2/2/2022

My favorite person to hike with is Lisa. She was the friend that took me on my Bristol Hills three day adventure that truly changed my life. Hiking has developed our friendship in a way that is very special to me. Our hikes are filled with philosophical thought, discovering flowers and animal tracks, and discussing the deep parts of ourselves that we sometimes feel only the trees can really absorb without judgement. The only problem is we live about 40 minutes apart and each have busy lives so coordinating a hike can sometimes be a challenge.

This was our first hike of the year together and due to time constraints, I chose the M 12 at access 6 Pleasant Valley Road in Urbana. Lisa and I had hiked this part before but not in the winter. I like doing the same hikes in different seasons as it reveals things about the land, but also about myself. It had snowed recently, but it was still soft and we didn’t need ice spikes.

The more I hike this section of trail, the more I love it. The incline of it is just enough to feel the burn, but not so challenging that it is distracting. It has amazing ravines that show off a creek at the bottom for three seasons and some cool ice flow in the winter.

Coming back to this section of the M 12 this year has made me want to hike the whole thing. There are so many great trails that we get to dreaming about hiking them all once we’ve had a little taste of them. I definitely want to finish B 1 and B 3 this year for a sense of completion and then maybe we’ll start knocking away sections of the M 12.

But most of all, I love how this year’s challenge will bring me closer to my friend. Lisa is an amazing soul who teaches me about the strength I didn’t know I had inside me. This hike was my first FLT of the year and my first hike with Lisa, but definitely not the last.

Stay safe out there. See you on the trail. If you hear clinking and chiming, it’s just me.

Love,

Aleathia (Hobojangles)