Canadian Loonie

Barefoot Running? Why not!

2011-02-01T13:53:00.003-05:00

My knees suck from hiking the Appalachian Trail. I have been off the AT for a few months and have been getting out of shape. So in an effort to try to get in shape and see if I can strengthen my knees I took up barefoot running. I have been told I should not run, but barefoot running is easier on the body and especially the knees. In an effort to give it a try, I had to give it a chance. I am using Vibram's FiveFingers footwear as a low profile footwear so I am not actually barefoot, but believe me when I say if you slam your heel or foot into the ground it will hurt. I am on a treadmill at the gym since the air quality isn't good right now for running outside. I started last week with a session with five sets of running alternated with walking. The key to running barefoot is to land on the midsole before allowing the toes and heel to contact the ground. The other key is to have a straight posture. Since I don't run and haven't, I really had no bad habits to break first. At this point it is a matter of getting in shape. At the end of that first session, the midsole of my feet was killing me, my calves were sore and my ankles were a little sore too. The next two days was probably the worst calf pain I have had in a while, but my midsoles were better as were my ankles.

So maybe I am a sucker for punishment but I had to keep going to see if this was something that would work for me. At this point after one session, my calves are really the only thing that hurt. Good news is my knees and lower back are fine. Not something I generally say after hiking. The next session I did about the same time and number of sets. This session was harder as my calves were still sore, but other than sore midsoles and calves, I was again fine. Yesterday was my third session and I increased the number of sets to six. The feet are recovering faster from the tenderness and the calves are not nearly as sore as the first time. So far barefoot running seems to be working for me. It is kind of fun as it seems easier to run this way, utilizing the natural spring in the arch.

Update

2010-10-08T13:41:00.002-04:00

We got off in Great Barrington, catching the bus out to Boston then flying back home. I had my knee looked at and after much back and forth, it was decided I needed to have a cortisone injection in the knee. Not very pleasant as the injection was basically on the bone. The next day it was extremely painful but has since gotten better. After a few hikes and a backpacking tip it looks like I am good to go back. I will head back to pickup where I left off the first thru-hike attempt while my husband will head up north for a couple of weeks to hike Maine before the weather turns back, then he will come down and join up with me.

Day 50: Hemlocks Shelter

2010-10-07T13:35:00.002-04:00

A few weekenders were in the shelter last night and I got treated to popcorn and dried cherries. Good stuff. They offered to cook us breakfast too but we needed to move on since I have been going slow both up and down hills now. We had three big climbs to do today and needed/wanted to get an early start. The first climb wasn't too bad but the down was pretty bad. The second climb seemed find but ended up going on forever. It turned into a rocky summit with ridges. Good views but the ridges wore thin. We stopped in the camp area for water and got caught in the rain. A small thunderstorm rolled through but we hiked on as it was passing. The problem was we were close to the third summit when the second wave came through. It was longer and more intense. We ended up sitting on the side of the trail waiting for the thunder to pass. we then hurried over the summit but by then it was definitely breaking up so we stopped to enjoy the views.

We stopped 0.1 mi short of our goal. There are two shelters close to each other, but the second one sounded like party central. So we decided to stop at the quiet shelter. Tomorrow we head into Great Barrington and see about going home to have my knee looked at.

Day 49: Brassie Brook Shelter

2010-10-06T13:29:00.002-04:00

8.8 mi

The climb out of the shelter was not fun but had to be done. We had about 4 mi to get to Salisbury for a light resupply and internet use. On the way to town we passed a lone rock pillar that people have walked around as the ground was clear. Turns out it was the Giant's Thumb. Strange what things the trail passes. We pushed into town going straight to the library. We are looking at options for getting off. We might be able to rent a car in Great Barrington. So that is our stopping point. Hopefully my knee only needs rest.

ST has been nice but strange. Almost none of the shelter sites have picnic tables. The tenting sites seem to have them all. The towns have been quaint but very pricey. The terrain has been getting rougher but we only just summited Lion's Head at 1738 ft. Pretty short mountain. The shelters and campsites have been reasonably spaced out until today where we passed two shelters and a camping area in the space of less than 2 mi. With another site in 2.2 mi. Tomorrow we enter MA!

Day 48: Limestone Spring Shelter

2010-10-05T13:24:00.002-04:00

12.3 mi

The bugs were pretty bad last night in the shelter. So much so that I put on some DEET before going to bed. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well. Just to add to my list of woes, my left knee has been starting to act up. The worst part is that it isn't hurting where it normally does, this is a new pain. Mostly it hurts going downhill but today it hurt first thing in the morning and after each break. Like it had stiffened up with the lack of movement.

In the shelter log, many people mentioned looking forward to the shower at the Hydro plant. I wonder how many were disappointed to see just a showerhead on the side of the building, no privacy at all. We passed opting instead to enjoy the river and have some fun. I washed up and rinsed out my clothes a bit. It was a very nice break to the day and made the 3 mi push up to the summit go a bit faster. The 1/2 mi hike down to the shelter was ridiculous. We are camped out at the shelter waiting to see what the weather gods will bring tonight. We had some thunder roll past earlier and the temps dropped a bit.

Day 47: Pine Swamp Shelter

2010-10-04T13:19:00.002-04:00

10 mi

I had hoped to make it the 2+ more miles to the campsite to avoid the swamp shelter, but alas, I just didn't have the miles in me. Today was a bit of a rough section both with rocky stretches and lots of ups and downs. We also got off to a late start this morning as we waited for the rain to stop. The thunderstorm was so close it was practically on top of us. With the two of us in the tent, we had some condensation issues so our bags had dank spots. The area we pitched it also wasn't level so we slide to the bottom of the tent and the footbox of my bag got a little damp. At least it stopped so we could pack up without getting wet. We are at a shelter tonight so we had a chance to spread things out to dry as well as set up the tent to dry.

We've been moving slowly mostly because of me and my various ailments. Looks like at this pace we will be finishing up around Christmas. I hope to get my trail legs soon so we can start pulling longer mile days but the further north we go the harder the terrain which slows me down. I hope I can catch up at some point.

Day 46: Stweard Hollow Shelter

2010-10-03T13:13:00.002-04:00

7.3 mi

Another low mileage day but we stopped in Kent to resupply and pick up a maildrop. I got a new top to play with. Luckily it fits. Sadly it is the same ill-conceived color as my hiking shirt, black. Not a good color with the heat and humidity we have still been encountering. At least we spend a good part of the time under tree cover.

Kent was a nice, quaint town that was very pricey with little to offer. The grocery store was lacking, the outfitter was laughable at best and the shops were not very hiker friendly. Why would I leave everything I own outside a shop where anyone can walk off with it. The town also didn't have a hostel. Cheapest place started at about 90$, going up to 140$.

We left Kent in the middle of the high heat to climb up a mountain. Not the best idea especially on full stomachs but we had to get moving. The terrain was a bit rocky but then we hit the down after the ledges and it was stone stairs followed by a gravel road walk. Not very pleasant on our feet and the gnats were horrendous. Thankfully we had just bought bug head nets which the outfitter happened to have, crappy as they were they were a blessing at that moment. I found a new journal too, only things worth the trip into the outfitter.

Day 45: Mt Algo Shelter

2010-10-02T13:08:00.002-04:00

8.4 mi

A short mile day but with some steep climbs. My week off was not good for my trail legs. I felt I was just starting to get my trail legs but now I feel I have been sent back to week one. My feet have been pounding by the middle of the day. The heat and humidity have still been quite high. It has really been sucking the strength and appetite right out of me. I have been at least trying to get as much water as possible in me.

We are a full house tonight but most are camping out so we so far have the shelter mostly to ourselves. One guy is in a bug bivy and decided to join us when it started to sprinkle rain.

We go into Kent tomorrow to get our boxes from Ft. Montgomery plus my tank top. Hopefully we will find everything we need at the outfitters. We may also look into getting a bug net bivy tent and maybe a tarp. We will see.

Day 44: Ten Mile River Shelter

2010-10-01T13:04:00.003-04:00

9.6 mi

First real day back on the trail in about a week and I almost feel like I did the first few days, slow and easily winded. I'm sure some of that is from my recovering from heat exhaustion. My feet are not happy but I have been trying to stay off them at the shelter and they are doing okay.

Looks like we might have the shelter to ourselves tonight. Would be nice. Would also be nice if the heat would break so we can get a good nights sleep. We both have been tired and managed to get a nap in when we arrived earlier in the afternoon. Tomorrow is another light mile day where we cross back into NY briefly then we are in CT to stay. We should be in Kent the following day to do a resupply and pick up the rest of the Ft. Montgomery maildrop that my husband forwarded on. Plus hopefully a new tank top and maybe socks if we're lucky.

Day 43: Wingdale

2010-09-30T13:00:00.002-04:00

Rest and recoup. Spent a good amount of time in bed resting before heading out to find the library. We walked down to the first set of lights then gave up turning back. We ate lunch at Big W's BBQ Place and found out the library is at the second set of lights. So back we went. Our book just doesn't have maps for most of the towns so we really tend to stumble around blindly trying to find stuff. We got two hours of computer use which almost made it worth the walk down. At least they have us a second hour.

I'm feeling a bit better for the rest. My appetite is coming back but seems to still be a bit suppressed. But at least I am eating. the heat doesn't seem to be bothering me as much as before which is good. I also have been drinking a ton of water and juice.

Day 42: Wingdale

2010-09-29T12:56:00.002-04:00

We walked down to Tony's Deli and from there we went back into Pawling. We thought we could stay at the B&B but once again our book has lead us astray. They no longer have a hiker rate and haven't in a long time. We did get what we needed from town and found a place to stay the night to catch up on sleep. We are taking a couple of days together time.

We stopped off at the CVS then grabbed a quick lunch in Pawling getting lucky to have a lift offer from one of the employees at the deli. We both had a nap as we were dearly exhausted from lack of sleep. The weather has been very hot and humid still and we are both having trouble sleeping in this weather. The trains and cars from last night didn't help one bit.

Day 41: Appalachian Trail Station

2010-09-28T12:51:00.002-04:00

2 mi + 3 from town

Checked out of the hostel late in the morning before heading downtown. Turned out the address I had for the USCIS building was wrong. At least I didn't have to walk far to get to the right place. So apparently trekking poles are not allowed past security but my stove, fuel and small pocket knife was okay. I hit EMS again to return the anti-chaff then off to the trail station. The USCIS appointment went very smoothly adn quick. I showed up early and was out in less than 30 min. Plenty of time for me to catch the earlier trail out to Pawling. I couldn't figure out how to get them to stop at the actual AT station so I hiked in from Pawling then after getting a note from my husband at the trailhead, hiked over to the AT station to meet up with him. We stayed the night at the Garden Place. What a disaster. We were sandwiched between a major secondary highway and a commuter rail that ran all night. Plus the mosquitoes were horrible. I am regretting not picking up bug nets while I was at EMS.

Day 40: NYC

2010-09-27T12:50:00.000-04:00

A nothing day. I really did absolutely nothing but read, drink a ton of water and relax. I feel like I am getting better so hopefully I can hit the trail in good shape tomorrow.

Day 39: NYC

2010-09-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

Today was a bit of a big day. I went downtown to get some stuff from EMS as well as a pharmacy. The pharmacy was good having everything I needed. The EMS on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment. It really didn't have much choice/selection. I found new Keen's but that was about it. They didn't have shorts or much food choice. And only one type of anti-chaff cream. I had also hoped to get a new journal but alas they didn't have any.

Day 38: NYC

2010-09-25T12:46:00.001-04:00

Day 2 in NYC. I really have nothing to do. I did go to the grocery store to pick up a few items. I picked up a bunch of yogurts to help strengthen my digestive system. I mostly just read and relaxed. Good thing for the Nook. I have tons of reading material plus I was able to do some limited surfing.

Day 37: NYC

2010-09-24T12:43:00.003-04:00

I took the bus into NYC to Brooklyn. I'll be spending the next couple days to recover plus I have an appointment on Monday with USCIS. So this kills two birds with one stone. I'm staying at the NY Loft Hostel. It is pretty nice, but looks a bit like an IKEA ad. I spent most of the day in the room with the AC on before going out and exploring. The bus ride was longer than expected. The bus also filled up quite fast the closer to NYC we got. So basically the name of the game is to relax and recover from my heat exhaustion. The hostel is nice but I miss my husband dearly.

Day 36: Greenwood

2010-09-23T12:40:00.003-04:00

A zero day for both of us. We lazed around and took time for ourselves which was very nice. I'm feeling better but not well enough to hike. Decision time. The best option is for me to go into NYC for a few days to stay at a cheaper hostel while my husband hikes on. I've already hiked NY and in worse conditions so no need to do it again. We will meet up near Pawling after my USCIS appointment. We both know it is the best option but neither of us are happy to be apart from each other for the next few days. We worry for each other and miss our together time.

Day 35: Greenwood

2010-09-22T12:37:00.002-04:00

My husband's first experience slack-packing today while I stay in to try to recover from heat exhaustion. Considering how much water he had to carry, he wasn't packing very light. I spent most of the day in bed near the AC trying to get some food and water in me but that backfired and seemed to cause a flare up. The owner of Anton's, the place we are staying at, was nice enough to help with some tea, rice and yogurt. Today was another very hot and humid day. In a way I am glad I wasn't hiking but I am also bummed to be kicked down once again by the AT. Not a good go of it this time round.

Day 34: NYC 17A Greenwood

2010-09-21T20:14:00.003-04:00

10 mi

Today was very hot and quite humid. Much of the trail was a broken ridge with lots of exposure. We passed into NY finishing off another state. I wasn't feeling too good this morning, a touch of nausea. I ended up vomiting at the border. Mostly water since I hadn't eaten much. Dehydration was suspected. Maybe I didn't drink enough yesterday and last night. We pushed on and I tried to drink more but the thought of eating was not a pleasant thought. We ran out of water about 1.5 mi from the road where we knew we could get more so we pushed on. At the road was some awesome trail magic. Ichabod who was just ahead of us was there with his parents and coolers of drinks, fruit and burgers/hot dogs/ I drank some cold water but sadly I was sick again. This time beans from yesterday's lunch made an appearance. we decided to go into town so I could recover and rehydrate.

The book we have been using as a guide was quite off today. From the power line to the road felt much longer than 0.4 mi and we never passed a marsh let alone an overflow to a marsh. NY is extremely dry (today's section at least).

Day 33: Wawayanda Shelter

2010-09-20T20:07:00.002-04:00

5 mi

A short day but needed so we can heal up a bit. We have been a bit ahead of schedule so this also fits our timeline. We left Vernon early hoping to catch a lift out but no luck. We started walking when the cop pulled up to the light. Luckily he went the other way, turns out he was really nice. He came back and picked us up, saving us the 2.4 mi walk back to the trail.

I'm still pretty slow going up hills and the blister on the ball of my foot sucks. I tend to spend a lot of time looking at foot placement so I don't step on anything that could twist my foot or hurt my blister. So imagine my surprise when I scared a bear and cub. Cub went up a tree and mom stepped back then stopped. I thought for sure she would charge but she didn't. I snapped a pic while backing up. The cub rejoined mom who kept eating. We walked passed slowly then kept hiking.

We saw the strangest trail magic, a water cache at a road. We had just passed a stream, then passed another pond. Very strange.

Day 32: Vernon, NJ

2010-09-19T20:01:00.002-04:00

11.8 mi

Hitchhiking, being illegal both in NJ and NY, made for a long day. We hiked the 1/2 mile from Unionville very early due to a lack of toilets at the Back Track Inn. And coming into Vernon, we walked the 2.4 mi to town. That doesn't include the 11.8 mi of just the portion of the AT we hikes. No one stopped to offer us a lift. We are currently staying at the church hostel. We are clean and we were also able to do laundry. I did some computer stuff as well.

We have been finding that things are more expensive the further north we go. It has been adding up. I am not sure how our spending stands. I need new footwear, again, which was unexpected. I may need to get new sandals as these ones don't have much tread left. I also need to run into NYC for an appointment with USCIS so that will be another expense.

Neither of us slept well last night. I at least seemed to have got more but we are both feeling the effects of less sleep. I was moving a little slower with my blister but my husband was slow and grouchy from lack of sleep. I really hope he can get some sleep tonight but we are at a hostel. AC or not, he will not sleep well.

Day 31: Unionville, NY

2010-09-18T19:55:00.002-04:00

11.4 mi

We are moving a little faster than planned which was good. We got our maildrop of new trekking poles. the terrain has been pretty good so far and improving daily. The rocks after High Point State Park were mostly gone. We made excellent time. I also got a small blister on the bottom of my foot. Not sure if I pushed out the miles too fast. Its so hard to tell why I get them. I think I am sliding around too much in the sandals when going downhill.

We thought about staying at the Former Mayors place (a hostel/trail angel) but after talking to the guy and hearing he makes people who stay watch a video we opted to pass. What started to really weird us out was his extremely forward manner. In spite of not calling for a lift, he came to get us and even on the phone kept insisting on picking us up. We finally opted to just stay free in the park then leave early in the morning. Problem was, they were not allowing campers to stay there anymore. Which he didn't tell us when we told him we weren't going to stay with him. So we are at the Bar Hostel. A bit wierd but we will get up early and leave for Vernon.

Day 30: Rutherford Shelter

2010-09-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

15.3 mi

We have been trying to alternate longer mile days with shorter mile days. Today was a longer mile day and the weather was pretty good. Cool with an almost constant breeze. We had initially thought to stop one shelter earlier rather than hike the 2.8 mi. But the other shelter was dry, this one had a slow spring and was a ways down but at least there was water.

After yesterday's views along the Kittatiny Ridge, today was somewhat lackluster. We had a couple of views but not much of note.

I seem to have great timing in my choice of breaks. We stopped about 5 minutes short of the fire tower. Which although was windy did have views and a picnic table. At least there were blueberries where we stopped.

It seems we are slowly developing our trail legs. In a burst of energy, we did 2.4 mi in just under an hour. Of course the last 2.8 mi took much more than an hour. As we were dragging at the end, we may have pushed a little hard today. On a NJ side note, some idiot honked at us and flipped us the bird as we were waiting for a break in traffic to cross a busy road, what an idiot. It was a car full of young punks.

Day 29: Brink Road Shelter

2010-09-16T18:14:00.002-04:00

11.3 mi

So many blueberries and so little time to eat them. The blueberries are ripening and I have been enjoying some over the last few days. It has become a bit of a joke between us at this point.

The 11 miles today passed by uneventfully. The views have been great. Many of the mountain tops, which are like a broken ridge, are semi balds. We spent a good part of today out in sunny patches. The blueberries tent to be localized up near the tops.

The noisy kids from last night were up pretty early this morning and started right were they left off. One of the adult supervisors (seems they were part of a camp) came over to apologize about the noise but made no effort to try to curb it. Oh well. This is what we get by camping so close to the road. We were actually a bit slow this morning. Some of that may have been due to the chill in the air. It was pretty cool last night which lingered into the morning. Good sleeping weather, finally! The day time temperatures were pretty good too. This should last the next few days. I hope we catch up on sleep. The water situation hasn't been as critical but will be again in NY.

Day 28: Rattlesnake Spring

2010-09-15T18:08:00.002-04:00

A bit of a late start but most town stays seem to start that way. I opted to dump my oatmeal in favor of Cheerios. I have been finding it hard to eat a hot meal for breakfast when it is already hot when we wake up. So I find I just carry it until I absolutely have to eat it, or find something else to eat.

It was nice to leave PA and progress to another state. We are now in NJ. The trail leading up to Sunfish Pond was nicely graded so we made good time. We stopped at the pond for an early lunch. I snacked on some blueberries growing near the pond. The blueberries were very good. So good that I had trouble leaving them along to eat my lunch. They are definitely in season right now. The bushes have been dripping with them. The blackberries are also coming into season but the few I have eaten just seemed to be lacking in taste.

We are sadly camped out at a popular spot located near the road. The site across from us is filled with screaming hordes of children (or at least it seems that way). We hope they quiet up my bedtime or we will not be happy. Guess we could make a loud ruckus in the morning when we leave.

Day 27: Delaware Water Gap

2010-09-14T18:03:00.002-04:00

6.4 mi

A relatively short day mileage-wise but the rocks are bidding a final adieu. We stopped at the overlook for Mt. Minsi and enjoyed the view of the Delaware River plus we could see NJ. So close yet still a day away. We descended down into the rhododendron thickets before popping out in town.

Rather than hit the shower first, we ran over to the post office for our mail (yay it arrived) then walked down the hill for food at the bakery, supplies and of course *cold* drinks and ice cream.

After enjoying our showers, I tried to sink wash a few clothes. Some success but I hope they dry out by tomorrow. Afterwards, we read, relaxed and tried to stay off our feet.

A section hiker going sobo was at the church hostel and a few of us sat down to chat with her about towns worth stopping at and how the water was running. Sounds like NJ will be okay bit NY seems to be shaping up for another dry year. Apparently there are some water caches already being set up by some roads. I heard that NY is the driest state no matter the weather. Too bad.

Day 26: Kirkridge Shelter

2010-09-13T17:53:00.002-04:00

13.8 mi

The last hurrah of Pennsylvania rocks today was very rough as the PA rocks threw everything at us. Our first 13 ,i were almost exclusively on rocks with very little in the way of actual dirt trail. It was very hard physically as well as mentally. It was hard to look off down the trail and just see nothing but more rocks. the last hurrah was at Wolf Rocks where we had the large slab style rocks to navigate along the ridge and large boulder fields leading up to and away from the ridge. After that the trail moved back to almost normal trail. PA has been a very gruelling hike. Except for some highlights, I'd chose to skip it. In fact I hope I never have to hike it again.

We met the ridgerunner today, John (Coldwater) and had a chance to chat. He is very nice. Hope we run into him again on the Long Trail, or at least his journal entries. It was fun listening to stories about some of the things he's seen on the AT. He at least as an easier to maintain section, but he hears about the section south of his where the day/weekend use people park near the trail and throw all their trash in a pile under the no trash sign. We passed that pile and it was disheartening.

Most of the people (read all) from last nights shelter decided to press on to DWG. We opted not to just to get some rest. We can't get our mail until tomorrow anyways so best to recover from the rocks and prepare for NJ. Besides, surprises come in the least expected ways. After the ridgerunner and another thru-hiker left for the night we thought we were alone for the night until another hiker came in from the water trail and gave us some Klondike Bars. What a treat. We sat and chatted for a bit before she left.

Day 25: Leroy Smith Shelter

2010-09-12T17:46:00.000-04:00

4.1 mi

I am definitely ready to get away from the rocks and the long walks between water sources. Not only have we been going long miles between sources, but the trails down to the springs are also long and sometimes steep. The trail down to Stempa Spring was quite steep and rough. In a way I am glad I didn't have to hike it but I did feel bad for not going.

We didn't do many miles today as we were so tired from yesterday and we didn't get much of a chance to rest up in Palmerton. We woke up late today and enjoyed a lazy morning together before getting up. We had very little water left from yesterday, but luckily the spring was running well. We hit the trail around 11:00 and made it to the shelter around 1:20.

We tried something new for lunch, wraps with beans and cheese. We found some premade beans in a rip-pack and used taco shredded cheese. Everything worked out well but we found out shredded cheese doesn't hold up very well without refrigeration. All in all it was worth the weight of the beans.

We are on track to get to DWG (Delaware Water Gap) on Monday (2 days) then by Tuesday we will be out of PA and into NJ. A change of state is always nice. We hope the rocks let up soon and we get more readily accessible water sources.

Day 24: Stempa Campsite

2010-09-11T17:39:00.000-04:00

11.7 mi

We got off to a late start which isn't unusual when leaving town. We couldn't get an early start as we were waiting for the library to open. We needed to pay bills and deal with email backlogs. The library didn't open until 10 so we walked over to the post office to mail out some extra gear. After the library we opted to eat lunch as the slowest cafe in town. All in all though our experiences in Palmerton was great. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We got a free apple each at the market and the library tried to give us a free book from their used book sale stack. We didn't need on though so we passed.

The hike out and up was rough in the midday heat and in near full sun. We were carrying a full resupply plus lots of water as this was a dry stretch. The trail was rerouted through a nice section but the trail was rough going as we were tired. The last spring we passed was dry and we haven't checked this one yet. We hope it is good but just didn't have the energy to check tonight or press on the 4 mi to the next shelter. I haven't been seeing any water reports so we have no idea how any water sources are doing until we stow up.

Day 23: Palmerton, PA

2010-09-10T17:32:00.001-04:00

11.8 mi

We flew along the first few miles today almost in spite of the rocks. They did slow us down a bit but we did make time. I had a few issues going down over the bigger boulders and higher drops. We got to the shelter only to discover there was no privy, right when I really needed one, and the water was a long way down again. We pressed on and ran out of water along an exposed ridge in full sun. We tanked up at the next shelter. The 1 mile hike down to the road was exposed as was the bridge. We had to walk around to the lights to cross safely and while we were waiting for the light to change a kind lady stopped and offered us a ride. We jumped in and didn't have to walk the 1.5 miles to town. We enjoyed a nice cool shower then off to do laundry and catchup with email. We missed the library closing so we may stick around tomorrow and catch it in the morning. It feels good to be clean and have clean clothes. Solar showers only go so far.

We did a bare minimum resupply as we still had some food left from the last resupply. The town of Palmerton has been very nice to the hikers. We stayed in the basement of the county offices and were given a little welcome bag with a granola bar, toothbrush and toothpaste. The grocery store gave us a free apple and everyone has been very friendly, stopping to ask us where we've been.

Day 22: New Tripoli Campsite

2010-09-09T17:27:00.004-04:00

13.3 mi

It was fairly uneventful today. we stopped for a snack at Dan's Pulpit. We encountered some nice long rocky stretches this morning but left them behind pretty quickly. I think I might be finally getting my trail legs, but that one old blister is still slowing me down. It now feels like there is a new blister under that old one between my toes. Not sure what to do now. I will tape it in the morning and hope that helps.

We opted to stop at New Tripoli to help break up the miles. We stopped in at the Allentown Club Shelter and while it was very nice with a nice privy, it was a very long way down for water. We needed to tank up as it is very hot and humid today. It was also only 6 miles from the last shelter. We were still able to do more miles. The tent site is a ways down and we are not looking forward to the climb back up tomorrow. I also hope the wind comes up more as it is very still and the humidity is getting to us. Even I am having a hard time with it. I never remember having such issues. Oh well.

Day 21: Eckville Shelter

2010-08-09T18:11:00.002-04:00

Had our first bear siting today up at the pinnacles overlook. A medium-sized bear that ambled around then turned and walked away. It didn't get too close which was good. Out at the overlook we saw a snake skin and enjoyed the views.

The rocks have definitely been picking up. The rocky sections are longer and getting pretty rough. The sandals are more comfortable to wear but they are old and are not sticking to the rocks so I am sliding around a bit. I am still waiting for that one last blister to heal up between my toes.

We have been sharing our last three campsites with a boy scout troop. They have been rather nice considering. This is the last night we will see them as we will be pressing on further then they will. We should be able to make our next town in two days.

We are a pretty full house here tonight. All the bunks are full plus there are a few camping out as well as all the boy scouts. The caretaker here is quite an ornery character. He sounded off about the boy scouts (their group size was apparently too big), and he didn't like anyone who was at the shelter. We pretty much thought that he had been a caretaker for too long. We did run into someone we thought was behind us but who jumped ahead. He was having a hard time on the rocks and was jumping ahead to avoid them. I didn't like him the first time I met him and still don't like him. Apparently he got into a fight with someone earlier about his "yellow blazing" ahead. He jumped ahead then wasn't sure he had made the right decision. Well it is a bit late for that. Everyone else was quite nice that night.

I remember stopping here back in '05 and the shelter is still using the same register. It was pretty cool to see my entry plus entries from other people who hiked in after me. Not much left in the register though.

Day 20: Pocahontas Spring

2010-08-08T16:22:00.000-04:00

White a bit rocky and with a very steep downhill section, the trip to Port Clinton was somewhat uneventful. We did see our first rattle snake sitting in the middle of the trail. We sat for a while at one of the park picnic tables relaxing before getting teh maildrop. I was also waiting for a section hiker to arrive who had offered us a lift into town. We forgot to add TP to the maildrop. I did end up getting a lift from a trail angel (Rita from Reading) so we were food to go (literally and figuratively). We stopped in to see the pavilion and tape up my latest blister.

Heading down the trail, we ran into some trail magic in the form of 'Green Dog's' mom who was handing out cold coke's to passing thru's.

Our maildrop was for four days so we will be in good shape to get to our next resupply town of Palmerton. We are about 7 days from DWG and then we are on to NJ. It will be nice to move on and progress will feel like it is occurring. We are almost at 200 mi of trail under our feet.

Some boy scouts who were tenting at the shelter last night are here again tenting near the spring. Luckily the sites are far enough apart that they are not disturbing us.

Tomorrow we get a shower, yay!

Day 19: Eagle's Nest Shelter

2010-08-07T16:09:00.001-04:00

9.5 mi

Today was very hot and humid but at least the rocks were gentle on us. I did acquire a new blister between my toes. Not sure how I am getting them there but I am really looking forward to getting my sandals tomorrow.

Since we knew (from past experience and another thru-hiker) that the water here is almost non-existent, we stopped at the last spring 1 mile back to tank up. We also enjoyed some nice trail magic, sodas chilling in the spring. The spring water wasn't great but it was better than what we would have gotten at the shelter. Turns out that the water isn't the only think wrong here. For some reason the club maintaining this section is unable to get wood bark for the privy so they locked it. Several people have commented on it in the log. It it pretty ridiculous given that a handful of leaves or forest duff would do the same thing.

Still not impressed with boy scouts. The small group from last night denuded the area of wood for a big fire then they tossed a banana peel in the fire pit this morning intending on leaving it for the next person to burn in their fire. The boy scouts need to work on their social image and what they are teaching young people.

Day 18: Hertlein Campsite

2010-08-06T15:24:00.002-04:00

9.7 mi

The trail is definitely taking a turn for the rocky. I feel like I spent part of the hike up on rocks rather than on any form of trail.

We stopped at 501 Shelter for a long break making good use of the solar shower. In spite of how cold the water was, we both managed to get in a shower. We were clean even if our clothes were not. We got lucky in that 'Labrat' was also at the shelter. So we got to order pizza for lunch and a couple of subs to take on the trail for supper. This is helping extend our food the one day we needed to make it to our resupply/maildrop in Port Clinton. I think we are both looking forward to the mail drop, both for the food and the replacement or forgotten gear. I'm looking forward to my sandals and the hope that they will help stop the blisters from forming any further. I finally managed to pop the one under the callus on my left foot. It was the last one that still had juice in it and while all the others no longer hurt, it still hurts. I hope popping it helps heal it up and stops the pain.

Day 17: William Penn Shelter

2010-08-05T18:42:00.002-04:00

13.4 mi

Today was a long day. The body is definitely aching in the feet and legs. The last few miles were a major push. We are getting in shape but we can't push too many miles yet without feeling the effects the next day. It took us the same amount of time to do 13.4 mi today as it did to do 18 mi yesterday. Tomorrow we have a lighter day planned.

Our first ~4 mi of the day went pretty well but it was hot and quite humid. Just as I was ready for a break, we rounded the bend to some trail magic. It was still cold, in fact some things were still frozen. It was well maintained, stocked and well placed.

We passed through an old village site and passed a cemetery. Later we crossed over Swatara Gap/s canal and a nice old canal bridge. The climb back up to the ridge was quite long and a bit steep. While the trails have been nicely maintained so far, the section (even though it was just trimmed) was overgrown on the sides by brambles and grassy patches hid rocks and snakes. I scared a black snake about as badly as I scared myself. Good thing it wasn't a rattler.

Day 16: Rausch Gap Shelter

2010-08-04T18:35:00.002-04:00

18 mi

A long day mileage-wise and we got off to an early start. The first 10 mi were okay but they slowly became harder the longer we hiked. My blisters were slowly getting better so I hope we didn't push too hard too soon. The hard part is that the gaps between shelters are long and the water sources are infrequent or in places where it is hard to camp. We didn't hit too many rocky sections today which we were both thankful.

An odd sight on the trail today was a group of horsemen. The AT is for foot travel only and these guys somehow managed to take a very wrong turn. I'm not sure how they got their horses past some of those rocky sections but they did. We spent part of our time avoiding hose dung. Found out that a horse trail ends at the AT so they really have no choice but to travel down the AT or backtrack. They should have stopped at the road though rather than continue.

We passed some trail magic today, too bad it was empty. Always sad to pass an empty cooler. Although we had a long day, at least there was a cool breeze. We are expecting cool temperatures tonight.

Day 15: Peter's Mountain Shelter

2010-08-03T18:27:00.000-04:00

6.7 mi

A somewhat longer day as we move onto the next shelter. This shelter, while very nice, it is a bear to get to the water which is down about 300 stone stairs (or so it feels). The shelter is also affectionately known as the Harrisburg Hilton due to its size and how nice it is. The terrain to get here wasn't too bad but my feet were still aching after a few miles. We have a long day tomorrow to get just to the next shelter. I hope my feet are well enough.

I nearly knocked myself out today walking into a fallen tree across the trail. The tree was just high enough that I didn't see it with my hat on. There I was walking along, the next thing I knew I was on the ground and my head hurt. Hope I don't do that again or I'll have a new trail name. I ended up laughing about it later but at the time, it really hurt. Brought a tear to my eyes.

We are a somewhat full house tonight. The shelter is plenty bug enough for all. We stopped pretty early and have been resting and trying to air out my feet. We are pretty much racing to Port Clinton. Me for my Keen's, and my husband for different clothes. Just a few more days.

Day 14: Clark's Ferry Shelter

2010-08-02T18:20:00.002-04:00

4.5 mi

Still waylaid by blisters, we did a low mile day to at least keep moving and to avoid spending any more time in town. The road walk out sucked but the rocky trail hurt more. My little toes are quite sensitive and stepping on rocks with just the side of my foot hurts. The heels are also pretty sensitive. Walking downhill causes toe-jam too. We are trying to bide out time until Port Clinton where I will receive my Keen's which will hopefully help my feet. My husband is changing out a couple of things to hopefully help with his chaffing. Tomorrow will be another low mile day but I hope we are feeling and doing better than today. We will need to do about 18 mi the next day as the shelters are far apart.

We are no longer in the section with the nice shelters. The shelters are definitely older and not as well maintained. If it wasn't for the no tenting we would probably be tenting. If we manage to avoid rain, we will likely be tenting a little more often.

Day 13: The Doyle - Duncannon, PA

2010-08-01T15:37:00.000-04:00

Zero day!

Spent most of the day resting and relaxing so we would be ready to move on tomorrow. It is funny how my knees and back were a problem on my first AT attempt, but this time it is blisters and footwear issues. Other then resting, we also took the free shuttle to the market and did a resupply. I managed to get some items out of the hiker box which cut down on the amount of stuff we had to buy. While the food at the Doyle was great (in contrast to the rooms), we opted to enjoy pizza at the pizza place up the road. They make a great Hawaiian style but the large was just a little too big for us. We couldn't eat the last two slices so we took them back with us. I suspect that the pizza didn't agree with me.

I was talking with one of the owners and she ended up looking me up in their year book/hiker book. It was pretty cool to see myself plus some of the others I had been hiking with off and on.

Day 12: The Doyle - Duncannon, PA

2010-07-31T15:31:00.000-04:00

11.4 mi

We just had to get over the hump to get to Duncannon but it felt like the most difficult section to date. Not only are we seriously feeling the effects of two long days back to back, but we are starting to encounter more rocky sections. We got off to a later start than usual and seemed to hike slower and slower as the hours passed. We finally made it to the Doyle Hotel and will be zeroing here to try to heal up and recover a bit.

We stopped at the Quick Mart and enjoyed a nice cold drink and ice cream. We then got our shower and laundry today finally after way to long. The salt was starting to build up bad enough that I could feel the crystal buildup. It felt really good to shower. The dirt buildup wasn't too bad but bad enough. We will be in a real bed tonight and although there is no AC, we will have a ceiling and floor fan. The Doyle is almost as I remember it. I do hope the renovations the book talks about happens because this place has lots of character. It is one of the original Anheuser-Busch buildings and is over 100 years old.

Day 11: Darlington Shelter

2010-07-30T15:26:00.002-04:00

19 mi

Today was a very long day. we really should have stopped in Boiling Springs but at the time we felt fine so we pressed on. 14 mi of flat farm land. How hard could it be? Well it was quite hot and humid plus we were already tired from yesterday's 20 mi. So needless to say, we pulled into the shelter quite tired, with fresh blisters, and after a long day. But we did pass our 100 mi mark today, 2 mi out of Boiling Springs.

My feet are a mess in spite of my knees doing so well. It seems like this trip will be all about trying to find the right footwear rather then saving my knees. I hope we can sort it out. I may just have to go back to my Keen sandals.

WE didn't make it to the shelter in time to beat the thunderstorm. We were about 2 mi away when the dark clouds opened up and soaked us. We hurried on to the shelter soaked and miserable from the long day.

Day 10: Alec Kennedy Shelter

2010-07-29T15:20:00.000-04:00

20 mi

The trail gives hope in one mile and dashes it in the next. Today was an eventful day. We moved on early not entirely sure where we would stay the night. We were hoping for a shower at the campground. We first stopped at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, home of the half gallon challenge. Not having enough of an appetite to eat half a gallon nor had we completed half the trail, we merely got a cone. We managed to bust out the miles to the next shelter (10.1 mi) and felt good enough to press on. At the campground, we were sadly disappointed that the laundry was not working so we pressed on. We passed the next campground as we were making such good time we thought we could make Alec Kennedy shelter. As we came down the trail, we had some trail magic, a cooler with Pepsi and Mountain Dew. We took a break before pressing onto a very rocky section. We slowed down to a nothing pace but managed to make our miles just barely before running out of water. We had a long day but made great progress. Feet are sore but my cold seems to be on the mend. I might have incurred another blister. Tomorrow we will see how badly off we really are. We will make Boiling Springs tomorrow.

Day 9: Tom's Run Shelter

2010-07-28T15:14:00.000-04:00

13.6 mi

We got a great start in this morning hitting the trail by 7:15. We made it to the next shelter by about 10ish. Birch Run Shelter is very nice and we had an early lunch before moving on. We busted out the next 3 mi in one hour but the last 3 mi went a little slower. It was a good day with no rain. It did get quite warm (humid) at midday. We rolled in somewhat early which was nice so we could rest. It was good to finally feel good enough to finally hike some real distance today. I'm not 100% well but I feel like I am on the mend.

It was a somewhat uneventful day. We are slowly gathering a group around us of other flip-floppers and section hikers. The shelter here is nice as is the stream. It was nice to wash up a little and I also rinsed out some of my clothes which was nice. I no longer have grit on my face. I wish I could have washed up more but this little bird bath was still nice and refreshing. I feel like I washed some of the sickness away. My feet are still tender but they are also on the mend as well.

Day 8: Quarry Gap Shelters

2010-07-27T15:09:00.000-04:00

5.7 mi

One week since we started hiking. I am still achy plus I am still sick. We ended up doing a low mile day due more to my cold but the rain was no help either. It started off overcast, then turned to light rain. It has been raining more or less all day. We got an early start and rolled into the shelter around 10:30 but I wasn't really in any condition to move on. I ended up getting more sleep. If not for the damp cold humidity, I'd say I was feeling better. Rather, I feel cold and wet. The cough seems to be on the decline though.

We over planned our resupply but not sure we have enough to make it to Boiling Springs. I'm not sure either of us could have carried more food though. We will just have to plan more carefully. We are definitely not moving very fast due to my cold. I think we would have been moving slow with sore feet but at least we would be able to move forward rather than when the cold stops us.

Day 7: Rocky Mountain Shelter

2010-07-26T15:02:00.000-04:00

10.2 mi

Forward progress is being made but my feet are still pretty badly blistered (although they have popped). My lungs are still not well. I cough but not always with satisfactory results. I get winded quite easily as a result. I can't quite tell if the cold is getting better or staying the same. We took a while to hike the 10 mi today because of all this. In spite of the slowness, we got to the shelter at 3:30 after leaving at about 8:00. We had lunch over at Chimney Rocks. It was nice if a little out of the way. The trail was poorly marked and had a downed tree but getting a view was nice. Pass a blueberry patch, yummm.

I took a one hour nap once we hit the shelter. Hopefully this will help me heal up and get better. I seem to be sleeping a lot, likely my body trying to recover from this cold.

We had a nice cool breeze part of the day. Plus the weather finally cooled off a little. We stopped at Tumbling Run Shelters (snoring and non-snoring shelters) to discover someone had left a fire going. My husband put the fire out before we moved on. We couldn't believe people could be so unaware and negligent as to leave a fire going, especially with a river nearby, water certainly wasn't an issue. If they couldn't put it out, they shouldn't have started it.

Day 6: Deerlick Shelter

2010-07-14T19:29:00.002-04:00

12 miles

Finally on the move again. We made the 10 miles into Pen Mar park crossing into Pennsylvania. We had to resupply and went into Waynesboro. It was a good resupply both for the food and footwear. There was an Olympic Sports and I managed to find a pair of shoes that fit. So out with the old blister forming shoes. We managed to get a lift both out and back. 2 more miles done very slowly and we are at our next stopping point. My feet are still pretty blistered up and my lungs are not liking the exertion yet. But I am at least on the mend.

I feel a little bad that we are not moving quickly and I am not really pulling my weight but hopefully I will heal up quickly. At least my knees have not been a problem as far as I can tell. No pain or even any tweaking. I sometimes get an ache but nothing like I normally get. I have been doing my lifts 2x a day, 10 in the morning and 15 in the evening.

On a good note, the Peek has been pretty handy and we've had reception most nights. The weather feature should be quite useful as we travel too.

Day 5: Ensign Cowall Shelter (zero day)

2010-07-14T19:17:00.002-04:00

0 miles.

Today was a bit of an enforced zero day due to my cold. It does seem to be breaking up so I am hopeful we can make some miles tomorrow. My husband went back to Smithsburg to pickup a few more things in case we don't make Waynesboro tomorrow. I managed to get sleep today hopefully helping with healing both the cold, lungs and muscles as well as blistered feet. It was a boring bay especially so soon into our trip. I feel bad but going on would have made things worse. We should be able to get an early start tomorrow. It is only 10 miles to Waynesboro. The terrain seems a bit more rugged than what we've seen so far. Still pretty flat though. We duct taped up my feet tonight hoping to give the tape a chance to stick to my dry feet. The weather also seems to have broken. We had some off and on rain, then lots of high wind, now there is less humidity and it feels cooler. So hopefully some good hiking weather and sleeping weather. Looks like we are on our own tonight at the shelter.

Day 4: Ensign Cowall Shelter

2010-07-14T19:06:00.002-04:00

6.6 miles

Didn't go far today in spite of the flat terrain. My blisters went from not good to bad. My sore throat also upgraded to a cold with very sore throat with runny nose and slight headache. My husband had to run into Smithsburg for cold remedy's. I'm not that happy about the forced stop, neither is my husband (and I can't blame him). We were doing fairly well at least mileagewise. Bodywise my knees are still good but I do have some muscle aches. Some of which likely due to the blisters. Although it would be nice to move along tomorrow, it is likely best to rest and try to recoup before moving on. There is also about a 90% chance of rain so holing up is not a bad idea (especially with a cold). We should be able to get to Waynesboro in a couple of days and hopefully track down better (newer) footwear. Its raining now, I'm glad we at least made it to the shelter even if it is close to the road. Not sure if we will stay here or go to the hostel nearby tomorrow. Depends on how I am feeling.

Day 3: Annapolis Rocks Campsite

2010-06-29T20:39:00.002-04:00

On top of the heat, humidity and long miles we did today, I also got a blister on my foot as well as a rash on the side of my leg. The good news is that my knees seem to be doing okay. We had an early start this morning when some other thru-hikers got up early. It was just barely light and we were tired but we got up anyways. We knew that we had at least 13.1 miles to get to a shelter. After a long rest though at the shelter, we decided to move on for a couple of reasons. Mostly I wanted to be able to make it to Waynesboro, MD to go to the shoe place. At that point the blister was bad. On a chance I slipped my shoes on sockless to go to the privy and found my feet hardly hurt at all. I may still need new footwear, but I might get a reprieve on having to buy some immediately.

So tonight we are again trying the tent in a place far less likely to flood. So far we have had only sprinkles and hope that is all we get. At least the heat of the day has broken so hopefully we will sleep tonight.

Day 2: Crampton Gap Shelter

2010-06-24T21:26:00.006-04:00

9.1 miles

We got off to a late start this morning with some of the last minute things we had to do. We hit the trail which included a small section of the C&O Canal. At Crampton Gap Shelter we opted to set up the tent because the shelter was small and a ways down. So after getting our water, we went back up to the first campsite. After we set up we laid down for a few minutes of rest. As we were resting we could hear thunder moving in. We got up and brought everything inside the tent just before the storm hit. And boy did it hit. At first we didn't have too much trouble. The tent kept out the rain but we did have a bit of splash back. The problem was the rain came down so hard the tent area (bounded by wood beams) started to fill up and worked its way through the bottom mes. We had a couple waves of storm pass. As soon as it was gone and the rain tapered off, we grabbed everything and ran down to the shelter. We eventually got the tent when the rain finally stopped. What a first day of hiking on the AT.

Back on the AT

2010-06-24T21:26:00.005-04:00

Updates have been non-existent because my husband and I are hiking the AT. Sort of as honeymoon but also to check a goal of the life list. I am hopefully that I can start doing some blog updates of my journal like I did the first time I hiked. We started on June 2nd in Harper's Ferry, this hike will be a flip flop hike in the hopes that my knees will take to the hiking better with and easier terrain to build up on. Guess time and miles will tell.

Fixing the bathroom

2010-05-26T22:00:00.003-04:00

Dad's shouldn't be appreciated only once a year, but when they are thought about. I was thinking of my dad today, remembering all the gopher jobs he had me do while he was fixing some random thing around the house (which felt like it was all the time). I never appreciated it at the time, but there are times like today that I really do. I am grateful that I can change the oil (and tires) on my car. I am thankful that I am capable of working with power tools (thank you again for the drill, it came in handy today). I am thankful that I somehow picked up many of his skills just by sitting there and handing him tiles. Today I helped with a bathroom remodel. Okay so we didn't do a huge tiling job, but just the act of putting up a bathtub surround over top existing tile was a lot of work. We are both exhausted but we managed to put up the surround, and caulk the seams. It actually looks pretty good considering we couldn't remove the existing tile. I'm sure you'd be proud.

Thank you again dad for showing me and teaching me. I appreciate it even though I never really let you know, nor did I really like being a gopher that much. I did learn and I am grateful for that.

15 days

2010-05-18T16:06:00.000-04:00

15 days until we fly out to the east coast, 16 until we are on the trail, but then who is counting. Okay we are!! Sunday and some of Monday were taken up by food and gear prep. Sunday was a beautiful day and while we should have been off hiking and trying to get in shape again, we were instead seam sealing our new tent. We are going to be using the Gossamer Gear Squall Classic tent. This is a 2 person tent made of spinnaker cloth (read very noisy). The tent will require a trekking pole to stay up but we will have plenty of those with us. The tent seems a bit tight but considering how many shelters there are along the AT, I don't think a tight tent will be a problem. I'm not sure how many shelters we will stay at but having a tent along for just in cases, or if we decide to push on a few more miles will be nice.

We also spent much of the day getting ready and prepping food. We should probably be buying stock in freezer bags. We must have bought about 300 bags. We prepared a few meals from freeze dried meat, potatoes and corn or peas. We plan on mostly resupplying in towns along the way, but there are a few towns where the resupply is very slim to nil so we will supplement with a few well placed mail drops. I spend some time measuring out meals, and fruit. We then spent the rest of the evening laying out the food in piles and trying to determine where we had short falls. We are definitely short on breakfast meals, and a few suppers. Lunches we can either survive on the protein and energy chews or whatever we can find at gas stations for resupply. Our living room looks like a hiker invasion with hiker food all over the place. At least we have paths through the maze of food.

Busy week

2010-05-14T17:57:00.002-04:00

This was a busy week. We only have a couple weeks left to finalize our plans then we are hitting the trail. We are going to hike the AT and this time I'm going much lighter than the last time. I have been trying to finalize gear, and make sure we have what we need. I think I have all the gear I need. I'm looking into getting a quilt which will lighten up my sleeping system and hopefully will work well for me considering I am a cold sleeper and when I sleep it is on my stomach.

We have our new data book which I scanned so I have a digital copy on my nook. I am not sure the nook will go along for the entire trail but it will be nice to read at the beginning. Reading was the one thing I noticed I missed most on the first trip, so I started carrying books when I found them. This time I can take about 16 Gb worth book for the low low price of 14 oz. Hopefully we will have the time and energy to hike the Long Trail too, but we will figure that out when we get there. The Long Trail, just like the Appalachian Trail is part of a three trail network. The Long Trail is part of the Triple gem which also includes the John Muir and Colorado Trail. The Appalachian Trail is part of the Triple Crown which also includes the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails. Maybe one day we will complete the Triple Crown and by doing the Long Trail we will also have completed the Triple Gem.

Appalachian Trail Book

2010-05-08T15:41:00.000-04:00

I finally managed to get all my AT journals together and sat down and wrote up my journey. It was fun to go back and relive the adventure and it got me psyched up to get back out there and hike some more. I got a copy of the book and it is a really nice hard cover book. The pictures are full color and the text is easy to read. The book is available on LuLu to anyone interested. I really don't make any money off this book, but I thought I would put it out there for who ever was interested in having a copy of my trail adventures and see more of the pictures.

Knees and such

2010-05-05T19:29:00.000-04:00

My knees bother me less frequently now then they did post Appalachian Trail hike. This is a good thing, but they still bug me and I'm not sure they are healing well or not. So I have been seeing a friend every once in a while (read when I go home), who works the knees and muscles helping keep things loose. Well with a big hiking trip planned (news to follow), I decided I needed to have my knees checked out and make sure there wasn't anything else I could do for them. I have been working my exercises again to try to strengthen the muscles holding the knee in place. So the osteopath seemed to think everything was good, the exercises were definitely a positive thing, and she added a few more. My morning routine just got longer, but this is for the better. I'm not sure if I have to do this every day for ever but at least I have added them in for now. I also ended up getting my neck and back cracked, that was in interesting experience to say the least. Turn your head breath in, breath out, CRACK. Okay but things feel better so I can't complain. I will see her again in a week and we'll see if all the exercises are working out and hopefully I should be good for the trip.

2 Months Post-Lasik

2010-05-01T17:11:00.001-04:00

Can't believe its been two months already. It seems like I just had my lasik done. But that was in March and we are in May already. So two months already and what can I say. The vision is clear and stable. I'm at 20/15 with both eyes, but the right eye is definitely a bit better then the left. I find that I have really dry eyes first thing in the morning and when I spend too much time staring at a computer screen. Shouldn't stare at it anyways. I haven't had many problems. There was a spell where my right eye was itchy as hell and I couldn't scratch it (as in rub the heck out of it), but that seems to have passed. It did help to put in some drops and distract myself. I go in for another appointment for another check then I should be good for a couple months before the next check. Yippee!

Prius

2010-04-20T11:18:00.002-04:00

I saw a commercial the other day for the Toyota Prius. I feel bad for Toyota that they had this gas pedal and break issue with their vehicles because I want to see hybrids and more importantly electric cars start taking a bigger portion of the automotive market. But how sad it is that my Volkswagen Jetta is getting at least 33 mpg on the highway and just this last trip managed to get about 40 mpg if not more. Why do I want am electric or hybrid vehicle that only get 32 mpg. Yes I know there are people out there who have hyper miled the heck out of their Prius's and manage to get 100 mpg but what does the average driver get? I do some hyper miling with my Jetta and get reasonable mileage so would I be able to do better in a Prius. For now I'm sticking with the Jetta only because it is still in pretty good shape for a 10 year old car.

Canyonlands UT

2010-04-13T12:45:00.001-04:00

After moving here in late November and vising twice, January and August, I have finally had a chance to get out and explore more of the area. We did go down to Bryce Canyon in August last year, but it was quite hot. Not really the right time to go to the desert. We went hiking in January but it was too much snow to get up in the canyons, so again not really the right time. This time it was a bit early for backpacking in Canyonlands, but that meant the chances of finding water would be better. Mostly this translated into cooler nights while the days were still more then tolerable. Our trip was supposed to be 4 days and 3 nights but after arriving at the park and discovering that not only was the park camping filled but most of the backcountry sites were filled as well, we had to change our trip on the fly. So we camped out at another spot the first night (outside the park) then we grabbed two spots that seemed reasonable to hike to and spend 3 days and 2 night backpacking. We definitely had some slim pickin's on the campsites. We ended up doing about 8 miles the first 2 days and about 3 to get back to the car. Still it was lots of fun in spite of the blisters. That rock is hard on the body and the gear. I had blisters and some wear on the lid of my pack after dragging it past a really tight spot in the rocks.

Canyonlands is quite amazing. The entire park is centered where the Green and Colorado Rivers meet. This meeting point divides the park up into three very distinct regions. Island in the Sky to the north, the Maze district to the west, and Needles district to the east. We explored the Needles district on this trip. The needles are spires of rock that wind, water and time have eroded around leaving spires, and lots of them. We did see some Puebloan ruins across from the trail, as well as some pictographs on the wall. Mostly we way mother nature's sculptures. It was quite interesting and amazing to walk round buttes, across mesa, and through keyholes and slots. Okay, amazing and a little scary too. I know some of these have been up for more thousands then I can think of, but a few still looked like they were about to give way at any moment. still this is an amazing place and I can't wait to explore the other districts in the park.

Lasik at one month

2010-04-09T12:36:00.001-04:00

So its been one month and while I have been loving not having to worry about glasses, I am still healing. My vision has stabilized and while not perfect, one eye is 20/20 and the other is 20/25. Really not bad at all. I do have dry eyes. This is a combination of the dry environment I am living in (Salt Lake is much drier then the more humid Washington DC I came from), and the lasik process. This should start decreasing with time as I adjust and heal. The night halos and glare are also slowly diminishing. The only thing I have had to do differently is wear sunglasses. When the sun is shining here it is really quite bright, even without snow around. I have to avoid UV exposure to my eyes to ensure they heal well. I will eventually phase myself away from the darker ones to lighter sunglasses. I also noticed that I seemed to have lost my close up vision. I can't remember what it was like before because I never thought to benchmark it like was suggested for night glare. I've had some night glare so getting a bit more wasn't a surprise and I am told it should go back to pre-lasik levels. I can read just fine at normal distances and even closer but about 4 inches from my eyes things are hard to focus on. So far I am happy to not have eye glasses. I think the more telling point will be kayaking without glasses. I felt having glasses while kayaking was more trouble as losing them is a real pain.

Adventures with Lasers

2010-03-17T18:00:00.003-04:00

About two months ago I decided to bite the bullet and get lasik. After several appointments to map my eyes and determine my eligibility, I finally scheduled my appointment two weeks ago. I have been eyeglass-free for the past 2 weeks now and the recovery, nor the procedure were all that bad.

When I went in for the procedure, I walked down since the place is located just down the street from my work place. Pretty easy. Once everything was ready, they swabbed my eyes with betadine and that was the last time I wore glasses. A couple of numbing eye drops and I was good to go. Numbing drops, which are supposed to sting, made my eyes feel weird. It is a slightly uncomfortable feeling, not being able to feel my eyes. In the surgery room, I laid down on the table and they prepped my right eye first. A little cup was placed under the lids holding the eye open. Not sure what it really looks like but it was attached to a machine that applied pressure to the eye (yeah I know fun stuff). A flap was cut with the laser and the pressure released, next eye please. With the intense pressure, my vision just went black and gray.

Moving onto another table, the Doctor marked the location of the flaps. Taping the left eye closed and the right eye open I received another cup like thing. This time I had more vision. I was looking up into a circle of light with a smaller blinking red light in the middle. The Doctor peeled the flap back (and no I didn't feel it but I could see it), then I had to stare at the flashing light. A few seconds later and I was done. Now this was the most uncomfortable part in my opinion. The flap was placed back and massaged in place with a cold wet sponge. And yes I could feel that. Once in place, another drier sponge was used to soak up some of the excess liquid (I assume) and help seal it in place. No blinking and next eye please.

After the procedure, I sat and waited for the flaps to seal up to the Doctor's content then off to home I went with three different sets of medical drops to take every hour (arg I hate eye drops), and eye shields so I can't rub at my eyes.

I thought my eyes were going to really hurt or at least burn or something but the pain was more of a dry eye, staring at the computer screen for too long type pain. Not too bad. The next day I was back at the Doctor's office and the eyes were seeing pretty darn well by then. It was then that I realized I had eye hickies and they would be there for about 2-3 weeks. So fast forward two weeks and I still have some minor redness around the top of my eyes from the pressure but I am seeing much better. Right eye is pretty darn clear and about 20/20. Left eye isn't quite as clear (and it had a pretty bad astigmatism to begin with), but likely about 20/15. They feel a bit dry from time to time and I put in tons of tear replacement drops when I am working at the computer but otherwise, the healing is going well and I am rather pleased. I'm not sure the left will improve beyond what it is at now and I am not what they consider worthy of a touch up.

Time to toss the glasses. I have now replaced them with sunglasses due to supposed light sensitivity. My eyes don't feel too sensitive, except in full sunlight. I do have some minor halos and some streaking of light sources but nothing too bad. I'm told this diminishes with time.

Baja Day 9, Feb 21

2010-03-05T13:17:00.001-05:00

This morning was a very early morning. Not only did we have to get up early due to rain, but we had an early start to load up the camp for our 7:30 boat ride. The early start was more than worth it as we went out for some whale watching and were about the only people out there. We had the whales and the bay to ourselves. The whales slowly made their way into the bay and we watched then jumping and swimming along. The best was when we had a whale come right up to the boat and we were able to reach out and touch the whale. They are soft and velvety but with a rubbery feel. At first this seemed so special, but we quickly realized that the whales love to come over and socialize with the boats.

We spend almost 2 hours out on the boat following the whales around. We had several whales swimming together likely getting to know each other for mating. Some of the whales were quite large, it was hard to judge size when they are under water but the width of their backs as they came up for air gave the impression of size relative to other whales. What a great time we had and thankfully the rain stopped so we could enjoy this opportunity to the fullest. I managed to snap some wonderful pictures and had such a great time. We then spend 3 hours driving back to La Paz, exhausted and amazed. What a magical day. A few of us managed to catch a few z's on the ride back. We are staying the night at a truly lovely bed and breakfast, El Angel Azul, near the waterfront. We repacked our stuff, trying to leave the sand behind and prepare for an long and early day of travel. We all ate out as a group, enjoying some great soft shell tacos at a small restaurant on the waterfront.

Baja Day 8, Feb 20

2010-03-04T14:06:00.003-05:00

Since we paddled about 12 miles the day before, today was a relatively short day with only about 4 miles. We paddled to the inlet and were out on the Pacific Ocean briefly. The beach we had been planning on camping on already had a group staying there. We had pressed on to the Pacific side in the hopes of a campsite but alas the Pacific side of the island was too rocky, so we backtracked a little. Luckily the beach we finally found, didn't have sand either. This gave us another opportunity to shake out more sand from our gear.

After lunch, a few of us went out again to see if we could get close to some whales. We had been seeing the plumbs of water rising from the inlet all day. Heading out we saw some plumes far away at first with a whale also jumping up and out of the water. Too bad no one had a camera at the ready. Some plumes were closer the further out we got until there was a set of whales right in front of us. They were so close it was amazing. I took a bunch of pictures and managed to capture a whale tail on film as well as shoot some video as a couple passed right in front of the kayak. Tomorrow, although we will have an early start, there will be more whale watching from a small skiff. It should be a little easier to catch up to whales rather then padding around in kayaks, but it was a totally awesome experience. I really can't believe how close we managed to get to the whales.

Baja Day 7, Feb 19

2010-03-03T15:02:00.001-05:00

We were back on our previous schedule of being up, packed and ready for breakfast by 8:30 this morning. Actually, due to trying to rehydrate the night before, we were up before that to take care of some overflow on the rehydration. Once on the water, we paddled down a little way and enjoyed the small lagoon with the mangrove. The mangrove had quite a few herons of differing varieties. We saw a yellow caped night heron, a blue heron, white egrets and a black caped night heron. Back out on the water, we saw a sting ray. We paddled down passed the fishing village before stopping for lunch. We did about 8 miles at the point.

We opted to continue on in the hopes of getting closer to the inlet giving us a chance to kayak out onto the Pacific to do some whale watching. We did see some whales far out on the horizon and some tails but they were quite far away. It is good to see that they are moving into Magdalena Bay for the annual calving. We are camped on another sandy beach but thankfully the sand isn't nearly as fine as the sand at the last beach. We had sand in everything, even stuff we barely opened. Tonight there was no hike due to the long miles we put in on the bay today, about 10 miles. Hopefully we will have a short paddle tomorrow before setting up camp then a whale watching paddle with empty boats.

Baja Day 6, Feb 18

2010-03-02T16:53:00.001-05:00

Today was a fairly easy day. We had an early start from the hotel. We ate breakfast then set about loading up the van with our stuff, again leaving behind things with the hotel for storage. The drive out to the other side of the peninsula took about 3 hours, but the boat ride over to the island was quite fast. We will be on Isla Magdalena for about 3 days padding and whale watching. The island has a long sand bar on one end and a mountainous section on the other end. We are currently on the sand bar, there is not much separating us from the Pacific Ocean.

Shortly after we arrived and set up camp, a few of us walked over to the Pacific side of the island. The surf was quite big and fun to watch. The beach was littered with sand dollars. We walked back over later in the evening and the surf died down as the was sun setting. We enjoyed a very nice shrimp dinner, the shrimp where huge in size. I ate about 13 of them and I am stuffed. We have been eating very well on this trip. I suspect that I will weigh more coming back then when I left. We are camped out on a fine white sand beach. It is beautiful, but with the wind, there is sand everywhere. I get the feeling we will be finding sand from this trip for years to come in our gear.

Baja Day 5, Feb 17

2010-03-01T14:18:00.001-05:00

Today was a short ~2 mile paddle. Because we had paddled a little extra yesterday, we were much closer to our take out point. As such, we just had to paddle over to the next bay for our pickup back to La Paz. The conditions where very calm with barely any swell and hardly a ripple in sight. As such, we had a bit of a chance to explore the tidal zone a bit more. We got some more glimpses of red crabs on the rocks, as well as fish further under the water. The next bay over had a semi-permanent camp for tourists. We enjoyed a nice lunch and piled everything up for travel back to La Paz. One pile to stay with the boats and one to go back to the hotel with us.

Back in La Paz, we unloaded the gear at one hotel then checked into another just down the street. We enjoyed a nice rest and showers at the hotel (Lorimar). Given the limited time, we tried to clean up our clothes a little with some success. Most things dried fairly well overnight. As a group we went to dinner at a restaurant just up the street. It was some nice traditional foods. A nice way to relax after several days worth of paddling. The carnival being mostly over, we hoped for a quieter nights sleep tonight. Tomorrow we head over to Magdalena Bay for the whale watching part of the trip and more kayaking. We are all excited, hoping to see whales. The season runs Jan-Mar with Feb as the calving time. The whales should be close to the bay if not already in the bay.

Baja Day 4, Feb 16

2010-02-28T12:29:00.001-05:00

We started today at 7:30 rather then 8:30 so we could go to a sea lion hangout and a bird rookery. The sea lions, being curious, came up almost immediately, before we even had a chance to tie off the kayaks. We tied the kayaks to a mooring buoy and hopped in to snorkel with them. The island is protected meaning we were not allowed to land nor get within 15 feet of the island. Snorkeling with the sea lions was quite interesting, they are so graceful in the water. They came over and gave us some playful nips, but not any real serious bites. It was disconcerting though. For the most part, it was the smaller females and juveniles that came over to inspect us. The larger males kept away and only came over to investigate later.

We hopped back into the kayaks and finished circumnavigating the smaller of the two islands. On the paddle, we watched an osprey attack a bird about the same size as it, looked like a Frigate bird. It kept chasing it around. We stopped at the gap between the two islands for some lunch. The gap was beautiful and serene, the water so calm. Lunch was a very interesting take on macaroni with cheese having spices in it. We had a choice to stay put at that beach for camping or continue one more beach over. We opted to press on as this beach was more of a mud flat and the next one would afford a better sunset.

Tonight is another clear night with good star gazing. The temperatures feel cooler tonight, so I pulled out the silk liner. I also pulled out my jacket for warmth. The paddle was flat and calm through the gap then surprisingly flat and calm back on the ocean. Normally the wind kicks up in the afternoon and causes some wind generated waves. This was not the case this time.

Baja Day 3, Feb 15

2010-02-26T13:17:00.001-05:00

Another early start. Last night the skies were clear giving some great star gazing. Today was clear skies with just a touch of wind. The sea was quite calm most of the day with some chop before lunch. We stopped once for a snack and once for lunch before getting to tonight's campsite. After lunch the wind picked up some as did the ocean swells. We had been seeing a fairly consistent 1-2 foot swell but after lunch it was closer to a 4 foot swell. We were battling the wind, waves and exhaustion as we made our way into camp.

The hike up was quite rocky but not as bad as yesterday's hike. There was a tricky spot but otherwise fairly level over the gain. We climbed up to view the empty inland basin then climbed up further to a plateau to see more. The views were expansive with nothing blocking out views. We headed back down before the sunset this time to avoid navigating the tricky part in the falling darkness. It was a little more difficult coming down the tricky spot then it was going up so the light was good to have. This beach has several pelicans who gave us a show diving for fish. Several even dove together, almost synchronized.

Baja Day 2, Feb 14

2010-02-25T14:05:00.005-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day. I received a nice card this morning from my sweetie. At least this morning didn't start too early. Most everyone was up, packed and ready to load the kayaks by about 8:15ish. We enjoyed a nice breakfast of yogurt and granola.

Loading the boats is like a Tetris puzzle. Each piece needs to fit in a certain spot and be packed down as tight as possible in order for the rest of the items to fit into their space. After we loaded the boats, we paddled south to the lagoon. It was just as picturesque and quiet as it looked the night before from our vantage point on the headwater. We saw some egrets, herons, and pelicans. The tide was just right (high enough) to allow us to get in and out without a portage.

Back out on the Sea of Cortez, we turned back to the north and paddled out towards the three islands we had seen from the headwater, Isla Gallina (hen, the smallest and closest), Isla Gallo (rooster, the middle island), and Isla Ballena (whale, the furthest north and whale shaped). By the time we got to camp, we had passed the last island, and had paddled about 6 miles. As expected (from the weather report), the wind picked up in the early afternoon. We made it to our next campsite but the wind was crazy to paddle against.

Tonight's campsite is very small. We are all perched on a small shelf just above the tide line which is a very small area. With the tide coming in, it is quickly becoming even smaller. We have been told we will be okay but it looks tight. We did a little snorkeling after setting up camp. A small school of fish swam just ahead of us before darting off into the depths. The hike up to the top was quite a climb but worth the views. We watched the sunset then made our way back down to enjoy supper. We had some very good star gazing with clear skies and very little light pollution.

Baja Day 1, Feb 13

2010-02-24T22:02:00.002-05:00

Today was a long day. We ended up getting in quite late last night by bus from Cabo to La Paz then we found out we had over-packed and had to pare down our pile of gear. We were then up early to repack and finalize the gear. Having been told to expect much cooler weather we packed dry pants and spray tops. We also had limited space in which to pack things.

We loaded all our gear up into the truck and went down to the outfitter to finalize sleeping bags and wet suits as needed. A short walk took us down to the beach were we loaded up the small skiff that was to take us over to the islands. This leg of the trip was taking place up and around Isla Espirito Santo, protected as a biosphere as part of the Nature Conservancy. On this leg of the trip we are to paddle, hike and snorkel around for 5 days. Our group is 5 people plus 2 guides, including professional photographer Daniel Fox. The boat ride over was a bit rough but otherwise pretty and scenic. We saw a couple of whales on the boat ride over. We set up camp and enjoyed a nice lunch before splitting up.

We broke up into a couple of smaller groups with one person resting at camp, then several people went snorkeling while the rest of us enjoyed a 2+ hour paddle to the south. We passed a nice enclosed lagoon with mangroves. When the tide is low it is hard to gain entry into the lagoon so we continued on to the next point. With the tide going out, some red crabs were exposed on the rocks.

Back at camp after the paddle, we rested up before hiking to the top of the headwater to get a view of the lagoon and to watch the sunset. The lagoon had clear turquoise waters surrounded by vibrant green mangroves. We hiked down in the gathering darkness and enjoyed a nice but later supper. The skies were cloudy that night so not much start gazing was done. We had a new moon recently so not even the moon was visible. We had a little rain sprinkle down on us just after laying down to sleep so there was a flurry of activity as everyone jumped up to close up the tents, then we were down for the night, enjoying the silent calm.

This trip was made possible by both Aquapac and Alaska Mountain Guides. I am grateful to Aquapac for this opportunity and Alaska Mountain Guides for a wonderful experience. Stay tuned for more posts on this trip.

Preparing for Baja

2010-02-10T15:58:00.003-05:00

We are leaving soon for a kayaking trip to Baja. The spare bed has been piled high with gear and we only just packed is away the other day. I get the feeling though that tonight we will be going through everything for that one last pass through and to make sure important things are taken care of, like charged camera batteries and spares. I also need to make sure I have the charging cables for my Nook and Peek. I don't know if I will have time to use them (they said bring a book), but I am hoping I do get to use them as I want to know how much battery time I get out of each device. I want to know how long they will last on a hiking trip. During my AT thru-hike, the one thing I found I didn't like to go without was books. So having a Nook with tons of books on it should satisfy the bookworm in me happily.

Having the Peek along is again more for testing how it works for email access and to try to keep maintaining the blog. I hope to be able to electronically do some of my journal entries so my family can follow along. This will be a great test, assuming I can pick up signal down in Baja for the thing. I also have to figure out how to email posts to Blogger to actually give on the go posts. This could be lots of fun assuming the battery gives me a long run.

Dilated eyes

2010-01-25T17:10:00.002-05:00

I had my eyes dilated today as I wanted to know if I was eligible for Lasik. Dilated eyes on a person looks funny and unnerving at the same time. I have been to TLC for an eye exam and they said I was a good candidate, but then I moved. I am now near the Moran Eye Center, which is apparently well known for great results. So I decided to give them a try. I didn't realize that when they said it would take 4 hours, they meant it. I was there for quite some time getting poked at and looking at bright lights. I knew going in that my left eye has a bad astigmatism and my right has bad long distance sight. Today I came out having learned that my right eye has some astigmatism too. They recommend going for custom Lasik but I have to figure out if I would like to go the PRK route or the Lasik route. This is something I feel I will have done. I hate wearing my glasses and I want the freedom to get away from them.

I have to go back to get a few more test rerun to confirm and get a better picture. Thankfully they will not be dilating my eyes again. I tentatively have the surgery scheduled and hopefully all will be well. Too bad I can't have it done before my kayaking trip. It would be nice to have good vision for that so I can wear nicer sunglasses. But at least it should be done and mostly healed before I leave for out big hiking trip. Hopefully even before the wedding, now that would be really nice.

Outdoor Retailer Show

2010-01-24T17:18:00.000-05:00

This week was the Outdoor Retailer Show. This is a show that allows companies to showcase their new gear for the upcoming winter season. So much of the stuff show at this event will be for the Fall/Winter 2010 season. Some companies were also showcasing things available soon or already available. This is my second time going to this show and while I can't say I am psyched up to go, I'm not yet bored with the show either. I don't really care for going to some appointments but others are quite fun. I love seeing the new Smartwool products as well as Ibex products. I do like getting the swag that companies give out as well as trying new things. At this show, we were also looking for replacement gear for our upcoming backpacking trip. I am trying to lighten up my load for this trip as I would rather carry more food then gear weight. We have bags lined up as well as some outwear. I am going to be wearing mostly wool on this trip but I do need to find replacement hiking pants, as well as a lighter cookset.

This show was rather productive as we managed to get eVEnt rain jackets for cheap. Some companies sell off items or have special sells of items, we got lucky that a rain jacket we were interested in was being sold off for a great price. So rain jacket is out of the way, but I need rain pants. We managed to dial in outer gloves (actually mitts), and found some food that is good that we will look into for the trip. I also got a replacement spork and a long handled spoon. I also bought some ultralight stuff sacks and a headlamp. I think we are pretty close, just a few things left to dial in. I need to figure out if I need to upgrade my pack or not once all the gear is laid out. I want to but if I need a pack the same size there is no point. If I can go down to a smaller pack and save more weight, then I might just do it. More later on the gear list and the planning of our first long distance hike together.

More winning stuff

2010-01-22T20:27:00.001-05:00

Last year I was at the Outdoor Retailer show and I won a drawing to kayak for 6 days with the Whales in Baja. I was more then a little surprise and totally thrilled. The only reason I was even entered was because I had an appointment with the company to sign them up to test gear with us. I feel the only reason I won was because about three of the names they called hadn't bothered to show up and so I was the last name called. I liked that the person doing the drawing started off with the first looser. The first item given away was for a wet/dry pack. The next 6 where for posters of prints from a Canadian wildlife artist who is doing the Wild Image Project. Several of the names called hadn't shown up so that left me the final winner. It was amazing how quickly the crowd dispersed after that. I got my photo taken and traded cards with people before my boyfriend showed up. I had to call him over to inform him that we were the lucky recipients of a kayaking trip. There is a picture of the two of us somewhere out there hugging and laughing.

So this winter show, I was again entered into a bunch of drawings. I didn't get most of the stuff I entered to win (too bad), but I did win the Woolrich drawing for a custom printed Thule car-top carrier. It was rather amusing as I hadn't tossed my card in, someone else did and it was after they already drew out a name for something else. Boy were they upset that I won and they didn't, they tossed their card in at the same time. So I am now the proud owner of a Woolrich imprinted car-top carrier. With that on my car I am guaranteed to never lose it in a parking lot again. It has the Woolrich plaid logo imprinted all over the top. I think it is pretty cool and amusing. I can't wait to actually use it. We tossed it into the back of the truck to get it home (it didn't fit it was that long) and it is sitting in the living room waiting for its first use. Although sadly we managed to scratch it up already.

Lots of planning

2010-01-12T16:59:00.000-05:00

We have been running around a lot lately trying to get things organized for our upcoming kayaking trip. I won a kayaking trip to Baja (yeah lucky me) to kayak with the whales for 6 days. We will be going with Alaskan Mountain Guides. We decided to upgrade to the 10 day trip to get the most out of our trip. But basically we have had to pull out all the packed gear and unpack it. Considering that we just moved and the gear was nicely packed up, this wasn't too much trouble. I then had to sort through most of it to determine what we needed to bring, what we didn't need and what we might like if there was room. We have the major items we need so far including the spray jackets and pants (I have dry pants), footwear, paddling gloves and the little things like eyeglass retainers and sun hat retainers. So far there is still stuff missing from the pile as we are also planning a big backpacking trip. So there are two piles of gear, kayaking stuff for the kayaking trip, and backpacking stuff for the backpacking trip. But in the end, some of the stuff in the backpacking pile will have to migrate to the kayaking pile as the kayaking trip is coming up first. We need to migrate over our sleeping bags, some of the clothes, and some food items plus eating utensils. I also have to follow up with them about a tent. They didn't say to bring one, but said to bring a ground sheet. So I can't tell if they are providing tents, or if we are camping out under a tarp. I don't mind the tarp if there is full coverage but if it rains, sand will get everywhere. So since we have a small tent, I think a tent will be making its way into our bag. I would love to bring my PFD so I can bring my kayaking hydration bladder. I might if there is room, but I get the feeling there will not be enough room. I am afraid I will forget my hydration bladder on the PFD they lend me. I'd love to bring my paddle too but I somehow doubt that would survive the flight (or if TSA will even allow me to carry it on). Hoping to get some great pictures on the trip and have a great time.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2010 everyone. Hopefully the new year will be great. We have big plans this year. Not only do we have a trip to Baja planned (which I won), but we have a wedding to plan (so much for eloping), and money to set aside for a backpacking trip. Big goals but I have faith that we can do these. Where there's a will there's a way.

HIking Red Butte

2009-12-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

We went for a hike today, not only the last hike of the year for us, but also the first hike in about a month. I think we went to Red Butte, but I am still not sure of names in the area. I know it was near Red Butte Creek. This is an easy trail, unless you are from the east coast, wearing boots with slippery treads and not using traction aids because they were not needed. Because I am still not fully adjusted to the altitude and we are both out of shape, we didn't make it all the way to the top on this hike. We did at least make it to the "living room", which is a pile of rocks set up to look like a sofa and chair. This is about what we managed to do last year about this same time. I was wearing better boots last time though. I am not sure what was up with my Asolo's but the traction which looked aggressive enough, didn't give me any purchase on the snowy trail. I found I would slip down and lose momentum. On the way down, I was sliding like crazy on some parts of the trail. I'm glad I opted to go back down the easier way rather then the steeper section. I feel bad we just did an out and back hike though. I would have preferred a loop hike. Oh well. I will try a different pair of boots next time and bring along some traction aids just in case.

Moved in

2009-12-29T12:56:00.000-05:00

We are all moved in with just a couple of items left at the old place. There is still the final paperwork to do Monday afternoon, but we are out. We will unfortunately not have internet at the new place for about a week. We are also trying to figure out how the programmable thermostat works. There are boxes everywhere and the place is a mess, at least we managed to get the bed set up and will have a place to sleep tonight in comfort. This has been a crazy move, we picked up the truck Sunday morning and did the move in one day. Good thing we had a ton of people show up to help or we would not have finished in the one day. We even managed to get the truck back before they closed at 5:00. So begins the unpacking. Fun stuff. Seems a waste that we just packed all this stuff up and now we have to unpack it again. We also need to sell off duplicate items and unused hiking and backpacking gear, of which we have a ton.

Merry Christmas Everyone

2009-12-25T15:54:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone who reads this is having a great Christmas. We did have a nice Christmas and are looking forward to better things in the new year. We move this weekend so fingers crossed that all goes well and nothing gets broken. Happy holidays.

Moving again

2009-12-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

Found out an offer had been made on the condo so we jumped on it. The hope was that we would have some time to move, and that this would give us the freedom to pick up and eventually go hiking. Well the anticipated move date was less than ideal with the guy asking us to be out in less then a week right during the Christmas break. In order to delay the inevitable we had to move the signing to the last possible day and the last possible hour. This gave us about a week and a couple of days. We managed to pack everything up, get a van and move all the stuff out. Needless to say, we didn't clean the place and didn't leave anything behind. We were planning on being a little nice and leaving behind a couple of things but we were so pissed with his rude treatment of us, that I didn't even leave toilet paper for him. Who thinks it is okay to require people to move out over Christmas when they are out of town enjoying the break?

To add to our new misery, the house we were looking at renting was rented out from under us. The woman who owned the house wanted to rent to us and was okay with giving us a short term lease. Her husband apparently was not okay with the short term lease and had a coworker sign for the place for one year. She was upset but obviously not enough to do anything about it. So I had to find another place, on Christmas eve no less. The new place is actually a bit bigger but not as nice. At least the rent is cheaper so we should be able to save up more money this way. Fingers crossed on that.

Zion National Park

2009-12-06T21:54:00.003-05:00

We decided to go down to Zion and check out the park. I had never been and my fiance was telling me it was worth checking out. It was also one of the few places in the state that was not going to get hit with bad snow or other bad weather. So off we went. We were initially going to take the truck, in case we hit bad weather, but we ended up filling the truck up with empty boxes and stuff to clear out the apartment. So the car was filled with camping stuff and off we went.

The drive down was mostly uneventful due to it being dark all of the trip down. We arrived really late that night and basically set up the tent and crashed. The next morning I finally got to see some of the park. It was pretty cool to wake up to a full moon and canyon walls nearby. We ended up doing Angel's Landing which was a pretty scary hike. I wasn't a fan of the drop offs, 1000 ft on each side but after I got up there and started heading back, I thought it was nice. The views were simply amazing. We enjoyed the hike up and back then had a nice lunch on a sunny rock. I am not in shape for either the elevation or the hiking right now. I haven't had a chance to do serious hiking in quite a while so I was struggling a little. Plus wearing knee-braces doesn't do me well either with my balance or with my energy. But I did it.

We didn't have much time left of the day to do another big hike so we went back to have a much needed nap. After that was a nice night hike. Too bad the moon wasn't up at that point. The next day we did a couple of small hikes and then left. It was really nice out there and then we came back to snowy winter.

Another successful NaNoWriMo

2009-12-01T15:48:00.001-05:00

I once again participated in National Novel Writing Month. In spite of moving across the country, packing up my apartment and going on a crazy business trip, I did make my word count, barely. I did get off to a really strong start and might have finished up early ut I was railroaded by various things that lead to my not finishing my word count until about the day before the end of the month. I think that is the latest I have ever gone with this event. Normally I manage to get my words out and validate early then I am burnt out for the next year. I hope this year I can keep writing and finish the story. I ran out of words and time but I still have story. I hope to get my schedule settled and get some writing done. My goal would be to write a bit each morning since I am up earlier then I need to be. So if I can get it done before I leave for work, the better. But still a pretty cool thing to do. Maybe one of thee days I will get it published, in the meantime I am hoping to podcast the first novel once I finish this current novel. Keep an eye out here for more information about that. Not sure when that will happen though.

Moving

2009-11-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

This was a long week. I just got back from my last business trip with my old lab, had to finish packing up the apartment and move. It didn't happen as planned. A friend, leaving on a trip, was having a going away party. She will be touring the Antarctic so this was one of the last chances to say bye. Plus my fiance arrived today about the same time I did but at a different airport. We met up near the party location which thanks to some construction was an interesting challenge. We arrived back late at the apartment and fell asleep right away. The next morning was an early morning as we rushed out to get the moving truck then rushed back to get the truck parked and start loading.

I had 5 people total to help with the load, including myself. I didn't help too much as I was trying to frantically finish packing the kitchen which I never really started. Once finished we actually had time to run up to Rockville and do a pool session. What a day. We crashed at a friend's place then left early the next morning. The apartment was mostly clean as I had cleaned it just before we left. So we cleaned out the fridge and freezer then were on the road. Three days later we arrived late in the night to Utah. What a drive. Nebraska and Wyoming are really flat, and really windy. We had a horrible head wind.

We arrived on the Tuesday night, then started to unload Wednesday morning. Some friends came over to help and we had about 5 people. The unloading was more challenging as we were moving my stuff into an already filled apartment. The unpacking will be fun to say the least. But that is for another day. We went over to his parents for Thanksgiving supper and are trying to sleep off the effects of the driving and moving.

I have no idea where anything is right now. Hopefully I can find all the important stuff. Guess I need to figure out what is important now.

New Job

2009-10-28T17:34:00.001-04:00

I just received some positive news from a job interview. They want to hire me which is great. I was out for the interview arriving on the Thursday then interviewing from 9 in the morning until almost 1 in the afternoon. It was a long interview but since I was not local, they couldn't exactly call me back in. The job sounds somewhat similar to what I am currently doing only with more bench work and experiments. This will be nice as I think I have fallen into a paperwork rut. It was also nice to come out to visit with my fiance. Living so far apart has been hard on both of us and I will be happy when we are closer together. This job is the step that will get us closer physically.

The interview was last week but since the Investigator was leaving for a long trip the next day I wasn't going to hear anything until today. That was one of the longest waits ever. We are so happy, but now comes the fun part of figuring out moving logistics and timing everything. I had hoped to be able to leave before the last New York business trip but I think it would be for the best of the lab if I did the trip and ensure the project doesn't fall apart before I leave. I so can't wait to get out there.

L4 training and certification

2009-10-05T16:39:00.000-04:00

I wanted to get my sea kayaking certification so I could also teach sea kayaking. I haven't been doing nearly as much sea kayaking this year which makes me sad when I think back on it. I really should have been getting out on my own terms. Instead I really focused on the whitewater side of things which I think may have been beneficial for my sea kayaking. At least I can deal with rough water with few issues. The training was over 5 days (but was supposed to be over 6). We started off with two days here in the DC area at Wide Water on the canal. We were 5 people only 3 of us were going to go and do the whole L4 training and certification. The other two girls were in just to get an L2 training and certification. Day one we learned about the ACA and what it can do for us as well as learned how to do all the strokes in the L2 repertoire. There are not that many but we were developing a way to teach as well, not just how to teach one thing.

Day two we moved on to us being the teachers and everyone else being students. After each person had a chance to be teacher, we all had a chance to give constructive feedback to help them become a better teacher. I think time more then anything will be the big helper. Some people didn't really model the strokes well and others were just a little too verbose, but everyone did well teaching to us.

Day three we moved out to the Chesapeake Bay and did some more modeling and teaching out in choppier waters. We started off with our pre-planned talks which were supposed to be about 10 minutes in length. Most of us were pretty spot on. Some people didn't cover everything in their topic as some topics were just very large. The navigation talk really needed more work. The person really didn't seem to cover enough for anyone to get anything out of it. I think I was left more confused after his talk then I was before. Again we got feedback on everything we did.

Day four saw us out at Assateague which is famous for its wild ponies as well as being a great surf spot. And today the weather was more then cooperative with the surfing department. We had at least 8 foot ocean swells with 4-6 foot breaking waves, about 18 kts of winds and about 5 kts of current (if not more). We did a whole bunch of skills demonstrations as well as teaching strokes to the 'students'. Before the class was set to go there was a concern that we would not have enough people. In the end we had 13 people today, more then enough to run the class. One girl (the only other girl) had to leave early because she was still recovering from her cold. Since she was just re-certifying it was fine.

Day five saw us with only 10 people, and milder conditions. We ended up playing in the waves generated alongside the sea wall. Good judgement meant you stayed away from the sea wall, bad judgement meant you were in the sea wall. Everyone managed to stay away from the sea wall. I did get window-shaded (bowled over) by a wave or three but managed to roll the boat back up. All in all it was a good day. I managed to get an L3 certification which is great and on par with my abilities. I hope I get a chance to do some teaching this year but I fear that the teaching time is almost over. Hopefully I will have a chance next year.

I think part of my take home message is that I need a smaller boat and better outfitting. I might be able to just outfit my current boat, but I think I am still too light to properly manage the boat in bigger conditions. I also need to work on my roll to tighten things up and make it stronger. I also need to get out in L4 conditions more to just get comfortable playing in them before I can get an L4 certification. I thought the conditions were pretty gnarly at first and was focused a bit more on the fear, but looking back on the fourth day, I found that I actually had some fun in spite of the gnarliness of the conditions and would love to get back out and learn to better handle them. The 8 foot swells were pretty phenomenal.

3 Star Training in Maine

2009-09-15T20:45:00.001-04:00

I just completed 2 days of training and a 3 star sea assessment up in Maine at a 4 day symposium What a very long drive there and back too.. I thought I was going to be spending 4 days on the water but it turned out that the navigation class I took was just an all day classroom session. It was still a really good class in spite of no water time. The two day training was also very intense. The instructor thought it was a one day training and was trying to cram in a ton of information and have us do many things. Once I pointed out to him that it was a two day training, he relaxed a bit and we went back to the docks quite exhausted. The 3 star award is a leadership award, not just a skills award. We had to be able to demonstrate we could lead a group, navigate and do rescues as appropriate for the conditions. I was not able to do a good hand of god rescue and hope I never have to do one, but I will work on it anyways.

On assessment day I was a bit nervous. We had another instructor to assess us, and although I had met him before I hadn't paddled much with him. I actually wasn't sure he remembered me. There were 6 of us altogether but three of us were all from the same training class, it was nice to know a few people. The assessment went fairly well although Mother Nature was against us, we didn't really have big enough conditions so we ended up staying quite close to the rock faces and working against the ocean swells. It is amazing the power of the ocean. Maine was also an awesome venue to do this in. About halfway through the assessment, one of the other students pointed out that he felt everyone would pass, I had to disagree with him. There was one person who was looking a bit weaker in some areas and wasn't playing a good leadership role either. Everyone else looked great.

I did in the end get my 3 star sea kayak award. Part of the advice I received afterwards was that I needed to work on timing of my braces, I needed to keep an eye on the big picture when doing rescues, and that my finesse strokes were great but I should keep my arms tucked in more. I also feel I need to work on my roll some more.

The funniest thing that happened during the assessment. After I had been stuffed back in my boat as part of a controlled rescue, I was paddling around among the rocks when a large swell lifted me up turned my boat around and dropped the bow and stern up on the rocks but left me suspended upside down in the water. I ended up leaving my kayak again and came up laughing. I actually had a bit of a hard time to push the kayak up off the rocks. I got stuffed back in while we all laughed about it then I had to eat something to try to keep the cold at bay. The Maine waters were quite cold. I am glad I was borrowing a dry suit from a friend (even though I didn't like the rear relief zip).

The Lower Yough

2009-08-24T16:29:00.001-04:00

I haven't had any chances to kayak on other whitewater rivers until now. I have mostly been restricted to the Potomac which is good and bad. It is good as it has allowed me to improve my abilities in a safe manner. But it is bad because I have been stuck in a rut and seem to only do the same section over and over again. I just recently ran Little Falls on the Potomac and it was great as it was new, exciting and fun. That was a prelude to running the lower yough, which is in Pennsylvania. I had a great time and while there was lots of rolling, I didn't have to swim through any rapids. I did have to swim out of an eddy when I wedged my paddle between two rocks. But all in all I had a great time and I think I learned where my current limits are. I hope I get a chance to make it out there again and that I can work on my short comings.

The lower yough is rated class III and IV. But I think other then a couple of rapids, most of the rapids were only class III. Some of the rapids were just straight shots through and others were learning tools. I can't remember the name of the rapid, but it was a very good rapid for doing eddy hopping. The rapid had a series of eddys along the side and the challenge is to go from eddy to eddy, by ferrying across and down. I made it to the first eddy then the current just grabbed me and I couldn't fight it enough. So this is my failing, I need to learn better boat control in the bigger current. But all in all, I had a great time and was with a great group of people. I hope to go again.

Carpe Diem

2009-08-17T12:12:00.003-04:00

Seize the day and it will go your way. Or something like that. I have registered for a rough water symposium occurring in Bar Harbor Maine. I am rather looking forward to it but will a bit of apprehension. They can have some really rough water up there. I have decided to register for the BCU 3 star sea training, which will occur in rough water. I did the training in May but there was hardly any rough water for us to really play in so I wasn't able to assess for it. I did assess for the ACA L3 which I successfully received but is only on flat water. The BCU 3 star is carried out in bigger conditions then the L3 as they are different standards. Going with the BCU 3 star though will push my abilities and hopefully make me a better paddler. I was a little surprised to see that the training was over the course of two days. In May the training was a one day training. Just having the two days will more then push me. I just hope I am not pushed so hard that I am unable to assess the last day of the symposium. It is a four day symposium and will take me one very long day of driving to get there and and another to get back.

While there were other events happening at the symposium that I think might have been better for learning individual skills, I think going through a standardized training module will work better for me. Especially since I will be taking the sea kayaking certification in the fall shortly after the symposium. I wanted to certify at the higher L4 level then just at the L3 level. I will accept what I get but the higher level will go further for me in the long run. Especially if everything pans out.

I am going to have a ton of packing and planning to do for this trip. I have to grab a mix of gear as my helmet is normally only used in whitewater. I will need my helmet, cold water gear, emergency gear, a contact strap (which I don't have), camping equipment (time to break out the massive tent) and the cooler from work. I will need to figure out something for meals, especially since I am not sure we will be coming back to the camping sites (or launch point) for lunch. I also don't know how many meals other then the BBQ that will be available. There was mention of a lobster bake that I think I will have to go to, but otherwise I think the remaining meals I am on my own for. What I learned in May at the 3 star training, was to be prepared for anything and to stay out for the day or even longer if something happens. I am not sure when I will be able to leave the DC area. I was hoping to leave Wednesday after work, but it will depend. I was hoping to stop in RI to catch up with someone, but that might not happen on the way up. So much to plan, so little time.

A week of kayaking

2009-08-02T20:21:00.000-04:00

I just spend about a week doing kayaking everyday. I had a white water peer paddle on the wednesday after I got back. Then I was out thursday doing flat water with another group to hone my skills and prepare for the flat water certification. Back out friday for the white water social paddle, then on the weekend I was an instructor each day with a class. Very busy kayaking weekend. I really had fun and while I didn't have much time for other things like laundry I was able to keep up with the kayaking site and get emails out and tweak more stuff. I still really need a viewership and am starting to visit forums to try to bring people over my way.

I just barely had time to do some food shopping on saturday and I made some salsa on Sunday. I still didn't find time to do laundry but I did find a little bit of time to finally pin up the last lace project I was working on. Not sure I like pinning up square lace, but it turned out very nicely. I really do need to find a better way to pin out my lace to dry. At this point though I am not really willing to invest in anything as I am trying to clean out the apartment of junk before I add more stuff in. So until I can get rid of the old backpacking equipment that I don't need, I will have to wait on the lace pinning thing.

Back in DC

2009-07-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

I am sadly back in DC. I really enjoyed my stay out in Utah. The trip was not nearly long enough and I am not sure when we will be able to get together again for the next few months. I really did not want to go back to work today, but at least I have kayaking tomorrow night to look forward to. I also have so much stuff to take care of from the gear show I just got back from. I have to email a bunch of people and get more viewers to the site.

I have never really noticed the humidity before here in DC as I mostly grew up with humidity. But after spending more then a week at relatively low humidity, I am finding it is quite humid here. As my flight was delayed in Houston, I got back later then I expected. My duffle weighed in at 50 lbs and my pack that I used as a carry on was also quite heavy. I must have had about 80 lbs worth of stuff to pug back to my apartment. Good thing the bus stops right in front of my place. Because I got back so late, I haven't had a chance to get any food yet. I have some stuff in the apartment so I might have to hold out on fried rice and noodle stir fry until this weekend when I will have time.

Bryce Canyon and Calf Creek falls

2009-07-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

We managed to get out of the OR show fairly early and we packed up and hit the road. We ended up going down to the dessert in an effort to see if I could be warmed up. I haven't been really cold but I do find I am cool enough that I carry long sleeves with me just in case. Zip apart pants are my best friend right now. We made it down to Bryce a little late but we found a nice site, set up then walked out to the rim to watch the sunset. Too bad it was cloudy and there was smoke from a forest fire, but it was still beautiful. We prepared and ate supper on the rim enjoying the cooling evening. We again planned really well by leaving the headlamps back at the camp site.

The next day we hiked down into the canyon among the hoodoos. It was really surreal. I have never seen anything like them before. It was also pretty warm out. I was finally warm for a change. We had an afternoon sprinkle of rain but nothing too big. We had to change campsites twice because the camp ranger didn't tell us that loop C was reservation only. We got lucky and found an open spot on C the first night but didn't know we couldn't just move to another site. We found a site later in the day on D. Imagine how upset we were when we left the next morning to find no one had stayed on the site they had kicked us out of. Oh well.

We drove over to hike in to see Calf Creek Falls. It was amazing and although a very hot and dry hike in, well worth it. There were few people because of the heat. The sun beats down into the canyon and there is very little shade. We made it to the falls and have time to enjoy it alone before a few others joined us. We hiked back in a gentle rain which cooled the area down and made the hike out more pleasant. I am not looking forward to going back to DC tomorrow. I really don't want to go back to work either.

Summer OR show

2009-07-24T20:12:00.000-04:00

I thought the winter show was pretty big and crazy but the summer show while about the same size had more area being covered, like paddle sports. There were just as many parties and seemed to be just as many people crowding the aisles. I was running from appointment to appointment and when I didn't have scheduled appointments I was trying to meet with retailers to set up appointments or to pitch the new watersports section of the site. It was a crazy week and I think I will be feeling the effects of it for a little while. I will have to email tons of people and try to set up gear to be tested on the site.

It turned out to be a really great show in more ways then one. Not only was I pitching my own site, but I won a few nice items while I was there. I won a very nice messenger bag from KEEN. I also won a wool top from Icebreaker. I won several pairs of shows. And the big win was a kayaking trip for two to Baja, Mexico to kayak with the whales. I was really surprised to hear them call my name as it was really a last minute addition to the drawing. I was there to talk to the retailer and he entered my name in the drawing. So I was understandably surprised that I had actually won. Who wins these things? Apparently people do win them. So we are now all psyched up to go on this amazing trip. I really can't wait.

Tomorrow is the last day of the show and I don't really expect to have too much to do. Mostly I have a few little things to do and we might even be able to get out before lunch and hit the road early for more trail time.

Over 10,000 ft

2009-07-19T16:58:00.001-04:00

We did the Brighton Lakes loop hike this weekend. We didn't have a ton of time left on Saturday after driving back up from Eureka and getting everything packed up for backpacking. We did make about 5 miles up to the last lake and found a nice place to camp. It was really nice except for the droves of mosquitos. I thought I was going to go crazy with the humming and the biting. Of course we planned really well by leaving the DEET in the truck. I only had Badger Balm bug off and it didn't work so well against the droves. We pitched the tent and got water in a hurry then rested behind the netting until dusk slowed them down.

We have been playing around with different meals on our trips as I am not a huge fan of Mountain House meals. I had a bad experience with them at the beginning of my thru-hike and have avoided them almost ever since. I was eating a lasagna and the vegetables tasted moldy, what a turn off. I have tasted some since and haven't had this issue come up so it might have just been a bad batch. My boyfriend doesn't care for the Lipton Noodle or Rice sides that I eat so we are trying to find common ground. It might just be that we each eat what we can and enjoy each other's company instead. We ate asian noodles this trip and while we both thought they were okay, they weren't okay enough for us to keep going back to them. We will have to keep looking, but I am starting to think that dehydrating our own meals might be the way to go.

The first day we had a fair amount of elevation gain and I was really feeling it towards the end, but we pushed on to the top lake and had a great evening with great views as seen through bug netting. The following morning left the option of making a run for one summit then heading back down the way we had come or pushing for the summit and finishing the loop. I decided I was up for the loop so onward and upward we went. It was my first time hiking up over 6,000 ft. Mt. Washington was the highest I had ever hiked. Sad but true.

It was absolutely breath taking, and the views were stunning too. I wasn't so bad off, but we did have to take frequent breaks. There were still some patches of snow and we ended up having a snow ball fight started by me. I was surprised it was perfect snow ball snow, sticky enough to hold together. I ended up on the lower ground and got some snow kicked at me. But it was fun none the less. I'm glad I decided to push for the summit. It was a hard climb up but well worth it.

Seeing Eureka

2009-07-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

I really didn't do anything yesterday other then try to get all the little computer things done. They have been slowly piling up until I had time to work on it. Yesterday was my first real chance to get it done. I fixed up the website and worked on some of the little tweaks I wanted to do. I think everything is set for that for now. I even had an afternoon nap to try to get over the jet lag. I have been drinking tons of water to stay hydrated but I feel like I have to clear my throat much more then my usual annoying amount.

After supper, we had time to go out and hike to the top of the mountain overlooking Eureka. It isn't very high and the road was graded, but again the elevation is higher then I am used to so it took a while to get up to the top. The views were great, although there wasn't much town to see. It is a small town. But it was cool to see it from above. I think the one day of rest helped me to acclimate a little as I didn't get a big headache, just the hints of one.

I notice the area has an austere beauty. It is different from the east coast. Not as many trees covering the mountains down here. There is a lot of shrubbery though. Sage brush and stuff. I can't wait to see more of the area.

Eureka

2009-07-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

I arrived safely in Utah. The taxi driver had my cell number wrong but luckily I saw him waiting. I can't believe there is now a surcharge for putting bags in the trunk, that is ridiculous. Oh well. I arrived at lunch time so it was off to lunch for us. It was so nice to finally see my boyfriend in person and get a real hug. Skype is nice but it can only go so far.

We ate some Mexican for lunch then decided to hit the hills. I am not used to the higher elevation and so I was soon huffing and puffing like crazy. We were trying to get up to Cecret Lake, but I wasn't able to make it. I had no problems going downhill it was the uphill that was killing me. It wasn't so bad until I started to get the accompanying headache. I am trying to drink water like crazy too as I am not used to the dry heat. I actually found that while the temperatures are about comparable, the lack of humidity makes me feel cooler. We met family for supper then it was packing, a food run then down to Eureka for a few days.

I woke up as we arrived. Not much to see late at night. Boy is it dark here. The bed and breakfast is nice, what little I saw of it. I am very tired from the very long day.

About to leave

2009-07-14T22:17:00.000-04:00

I did my last minute laundry yesterday and am trying to finish up the last minute packing today. I have to pack not only the stuff I need to the OR show, but I also need to pack some stuff to go backpacking while I am out there. It seems like I have so much to do and I just can't wrap my head around it. I do know that I will be coming back with a lot more stuff then I went out with. I was able to pack everything I needed in the large green duffel with my clothes in a carryon that fits inside the duffel. This way I can either expand the duffel or remove the carryon and have more space. I am really looking forward to this trip. I haven't seen my boyfriend in too long. While this will be a short trip, it will be nice to see him again. I really can't wait. I'm off to bed as I fly out extremely early in the morning.

One week

2009-07-08T12:11:00.003-04:00

One week until I get to take time off of work, fly out to Utah and enjoy catching up with people I met the first time I was out there. And more trail time. And a backpacking partner I actually like to backpack with. I am leaving it up to his Utah experienced hands to pick out some nice places to show off. I fear that he has too many to chose from and will be wracked with indecision. Guess it really depends on how I take to the altitude when I am out there. But I have two weekends out in Utah and hopefully will be able to hit some nice trails. I am looking forward to a change of view and change of pace. I have been doing so much kayaking that I fear I might be out of backpacking shape.

I also can't wait to get out there for the big gear show that is happening. I went out to the winter version of the show and it was awesome. I am ready to be wow'ed again with what I hear is the bigger summer show. I also can't wait to check out all the kayaking stuff. I have been reading that they have class III rapids below the reservoir to play in with the white water boats. I am just barely comfortable with the Class III on the Potomac here so I am not sure I will hit the white water out there, but I am definitely going to be hitting the water on the reservoir and have fun playing on the flat water.

Time to hit the trail

2009-07-06T11:49:00.000-04:00

I have been on the water so much the last month that I think I am starting to feel a little water logged. Not only did I do the week long kayaking training certification but that weekend I taught two classes. One class was one on one instruction as only two people showed up and two instructors. I have also been running a lot of social paddles as well as peer paddles both during the week and on the weekend. Last week I ran the gorge with some friends and was so excited to be trying out a play boat that I forgot to change from my glasses to my sun glasses with the strap. Needless to say, I left my glasses on the bottom of the Potomac. At least it was only my glasses. The boat was so squirrelly that I kept capsizing it. So I really got in my rolling practice that run. I am waiting for my new glasses to come in. I decided to just order a few off the internet and I hope I can get the lasik done on my eyes at the end of summer.

So after all that paddling, it is time to go hit the trails. I have a nice gravity filter to play with as well as a sleep system by Therm-A-Rest that I can't wait to try. The system is supposed to feel more like a bed then a body bag. I hope I can sleep better. Only problem is my hiking partner is not here and I am not sure I want to carry the big tent. I am waiting for a lighter tent to arrive but in the mean time I think I might just tarp tent on this trip. I cam bring the hammock and optionally if there are good trees I can swing for the night.

Crabs and fireworks

2009-07-04T23:55:00.000-04:00

I was invited to join some people for the 4th of July celebrations. I hadn't really done anything either here in DC or any place I lived for the 4th so I wasn't sure but I figured these were people I was paddling with and a good time would be had. And I was right. I knew a few of the people at the party and met others which was nice. We talked about kayaking and watched some kayak porn videos as well as one girl showed off her Africa pictures from when she hiked Kilimanjaro.

The day started off with moving boats around and getting them down to the put in before the streets were closed off. After that we sat around talking about the Africa pictures while snacking on all sorts of junk goodness. We enjoyed a crab boil and dessert before walking down to the put in. It was very strange to be walking against the crowd dressed for kayaking but without the kayak. We had several comments, the best of which was a remark about expecting that much rain. We paddled out around Roosevelt Island to where we could see the monuments and parked ourselves. With one sea kayak and about 8 white water boats, the sea kayak held the beer stash. The fireworks were great, coming up from behind the monuments. I shot some video, a bit shaky from the current but still cool. We paddled back in the dark with the flow of traffic this time. Loaded up the kayaks and gear and walked back. We ate more food and stayed to watch more kayak porn while waiting for the traffic to die down. What a great time. It makes me sad to think that I didn't do this last year because I let my self get talked out of it.