I don’t know that I’ve ever actually gone on a hike before. Also: I’m honestly not entirely sure what differentiates hiking from walking. I mean, is it basically just walking, but in nature? If so, maybe I have hiked?
I’m fairly certain that this is the first time I’ve been on a predefined hiking trail, so there’s that.
There’s an area just outside of Dublin called Howth, and it features a lot of stunning cliffside vistas, and yes, a hiking trail.
Four, actually. The official map rates them from easy to hard, and I figured, hey, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this. I went with the 10 kilometre “hard” trail, The Bog of the Frogs.
I actually enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. There was something oddly compelling and almost soothing about just trekking along in nature. The scenic beauty of the area certainly didn’t hurt.
Plus, as someone who can barely even tell left from right without thinking about which arm my watch is on, I appreciated the frequent sign posts, which make it nearly impossible to get lost.
And thanks to the sheer amount of time I’ve been spending walking around the last few months, the 10 kilometre hike wasn’t too exhausting (though it was quite a bit more strenuous than the city walking I’m used to).
So now I’m wondering if I really like hiking, or if that was just a particularly good hiking trail. I guess I’ll just have to go on more hikes to find out?