I used to hate to walk.

I always figured if the Good Lord had intended for us to walk, he wouldn't have given us the '69 Camaro. If I walked somewhere, it was because my car had broken down or there weren't any roads.

<em>"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!"</em>

Sorry, I was channeling Doc Brown there for a second or two. I think you get the point. I didn't like walking, and dressing it up by calling it hiking or power walking didn't make it any more attractive to me.

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Beginning and finish line"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-009.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-471" title="Texas 009" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-009-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>[/caption]

But all that has changed here in South Texas.

I have been hiking nearly every day, and my hikes are getting longer. Whether it's my back or whatever other possible reason, I'm still having trouble with hikes that require a lot of climbing and/or descending.

So I've mapped out my own daily hike along the road into Hill Country State Natural Area. The route I have been doing is about four miles, but after today's hike, I measured and expanded it with my car so that the next time I do it, it will be about 5 1/4 miles.

I start in from the main gate, and as you can see, there is a small descent. And since what goes down must come up -- not always true, but here it is -- it means that the toughest part for me is right at the end, where for the last several hundred yards, I find myself walking up a small incline.

<!--more-->I walk down the road and into the park, and when I reach the halfway point, it's marked off by a gate at the end of this particular trail.

[caption id="attachment_472" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The halfway point ..."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-012.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-472" title="Texas 012" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-012-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>[/caption]

That's where I stop for a few seconds, take out my water bottle and drink. I usually feel at this point like pouring some of the water over my head, but I'm a little reluctant to do that since I might short out my earphones that have been feeding the best of my iPod to me and keeping me going.

The iPod is one of three non-hike-related items I always carry with me. I've got it loaded with music and comedy routines, as well as six or seven audio books, so that I can listen to whatever I want.

I actually don't choose. I set it on Shuffle, and I promise myself I'm going to listen to whatever comes up. That often means the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is followed by Dave Attell making dick jokes and then something from the soundtrack of "Miss Saigon."

Yes, I even have some show tunes on my iPod.

When I'm about a third of the way back -- two thirds of the way through my hike when it's four miles -- I stop and take my only real break.

[caption id="attachment_473" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Time for a break"]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-011.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-473" title="Texas 011" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Texas-011-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" /></a>[/caption]

Bandera Creek is a really nice place to sit for a few minutes and eat my mid-morning snack, which usually consists of either a low-far cheese stick or some sort of energy bar.

Today it was a Clif mini-bar, crunchy peanut butter, 100 calories. I sat there for 10 minutes and made it last as long as a three-course meal. It's amazing how much more enjoyment can be gained from food when you eat it slowly and take very small bites.

Creekside is where the other two things I always bring along on my hikes usually come into play. My little Moleskine notebook, which I labeled "Truths: Volume 1," always comes out of my pocket at this point, and I jot down the thoughts that have been coming to me all through the hike.

That's the best part of it. Even though my iPod is supplying a soundtrack directly into my head, being out in nature and not talking at all seems to open my mind to inspiration. The notebook gives me a chance to make sure I write it all down.

Some days I use my third item, but I didn't today. It's my pocket size digital voice recorder, on which I've been making the twice-daily <a title="One Voice podcasts" href="http://www.onevoice.libsyn.com" target="_self">podcasts</a> I have been posting at Liberated Syndication. The one-minute "A Minute With Mike" podcasts and the five-minute "Carpe Diem" ones aren't always made there, but they are usually inspired by some of the thoughts I jot down as I sit by the creek and watch the water run.

Then I get up and complete my walk, which between four miles and the break has been coming in at about an hour and 40 minutes. Once I add that extra 1 1/4 miles, it'll go past two hours.

I'm starting to realize it's the most essential two hours of the day for me, both here Deep in the Heart or wherever I will be spending the rest of my life.