Last weekend, I went hiking for the first time in two months. My time away from the trail wasn't due to waning interest in hiking, but growing discomfort in my hip and lower back.

When I saw the doctor six weeks ago, he said my problems were caused by excessive sitting at work. I nearly fell off the exam bed in laughter at that diagnosis, but then he gave me literature with illustrated stretching exercises for me to do at home, and I could tell he was serious.

I asked if it would be okay to hike and he said that as long as it didn't aggravate anything, hiking would be fine. His answer seemed to be a green light when I left his office, but by the time I got home, it had changed to yellow, shaded by my tendency to avoid risk. The result of my doubt was nearly two months of not hiking. Two long, depressing months.

What finally got me back on the trail was M. She called me on my moping and made me face my restlessness. "I'm not restless," I said. "Yes, you are," she replied. "You're just too busy moping to see it, so pick a park. We're going for a hike."

Once I got over myself, I chose Calero County Park because it was the park of least resistance -- only fifteen minutes away, with low degree of difficulty trails. It had also been a while since our last visit.

We did the short 3.6-mile loop we had done last year, around this time. As soon as we were on the trail, I began to feel better. No more moping. No more restlessness. Any fears I had about my back and hip were forgotten after the first few steps.

Of course, they were replaced with self-flagellation. How could I have been so afraid? Why was I so stupid? Why had I waited so long? Fortunately, after a few more steps, those thoughts faded, too, as I lost myself in the scenery.

When we got home, it hit me how much I had missed hiking and how good it felt to be back on the trail, even if only for a few hours.

Related links:

• A few more photos from the hike on Flickr,
  
  
• A longer hike I did through Calero in January,
  
  
• Two-Heel Drive's column about the park,
  
  
• Information about the park on Bay Area Hiker.