We had just suffered through a long day of classes while juggling homework, clubs/organizations, and finding time to fit in some lunch; we were beyond exhausted. As we all convened at our usual table in the cafeteria to talk about our daily happenings an idea was brought to life, "let's go hiking, guys!"

Why not?

So, that's how the whole adventure began, at a cafeteria table in the middle of the dining commons at The University of Virginia's College at Wise. The sun was just starting to set, the temperature was a decent 60 degrees, and there were no bugs to bother us. We all piled into a car and were on our way to High Knob.

High Knob is considered 'the highest point' and, once at the top, you can see four different states (West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina), all from one spot. This was no problem, the car ride was fun as we all were listening to the latest in rap, hip-hop, and R&B thanks to the Chubby Twin who sat in the passenger seat.

Once at the top we discovered that no one from the small group of five friends knew what states were which; much like anatomy textbooks (which offer color coded versions of your insides) and what your insides actually look like (all red all over), everything seemed to look the same. This led to a very awkward interaction between another visitor and the aforementioned Chubby Twin.

After getting some selfies at Virginia's highest point, we were off. The "hike" back to the car was a breeze since it was all downhill and the path wound around the top of the High Knob tower; so, while circling the tower, we were offered a 360 degree view of everything down below. We all piled into the car and were on to destination number two: the reservoir.

The reservoir on this mountain was gorgeous and offered up some beautiful scenery. Families were fishing, people were kayaking, and the squad was arguing because the 'heat' and the exhaustion from having to hike down the very steep hill to get to the reservoir was finally getting to us. The aforementioned Chubby Twin found his next victim, this time a member of the squad, Mochahontas.

The two argued from the time we got to the reservoir until the time we got back up the very steep hill which we have come to call "death valley." Bun & Glasses and I decided that it would be a good idea to sprint up death valley. When we got to the top, we discovered that this probably wasn't the best idea since we were both coughing up our lungs. After what seemed like an eternity, the other members of the squad got back to the top, this time we piled into the car and made our way to our final destination: Flag Rock.

Getting to the parking lot at Flag Rock was no problem, whatsoever. This seems to be a recurring theme: everything is easy for a little while until we get closer to what we want to accomplish. We got to see the Woodbooger statue, some of the squad took pictures with it, one of the squad members twerked on it, and we were all having a good time. We walked over the tiny suspension bridge that creaked under us in order to see the flag at the top of Flag Rock. We then had the courageous decision to try and get to the flag.

Let me just start by saying that getting to the flag did not happen at all. We were nowhere close to getting to the rock as this involved very dangerous ledges and cliffs; it was definitely not happening. The caves that we would have had to climb through and the sides of mountains that we would have had to shimmy up were definitely not happening since the squad was not in-shape by any means.

So, on our way back to the car, we decided to recount on what happened since arriving at High Knob, including spotting a venomous snake and the Chubby Twin falling on his back while trying to make his way to Flag Rock. Yet, through this all, we came out knowing who the more brave people out of the group was (and in case you all were wondering, it was not me).

It was a good thing that we didn't try and journey out to the flag, because we came to find out that it was illegal and could have resulted in us getting a fine. Still, throughout the entire adventure, I got to spend some time with my friends, so even if the trip was pure torture and I had blisters on my heels from walking in the wrong shoes, I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

So that is how it all happened: one squad's story of conquering the great outdoors.

... Kind of.