, Kim, Matt, Angela, and Andrew) to play Rock Band which was naturally fun times. We also played a little golf as well after Matt and Angela left. Abigail was upstairs studying, sadly. However, when everyone had gone, Andrew invited me to go hiking/geocaching with him the next day (today). Although I was hesitant about the prospect of getting up early on a Saturday I accepted.

We journeyed up Usury Pass Mountain around 10 AM (after stopping at Bashas' and Dunkin Donuts). It was an epic quest from the beginning, and we knew we had quite a feat ahead of us. We took frequent breaks and paced ourselves, which made it rather pleasant...you know, except for the pain and the parts where I thought I was going to die. Like the time I almost fell off the mountain and Andrew had to grab me by my shirt (he was going for the belt, in his defense).

(slightly melodramatic narration begins)

Eventually we made it up to the Wind Caves (which seriously sounds like a destination from an RPG to me), which is nearly to the summit, and that is where we had lunch. Good times. We got to sit and enjoy the view from there and relax for about half an hour before continuing on. At this point I thought we had undergone an ordeal but no; the most arduous part of all was yet to come! For as we continued on our quest to reach the summit we passed a sign that read, "Dangerous Area: Proceed At Your Own Risk!" We were indeed forewarned by this sign and although we were but novice hikers we were convinced that our will, our spirits, and our courage would get us to the top (along with our legs, of course).

We proceeded on, and immediately the trail was much harder to read and much narrower. The cliff face seemed much nearer, and there were times my life flashed before my eyes. I felt like Dante making his epic journey in some way, with Andrew as my Vergil (although we were ascending, which was somewhat anachronistic). We continued onward for another hour, managing to lose our way off the trail twice.

Finally we managed to make our way up to the top (nearly 3200 feet up) and to the area where the geocache was! It was a moment of great celebration. We took a while to rest and took some photos (which will eventually find their way on here, I assure you) before finally heading back down. Naturally heading back down was much faster, and the total trek downward was only an hour or so in itself!

(slightly melodramatic narration ends)

Along the way Andrew found a second geocache that we had passed on the way up (which I think turned out to be a good thing considering how much foot traffic there was during the earlier time). Apparently you're not supposed to let them get discovered by people who aren't part of the game for risk of them getting destroyed, so that could have been bad if we'd found it before.

We got back to the car at about 4 PM, which made our total outing about 6 hours long. Thus our epic quest was completed! We stopped at a Bashas' on the way back to my house for extra water as while we had brought quite a lot, we went through it all in 6 hours and were quite thirsty by that point.

Speaking of which, I am going to go as it's now after midnight and I'm rather tired and sore. Next time I see you, Andrew, you're in SO much trouble for suggesting that! More later, hopefully with pics.