Monday, October 22, 2007

A hike with a payoff

I've never been a huge fan of recreational exercise--I only do it because I know it's "good" for me. But today's hike certainly paid off. Now I don't know what the difference between a mountain and a hill is. A lot of what I saw on the north island were definitely hills. The snow-capped dealies across the lake from me are most certainly mountains. But right next to my hostel is a 1,500-foot, tree-covered monolith that I will call a mountain so that I can sound cooler. I don't have a photo from the bottom of it, but I'll get on that.

Anywho, you can either pay 20 bucks to take a cool gondola ride to the top, or you can hike up. Since money and I keep butting heads, I chose the cheap-ass route, which involved lots of sweating and plenty of huffing and puffing. But defnitely worth it. At the top, an amazing view of the town and the lake.




And at the top, there's a ski lift.




And at the top of the ski lift? Luging!




I nearly threw myself over the embankment going around one turn, but three runs later, I was unscathed.

And how about getting back down the mountain? Well, it just so happens that no one checks for your gondola tickets, so we hopped on and enjoyed the ride--and the view.




And now...the job search kicks off.

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