The Joys of Hiking with Friends: A Personal Reflection

May 24, 2025May 24, 2025 Shirleyjdietz1 Comment

I’m not sure why hiking with friends seems like such a novel activity for me. I’ve always liked hiking, and taking walks with people but it didn’t used to happen very often. Now that I am retired, on my own, and motivated to stay active it’s different. It’s more frequent, of course, but it’s also more vital. It serves so many purposes.

I’m reflecting on this topic as I’m wrapping up posts on the Door County hike. One night at dinner I had to tell our group that I appreciated them. I appreciated all the planning that went into making the trip a success. I didn’t have to do any of it, and that was a new vacation experience for me. I appreciated visiting a new and interesting place and not having to do it alone. I appreciated the length of time we spent, the many conversations, the shared interests in nature and hiking (and eating…). I appreciated having women friends who were willing to spend time, effort and money having fun together. I appreciated that we were all healthy enough to walk a few miles at a time without complaining. It was great. I wanted them to know it was a blessing to be with them.

Every new hike, out would come Sue’s selfie stick

And then I started thinking about all the other times walking filled a need. Needs for friendship, family connection, inspiration, comfort, and relaxation can all easily be met through a walk with a friend. Walking and talking go together so naturally. The pace can be adjusted for reflection. Periods of silence are comfortable (especially when climbing hills). And since I usually walk in quiet places, I’m not struggling to hear conversation. I can concentrate on my hiking partner.

I can’t ignore how wonderful hiking is for my physical health either. I would even hike alone for that reason, but it’s more certain to happen with friends. On the days when I get my 10,000 or more steps in, I sleep better, think better, and worry less. I wish everyone could walk a distance, and I feel sorry for those who can’t.

The five women who went on the Door County weekend with me are members of the Birkie Girls hiking group. The group is much larger, with a variety of ages, stages of life and physical abilities. They meet every Tuesday at 10 am for a hike somewhere chosen by the planners for the month. Two hours is allowed for hiking. By noon they are usually at a restaurant for lunch, or doing the bag lunch thing. Fellowship is a big part of the plan. The special trips farther away are open to all, but only happen a couple times a year.

I have other friends who love to get together to be active. Among them is my friend Gwen who hiked the Birkie Trail with me a couple years ago. I’ve started hiking it again with another friend, Elizabeth. Truth is, I’m always thinking of people I’d like to invite to hike with me – people I’d like to get to know better. Hiking with friends is so worthwhile. I have to say, it is one of my greatest joys.

Door County Vacation

May 20, 2025 Shirleyjdietz2 Comments

Yes, I get to take a vacation. It means I get to travel someplace of my choice, for the express purpose of seeing a place I have not seen before, not staying with relatives and on a budget that is predetermined and saved for. It’s so nice.

Door County is in my home state, Wisconsin, but on the opposite side from where I live. I’m still getting the geography straight, but in general I know that it’s on a peninsula with Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other.

It took us over 6 hours to travel here from Hayward. We started at 9 and stopped for lunch at Rib Mountain State Park. The sign at Rib Mountain said it was the highest point in Wisconsin – 1940 ft. above sea level. That doesn’t seem very high, but at the top of the observation tower the view was WOW! This was in spite of the rain, and the wind gusting to 40 mph every now and then. I say lunch, but what I mean was that I ate an avocado and a yellow bell pepper, in the car in the parking lot. We did stop at Starbucks at the bottom of the mountain. We needed to warm up. It’s cold, in the 50’s, uncharacteristic of this time of year.

I am traveling with my friend Lisa, and four other hiking buddies from the Birkie Girls Hiking Group. We are in three cars, trying to keep each other in sight on the road, and not get too separated .

This dog statue was at the distillery, I don’t know why. I didn’t have permission yet to post pics of my friends, so you get the dog instead.

Further up the road we stopped in at Door County Distillery, which is famous for beverages made with cherries, or maybe just tasting like cherries. The countryside here is full of wineries and distilleries and restaurants that serve local fare. Since the big lake is here all around us there is a nautical feel about the place. Lots of fish themed places, seagulls sitting in the fields, and boat decor.

We arrived in Ephraim around 4 pm and checked into Pine Grove Resort just in time for chocolate chip cookies, cheese and crackers and wine in the front lobby. They are generous and the rooms are very nice. We have a small balcony with a view of the bay.

After a brief conclave in our leader’s room, we set out for a nearby eating place in Sister’s Bay. It was recommended by our hotel manager as being reasonably priced and well liked by locals. Sisters Bay Bowl had a small bowling alley with half a dozen lanes. No one was bowling but the restaurant was full, as was the bar.

My steak meal. The waiter was nice and I gave him a good tip.

We had a great meal, with pleasant, friendly service. I think everyone liked their food. We were hungry. Lisa and I split a piece of cherry pie with ice cream. I have made a goal of having something with cherries in it every day because this is cherry country if nothing else. The cherry trees do have blossoms on them even though it feels like winter here.

Back to our rooms for a few minutes of watching news before bed. I was hoping for a better weather report for tomorrow, but no. It will still be cold and wet, but we are here to hike – outside if possible, inside galleries and shops if not.

More tomorrow.

August 6, 2024 Tuesday Teeth

August 6, 2024August 6, 2024 Shirleyjdietz1 Comment

Tuesday is hiking day for my new bunch of friends, the Birkie Girls. Today’s instructions were to meet in the Walmart parking lot at 9:20 am to car pool to the trailhead some 20 miles away. I was there early, because Walmart is in my backyard. Of course, I walked – still no car. When no one showed up I started wondering if I had the wrong day, or the wrong time, but no. The email was clear. Apparently no one needed to car pool, and I hadn’t communicated that I needed a ride this time. So, no hike for me. Not to worry though. It’s evening now and I’ve gotten my 10,000 steps in doing gardening, and walking to the dentist.

This was the long awaited day to get the veneers on my top middle teeth. I have nothing good to say about the temporary set that I’ve had for two weeks. It was like my childhood nightmare of my teeth being loose and falling out come true. They were plastic and not very toothlike, hard to clean, and had to be re-glued once. The second time they fell out was yesterday so I put them back in and didn’t chew anything until my appointment this afternoon. The permanent ones are on now, and what a process. It must be very good glue that they use because it took a good hour to clean the residue out, and now my gums are sore. But they will heal. My teeth look and feel normal again and I am glad to be done with it. I have spent way too much time in the dentist chair in the last month or so.

Now if I could just refurbish the rest of me…

I feel like teeth are important or I wouldn’t have gone through all this repair and refurbishment. I’ve seen too many unhealthy mouths, especially on the elderly, and I just don’t want those problems as I continue to age.

I’m struggling with a gardening issue. I want to have a better perennial garden in the corner of the yard, but the deer keep eating the lillies. There’s a lot of Sweet William and Oregano there already but grass and weeds are prominent. A lot of the weeds are invasive species and have to go. Invasive weeds are a metaphor for a lot of what goes on in life…

I am serious about fixing these problems because I want it to be a memorial garden. It’s a garden that Mom started and has always loved and I want to keep it going for her. I also want to put the husband’s ashes somewhere in that space.