Semantics

Hey Nina - Thanks for the white fuzzy gripper socks. What a useful gift. Just thought you should know.


Adorable Swiss child overlooking Lake Luzern.


The parade of cows coming home from a hard day grazing up on some sort of Swiss plain in Mürren. Höly Cöw! (I know, the keyboard humor....)


Don't let his disdain for Norfolk,VA-based Peta foll you, Glenn is a real animal lover, a real Swiss Dr. Doolittle. These cows were very friendly along our hike to Kleinne Schediegg yesterday. (For more on the "hike" read below)


About half way up to the top of the hike.


Let's get honest about what we call 'hiking.' I now know why some yahoo came up with the term"hike." It was to fool the gullible masses into participation in the outdoors. I mean, if someone asked you, "Hey, wanna go outside and walk slowly, and somewhat painfully uphill for 4 hours?" what would your reply be? But some cool-looking, perhaps bearded, young guy with some carabeeners and a nalgene pops his head in and says: "WAnna go hiking?" and suddenly you are considering it, maybe even thinking it's a good idea. Semantics people, semantics.

I looked up "hike" on dictionary.com and this is what I found: 1.to walk or march a great distance, esp. through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like.
I'd like to offer another definition in layman's terms: "slow-going, often painstaking uphill walking out-of-doors." Now instead of telling someone who is annoying me to take a hike, I'll REALLY stick it to 'em with "Yeah well go take a grueling 4 hour walk uphill, OK?"

All kidding aside - this hike was pretty incredible. We covered a lot of ground... started down in this valley and made it up REAl high. It was alwesome. Glenn said, "Hey, we're hiking in the alps." So crazy.