Winter Outdoor Sports (non-cycling)

[Catrin]

Had fun hiking today! A beautiful, if strange for the end of January, 57 degrees today and I called a friend from church to go hiking. I'm beginning to wonder IF my knee/quad will get stronger, but the two hiking poles really helped me out quite a lot. It was quite muddy, but the trails didn't have much topography which makes it difficult for them to drain. My knee isn't ready for more aggressive trails yet, but am thankful to be able to hike at a more normal speed :-) 2.7 miles in 1:08. I will take it!

[Crankin]

It's so warm here, that I rode Wednesday and will ride again today. I could have gone out yesterday afternoon, but I had stuff to do, so I went to a 45 minute Tabata class. It's supposed to be warm until Thursday, so I may actually ride to work on Tuesday.

[Catrin]

It's so warm here, that I rode Wednesday and will ride again today. I could have gone out yesterday afternoon, but I had stuff to do, so I went to a 45 minute Tabata class. It's supposed to be warm until Thursday, so I may actually ride to work on Tuesday.

Nice! It got to 60 degrees here, both yesterday and today Very strange, and welcome, for this time of the year. Hiked yesterday, neck and knee demanding a rest day today but am glad I went out yesterday. Tomorrow - either gym after work or will come home to play with kettlebells.

[Crankin]

Went for a winter hike today. We got a weird FB note from the local x country ski center we were at yesterday; the state park was closed due to a missing person investigation! So, we went out to a set of trails that is privately owned by Harvard University and also connects to both Concord and Carlisle trails. The parking at Concord end of the trail is embroiled in a controversy; homeowners hate the people and dogs on their street, so there are only 8 spots now. So, we drove to the Carlisle end, and took off on a trail we had never been on, once we got off the main trail. Very pretty, more snow than we thought, but we didn't need snow shoes. We did wear ice spikes, which also were not necessary, but it is usually icy in the there. Saw 2 x country skiers, and that was it. It was mostly rolling, and we did an out and back, since we didn't have the GPS. We were in sight of homes at the turn around, and looked on our phone to see what street we were near, but I did not want to branch out any more. We hiked for about an hour and a half, maybe 3.5 miles? It was 43 and I was sweating!

[Catrin]

Wound up playing with kettlebells at home today rather than hiking, schedule was just too tight, I hated not going outside though since it was so unusually nice for Feb and winter returns tomorrow.

That was weird Crankin, hope they found that person!

[Catrin]

Cold, windy, and one of our few accumulating snowstorms on Valentine's Day here. So what do I do after church? I drive to the other side of town in terribly slow traffic to our local REI and purchased a lovely set of trekking poles. I've actually been researching them since December, and trying out some poles that a friend loaned me. I hope to try my favorite local trail next weekend (assuming the weather does what it is predicted to do this week), I've only hiked it once since my knee surgery and I think it will go MUCH better with the poles - and I've had my friends for long enough. She needs them.

Thankful for having a mild winter!

[emily_in_nc]

Yay -- enjoy the new poles, Catrin. You won't regret buying them! Ours are from REI as well and have served us well for 10 years now. :-)