Hiking

So people hike regularly here in Switzerland.
People who know me well realize that I not a very outdoorsy person.
They need to know that on my third day here, I ventured out behind my apartment into the forest and hiked for an hour on my own. Not following any major paths, but wandering through random areas. I know, I live on the edge.
I was hoping to reach a look out point (I live on a mountain) after hiking up so that I would get a great view of the town below and of the lake and the alps in the distance. That never happened. Apparently there isn't a lookout point. So I just kept hiking for the "fun" of it. It wasn't too bad I guess. Sorta steep and since it had rained that morning, it was a little slippery (I don't own any hiking shoes, just regular sneaks).
One interesting thing I can across during my adventure in the forest was an exercise station (I passed another one on my way down - a different route). It was two bars parallel to the ground that you could hang and do chin ups on. There was a sign beside it telling you what exercises were recommended, how and how long to do them for. I found this interesting because I remember seeing things like this in Toronto. Since I don't hike myself, I don't remember what the occasion was, but I'm sure they exist.

Two days ago, I returned from the half of the orientation trip with the students from my school that I was scheduled for. During the trip, we went hiking in Locarno. It was a 4 hour hike. Can you believe it? And I'm not a slow walker. We did stop for lunch for about half and hour though. So maybe I should say a 3.5 hour hike. The "difficulty" wasn't too bad. Some parts were a little tough on the quads, but for the most part is was downhill, so my knees became a little sore. The greatest part of the hike was the fact that while we were hiking in the forest, the river was right beside us. You had to remember to look up every so often (looking down to watch your footing) to take in the scenery. It was unreal. Mountains covered with lush forests. Little huts and monasteries hidden amongst the trees. Huge rocks in the river. Waterfalls. Beautiful. My favorite part was stopping for lunch. The person I hiked with (you could go at your own pace) and I detoured down off the path onto the rocks by the water. I became a kid again and started wandering. I jumped and hoisted myself from rock to rock (they were huge!). It was great because the boulders were so big and close that you could manouver yourself to a rock in the middle of the river and be surrounded by the rushing water and look up at the beautiful sky and the scenery all around. At that point, I wished I wasn't with the group so that I could wander some more and play all day. Another thing I did was make a rock pile. I'm not sure what they're called, but the little tower things that people leave to show that they were there. I tried to make one as close to the middle of the river and in a sort of unique area so that people would notice it. I have faith that people will respect my creation and won't knock it over on purpose. So I've left my mark in Switzerland.

Sidebar: I wish I could attach pictures to this. They would help illustrate my stories, because my words just don't do my adventures justice.

This coming monday, we're going hiking again. This one is supposed to be really long and tough. So much so that we get a fondue at the end to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing the hike.