Would this be considered a "hike"?

“Ok. I map-quested where I started from, to the place i ended at (home), and it came up with a different route than what i took. Map-quest sez my "trip" (had I been driving) would've taken me about 30 minutes (4 HOURS later... I started at 4:30pm, got home at 9:30pm). according to m-q, i "hiked" 17 miles. BUT, it didn't go the actual route I took! Now, mind you, I was in the city, walking home from a mall. my best guess-tamite... would be that i "hiked" closer to 20 miles total. How I ended up walking that distance is a whole different story.

In any event... my aching feet say I HIKED home today. No gear, no water, no stopping, no help, ..... no kidding!

So... does this qualify as a bonified HIKE..... or what?”

“You're whining.....”

“no, sorry...you're disqualified, you must leave the tribal counsel immediately....”

“all your base are belong to us”

“weeeellllll....... you can't blame a person for TRYING!

;-)

Oh.. and it was 5 HOURS later... at that hour of the night... I could barely walk, let alone ADD! LOL!”

“I'm not buying that you walked 4 miles an hour for 5 consecutive hours. I say ur mileage is wrong. Walking that pace is really hard unless its all flat or downhill or on a treadmill.”

“what i think is....hey who let the three-headed duck in?”

“Actually... i'm pretty experienced... to a point. i won't go "head to head" with someone who has hiked UP and DOWN mountains! remember ... in my first post, i said I was in the city. So, even though I had SOME inclines here and there,... they were NOTHING to what I'm used to on the trail. (Luckily, I never got that "winded", either.) That's why I was walking it pretty fast. Had a man walk with me for a while, ... (he was trying to bum a cig... but I don't smoke!), and after about 3 blocks, he dropped back, saying I walk too fast! LOL! Yes, I DID walk 20 miles in 5 hours. I even went BACK to where i was with my CAR and clocked the route I took. 20.02 is what it read when I got into my driveway. No shortcuts were taken.. just a lot of willpower and determination. I'm not an expert hiker by any means, but considering the fact that I was my ONLY way of getting myself home that night, I did what I had to do!

Even if this particular "hike" ISN'T something you all would consider a "bonified hike"... I still consider it quite an accomplishment for myself. No one can mar or take that good feeling away from me.”

“cool deal, keep up the ultra-paced fun.”