Yesterday was my first day of hiking, which they actually call trekking down here.

I’m in Bariloche, Argentina. It’s a lovely little resort town that looks and feels like a cross between Lake Tahoe and Switzerland.

Today I rented a bike and rode along El Circuito Chino, a loop around an inlet peninsula on the lake. Along the loop were various stops for view points, beaches, and the topic for my blog today–hiking trails.

I have a secret that I avoid sharing with my fellow outdoorsman: I hate hiking. Well, maybe hate is too strong of a word. I just don’t like it very much. I do enjoy hikes for about the first two-thirds of the way, but it’s just that last third when your feet hurt, your knees hurt, and you have another 3 mikes to go before you get to your car. Its when you decide to take a side trail, only to get yourself lost and every tree and rock looks the same as you see the sun disappear over the horizon and darkness set in.

All of this is what overshadows and swallows whatever enjoyment I experienced during the first two-thirds.

So I don’t usually hike. But considering the fact that there is a lot of hiking where I am right now, and it’s cheap, I’m trying to figure out how to like it.

So yesterday during my ride, I pulled over at the trailhead of a hike that led to an overlook of the lake.

After a big breath of fresh mountain air, I started walking with the energetic enthusiasm that accompanies the cheezy thought, “I’m going for a hike today!”

But after an hour into the hike, and no summit reached yet, my optimism began to wain. It was approaching late afternoon, and I still had a few hours left on my bike.

Finally, after vascillating between the thoughts, “I can make it” and “this is stupid” I finally decided to go with “this is stupid”. I never made it to the top. Instead I turned around and made my knees very sore trying to hurry the whole way down so I could quickly get back going on the bike loop.

Although the first hike of my trip was nothing like singing “The Hills Are Alive” as Julie Andrews did in the Sound of Music, I am still in high spirits for some good hikes in the near future. Maybe one with a chairlift nearby.