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Took a walk today

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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      I got a few more miles on the AT. It was fun but I still had bad foot pain and blisters so I stopped at Outdoor 76 and bought a new pair of shoes. They feel great...we’ll see.
      Just drove by Winding Stair Friday afternoon and early Monday morning. Always honk the horn when I cross the AT. And was at Outdoor 76 Saturday. :thumbup:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      I got a few more miles on the AT. It was fun but I still had bad foot pain and blisters so I stopped at Outdoor 76 and bought a new pair of shoes. They feel great...we’ll see.
      Just drove by Winding Stair Friday afternoon and early Monday morning. Always honk the horn when I cross the AT. And was at Outdoor 76 Saturday. :thumbup:
      As I drove by Winding Stair, I thought I saw Sgt Rock and his wife Kanga in the parking lot, talking to some people. I nearly did a u-turn. I wonder if it was them or just my imagination?
      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      I got a few more miles on the AT. It was fun but I still had bad foot pain and blisters so I stopped at Outdoor 76 and bought a new pair of shoes. They feel great...we’ll see.
      what shoes did you get
      Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown...but I’ll be happy with a pain-free 10 miler. ;)

      I love the color but if they actually work for me, I’m buying the crazy looking ones too. Maybe Magic will let me fly down the trail.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      I got a few more miles on the AT. It was fun but I still had bad foot pain and blisters so I stopped at Outdoor 76 and bought a new pair of shoes. They feel great...we’ll see.
      what shoes did you get
      Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown...but I’ll be happy with a pain-free 10 miler. ;)
      I love the color but if they actually work for me, I’m buying the crazy looking ones too. Maybe Magic will let me fly down the trail.
      So now you can start planning to do the Triple Crown. :D
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • 6 miles with a loaded backpack (trying to do every day until I leave) and mowed our 1.5 acres with the push mower. Fitbit says over 14 miles today, but with over 90* on a sunny day, thinking maybe i should have worn a hat some.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      6 miles with a loaded backpack (trying to do every day until I leave) and mowed our 1.5 acres with the push mower. Fitbit says over 14 miles today, but with over 90* on a sunny day, thinking maybe i should have worn a hat some.
      Ouch!

      I mowed our half acre on Saturday morning. Then spread 3 bundles of peat moss and 3 bags of composted manure on the yard. Finished about 4 PM. In the Texas heat and sun. AND with the "Sahara Dust" beating down on me. Sunday I hiked 7+ miles in the forest. But I think the sunburn happened on Saturday. I did wear a hat, but my neck is cooked-lobster-red and sore.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • Hiked 6 mi in Frozen Head SP today. A few weeks ago, I realized that I’ve hiked most of the trails in the park so made a goal to hike all of them.

      It was muggy and buggy. My new shoes were okay but I still had pain in my left foot traveling up to my knee...likely because I unconsciously change my gait, putting strain on my knee. Ugh. If my foot didn’t hurt, I could hike more miles.

      The only pic I took was of my lunch, lol. It was couscous with chickpeas, olives, pepperoni, and fermented vegetables (radishes, green garlic, bok choy). Yum.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • We made the almost 3 hour drive to NY's Catskill region, near the town of Woodstock (yes, THAT Woodstock) to hike the Overlook Mountain Trail. It was a steady uphill walk of only 2.5 miles with an elevation gain of around 1500-1700 feet. I'd have to look at the map with my glasses on to get an accurate elevation gain. At 2 miles we walked past a long abandoned hotel and then at 2.5 miles there was an old fire tower. Kathy and I wanted to go another 2 or so miles to Echo lake but her sister didn't want to since it would have meant going down from and then back up to the top of the mountain. So the day wound up being a short one for walking and a long one for driving.
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    • Very sad to report I took my first 'real' hike of the year a few days ago. Just a day hike to the summit of Mount Mansfield, VT.


      Pretty Brook!


      I parked at the Underhill State Park trailhead, and took the Maple Ridge Trail up to where it intersects with the Long Trail. The parking lot was crowded with hikers, but I made the right choice with this trail. It is longer than some of the more direct routes, so I practically had the trail to myself. In the lower portion it was the usual Vermont type of hike where to play 'Chutes and Ladders' and fight your way up steep, slick rock.

      Pretty quickly the views open up and you climb higher over exposed rock ledge.



      First views of the summit. That is Mansfield's 'Forehead' over on the right.

      The only other hikers I saw on the Maple Ridge Trail were a pair heading down.
      I'll describe the summit in another post.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Mount Mansfield is actually an extended ridge with a number of sub peaks. I did this hike without maps or guide. I climbed Mansfield once before, but I had forgotten how stretched out the ridge was. Once I got to t
      'The Forehead' I had it in my mind that I was almost there. I still had another 2 miles to go, and in my condition that means almost two hours of hiking. It was easy hiking along the ridge, but the fact that it kept going and going was psychologically draining. I think you all know how that is :)
      Finally on the real summit. In the background you can see the communications towers on Mansfield's 'Nose'.

      Looking towards the Stow Ski Resort.

      Looking west you can see Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks of NY.

      My summit photo. I took a different route on the way down. I'll post that next.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • I took 'Sunset Ridge' back down. You can see the ridge in this first photo. More of a hop from rocky ledge to a lower ledge. That is always tough on the knees, but I survived.

      Walking down the ridge. I was a little too early for the sunset.

      Looking back towards the summit of Mansfield.

      In all I did about 9 hard miles. Pretty sad in comparison to most hikers, but I know my limitations and managed not to hurt myself. I have been in a bit of a funk this year, but it was good to finally take a walk again. I hope y=to do at least an overnight or two before the summer is over.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • There is something I forgot to mention.

      There is both a chair lift and and auto-road to the top of Mount Mansfield. So much like climbing Mount Washington, once you get to the top you need to be prepared for all the squeaky clean tourists who never broke a sweat to get there. The experience can leave you wondering why you put yourself through all that work, but only for a moment :)
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      There is something I forgot to mention.

      There is both a chair lift and and auto-road to the top of Mount Mansfield. So much like climbing Mount Washington, once you get to the top you need to be prepared for all the squeaky clean tourists who never broke a sweat to get there. The experience can leave you wondering why you put yourself through all that work, but only for a moment :)
      Well you definitely got a lot of quality with that "first hike" of the summer. :thumbup:

      I actually climbed Mt Mansfield with my wife's extended family around 25 years ago on a day trip. This was long before I even knew what the AT or the Long Trail were. Not for sure what route we we took. Just remember most of them were in their teens and early twenties and were in better shape than myself at the time.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Still trying to walk 5 to 6 miles everyday through the neighborhood (unless I get away for something better). Get stopped often by people, but today was a first. I had women reciting poetry to me. :)
      She said when she sees me it reminds her of this Robert Frost poem.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      Still trying to walk 5 to 6 miles everyday through the neighborhood (unless I get away for something better). Get stopped often by people, but today was a first. I had women reciting poetry to me. :)
      She said when she sees me it reminds her of this Robert Frost poem.
      Luckily no one has started reciting poetry to me yet.

      I've met more of the people in my neighborhood in the last 4 months since I started walking in it than I did in the first 30 years I've lived here.
      2,000 miler
    • Astro wrote:

      Still trying to walk 5 to 6 miles everyday through the neighborhood (unless I get away for something better). Get stopped often by people, but today was a first. I had women reciting poetry to me. :)
      She said when she sees me it reminds her of this Robert Frost poem.
      Now that there is a most memorable event, I've had women do many things to me, but never recite poetry....that's down right sexy!
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Took a walk today. It was a short walk and the most fun part was filling grandmas hands with acorns... over and over and over. When grandma tried to start a new game, someone filled grandmas pockets with acorns.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Oh that is great TJ, what a blessing.

      Now for my funny acorn story. Years ago my wife got it in her head that she wanted to make an 'Acorn Christmas Wreath.' That was a very odd thing, because not only does my wife almost never do anything crafty, the truth is she is terrible at crafts.

      She spent the fall collecting a giant bucket of acorns. Then through Thanksgiving she spent days painstakingly hot-gluing acorn after acorn onto a backer-board to make the wreath. Slowly the wreath took shape. I have to admit the acorn wreath was looking pretty good. Had a nice earthy, homey appeal. Her first successful craft project! All it needed was the bow added, and it was to be hung on our front door the next day.

      The next afternoon, bow in hand, she went to the place by the chimney where she had stored her wreath. Sometime during the day, a family of squirrels climbed down the chimney, tore her wreath apart, and made a mess of the living room. She was devastated. That was the last craft project she has done . (Well, in the interest of honesty, there was a sock-monkey project that she started when my kids were little, and did not finish till they were all grown up. But that is another story).

      I guess what I am saying TJ, is an acorn wreath might be a fun project to do with your granddaughter..... but make sure you keep it hidden from the squirrels :)
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Just finished up a 5 mile day a little while ago.

      I'm sure everyone has heard the old joke about the difference between taking a hike and taking a walk...when you're taking a hike you look for a tree, and when you're taking a walk you look for a bathroom.

      My YTD total mileage is 619; but since March 16 the last last 502 have been done looking for a bathroom. :)

      I did see 3 deer looking for food in a neighbors yard last night. All I saw tonight was Noah my neighbors 22 year old dog taking his master for a walk.
      2,000 miler
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Oh that is great TJ, what a blessing.

      Now for my funny acorn story. Years ago my wife got it in her head that she wanted to make an 'Acorn Christmas Wreath.' That was a very odd thing, because not only does my wife almost never do anything crafty, the truth is she is terrible at crafts.

      She spent the fall collecting a giant bucket of acorns. Then through Thanksgiving she spent days painstakingly hot-gluing acorn after acorn onto a backer-board to make the wreath. Slowly the wreath took shape. I have to admit the acorn wreath was looking pretty good. Had a nice earthy, homey appeal. Her first successful craft project! All it needed was the bow added, and it was to be hung on our front door the next day.

      The next afternoon, bow in hand, she went to the place by the chimney where she had stored her wreath. Sometime during the day, a family of squirrels climbed down the chimney, tore her wreath apart, and made a mess of the living room. She was devastated. That was the last craft project she has done . (Well, in the interest of honesty, there was a sock-monkey project that she started when my kids were little, and did not finish till they were all grown up. But that is another story).

      I guess what I am saying TJ, is an acorn wreath might be a fun project to do with your granddaughter..... but make sure you keep it hidden from the squirrels :)
      The acorn story is funny and made me laugh. (I can understand the feeling after the wreath was destroyed, though). I think Miss Runny Nose (she needs a better name) was trying to store acorns for the winter.

      She started off in the backpack but wanted to walk so we didn’t get to do the hike that we planned. We still had fun though. It made me think about how hard it must be to hike long distance with small children.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Spent a few days hiking on the AT in Grayson Highlands SP and surrounding wildlife areas. It was fun but tough. Water was scarce, the sun was hot on the exposed balds, and the rocks, Oh the rocks! I had no idea they were so challenging in that area.

      I don’t know how many miles I did. Hiked from Massie Gap to Fox Creek, then looped back around to Old Orchard Trail/shelter, then took 3 (or 4?) side trails up to Pine Mountain and back to Massie Gap.

      I forgot my hat,ugh! and am quite sunburned. Had to wear my bandana on my head to keep my scalp from burning. I don’t normally carry sunscreen but that’s definitely changing!
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      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 3 times, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • IMScotty wrote:

      Nice pony pictures. And I loved the ferns too.

      If I forgot my hat, I would have turned around to get it. I cannot take the sun without a hat.
      The ponies were cute. My first encounter was as soon as I started hiking. Four of them were on the trail so I had to get off trail and go around. Several times, I saw people feeding them.

      I usually only wear a hat under my rain jacket to keep water from getting on my glasses so at the time, wasn't too concerned about forgetting it. I'm really glad that I thought of wearing the bandana so at least my scalp didn't burn. My face, arms, and neck are pretty red today.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Yesterday, Time Zone and I met in Tellico Plains and drove up the Cherohala Skyway to hike a few trails. It’s the first time we’ve hiked together in a long time...8 months maybe...and it was great to see my hiking buddy.

      We hiked two short trails for a total of about 6 miles, Fall Branch Falls and the BMT to Whigg meadow. It was humid at the falls but otherwise great weather.

      The advantage of breaking up the day into two hikes is having a cooler in the car and enjoying a cold Stiegl Radler at lunch in Whigg Meadow. It was so refreshing.

      I’m always happy to be on the BMT, it’s like visiting an old friend, and hiking with an old friend made it doubly enjoyable.
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      Lost in the right direction.