![\"Hiking](\"http:\/\/www.hobo-nation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/19.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAbout 5 hours later our small band of 9 began hiking the lost coast trail. We hiked about 10 miles up and down the lush mountain side trails that Friday and then set up camp at a secluded beach called Little\u00a0Jackass\u00a0in the evening;\u00a0we were\u00a0literally\u00a0sleeping about 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous! Rob and I talked a little more that day, but not a ton.<\/p>\n
Saturday morning Rob\u2019s cousin Justin and friend Layne had decided they were going to get an earlier start on the trail\u00a0than the rest of the group\u00a0and invited Rob and I to\u00a0come along. I thought it would be fun to hike with these guys because I had gotten to know them a little on Friday and wanted to get to know them better.\u00a0They were fun to be around and easy to talk to.\u00a0Justin and Layne left before Rob and I had finished packing up our things\u00a0(strategic planning on Justin\u2019s part), so we had to make up a little time to catch up to them after we left camp.\u00a0There was a very steep\u00a0hill\u00a0with\u00a0what seemed like never ending\u00a0switchbacks\u00a0climbing about 1250 vertical feet\u00a0right outside of\u00a0Little Jack\u00a0Ass beach.\u00a0Rob and I moved steadily up this arduous 1 mile climb, attempting to make conversation on our\u00a0frequent\u00a0short breaks, but we were so out of breath, we needed every break just to catch our breath! Rob didn\u2019t seem to be struggling to catch his breath as much as I was, so not wanting to look out of shape, I tried not to breathe very loudly as we ascended, but that\u00a0was almost impossible to do. I finally gave up trying to quiet my breathing\u00a0when I started getting light headed,\u00a0and would wait to respond to his questions until we took\u00a0breaks to rest.\u00a0It was a good experience to have with him, because even something small like that taught me about his personality and his character. He was very relaxed, easy-going, and patient as we made our way slowly up the switchbacks. We\u00a0got to know each other better\u00a0as we struggled to ascend to the top of this beast of a mountain.\u00a0I think you learn\u00a0more about people on a very\u00a0personal level\u00a0more\u00a0quickly out on the trail than you do in any other way.\u00a0It let me see Rob in a very personal and positive light. I liked what I saw. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n That night,\u00a0Justin, Rob,\u00a0and I took the opportunity to star gaze up on a small ridge right by the Ocean at our new campsite\u00a0in\u00a0Bear Harbor. The stars were stunning!\u00a0We stayed up for a while visiting, laughing about things that had happened during the course of the day, and\u00a0taking in the gorgeous scene around us.<\/p>\n We had hike about 9 miles Saturday. Rob and Justin slept in their hammocks each night. They had to find trees that were strong enough and the right distance apart in order to\u00a0hang them and for them to support their weight throughout the night.\u00a0\u00a0I was sharing a tent with my friend. After a long day of hiking, even though our campsites were really windy, being only about 150 feet from the Ocean, we all slept well that night.<\/p>\n Sunday morning we packed up and headed out, last day on the trail. The last 3 miles were pretty mild terrain\u00a0compared to the two days previous. We were hiking on trail or road the entire way out. It was more a leisure Sunday morning walk. Our packs were no longer as\u00a0heavy because we had eaten most of our food by that point. Rob had slowed down some and waited for me behind the group a little bit. I was lagging behind because I kept stopping to take pictures and to watch the Ocean for whales. We hiked together the majority of those 3 miles. He was so easy to talk to, easy to be myself around. I enjoyed his company.<\/p>\n When we got to Taylor’s truck, we counted the miles and realized we had hiked 22 miles over those 3 days!\u00a0It truly was an amazing experience; absolutely gorgeous location, great hike,\u00a0and awesome people.\u00a0Those that could fit piled into Taylor’s truck and then the rest of us (Justin, Layne, Rob, and I) crawled into the back of the truck with everyone’s gear. After hiking,\u00a0sweating, and\u00a0not showering for three days, I’m pretty sure we go the upper hand sitting in the back rather than in an\u00a0enclosed\u00a0space with all of those bodies! Sitting in the back, we didn’t even notice our own body odor\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n After driving for about 2 hours, my hair something to de desired, and faces\u00a0chapped from wind burn, we stopped at a little corner store near where the other car was parked. A few of us stayed at the store while the rest of the gang drove to get the other car; about another hour or so drive round trip. Rob and Justin brought their hammocks of course and found a great spot behind the store in the trees to hang their hammocks. I went back behind the store to see their sweet little set up and to try out the hammocks for myself. I had never seen or laid in a nylon\u00a0hammock before. Rob had gone to the bathroom so I laid down in his hammock to see how comfortable it was for myself. It was super comfy! I was ready for a nap after that. When I saw that Rob had come back from the bathroom, I sat up quickly and got ready to move out of his way so he could lie down; but before I could get out, he looked at me and said assuredly, “there’s room for two.”\u00a0I was pleasantly surprised by his invitation. He came over and sat down next to me\u00a0and we laid down, his arm behind my neck, our bodies only slightly touching. I felt my heart\u00a0flutter\u00a0a little.\u00a0As we got comfortable\u00a0in his little hammock,\u00a0a slight breeze blowing, the hammock slowly rocking\u00a0in the wind,\u00a0our heads leaded against one another\u00a0and\u00a0we fell asleep together. I felt safe.\u00a0Best nap I had ever had.\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n That night we drove part of the way back to Salk Lake and stayed at a campsite near\u00a0Lake Spaulding. We got in pretty late so we set up our tents in the dark, using only\u00a0a few headlamps. Although it was dark, we could tell\u00a0it was a beautiful area. Tons of tall trees and lots of shade cover. A few of us gathered wood and we had a small fire before going to bed. I invited whoever wanted to\u00a0wake up early Monday morning with me to go on\u00a0a short sunrise hike for Labor Day. It is a family tradition of mine that I had been doing with friends since I moved out on my own and I wanted to carry it on. Justin and Rob were all for it! Rob set his alarm for 6am.<\/p>\n The next morning Rob woke me up by moving the tent and waiting for movement. I put my shoes on and crawled out of the tent. I didn\u2019t even have to see myself\u00a0to know how stunningly attractive I was looking, going on 4 days without a shower and no make-up. I looked at Rob as I crawled out of the tent, and his hair was looking almost\u00a0as sexy\u00a0as mine! I was glad\u00a0to be in good company; no pretense, just us being us and enjoying being outside together. Justin had decided not to come on the hike with us, so we headed out on our adventure together, just the two of us.<\/p>\n We thought the lake was a decent distance away, but our hiking\u00a0adventure turned out to be much shorter than anticipated when we discovered that\u00a0the lake\u00a0was\u00a0less than half a mile from our campsite. Rob and I\u00a0meandered\u00a0down the road lined by tall pine trees until we came to the lake. We found a\u00a0thick log\u00a0to sit on and made ourselves comfortable as we waited for the sun to rise. It was so peaceful out by the lake; nobody but us to be seen or heard. Gave us a great chance to talk and get to know each other better. I knew that I was looking and probably not smelling the best, but just the way he looked me in the eyes as we talked, I could see how real, how\u00a0genuine he was. We didn’t even really get to see the sunrise, because of the mountains and the clouds that were covering it, but waking up early and spending that little bit of time together was so worth it in my opinion. The more I talked to Rob, the more interested I became\u00a0in getting to know more of him.<\/p>\n We returned to the group\u00a0and packed up camp. Discussion took place about going out to breakfast on the way back to Salt Lake. Part of the group\u00a0wanted to go out and the other part of the group\u00a0wanted to head straight back without stopping. Justin said he needed to get home, so he and I switched vehicles;\u00a0Rob and I got squished next to each other a few hours into the drive home. I was not complaining about it one bit. \ud83d\ude42 We talked almost the entire 9 hour drive home. He showed me pictures and told me stories about his travels in Asia for hours. I loved every minute of it. I learned so much from hearing his experiences and I wanted to hear more. I had never really wanted to go to China, but after hearing his stories and the seeing pictures of all of the amazing places he visited, I developed a strong interest in China. I would love to go there someday; maybe even live there for a few years. And the fact that he was the one telling me the stories, might have made those countries\u00a0more attractive to me too, just maybe. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n We stopped at a McDonalds in California on our way back. Rob and I both got chocolate dipped cones and they were so delicious! As silly as it is, we bonded over those cones.\u00a0When we arrived at Taylor’s house in Millcreek (Salt Lake), Rob and Layne both got out of the car to help me with my things. Rob helped me to my car with my backpack, making small talk about my Jetta. I was hoping he would ask for my number, but at that point, I really wasn’t sure if he would and there was no way in heck I was going to ask for his number. I knew that if he thought\u00a0I was worth it he would man up and ask for my number. He casually said he had had fun this weekend and that we should go hiking sometime, and then asked for my number. He definitely waited until the very last possible second to ask, but I talking to his family later about the fact that he even\u00a0asked for my number, I was impressed with him, because he rarely ever asked for girls’ phone numbers. I think he saw\u00a0something good in me… or I\u00a0got really really lucky! \ud83d\ude42 Either way, that trip was the beginning to a beautiful relationship.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t hard for me to fall for Rob. I hadn\u2019t been looking for someone to date. I had given the whole idea of dating or getting married to the Lord and moved forward with\u00a0my life. I had been dating for many years, had more heartbreaks than I care to re-count,\u00a0and had come to be happy and accept my life as a single woman with the idea that I would rather be happily single then have to keep enduring heartbreak after heartbreak with the same end result,\u00a0but he came along at just the right time and became the best unexpected friend\u00a0I will ever have.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n