I faked liking Hiking and now i’m deep in the woods… literally and emotionally

r/

I’ve been pretending to love hiking for YEARS, and now I’m in way too deep.

It started as a lie to impress a guy, and now I’m halfway to becoming Bear Grylls against my will.

So, a few years ago I started dating this guy who was all about “adventure” and “living life to the fullest” (read: he owned a Patagonia jacket and had a carabiner for some reason). On our third date he asked if I liked hiking. I wanted him to like me, so I said, “Oh my god, I love hiking. Nature is my therapy.”

Huge mistake.

We went on a hike that weekend. It was six hours long. My legs almost gave out halfway up the trail and I got bitten by a spider that may or may not have been poisonous. But I smiled through the pain and said things like, “Wow, look at that view,” while secretly trying not to cry.

Now it’s three years later. We’re still dating. I’ve become “the hiking girl” to all his friends. People message me for trail recommendations. I’ve received gifts of hiking socks. I own a water bottle that says “Take a hike” unironically.

The worst part🙂‍↕️I hate hiking. I hate bugs. I hate sweating. I hate being more than ten minutes away from a bathroom.

But I’ve committed so hard that I now lead monthly group hikes for his coworkers. I have a Google spreadsheet for “upcoming summits.” I once pretended to love a view so much I cried (it was just the altitude and dehydration).

Now he wants to do the Inca Trail for our anniversary and I’m Googling “how to fake a knee injury convincingly.”

Please send help.

Comments

  1. Quiet_Sheri Avatar

    I’m kinda in the same situation. My dad thinks I love going on cross country runs with him. But maybe you can fake getting pollen allergies?

  2. Ilaxilil Avatar

    As someone who actually DOES like to hike this would be my absolute dream 😂 I’m sorry you’re stuck in this nightmare though. Maybe there are easier things to fake than a knee injury? And maybe you could make it permanent too, like “oh I used to love hiking but I can’t anymore because….?” Your only other option is being honest but you might be in a little too deep for that 😂

  3. YourLocalMosquito Avatar

    Find a new obsession and give hiking the slow fade.

    It needs to take up the same amount of time though so you can miss one activity in favour of the other!

  4. Accurate_Athlete_182 Avatar

    How could you possibly hold up that huge of a lie? Way too much to deal with! What else have you lied about? Do you really love your bf?

  5. TheBlackSpot_ Avatar

    I cant even imagen how you can go down the rabbit hole like that.. Admittedly Youve gotten yourself deep but maby its time to stand up for yourself?

  6. Ander-son Avatar

    think you have to start a new hobby (that you actually like) and get really invested in it. then let the hiking fade away. also, people change or go through phases. you could just say you don’t enjoy it as much anymore and want to do something else.

    ps this is an insane lie like the guy who told a girl on the first date that he didn’t want some of her shake because he was very allergic to peanut butter. they ended up getting serious, and it became a whole thing he couldn’t back out of.

  7. nagrodamus95 Avatar

    What you’re gonna wanna say is you slipped and your legs pulled apart til you were suddenly doing the splits. You can’t go cause you have a deep tissue groin tear that effecting your lower back. After like 5/10 minutes your hip/back/groin are too sore to continue could be a lifelong affliction. Then hope none of your friends are into physiotherapy.

  8. swordrat720 Avatar

    Just tell him the truth. You told him you loved hiking to spend time with him. You love spending time with him, just not hiking.

  9. Morden013 Avatar

    Sorry, almost died laughing at the story – your description was so vivid, it was like watching a movie.

    Where do we send Search & Rescue services?

  10. Front_Target7908 Avatar

    lol this made me think about one of my favorite TED talks, museum of 4AM

    “Just imagine your friends and family have been told you collect stuffed polar bears and they send them to you.

    Even if you don’t really collect stuffed polar bear, at a certain point you totally collect stuffed polar bears”

    lol so maybe just lean into it?

  11. HeartBeetz Avatar

    I love your dedication to the cause. How a small white lie has literally taken over your life.

    I don’t have any practical suggestions, but thank you for making me smile.

  12. Pizzareno Avatar

    Incoming AITAH for breaking up with my GF of 3 years? She just told me she hates hiking but pretended to love it for the past 3 years. Organised trips for my friends and co-workers and everything! Told me it was her therapy.

  13. ArlenGreen080 Avatar

    Stop faking things😂. Pick up a yoga or obsession or pickleball or something active (that won’t make you sweat or be away from a bathroom as much.) it won’t be a drastic change.

    OR be honest and just tell him you need to step away from hiking a bit for a while.

  14. Want2Cinn Avatar

    I’ve been there! I pretended to love doing early morning swims in the freezing Bay Area ocean and I didn’t do as good of a job as you to convince him. I gave up as soon as I jumped in the water and then shivered while trying to tan on a rocky beach while he finished his laps wearing a speedo & a swim cap. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have much in common because the sex was good but I was just there to have sex with a HOT retired male model and I got what I wanted. SO hats off to you & your incredible endurance and determination and acting. You know you could apply any of those impressive skills to anything you want ! Get into spa meditation for a week then have a moment of “clarity “ but do that for yourself and don’t get sucked into doing something you hate in order to fit in with people you have nothing in common with again, then you could say like ,”yeah, I was into it but I’m burnt out on hiking “and that you are seeking a new hobby during this time. Seems like you know what you don’t like but what do you like to do for hobbies? Now is your time to explore new hobbies with all of your hiking time freed up !

  15. veggietabler Avatar

    Is it really that hard for people to be honest for 2 seconds.

  16. Febreezyofftheheezy Avatar

    Nope. I fell for an A.I post yesterday. NOT TODAY BOTS!! NOT TODAY

  17. LeFreeke Avatar

    Ha! Thanks for sharing. This is hysterical. 🙂

  18. Ok-External-5750 Avatar

    On the plus side, you must be physically fit!

  19. Competitive_Ad_3743 Avatar

    Only a little advice… bravo to you for sticking to it for 3 whole years 😆 🤣

    I get it… for the first year of my relationship I really tried hard to like football….
    The 2nd year I really tried hard to pretend I like football….

    When we got married in a football stadium and I thought nah this is gone too far. So I confessed.
    That was 9 years ago. She still here.

    Be honest with him. If it’s not mentioned to be, you will find someone better.

  20. Neat-Neighborhood595 Avatar

    Please don’t take a knee injury. It’s just another lie you’re going to have to live with

  21. RiffRacoon Avatar

    put a rock in your sock and pretend you sprained your ankle.

  22. Alone_Step_6304 Avatar

    I’m sorry but this is unfortunately really fucking funny

    Godspeed

  23. Not_SoSirius420 Avatar

    Just get preggers that will put a pin in it for like three years… lmfao in all seriousness just let it fade out by finding a different hobby and letting that become your new “craze”

  24. soggycardboardstraws Avatar

    This is hilarious. Tell him you need a tolerance break so you don’t get burnt out from hiking and end up resenting it and him because you just love hiking so much that you have to do this in order to ensure many more years of hiking. If you didn’t love hiking so much, you would just keep hiking blindly and maybe one day end up hating it. But since you love hiking so much, you’re consciously deciding to be proactive and take a break before the burn out strikes. Really the break is for your continued love of hiking and your relationship, i.e., him. If this doesn’t work, tell him it’s a doctor or psychiatrist recommendation.

  25. bagel-cowboy Avatar

    “nature is my therapy” already got me HOLLERING

  26. LostinLies1 Avatar

    Plantar fasciitis. Your doctor has told you to not hike for six months.

  27. ItsLupeVelez Avatar

    Just say you need a break and then don’t come back… it’s the truth and you don’t have to tell another lie

  28. Mountain_walker21 Avatar

    Fake a head injury. Then wake up with a new found hate for hiking

  29. soupsupan Avatar

    You are going to find out he actually hates hiking also and he only did it to impress you.

  30. Prudent_District9309 Avatar

    Shove him in a corner, grab him by his shirt collar, look him dead DEAD DEAD in his EYES and say “I can’t go hiking ever again and you have to just accept that”

  31. Humbler-Mumbler Avatar

    This is a hard day to be a guy who genuinely likes sparkling water and hiking.

  32. dryandice Avatar

    Tell them about your new hobby, where everyone pays your bills while you roller skate with your new puppy very close to public toilets around Venice beach

  33. Big_Ice_2032 Avatar

    Okay first of all, this is the funniest cry for help I’ve read in a while. Second, you’re allowed to outgrow the things you did to impress someone early on. You deserve a relationship where you can be your full, sweat free, bug free self.

  34. Candid-Ad700 Avatar

    The new hobby recommendation is the best solution for you. But, I just wanted to plug the Inca Trail. I didn’t hike the entirety, but holy shit is it cool, and much of it at altitudes too high for mosquitoes.

  35. Gullible-Minute-9482 Avatar

    I’m not saying anyone should have to fake enthusiasm, it is just strange that needing to escape from such a wholesome hobby could induce this level of desperation. Hiking really is a great therapy for many, no joke.

  36. tessallator Avatar

    This has to be one of the funniest posts I’ve read on Reddit. And I’ve read a lot!

  37. PerfectHandz Avatar

    The Incan trail was one of the best experiences I ever had. That being said I do enjoy a good hike. You could go on the trip and enjoy your time abroad with them and when you get back say something along the lines of ‘phew that was great but it was A LOT. I think I’m gonna need a little break from hiking for a bit’. Then find a new hobby you actually enjoy.

  38. OddContribution1288 Avatar

    Start faking you on wheelchair now

  39. Careless_Ad_9665 Avatar

    Start getting really dizzy while you’re doing it. Lean into it. There’s gotta be some kind of illness related to altitude or heart stuff. I would build it up and then have to quit. 😂 you should also turn this into a funny graphic novel. The whole story. I would read it.

  40. somkoala Avatar

    Is this a new bot story format? We had a guy that hated drinking carbonated water but somehow it became his thing earlier.

  41. gzrfox Avatar

    The truth will set you free. Or you can break a leg or something, it’s whichever really.

  42. pazzerbye Avatar

    confessions about fake-liking things, so hot right now

  43. QueenofNaboo2 Avatar

    Does your boyfriend by chance enjoy sparkling water? ✨

  44. Pasteque_Citron Avatar

    Finding new hobby or whatever other advice people give you like fake this or that, its just you going deeper and deeper and deeper. Even if you find a new hobby you’ll be remenbered as “the hiking girl”. The best you can do is tell the story you just tell us here. You can do it in a fun way like i dont know at the gethering with your date and his friend you do powerpoint and make fun of the situation. If i was this deep it would be the only way i’ll do it. It will give you peace of mind and you’ll be laughing at the thing you just have to give it some times.

    You try to find a sort of perfect solution that will not make you a fool, and in doing so you might just threw yourself in another foolish shenanigan. But we can admit it here, you’re kind of a fool and that’s ok, we all are, we all do dumb shit, laugh about it and it shall be fine girl.

    Like, ok you succesfuly fake a knee injury, and then ? What would you fake next time ? You moved back the fan but the shit is still on course to hit it full swing. My take is that it’s better to control the way you come clear instead of things going side ways. Because at some point, it will.

    Hope it helps

  45. Necessary_History274 Avatar

    Fake a nagging injury. Tendinitis, IT band, knee issues etc. Use that to dial it way back and eventually stop. Then you can just reminisce with friends about all the hikes you used to do and that it’s such a shame you had to give it up.

  46. SkunkySays Avatar

    Your entire relationship is built on lies and you morph yourself into someone others will like because you want to be liked… look up the term people pleaser. Sounds like real therapy or sincere self work would be a good start here…

  47. Smooth-Duck-4669 Avatar

    This post is hilarious – I was guilty of very similar things, but luckily those relationships e fed for other reasons before I got too deep in the delusion.

    As someone who also hates hiking, but convinced myself I did for years… give rock climbing (indoor) a try and see how you feel about it. It’s a perfect transitional activity that will seem right on par for a hiker, but is actually vastly different (and more enjoyable to me).

  48. Interesting-Loss34 Avatar

    Double down and tell him you’re setting up a whole trek on the Appalachian Trail instead. Unless he’s super hard-core he won’t want to go and it can be his fault you don’t hike anymore!

  49. CeleryMcToebeans Avatar

    Maybe bone spurs or arthritis? Good luck my friend!

  50. strawvulcanog Avatar

    You gotta say something. He’s also been living with a lie for 3 years. Meeting someone and building a lifelong partnership with someone who you think shares the same special interests as you is so fucking exciting and probably contributed to his initial attraction and love for you in the first place. This is just really cruel and selfish honestly. For both of you.

  51. Tackybabe Avatar

    Lolololol this is so hilarious!

    It’s time for a permanent leg injury, my dear. 

  52. triciamilitia Avatar

    “I’m over it now” or fake bone spurs or something. If you can be bothered committing to a spreadsheet, you can commit to bone spurs.

  53. scottyv99 Avatar

    Start playing golf

  54. maduch Avatar

    Lmao sorry, go on a final hike with lots of people. Fake a fall or something, an heat stroke maybe…
    Act traumatized and say loudly “that’s horrible, that’s the last time I’m ever going on a stupid hike” and never go again.

  55. Dangerous_Regret7883 Avatar

    Just tell him you have gradually lost interest in hiking and don’t feel like doing it anymore. This post was funny.

  56. Long_Tumbleweed_3923 Avatar

    There’s been so many of these posts recently with a similar theme of lying and being too deep into the lie. I call fake

  57. TheUltraMagus Avatar

    Let it roll and enjoy the Inca trail. can you honestly say you regret doing the hikes you have done?

  58. why_lurch Avatar

    A friend of mine once had a boyfriend that pretended to like mountains. Together they went climbing higher and higher mountains, but only my friend managed to actually reach the summit. The boyfriend always managed to get ill somewhere near the start. Mysterious.

  59. Not2b-banned Avatar

    Lesson of the day here . Be yourself . Find someone who clicks with u naturally . Not by pretending . Basically when he finds out it was all a lie for him to like u, if he values that as quality time he’s going to feel like shit by being lied to and wonder about everything else if it’s true or not . Or u can just live a lie and pretend …. Poor mindset , but I always believed I wanna be with someone who loves me for who I am the way I am and vice versa.

  60. HiiiiImTroyMcClure Avatar

    He must be a pretty good dude.

  61. RichardCleveland Avatar

    Just think how hilarious it would be if he hated hiking also, but wanted to impress you and is now into deep himself. Planning trips thinking it will make you super happy to go.

    Ya… probably not but still would be an amazing love story.

  62. Equipment_Calm Avatar

    AI slopper – i’ve seen this post 3 times with different items; sparkling water was last

  63. moumotata Avatar

    I respect the dedication.Wow

  64. Siesta13 Avatar

    A. Go to a therapist bc this is crazy. You are pretending to be a person you are not.
    B. Pick up a new hobby that YOU like.
    C. Move on and stop lying to everyone including yourself.

  65. audrey-schmaudry Avatar

    This is too funny😂 I’d slowly replace the hobby with something else

  66. DrMamaBear Avatar
  67. DrMamaBear Avatar

    You need to date the guy who accidentally let every think he love la croix

  68. chillysanta Avatar

    I have 0 advice, but you are now on my list of favorite humans. Absolutely decided on a safe face life choice and followed through on it.

  69. charliewaffles2412 Avatar

    are you lying about other things aswell?

  70. JJDDooo Avatar

    The subreddit r/hiking would love this.

  71. ChickpeaSuperstar Avatar

    The sheer amount of activities that this lie has led to is hilarious to me lol you LEAD hiking groups MONTHLY?!?!? You made a SPREADSHEET?!?? While I feel bad for your misery, this is also a classic rom com lol

    Like I actually do enjoy hiking and nature is truly my therapy. But I don’t do two percent of the things of you do LMBOO but I also have several other hobbies that take up my time so maybe that’s why.

    But yeah, I agree with the other commenters. If you two are truly that serious now, tell him the truth! He might get a good laugh out of it! And it may bring you all closer together. I wouldn’t tell all your friends tho, that might get exhausting to keep explaining. For friends I’d suggest maybe phasing out like everyone said. Start a hobby that you actually like and use all these same energy towards it. Hope you find your true passion! Because spending all this energy, time and money on something you hate sounds rough lol

  72. Material-Implement60 Avatar

    I can’t stop laughing. How TF does one head so far down a non-lazy rabbit hole? The level of physical effort it must have taken over 3 whole years FFS! OP must be fit AF now tho.

  73. nunofmybusiness Avatar

    I like tent camping. That was my fake. The second trip broke me. I wanted the window flap closed. He didn’t. It rained on the first night. It was Ok, because my pillow and clothes soaked up all of the water that leaked into the tent. Every morning, I would get up and put on damp underwear. By the morning of day 3, I was drying my clothes at the motel. We’ve been married for 35 years now. I despise camping.

  74. RikerTroiAwkwardHump Avatar

    Just phase it out of your life and say that you got so into it that you are literally burned out. I don’t think you need an excuse not to do something, it is your life. People’s preferences change even when they actually do enjoy things.

    My favorite thing I learned upon self-reflection was the ability to draw boundaries and say no. To not do things I don’t want to do. There are a lot of things in life that we are just expected to do, or that we feel like we’re expected to do, and they are actually not required. I know it sounds silly to say, “just stop,” but you can just stop.

  75. serveyer Avatar

    Maybe hiking is: ”sooo 2024, now it is all about spa’s and yoga.”

  76. Long-Egg-1200 Avatar

    At this rate you will die on Everest within the decade girl get off that dark mountain path you have chosen, and at once! 😂

  77. LtButtermilch Avatar

    Get tar ointment and paint the tips of your toes on one foot black. You tell him you somehow got frostbite on your toes and are afraid you gonna loose them. Due to the trauma you don’t think you can ever hike again.
    If you don’t want to go with the frostbite story claim to got a notice that a beloved but distant aunt died hiking. She was the one who introduced you to hiking and since she died hiking reminds you of her. Sadly hiking became painful and you don’t think you can do it again.

  78. orangejuicelovr Avatar

    Any chance you can dm the link to the google sheet 😅.

  79. LLCoolNay410 Avatar

    Is your boyfriend obsessed with sparkling water. Y’all can both confess to eachother so he can stop drinking lacroix and You can stop crying from dehydration and lack of oxygen.

  80. Philnopo Avatar

    I’ve seen that one and one or two similar post before the last 1-2 weeks but a different hobby obviously. I’m honestly starting to get suspicious. How many people out there have such a total lack of personal boundaries tha they become the “hiking girl”, the “sparkling water guy”, the very embodiment of a thing they detest. “All these people now know me as the xxxx girl/guy” seems like the sentence of “now his/her family is blowing up my phon” in the AITAH posts.

    They tell this one person who is not yet important or significant yet in their life a lie on what they like or not and then this one person becomes significant goes telling everyone around that OP loves this one very specific thing, or one social media post about liking sparkling water spirals out of control. I just don’t think I’d ever put so much significance on something so simple. That a person who loves hiking tells others they found a romantic spouse who loves hiking too is believable, however it is far less believable that a person who loves hiking does not figure out the other person does not “love” hiking in the way he does.

    And does one really simply walk for 6 hours? That’s quite a lot if you’re untrained. Like even if you like hiking, the first thing to be aware off if you go hiking with other people that like hiking is what they mean by that, what kind of distance is that? Last year I went on vacation with a friend who wanted to go hiking, but then she was like what should I bring. And I asked her kind of like, wait, have you hiked before? Her anwser was no which just gave me right away an idea of the kind of level I was dealing with. She didn’t have hiking boots yet, so I told her to buy them for safety reasons and that’s one thing among many things someone who loves hiking would have. Did this OP have all the hiking gear in the world despite despising hiking? How did she convince him that she liked hiking so bad he immediately took her on a 6 hour long hike?

    I just find it suspicious because it seems like a certain post format that I’ve now seen at least two times before. Certainly, topics inspire others to post similar stories, I just find this one incredibly unlikely because of the reasons given above. But I’d be happy for OP to prove my suspicions wrong.

  81. VesperLure Avatar

    nah this is so real bc i once lied abt loving camping n ended up in a fkn tent during a thunderstorm eating soggy granola bars. like i get it, u wanted to impress him, but u can’t live ur whole life in cargo shorts. just start slowly dropping hints like “idk why hiking’s been hitting diff lately… in a bad way.” or say ur joints been acting up n the doc said chill hikes only, max 1 mile. protect ur peace sis, nature ain’t therapy if ur crying in the bushes.

  82. completamente_ Avatar

    Take you boyfriend to try Padel

  83. Substantial_Lab1438 Avatar

    Holy Dead Internet Theory

    There’s so many bots we can’t even have our increasingly-deranged chain of Reddit posts 

    They don’t have a memory of the peanut allergy -> carbonated water-> hiking timeline, and are out here trying to give legitimate advice lmao

  84. Happynessisgood10011 Avatar

    I think alot of people pretend to like hiking 😆. Specially people that go on mile hikes at their local park. Once they do a real hike in the middle of nowhere their perspective changes.

  85. General-Drag-2741 Avatar

    Fake an identity crisis… it’s easier. I did this a few years ago because I got sick of people asking me to draw them for free, so I faked an identity crisis and made myself cry and talked about how I didn’t even think I liked art anymore and how it just felt like an obligation because I’d put so much effort into it… No one has asked me to do anything art related in years…

  86. Simon_Shitpants Avatar

    My first instinct is to dismiss stuff like this as fake… but then I’m reminded how depressingly stupid some people are, and the doubt creeps in. 

    Still leaning towards fake, but if this IS true I’m afraid your relationship is doomed. 

    At some point in your relationship (6 months? 9 months? Whenever things got properly serious) you should have grown close enough that you would have mentioned this, had a great laugh over it, and it would have been a story to tell the kids.

    The fact that you’ve kept this up for “YEARS” suggests you haven’t really gotten to know each other that well, and you’re probably only hanging on to each other because of the fear of being alone. 

  87. Funky_General Avatar

    You ever watch a movie where the main character tries to cover up a lie by telling more lies? Does it end well or does the movie become more and more dramatic? Stop lying. It’s bad for your soul.

  88. Nomad_music Avatar

    Hahahaha, this is hilarious. Good luck. 😆

  89. -Dubwise- Avatar

    You could try honesty.

    “I am not really into hiking anymore.”

    It’s your life, you can do whatever you want with it.

  90. saynicethingstofolks Avatar

    Do you like biking? Swaparoooo

  91. bigmanSJH81 Avatar

    This is amazing hahahaha

  92. Make_FlipFloppe Avatar

    Im not that into hiking and neither is my partner but we did the Incan Trail yo Machu Pichu and it was amazing! I say you should at least enjoy that benefit after all this hard work 😅 they MAKE you bring a guide and porters btw, you can’t do the hike without local assistants. Ours was private and we had a porter that brought a bathroom tent and they fed us 3 meals and snacks and soaked our feet in hot water after each day it was great.

  93. QuasticFantom Avatar

    This is assumptive so don’t take it too hard if it doesn’t apply – if you aren’t able to manage this boundary and it’s this far out of alignment – there are probably other pieces of the relationship that are as well. That’s to say, you need to address it and possibly whatever other things you have that are like this. If that ends the relationship? So be it. It sounds like a significant portion of the relationship has been a lie anyways.

  94. ugglygirl Avatar

    [ Removed by Reddit ]

  95. Puzzleheaded-Piece30 Avatar

    Every girl I’ve ever dated has loved hiking until we became official

  96. Enraged_Meat Avatar

    I am crying of laughter hahaha

  97. Significant-Book3057 Avatar

    Maybe you should try telling him you mixed things up and you really actually needed real therapy all along

  98. secretvictorian Avatar

    Genuinely I think you may have to fake hip pain or similar, im one if these people who do genuinely love hiking but recently my leg splints, hip pain and spine issues is forcing me to slow down.

  99. MurberBirb Avatar

    It’s the La Croix post, but hiking.

  100. Alternative_Chart121 Avatar

    Start a rumor that you had a terrifying mountain lion encounter and are now too traumatized to go in the woods. 

  101. teaslap Avatar

    You know what I think if you just confess just laughing, tell him the jig is up and u just did all this because u liked him , he might find it romantic and laugh it off.

  102. PressSnoooze Avatar

    Damn that’s commitment! I also hate hiking but I’ll do it. However, for what it’s worth, hiking the Inca trail was an experience and it was an amazing time. If you’ve gotten this far, I really would urge you to experience the trail. But yes find a new hobby to take over!!!

  103. Substantial_Task_125 Avatar

    Do you like scuba diving?!

  104. divorceevil Avatar

    This here is why lying just needs to stop. Have you tried the truth? OMG – Let me tell you …
    The truth is so fresh and freeing. It’s like rain in the desert; you take in a deep breath and ahhh. Lying is the real problem that needs fixed – it’s a slave master with a heavy f’n chain that feels like the weight of the world. Be free my friend and fly.

  105. Stormtomcat Avatar

    I’m sorry, I’m sorry!

    I’m sorry for your plight but I couldn’t stop from laughing hahaha

    I have no advice except maybe tell him the truth?

  106. theroadbeyond Avatar

    There is a certain level of unhinged to have kept up this charade for 3 years. Good luck OP go for a run and sprain your ankle or something. Someone below said tell the truth and I think that is the way tbh. Come clean and tell him you love spending time with him but don’t really enjoy hiking.

  107. Aromatic_Reindeer_25 Avatar

    On the bright side I know for a fact the spider wasn’t poisonous. The word you wanted was venomous.

  108. TheGreatNemoNobody Avatar

    But are you drinking LaCroix

  109. One_Echidna_7348 Avatar

    Break your leg and then you can’t go hiking. Easy

  110. Winter_Farm_4739 Avatar

    To be convincing, figure out what hiking does for people who like it and sub in something similar that hits a few of the points. I happen to love it. So, exercise, nature, community (when hiking with others), good for your nervous system (unless you hate it LOL), not too expensive to do. Hit a few of these and then turn the others into disadvantages.

    Three routes:

    1. Pick something that you do like (or think you would, and try it secretly to make sure). One example that may or may not fit for you but gives an idea where I am going with this: Dance can take up a lot of time, there are lots of classes at set times. Can’t hike on Saturday, doing bachata. Tuesday after work? Oh I have a swing class. Then there is practicing and even performances you are in eventually, and ones you go see, like the ballet. There are a million styles of dance and you can spend 20 hrs a week on it now that you have the time since you are phasing out hiking. Private lessons. YouTube videos. Plus people get obsessed with dance. Pick something people go all in on, and need to do at set times, preferably with others.

    Wow, you didn’t realize you would ever love something more than hiking! And (turning previous plus with hiking into a disadvantage) I love that I am not at the mercy of the weather. And we can go out to brunch outside near (amazing view) or on a picnic for that nature fix. Note: Dance can get pricey though. Sub in whatever activity you decide on here.

    1. You could also do some “challenge” where you commit to trying two new things (or things you haven’t done in a long time) in a month, and really do it. This will suck up some hiking time. Then pick what you like best and keep devoting more time to it, easing off on hiking.

    2. Burnout. You are burned out on hiking, you used to love it now it doesn’t fill you with joy. The best cure is taking a break from it. Then phase something else in.

    Good luck and let us know how it goes!

  111. A-fan-of-fans Avatar

    Oh man, this sucks. For both of you. I dated someone who told me he loved the beach and basically acted like a different person than he was. 1.5 years later we broke up. He said he couldn’t handle pretending to be someone else any longer/couldn’t live up to my expectations. you know, of being the guy I fell in love with. I asked him why he did that and he said cause he wanted to be with me. I was flabbergasted. I was like, it’s not my fault that I expected you to be the person you presented yourself as!!!

    So note to ALL single people: NEVER lie to a potential partner!!! You won’t able to fake it forever.

    As for OP… if hiking matters a lot to him, for you to be together I think he has to find another hiking buddy and you have to find another bonding activity to do together to replace what probably feels like a close connection over this shared love. I imagine his best memories are standing with you overlooking beautiful scenery, arm around you enjoying nature’s miracles. Or something. So, what else can you do to create memories where you BOTH are happy?

    Also, I guess he could be totally flattered that you faked it this long and went to such extremes for everyone else.

    If you’re gonna come clean…:

    “Honey, letting myself fall in love with you was the best decision I ever made. You have all these qualities I love (list). I was so taken with you and am so happy with you now, I’m so lucky to have found you! In fact I was so taken with you when I found you and felt so lucky that I made the worst decision of my life and I pretended to like something I don’t actually enjoy because I knew you liked it so much and I really hope you can forgive me when you hear it and take it as the compliment it is. I mean, I committed HARDCORE. But I need to come clean and admit something that is hard for me to say… I don’t actually like hiking and have kept doing it because it means so much to you and everyone else. I hope you can forgive me for lying for so long and that we can find a new hobby we both love. Cause I love all the time we spend together. But I hate bugs, being far from a bathroom, etc. and it’s starting to take a toll on me.”

  112. Pennysews Avatar

    My friend was an avid hiker and then she got a stress fracture in her foot. There was no treatment for the stress fracture other than rest. Even to this day, if she does too much, her foot hurts. She doesn’t hike anymore, or at least not like she used to.

  113. KamajiThirteen Avatar

    Tbf if you hurt your knee one time you can claim that excuse for the rest of your life, once a knee goes out it doesnt come back lol

    Maybe “twist an ankle” less acting and easier to pull off

  114. LivingHumanIPromise Avatar

    Salkantay Trek is better than the “Inca trail” anyway.

  115. turtle_pleasure Avatar

    this some george constanza shit

  116. NiobiumThorn Avatar

    I mean ngl. A lot of the places where you purchased your assorted gear have buyback programs, or methods to take your used gear and resell it. I’d cash out and spend the money on like, a new gaming pc maybe. Depends on how much money you spent, but honestly it can add up absurdly quick.

    Your $40 coffee mug may be able to be $40 again

  117. CrushGirl Avatar

    You can simply change your hobbies and interest.

  118. Electronic_Pen2127 Avatar

    My fiancé recently turned around after 3 years of telling me she wanted children and us planning our life together to include that (names picked out, searching for houses in school districts etc)… and revealed that in fact, no she doesn’t.

    Hiking is not a big deal. He can go with his mates (lord knows I do). Dishonesty about who you are and what you want is a big deal. Dishonest relationships lie that always end in unhappiness or wasted time.

    Forgive me for getting personal but FFS just be honest with him.

  119. uncertain_traveler Avatar

    Hey, very funny. But as someone who loves hiking and is with someone who doesn’t – don’t lie… 🙁

  120. Steffieliz82 Avatar

    …omg I love this tbh. lol

  121. leon-yy Avatar

    huh this sounds like the “faked liking sparkling water” – post

  122. Fantastic_Jicama_370 Avatar

    I’m really bored of chat gpt posts…

  123. trebleverylow Avatar

    A good lesson in being honest.

  124. Actual-Tadpole9759 Avatar

    Are these stories real anymore? I’ve seen like 5 stories in the past week of “I’ve faked liking X and now it’s consumed my life”

  125. somegobbledygook Avatar

    Hiking is better if it’s on a dirt bike. Time to get a motorcycle and find what you really do enjoy.

  126. SnowFlako Avatar

    My dad used to drag me on hikes and I hated it as a kid. I remember thinking I’ll never do this again when I’m grown up now I really enjoy it and I take my kids hiking, etc. but not in the summer because you’re right the bugs and the heat are awful. Anyway I find this situation hilarious, but I am sorry at the same time because I could see how you would fall into this situation. The fact you’ve been doing this for three years now I mean wow. Lol it’ll be Everest after that, imo you just have to be honest with him. If the relationship is important to him, I would hope that he would look past this and hopefully find the humor in it. But I don’t know what the right answer is definitely see what other folks are saying on this thread.

  127. RyuMaou Avatar

    I’m going to make a pretty reasonable assumption that after three years y’all are having sex and it’s good, otherwise you wouldn’t still be hiking.

    Skip the faked knee injury. Tell him your gynecologist said you have a “female condition” and you can continue hiking, but never have sex again, or replace hiking with some other exercise activity and continue having normal sex with him. Then ask which he prefers. Put back on him and see where this three year relationship is going with one lie that saves you from another lie. Also, as an added bonus, he will *never* ask what the “female condition” is because, while we care deeply for our wives and girlfriends and their best health, we do NOT want the details of that! Source: I’m M56 and married twice. Don’t ask don’t tell!

  128. whydotavi Avatar

    Get into Pilsners and become boring and bland. Should resolve in a few months.

  129. beefymcmoist Avatar

    Whenever I wonder if a post is AI, I go on chatgpt and ask it to cook up a similar story. You will see it uses the same/similar turns of phrase as in the OP, same style of writing, etc. It’s an easy way to check.

    Anyway, this is AI.

  130. Proud-Initiative8372 Avatar

    How did your friends and family react to your sudden new obsession? Are they in on the hustle or do they also think you’re now Bear Grylls?

  131. NeverThe51st Avatar

    It sounds like you’ve done it all in terms of hiking. Ever think about getting a pilots license?

  132. AnonStop86 Avatar

    sorry but this is hilarious lol

  133. Gymwarrior1991 Avatar

    Say I hate hiking now and love ballet

  134. Well-Milk Avatar

    Is this the carbonated water story but rewritten?

  135. brazilliandanny Avatar

    Time for that old “knee injury” to flare up.

  136. ChapterGold8890 Avatar

    Being phoney might benefit you in the short term, but honesty is always the way to go in the end

  137. N2myt Avatar

    This is the funniest story ive ever read 🤣 HAHAHHAAHHA omg! 🥲🥹🤣 Best u can do in this situation is to tell him the truth exactly like this 🥹😂🤣 other option is just be the hiking girl 👩‍🦯‍➡️ and tell him where u guys are 65 because u r in too deep, but im sure he will find it funny either way if he is a nice guy, good luck dont let the bugs bite 🥳😂🌳🌲🏕️

  138. Any-Remote6758 Avatar

    🤣 you are commited AF! That’s tripling down. Kudos. 👍

  139. Free_Front6742 Avatar

    This is the funniest post I have read! Bless your heart for wanting to impress the guy you’re going out with.

    Who would even expected this to go so far out of hand? We all do this though, I’m guilty too. Could it be though that at some point you really secretly do enjoy hiking… if not the spiders but the after hike high, time with the boyfriend, fresh air? C’mon admit it? There must be some positive parts about it. At some point the truth will come out though … I have had so many dates who say left and right they are sportive and love biking, hiking and even wakeboarding – but when they are holding on to the rope with a board underneath them- there is no denying the look of death you see in their eyes that tells you they don’t really like it. Let him know now before he buys you the Lost City of the Incas or Turn Right at Machu Picchu books. After that there’s no turning back.

  140. Osirus1156 Avatar

    Just take up skydiving, people will quickly stop thinking of you as a hiker and then you’re only a few minutes from a bathroom after you jump!

  141. steinbergmatt Avatar

    Plot twist he hates hiking too and has been pretending to like it for her.

  142. NonMaisFranchement Avatar

    This is hilarious! Would make a great movie! 😂 my advice is to fake a niggling injury: hip or knee; plantar fasciitis or achilles tendinitis are good ones too. They take quite a while to go away so just say the doc said no hiking for 6 months, and then after that hmmm pain hasn’t gone away yet, really need to take it easy, you get the drift. Big points to you for having become Hiking Girl while hating hiking. That’s devotion and hope the guy is worthy. You’re a keeper 👑

  143. ItsaShitPostRanders Avatar

    Tell him the truth and stop lying to people to get them to like you.