I should preface this by saying that I am not a hiker. I don't own hiking boots, those dorky hiking sticks, one of those camel packs or a floppy hat. However, I am married to a man who can create fire by using a brillo pad and a 9 volt battery and can purify stagnant water with a sunlight and a trash bag. Begrudgingly I told my husband I would join him to hike Iron Mountain this past Saturday.
Despite my repeated sneaky ways to take little breaks, "I have to blow my nose...wait, I need a sip of your Gatorade...my legs are getting sore," we marched continuously in the sun. The highlight of the hike wasn't the physical exertion but the snippets of other people's conversations. Those little snippets were gold mines for me and kept me going.
I heard one woman in front of us describe the surprise birthday party she threw for her husband. "Well, I had his son take him pheasant hunting. Then I booked his favorite country western band and had the whole thing catered." What perfect details, I thought to myself. I feel as though those tiny pieces paint such an accurate picture of the kind of man he is.
There was another group of fellow hikers, three or four young boys around twelve years old with lots of camping equipment strapped to their backs- a tent, ridge rest, canteen, etc. I asked them if they were going camping. "No," one boy said with his blonde hair in his face. "Then why did we bring the tent?" asked the younger boy who was probably nine. "Because if you are struggling now, imagine how hard it would be if we were actually going camping." We saw them later as they excitedly saw a stream of dirty water. "Oh I can use my pocket rocket and filter the water," said the boy carrying a red tent.
A group of women pass us in the opposite direction and I smiled at their camaraderie. They looked as though they were part of a hiking club. They had their poles and floppy hats and hiking boots. One woman had baby blue hiking socks pulled up to her knees and a scarf around her waist. She looked like she was a character in a movie playing the role of a hiker.
I saw a young boy wearing a boy scout uniform and glasses who was struggling to catch his breath. I asked him, "so if girl scouts sell cookies, what do boy scouts sell?" He ignored me as he sipped from his water bottle but the older man that was with him proudly said, "popcorn!" "Really?" I asked, "I had no idea." "Oh yeah we sell all different kinds of popcorn that come in these tins." I felt like my father, making conversation with complete strangers just to feel connected somehow. My husband felt connected to nature and I felt connected to the world one snippet at a time.
