So today, we decided to ignore all practical advice given to hikers, walkers, and runners, and break in a brand-new never-worn pair of shoes on a five mile trek. The hike was…..uncomfortable. Since the Soos Creek Trail in Covington, Washington is a long, flat-ish paved trail, we figured it would be the perfect time to try our new Hokas! These shoes are great; they are like walking on clouds! However, before they are broken in, they are more like pinchy, blistery, unbalanced clouds. For this reason, we only did the 2.5 miles out and back for a total of 5 miles. This first picture is a representation for most of the things Brook and I attempt in life: we get it…..mostly right. Somehow Brook changed a setting on her phone to flip the picture to the mirror-image, and now the sign is backwards! Thankfully “Soos” is a palindrome, so we are good!

The trail and creek themselves are named after a village of the Skopamish tribe that once existed where Soos Creek joined up with the Green River. Since then, the area has been logged, and power lines established, leaving an expanse of wetlands along the trail.

Along these wetlands grow an enormous amount of aromatic skunk cabbage. If you have never smelled skunk cabbage, is smells exactly as you think it should.

Thankfully, we did this hike in the morning in early Spring. I cannot imagine how many giant mosquitos will be out in a late summer evening.

It was good to get out and get walking. A couple things I learned along the way:

1. Speed-walking on horizontal pavement works an entirely different set of muscles than does slow, inclined hiking. This was a humbling realization, as I struggled to keep up with Brook. If I want to be able to climb Rainier, I need to have not just the strength, but the endurance to do so.

2. Never, I mean NEVER attempt to break in a never-worn pair of shoes or boots with a lengthy trek. It does not end well.

And now, I’m off to walk in these shoes a bit more, before trying another trail in them.