Misery Ridge at Smith Rock State Park

Remember.  Clip your toe nails.  Don't let them come back to haunt you.

Oh, that's right.  That advice comes at the end of this week's adventure blog...

Misery Ridge Loop goes up and around Smith Rock and then back down around the other side of Monkey Face.  It has about a 1,000 foot vertical climb, and is about a 5 mile trail.  Early morning hiking is best.

That's why Advil is a hiker's best friend, both before and after the trek...

Gotta love a trail that says "MOST DIFFICULT."  Kinda like those black diamond runs....

But it's so worth it when you get to the top.  You can barely see the Crooked River in the lower middle of the picture.  Worked up a bit of a sweat, but it wasn't too bad.  And the view in the early morning is just fab.  Central Oregon, baby!

Snow on the top part of Misery Ridge.  I went on the whole hike and only saw three people until I got close to the parking lot.  Hmmmmm.....was thinking I was adventerous, but probably it's more true that many people have more sense than to hike in the snow on treacherous trails.  That's why I brought my hiking sticks.  Didn't need them, but just for insurance.

Nice Monkey Face.  Kiss the Monkey Face, Eric.  He won't hurt you.

It's always nice that they have these, just in case I would have slipped and fallen and not found for 3 days when I didn't show up for church.  At least they'd be able to bring my cold, lifeless body out with ease!

Ya know what I was thinking on the way down?  My toenails.  I had clipped them this morning, as they had gotten a little long.  Last summer I went on an early Spring hike with a lot of vertical drop on the way down, and all my weight and my energy went right to my unclipped toenails, which ended up painfully cutting into my other toes and getting my socks all bloody.  Unfortunately I didn't carry a nail clipper (I do now...) and couldn't take care of them, and am not limber enough to bite the intruding edges off.  Probably a good thing.

Kinda like life, these downward switchbacks on the picture.  When we don't pay attention to those little things that irritate us, then when our lives start to switch back and forth down hill (which it sometimes does...) then all our weight and energy goes to that which irritates us, and which we didn't take care of, and which we sometimes can't fix when we're in a downward spiral, and we end up unnecessarily bloodied.  It happened to me on that hike last year.  It has sometimes happened in the past in other areas of my life, too.  Probably in yours, too.

Remember.  Clip your toenails.  Don't let them come back to haunt you.

Works in hiking.  And it works in life. 

Check back with me next weekend for another adventure.  And I promise I won't be so gross!