two of my grands I and went hiking this week and saw some weird things…
hiking through the woods is sometimes scary. and weird..
Hiking can be a wonderful peaceful experience…it can also be a little scary or weird…especially when you are telling scary stories as you hike….or seeing weird things. Two of my grands and I went hiking this week. We had a wonderful day climbing the trail to the falls and then back down again…well at least they did. Me, on the other hand… I was huffing and puffing and falling up and down the mountain.
We had fun day, even though I thought I may not make it out alive. We saw a lot of people and some weird things. Here are the 10 weird things we saw while hiking. Note: you may not think all of them are weird….but we did…
1. Girls hiking in bikinis – I’m not sure, maybe someone changed the dress code for hiking, but bikinis are never a good idea on a rocky mountain trail. I mean just bikinis, no tops over them and then they had flip flops on their feet. I had a hard enough time walking over the rocky terrain in my sneakers. And I could picture the girls tumbling down the rocks with their bikinis falling off and cuts and scrapes all over their cute little thin tiny bodies….
2. Guys in biking shorts – ok, I get this one, maybe they biked up to the trail and this is what they had on already but still…I’m not a fan of biking shorts, they are worse than bikinis….and what if they fall? Do guys wear cups under their biking shorts? You know like football players wear? Maybe they should if they are going to hike in them..just saying..
3. Bathing caps – a. I didn’t know anyone still wore bathing caps, let alone hike in one. b. why would you want to wear one to hike, its hot and this would make you even hotter. I hated wearing them to swim in when I was a kid. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn’t some new kind of hiking head attire….nope it had the little strap hanging on the side. Where does one even find a bathing cap?
4. Dogs – I have a hard enough time hiking up the rocky trails, so I can’t even imagine how poor Fido feels. And then people were taking them up the high dangerous rocks on the falls. First of all there are signs posted everywhere not to climb on the rocks but everyone does anyway. If you want to fall to your bloody death, fine….But don’t make your dog do it with you. Did you even ask him if he wanted to do this?
5. Grandmothers that have a broken toe – well there was really only one I know of and that would be me. These broken toed grandmothers have no business climbing up rocky mountain trails…also in the same vein, grand daughters who have sprained their wrists have no business trying to help said grandmother when she is falling down the mountain. But thank goodness she did.
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
6. People wearing perfume/cologne – just a gentle reminder here that maybe wearing a whole bottle of perfume or cologne to go hiking is not a good idea while out on the trail. Bugs absolutely love this stuff! I must say though..it was super nice passing these great smelling people. And I’m sure they loved the smell of us in return. Sweat smells awesome! Special note here: the people that smelled good were on their way up and us sweaty smelling people were on our way down…
7. Optional hiking attire – while hiking as a kid and almost ever since, most people would wear long pants and shirts and hiking boots or sneakers. Not anymore. Long jeans, which is a good idea to keep ticks off and mosquitos at bay…but long jeans and no shirt is just weird. Shorts and boots up to the knee (this was a man by the way). Sweatshirts and coats…it was 85 degrees and remember we were sweating…but they were better prepared for ticks and bugs than the shirtless guy. And lets not forget bikinis and biking shorts… I can’t, can you?
8. Serial Killers – I always think every guy hiking all by himself that I pass on the trail may be a serial killer. One guy we passed really did look like one….what do they look like you ask…oh yeah..they look like a nice guys and they are very quiet….and seriously don’t people hiking always find the dead person. So there must be some out there….
9. A rock growing out of a tree or a tree growing out of a rock – it had fallen over so it was hard to tell which one it was…but it was very cool…see picture below.
rock growing out of a tree or tree growing out of a rock…
10. A towel – The towel was hanging over a tree limb and it said, “that’s just weird.” and it was….
All in all we had a great day on the mountain. The weather was beautiful. I didn’t die or crack my head open. And we had a teachable moment when I fell…I asked the kids what they would have done if I indeed would have cracked my head open. And my grand daughter said she would have taken my phone and called 911. We looked at my phone and I didn’t have any signal at all, so there went that great idea. I said then what would you have done, she said she would have screamed at the top of her lungs until someone came by and helped us. Ok, very good idea…we just have to hope it wouldn’t have been the serial killer.
Do you like to go hiking? What is the weirdest thing you ever saw? Please comment below and tell me what you have seen…
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” ~ Unknown
Funny! You see all kind of things when you pay attention to what is going on around you! As for number 1, I am guilty of doing that back in my younger days when we went to our cabin in the mountains and we wanted to go to the waterfalls to get a tan…so we decided why not get a tan while we hike there :). The way I see it, yolo!
Andrea thanks for stopping by and commenting…I just worried if they fell like I did, what would happen to their skinny little bodies…
Haha I love your post! As a big hiker myself (living in Switzerland) I have seen some strange things under our hikes. Perhaps the carriers we saw trekking to Annapurna BS in Nepal they are wearing flip flops…and aswell carriers at the volcano Rinjani in Indonesia.
Another funny thing is a hike we did in japan when an very old man walk backwards…
Couples fighting and arquing in the middle of the mountain….
Wow, walking backwards, it is hard enough walking forward…LOL..Thank you for your comments and glad you enjoyed it!
I’m a great indoor enthusiast, so I haven’t been hiking in a while. But this post makes me curious about what I might see. Thanks for sharing the weirdness.
You are welcome Karen! You need to try getting outside…there is a lot of weirdness out there…
What an unusual bunch of things to see on a hike! I love hiking but I can’t think of anything particularly weird that I’ve seen. Although the length of time I’ve lived in NYC may well have deadened my weirdness sensors. You see a lot of odd stuff here. Anything in the woods is gonna look relatively normal in comparison!
Bonnie, I have to agree, I have seen some weird things on the streets of NY…but bet you never saw someone wearing a bathing cap there…LOL..
I haven’t seen a bathing cap in YEARS! Funny about the serial killer—I would think the same thing if I was hiking in the woods, LOL.
Marcia, I didn’t even know they still sold them…and I think everyone wonders about the serial killers…I’m surprised anyone hikes… LOL..
This cracked me up–bathing caps??? Flip flops??? I admire your powers of observation, Renee–I would have been on the lookout for the serial killer the entire time…
Glad you got a laugh from it Roxanne…and believe me I was on the lookout for him…
How fun! I love hiking and I love seeing weird!
We did have fun…and we did see weird…LOL
Renee I agree with you, when did people miss the dress code for hiking. Oh I came across naked hikers. Yes it is a thing. Who wants to come around a switchback turn and see a couple of naked men? Certainly they are serial killers in training!
Oh my gosh Haralee, I heard about the naked thing..thank goodness we didn’t see any of them…and maybe they are the serial killers….they wouldn’t have to get rid of their clothes….
My husband hates walking alone because he says women always look at him suspiciously – like he’s going to accost them or abscond with them. My favourite for the weird item is the swimming cap – they are awful to wear at the best of times – and they would be revoltingly sticky and tight when you were hiking!
Yes, I have to agree…I didn’t get the swim cap at all….the only thing I could think of was he was going to go into the falls and didn’t want to get his hair wet… LOL
Hahahha..serial killers. I always think the same thing!
We are like twins!
HAHAHA! Your hike was much more interesting than our hikes. The only really weird thing we’ve seen, is a pair of tightie whities. It sounds as though you pass a lot more people than we do. I guess that’s cause Codorus Park isn’t as popular as your park with the pretty falls. I mean…a swim cap…flip flops…bikinis…crazy.
Well I guess you guys need to come down and hike our trails to see the things we see….or maybe you don’t want to see the things we see…..LOL…
Hiking has many great qualities. On a personal
level, it is how Peg and I became closer to one another and it is still one of our great activities that we do together. I have not seen many of the things you described. I guess the York County Rail Trail brings out a more conservative clientele. Anyway, I am a bit of a geography nerd (on second thought you can skip a bit) so looking at scenery, and the like make my day. Hiking also lets you know yourself more as you take in the bounty of nature and revel at what God has provided for us to see at no cost. In conclusion, it is a perfect way to spend a beautiful day in whatever season you so desire to partake in.
We love it too Andy and my grands are glad I take them.. it is a great way to enjoy the scenery and my kiddos…
You’re one brave Grandma! I don’t hike anymore, although I might given the chance to frolic in a waterfall. Would the towel hanging from the tree belong to the serial killer?
Oh, Linda, thank goodness I didn’t think of that while we were there….LOL