Hikes, Kites, and Jumping Off Bridges

On Saturday I went hiking with my fiance and my five roommates at Kelly Canyon.  I wasn't expecting anything hard, because Meesh had hiked there before and said, "It's paved pretty much the whole way."  On the drive down we had a two-car caravan.  Of course when you are college students, having your friends in the car behind you can be very distracting.  Meesh kept sticking her head all the way out the window to yell things to Brynn, who had her head all the way out the window of the other car.  We were all laughing about it.  It was hard for me to drive normal since we were on back roads with no other cars around.  I kept jerking the steering wheel back and forth to make sure everyone stayed awake.  Meesh thought I was going to kill them, but I had it all under control.

When we got to the trail head we all got out of the cars and began our assent of the mountain.  It was indeed paved... at least for the first ten minutes of walking.  After that it turned into gravel, and after that a dirt trail that was hardly distinguishable and was so steep that we had to walk on our toes to get up it.  Amy took one look at the steep hill made of dust and rocks, and then another look at her shoes.  They were certainly appropriate for a "pretty much all paved" trail, but a dirt hill could send her sliding with every step.  We convinced her to keep coming anyways, but helped her out when she needed it. We passed a pile of deer turds and I exclaimed, "Look! There is wildlife here!"  Seeing animals is one of the best parts about hiking after all.  We had previously seen a gecko and the foot of a deer.... only the foot and part of the leg.  Who knows what happened to the rest of it?

On that note, we ate lunch on a huge rock almost at the top of the mountain, enjoying the view of green fields and tiny ant-like people who were still on the lower trails.  After we felt sufficiently full of sandwiches, chips, and carrots, we started the slow decent of the hill, trying not to slip.  Everyone made it safely, but we took the wrong trail on the way down and almost added a lot of distance onto our hike.  Amy, Meesh, me, and my fiance, Kalyn (Cal-in), reached the bottom first.  We were quickly distracted by the canal next to the parking lot while we waited for the other three.  By the time the others joined us a crazy idea was entering my mind.  "I kinda feel like jumping in," I said.  Oops, I said that aloud!  We were standing on a bridge that was about five feet over the water.  "Want to?"  Kalyn asked.  He was getting the same crazy idea too.  Next thing I know, we have removed our shoes and are hanging over the bridge counting to three.  Kalyn went first, then me, followed by Abbie, then Hannah.  Boy, was it chilly in that water, but since it was nearly 90 degrees outside it felt so good to be wet when we got back onto dry ground.  Kalyn and I want to go swimming this weekend.  I can't wait!