What the hike?

Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me. The long-ish walks I take around the neighborhood for exercise often pass through a long, narrow overlook park called Fairview Park, which basically has one long, winding one-way street with ascending hills on one side and descending hills (and a sidewalk) on the other for most of its length. Not long ago, they put up a map of the park near one of the entrances, and I noticed that it denoted a hiking trail zigzagging up the hill and connecting to the street above. Not long ago, I spotted a woman walking her dog into the trail’s entrance, so I finally knew where it was (it’s hidden behind trees from the direction I usually approach it), but I didn’t feel like chancing it then (or walking behind a dog on a narrow trail, just in case). On this morning’s walk, though, I finally decided to chance it. At first, I planned to just go a little way in, see how it looked, and maybe turn back. But I quickly realized that I was more or less committed,…