Grouse Grind

Today I did the Grouse Grind for the first time, and had a fairly respectable time, so I’m told, 1:06h.  I have heard of the grind being exactly as it’s called, a grind on your muscles and really hard; I’m writing this 9 hours after completing it, and thankfully my muscles are not aching yet, tomorrow morning may be a different story.

The view from the top of Grouse is really nice:

…but the trail itself isn’t much to write home about, with few openings you don’t see much more than trees and rocks.  Although the scenery isn’t great, the workout is amazing.  I did it with some friends who stayed with me part of the way, which was nice, but I think it’s a trail best done solo, with just you and your iPod to keep you going.  The trail is pretty narrow and doesn’t really lend itself to conversations.

With that in mind, today has made me want to do some more hiking, maybe not as extreme as the grind, but just to break away from the norm of getting my exercise from playing soccer twice a week, which is getting a bit repetitive.  I feel a bit guilty some times for living so close to so many outdoor activity possibilities and never really taking advantage of them.

Let me know of any good trails you know!

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