Chelsi vs. The Moutain. The Moutain-1. Chelsi-0

I doubt I've ever mentioned it before but as much as I love to hike, my boyfriend (read lover, soul mate, best friend and closest conspirator) hates to hike. I had planned on going to a horse related BBQ today (sorry I missed you guys Aimee!) but when he asked me if I cared to join him on a little hike in order to take a look at a piece of land he was interested in, I jumped at the opportunity. You see, I love my man. He is the first person I think of and the one I most want to share the enjoyments of life with but due to a sport injury he isnt able to do some activities with me (like riding and hiking) and due to allergies he cant be around the horses much and so I love when we get to go out and do something that is considered more my "territory" (bush whacking) as oppose to the activities he usually chooses (the finer things in life like fine restaurants, flying, movies, travel, etc.)

Anyways, all started well. We found the property (30+ acres) and there seemed to be access via an old logging road running off a side street.... so the going was pretty easy, at first. Then the road turned in to a trail. The trail turned into a coyote track and then the trail vanish all together. Fast forward three hours . We walk back on to the coyote track, then the trail, then the old logging road and finally to where I had parked the car. (side note: there was actually a horse loose on the street which I had to catch and then hunt down the owners. He was a massive bay draft of some sort and just as cute as pie.)

In that three hours we had bushwhacked our way through thirty plus acres of forest, bushes, bramble, blackberries, ferns, spider webs, and slugs. At one point I decided I didnt like the direction HS had picked so I ventured out on a path of my own. This is where I discovered that one stubborn, single minded, bull headed woman is no match against a blackberry bush the size of a small house. Subsequently my legs now look like this....


At least the scratches you can see are a result of a battle hard fought (though lost) and my proponent was a worth advisary- notoriously resiliant, thick stemmed, and equiped with vicious razor sharp thorns and arms like some multi headed mythical monster- but truth be told those blackberry bastards are nothing compared to the sting of that lowly, inconspicuous and frilly looking (though freakishly potent) stinging nettle!

Can I just say that my legs are on fire! Seriously. Burning.

Had I known that we'd be going all survivor-man-style I'd have thought to wear long pants!

(chamomile lotion on my legs... covering most of the portion that was stung by nettle.)

Oh and FYI...f-ing Chamomile lotion doenst work worth a shit!