The View from the Top (Lessons from the Vertical Mile Challenge)
I love hiking. For the fifteen years my husband and I have been married, hiking has been one of our “vacation” activities. We both love being outdoors, in uncrowded places that others avoid. I enjoy hiking because of the pay-off: it’s hard work, but I feel rewarded by being able to see things I would have missed out on if I had refused the challenge. Until recently I thought that hiking had to be confined to vacationing, but then I discovered the Vertical Mile Challenge (VMC) at Rocky Face Recreational Park ( www.rockyfacepark.com ). The VMC is close enough to home that I’m able to go most days, and it is one of the most challenging and rewarding hikes I’ve ever attempted.The best (and worst) part is this: it never gets easier. I thrive on attempting things that are challenging, so I guess the tagline for this post should be, “A shout-out to things that never get easier...no matter how many times you do them.” The trail is a 2.2-mile loop, with one eighth-mile section that tr