Life has unfortunately gotten in the way of doing one of my favorite things in the world – hiking.  Yesterday we were finally able, after running a mountain of errands, to get some trail time.  My husband, Bruce, and I have been checking out new places to explore for a few weeks now and settled on Pinckney State Recreation Area. We took the Crooked Lake Trail after so many weeks off – not the smartest idea we’ve had in a while.  Oh, well!  We had a blast.  The dogs are exhausted and my husband is exhausted.  (I should seriously get bonus points for that!)

One of many position stops on the hike.

Despite the extreme heat of 98°-ish or higher with the heat index it wasn’t so bad in the trails since they’re covered by the lush overgrowth of the forest.  We kept ourselves and the dogs well hydrated with Gatorade and bottled water and rested frequently to prevent serious distress on the chance it could occur.  The trails themselves were pretty awesome.  There were quite a few steep areas that I had a bit of difficulty getting up with my knee issues but I had help from my awesome husband and canine trail companions who made sure I didn’t lag too far behind.

Notice how Lyric is checking back to make sure I’m there? Ha!

The biggest bonus to the whole hike though was being able to do it all in my Vibram FiveFingers barefoot shoes.  It was an absolutely amazing time feeling everything below my feet and not falling over because I misjudged something in a traditional hiking shoe – which I’ve done FAR too often on previous hikes.

At the end of the day, I’m tired and I’m sore but I feel accomplished.  It’s a feeling that I absolutely love having – especially when it’s involved in something as simple and joyous as enjoying nature with my awesome dogs and my wonderful husband.  Below are a few photos from the hike.  The rest can be viewed here.

The crew waiting to head out again.

Beautiful view during our hike.