We weren’t even halfway to the camp and I was already regretting saying yes to this trip. I hate the outdoors, I hate the wilderness, I hate bugs. Camping is not my thing, but my friends talked me into it anyway.

A few hours later, we pulled up to a cozy looking cabin. I breathed a shy of relief, realizing I didn’t actually have to sleep in a tent. We unpacked our stuff and changed.

Of course hiking was the first activity we did. I pulled up my boots, trying to think of an excuse not to go. As I finished tying my laces, one of my friends grabbed my arm and dragged me outside with everyone else. So much for getting out of it. I braced myself as we started walking through a path in the woods.

After a few minutes, I began to notice birds in the trees, and beautiful plants I had never seen before. Everything was peaceful and quiet, and the trail itself wasn’t that bad. It was mostly smooth and flat, and it was clear that someone kept the foliage trimmed back so the path would stay clear.

“The trail gets a little rough up here, you guys,” shouted the leader of our little group. “It’s a bit of a steep climb, but we should be able to see the waterfall when we get to the top.”

Waterfall? I didn’t realize that was on the itinerary. I pushed ahead with the group, curiosity overriding my desire to rest my fatigued legs. We came to a root tangled, stair shaped path. It looked like a jungle gym, and I started to get a little excited thinking about trying to climb it.

You know, maybe camping wasn’t going to be that bad after all.