Fitness Adventures Series! *Extreme Hiking*

Here on Guam, there are many opportunites to have adventures that can double as working out.  For example, this hike we went on a little bit ago.  It took about 6 hours and involved hiking down to a waterfall, up a river, and back out of the ravine.  It was wonderfully exhausting and so much fun! 

After a couple hours of hiking to the valley, we climbed down the side of the valley using ropes.  There were places that I had to pull myself out of that were up to my chest!

 

 The view at the bottom was worth the climb.  We made it to Lower Sigua Falls!  My husband had the guts to jump in from a third of the way up.  I chickened out though.  I stuck with just swimming around.

Then we climbed around to the top of the waterfall where we found this baby waterfall and little pool.  We climbed down the little waterfall, explored a bit, then started thelast leg of our journey- up the river.  And when I say up the river, I'm not kidding.  We walked for over 2 hours THROUGH the river.  It was very, ah, wet.

By the end of hiking up the river, I was pretty tired and soaked.  I was covered in dirt, sweat, mud, and probably some spiderwebs.  I was so glad I had my tall pink socks and gloves on to help me climb up over rocks and mudslides and to protect me a little.  But I was most thankful for my Camelback.  I woud suggest anyone that ever is doing a strenuous activity where they aren't sure where they can get water to invest in one.  Mine is nice and small and I can even run with it, but it keeps me well hydrated.

 

We finally made it to Upper Sigua Falls!  This was one tall waterfall and quite the beautiful site to see.  Once we got to the top of this set of falls, we looked over the terrain that we climbed over all day. Talk about feeling accomplished! 

Hiking is a fantastic way to exercise in a fun, different, and challenging way.  A hike does not have to be nearly as intense as this particular one was.  The best part about hiking is it can be done just about anywhere! Whether you are going on vacation or want to explore your own area, there is always some place to hike.  Check out your local state parks for an easy way to find some trails.  For my followers in Wisconsin, I recommend Rails to Trails (www.railstotrails.org) or the Ice Age Trail (www.iceagetrail.org/).  If you have a place you like to hike, feel free to share it below!