Does anyone else love hiking/walking as much as I do?

I'm addicted. I love hiking and walking. I've been walking an average of 4 miles every day since it started to get warm in the spring. There's a park nearby which is more like a forest. One lap around the lake (and paved trail) is 1 mile. However, I find it boring to do the same ole path every day. I started to explore the other trails and found 2 other bridges (long and narrow old bridges) that run through a swampy area with lots of trees. I also found a couple of trails through the trees which don't end up in swamp so it's safe to walk. Blackberries grow like crazy around this area of Washington and sometimes I will stop to graze, I can't help myself. They will rot on the vine because hardly anyone walks off the paved area of the park.

The only drawback - I have to carry pepper spray. I've heard rumors and I've seen some interesting people lurking the area. I've never had trouble with them, especially since the pepper spray is velcroed to my hand and is visible.

I did get quite a scare today, though. I was out for an early morning walk and a dog (leashed) was out in the woods with the owner. It must not have liked me because it lunged forward and barked like it wanted to rip my throat out. I was ready to use the pepper spray if I needed to, fortunately the owner had a good handle on the dog.

I'm going to miss walking when the daylight shortens. Back to Tae-Bo, I guess........