Earth Day Hike

This past week, my sorority got together to celebrate Earth Day the right way– outside.  We got a group of girls and some dogs together and drove over to the South Mountain Reservation.  Together we hiked to the water fall and spent the beautiful day in the sun.  This was a great way to not only get some exercise for me and my dog, but also to take a mental break from South Orange and Seton Hall.

One of my favorite things about hiking is bringing my dog.  I never really taught him how to walk on a leash, but he knows how to walk off leash in the woods really well.  He does this thing where he wants to lead, but he also likes to check in with me. This makes for an interesting walk because he’ll run ahead and then run to me and then run ahead and run back over and over again as we walk through the trees.  He’s clearly beyond happy to be outside and he’s getting double the exercise I am (which is good because considering his energy level, he could use it).

Another great reason to hike, other than the exercise is the mental break from life.  Spending the day outside and not worrying about homework and stresses that are usually ever-present gave us a nice recharge before going back to study for finals.

And finally, hiking usually ends with a beautiful view of nature, so if the exercise and the stress relief isn’t motivation enough, go for the water falls and the views.

Seeing that our hike took place in South Orange, it was obviously not very rigorous, but definitely worth an afternoon to get away and take a walk through the woods when you don’t have too much time to drive anywhere far.