My Mountain Goat Niece · 1 August 2026
One of my nieces, Valentina, must be part mountain goat.
Now, I am not going to talk about genetics here or anything like that. After all, it would be absurd to think that one of my niece’s parents is actuallhy a mountain goat. No. I just want to talk about her ability to walk and run.
My brother and his daughters were visiting last week. We had a great time with them all. We ate and had fun and ate a lot more and had a lot more fun. Like I said, it was a great time together. But Valentina had work to do too. She had to keep up her training. She had to run. So naturally, I ran with her. One day. Thankfully, we only ran one day.
Valentina was supposed to run five miles on their first full day with us. So I told her that I would run with her, even though it might not be the whole way. We got up early and ran a while. Then I told her to run ahead to the top of a hill that we could not see yet. I walked a bit more, then waited for her to run back to me. Then, we ran some more and I had her run down a street to the end where there was a cul-de-sac a quarter mile down. I waited at the end of the street for her to return. Then, when we got back to the house, I told her that the loop around the house (which we had run in segments) was just under a mile. So I told her to run it one more time to get at least close to her five-mile target. She did and made her target. (It turned out that I ran about half of it. But that is a different story.)
Now running at the same pace forever does not make somebody a mountain goat. In fact, it was merely a preview of how much of a mountain goat Valentina really is.
The next day, we had planned on going on a hike. It turned out that not everybody went on the hike to Wallace Falls, but four of us did. Now, if you want to take an easy hike in Western Washington, pick somewhere other than Wallace Falls. (I had done it before, but did not remember it being so rigorous.) It is about three miles straight up to get to the top of the falls. Do not get me wrong, it is a wonderful view. (Actually, many wonderful views.) But the price of admission is steep. Very steep. (Please pardon the pun.) Well, my niece wanted to continue the hike to Wallace Lake. Her sister did not. And she probably saved my brother. (Which is another completely different story.) So Valentina and I continued our walk. Thankfully, it was mostly flat to the lake.
Getting to the lake was a bit anticlimactic. Oh sure, it was a nice lake, but there was not really much access to the shore. And the shore we did access was muddy. I, for one, do not need to see Wallace Lake again. Too much work to just see a lake and not really enjoy it. Still, we had lunch at the lake. (There was a picnic table.) Then, we walked back to the parking lot. Which was still a long way off. Longer than I thought. Much longer.
I forgot to mention that the day we hiked up to Wallace Falls and Wallace Lake might have been the hottest day ever. Okay. Probably not ever, but it was surely in the nineties during the hottest part of the day when we were in the sun. Not really your optimal hiking weather. Fortunately, we had the shade of the trees for most of the hike. Unfortunately, going downhill was hard on my body. Especially my feet. (Whoever thought that 5/8 minus rock for trails is a good thing does not know any barefoot or minimalist walkers or runners. Which is still another completely different story.)
Well, you have probably guessed that Valentina had no problems at any point in the hike. She bounded up the hill. She walked at a steady pace on the flats. She waited patiently for me on the downhill plod. I do not know if her respiration or heart rate ever increased during the whole trip. She just kept walking. No matter the terrain. No matter the steepness. No matter what. She just kept walking. Like I imagined a mountain goat would traverse the terrain. No thoughts of it being tough at all. Just walk. And walk. And walk.
Well, the end of the story is that we did make it. (Obviously.) We did not really know that it would be over a six-hour hike. Nor did we really think that we would walk the equivalent of a half marathon. (The other two hiked just over half that distance. Straight up and straight down.)
While I know that round is a shape, I will remember that I need to be in much better shape next time my niece comes to town and wants to go running or walking. And no, I will not tell her to go take a hike. I will go with her. Even if I know that I will still not be able to keep up with Valentina, my mountain goat niece.
© 2026 Michael T. Miyoshi
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