A hiking story: what to pack for your next weekend hike

Going to a school that is surrounded by mountains certainly has its perks.

Besides the beautiful view (distraction) from the classroom windows and the picturesque sunsets/rises, our mountainous terrain sure does make for some great weekend hiking trips. The best part? My roomie, Lauren, loves to hike too and is always up for a Sunday morning adventure.

This past weekend, the weather was more than perfect (70s and sunny)... it was basically asking for us to hit the trails. So, we did. Lauren and I packed our backpacks and drove out to the mountains.

We were hoping to squeeze in a nice five miler before coming back to the apartment to begin working on school work. Some would say we were escaping reality... and we were.

After spending nearly half an hour trying to find the trailhead, we should've reconsidered our hike then and there. This was a sign. But, we were determined and still itching for a taste of some great outdoors. Finally, we found a trail. Whether it was the one we were looking for or not, we may never know. Anxious to just start moving, we hopped out of the car and began our trek.

About five minutes in, we hit sign number two - a creepy, abandoned campsite.

Okay, it wasn't too creepy, but once you've seen a few NCIS episodes, it's easy for anything unusual to trigger your imagination. Still, we wanted to hike.

Around one mile in, we lost the trail. Literally don't know where it went. There were no more markings or notable walking paths, and we found ourselves climbing over massive fallen trees. This was sign number three - three strikes and we were out!

Though it may sound like it was, our hike wasn't a complete fail. We got to spend time exploring outside, chat about life, create intense videos and breathe some fresh air! Nothing beats that, right?! Personally, I can't wait to see what our next trip has in-store for us.