Trying something new is difficult at times for almost everybody. Routines become the norm and doing something outside of the box is met with thoughts of trepidation. Throughout my life I have played indoor soccer, flag football, and have spent countless hours on the basketball court playing pickup games. In late July, I decided I wanted to try something new — hiking.

In early August, I dialed up one of my good friends from childhood, James Martin, to see if he knew any solid hiking trails in the Pacific Northwest region. Martin hiked to the summit of Mount Saint Helens as a 12-year-old so I knew he was the person to ask. He recommended the Mount Si hiking trail in North Bend. The 8-mile roundtrip is considered moderately difficult according to various websites. I decided I wanted to tackle the challenge head on. Ironically enough, I hadn’t hiked since I made it to the top of Green Mountain in Kitsap County with Martin in 2000.

On Aug. 14, Martin and I arrived at the bottom of the Mount Si trailhead.  I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The word “moderate” is ambiguous and once we started walking I knew the trail was going to be very difficult for me to complete. The first two miles were grueling. My feet ached during the first mile but once my body got acclimated, the pain in my feet subsided. Once we hit the 1.8 mile mark there was a brief respite titled, the “Snag Flat” where people have the option to stop for a quick break before climbing the final 2.2 miles of the mountain. In my opinion, the final 2.2 miles of the hike were the most difficult.

The route had constant switchbacks and seemed to get steeper and steeper with every step. Before we hit the 3-mile mark my upper calves began burning immensely. A few hundred yards before the 3-mile mark some hikers coming down the mountain obviously could see how fatigued I was and made the comment “You’re almost there.” I figured there was maybe a half of a mile to go. When Martin and I saw the 3-mile marker I was stunned because another mile seemed daunting. There was no turning back though. I had to complete this trip no matter what. Once we hit the 3.5 mile mark, rain started to fall through the tree line onto the trail.

The higher up the mountain we got, the colder it became and the route became more slippery. Just before the summit, there was a plethora of rocks to climb over. I have zero rock climbing experience but managed to get over the first set of rocks.

The next step was titled “haystack” which is considered the ultimate summit of Mount Si. These were rocks I wasn’t willing to climb. The rain was coming down hard and this set of rocks was so steep it made the previous set of rocks I had just scaled look amateurish. Nonetheless I felt a huge sense of accomplishment as Martin and I devoured blueberry pop-tarts near the top of the mountain before making the trip back down to civilization.

The jaunt down was much easier on my calves but I could feel the burn in my quadriceps as we meandered down the trail. There were many times I nearly lost my footing due to the downhill momentum and small loose rocks, but I was able to reach the flat ground unscathed. In the days following the hike, I experienced extreme soreness in my hips, calves and even shoulders. It took five days before my body felt normal again.  I may have found a new hobby in my early 30s.