A stroll in the hills

I am absolutely positively beside myself with excitement.

Since I was supposed to go to Seattle for work this week, and since we couldn't make it to Bermuda this weekend (see aforementioned citizenship saga), we decided that Delta would come join me on the West coast instead this weekend and we would dapple in a bit of West coast hiking. Maybe even see ourselves some bears.

So I called my Cos in Seattle this afternoon to tell her about our plans, and somehow managed to convince her to join in for our little camping foray as well! So there you have it - this Friday will find a rather motley crew - Delta, my Cos, her Hubby, their Cherub, Hubby's Mum, their Dog, and me - all pitching tent (and opening a bottle or two of wine) at the base of Mt Rainier.
As much as I would love for a leisurely weekend of wilderness lethargy, our plans have transpired into a rather more active story. Early Saturday morning, Delta and I will set forth on the Wonderland Trail, which encircles Mt Rainier. Here's more or less how it'll go. We'll stagger ten miles along the trail, up and down the mountainside, munching trail mix along the way. We'll try desperately hard not to get eaten by bears or cougars, but no promises there, it might well be out of our control. We'll exhaustedly set up camp at dusk, cook ourselves a meager meal of noodles, comment on how noodles have never tasted better in our lives, and crash into a dead person's sleep. Only to wake up early on Sunday morning and repeat the routine again.

That, my friends, alarming as it might sound, is exactly why I am beside myself with excitement right now.