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Thread: Hiking

  1. #46
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    Sounds like a lovely hike, Catrin. Glad you enjoyed it! Don't blame you a bit for saying something to the couple...I would have too. I can't imagine that they would have been anything but grateful under the circumstances.
    Emily

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  2. #47
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    I wuld have said something, too. Especially with infants involved!
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  3. #48
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    Yesterday, we hiked in Estabrook Woods with our friends, but decided to go on some trails on the other side of the main trail. This property backs up to the the Middlesex School (a swanky prep school), which is on a main road. We quickly made our way to the back of the campus, where we found heated/ac bathrooms by the tennis courts . From there, we went back into the woods, and we kind of got lost. We had a trail map, which is not the clearest, since this area is all land owned by Harvard University, not the town. So, we ended up on a dirt road, name familiar, which we knew came out to the main road. We were parked at the other end of the main trail, since there has been a huge neighborhood controversy about parking at the end we we were nearing, and most parking has been banned. We saw signs for no trespassing, "beware of dogs," and got a bit concerned, but then we came out to a meadow/pond that clearly was a horse property. All of this gave us quite a view of how the 1% lives. This was like in a magazine; it takes a lot to impress me, after a childhood of seeing this stuff, but I have no experience with the "horsey set." I started seeing where we would end up, and shortly after passing 2 people on horseback, we came out onto the main trail, at the other end from where we parked.
    This was mostly flat, but weird, and next time we will stick to the trails we know, which are hilly and more challenging, and no threat of being chased by a guard dog. It was probably 5-6miles.
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  4. #49
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    Glad there were no dogs! Sadly it's much too wet around here for hiking right now. Crossing my fingers for this weekend.

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  5. #50
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    We have been taking some gorgeous hikes in the national forests in the south (Alabama, Mississippi...). Unfortunately, it seems to be a terrible year for ticks and chiggers. I did a very short blog post today on our hikes:

    http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...ing-the-trails

    Longest has been 9 miles, and that was a doozy since it was quite hilly, but gorgeous! Others have been in the 3-7 mile range. It's been fun getting back to hiking, but with the bugs, we probably won't do too much more until fall. It's been quite cool, even for the south, but the heat and humidity are supposed to fire up this week; and I suspect, after this, summer will be here with a vengeance. It's certainly taken it's time arriving!
    Emily

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  6. #51
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    Sounds wonderful Emily! Sadly we've had rain for 16 of the last 19 days. While that may be good for the flowers it isn't good for hiking on dirt trails. Crossing my fingers I can finally hike next weekend! I am finding other opportunities for walking such as parking a mile or 2 from work and walking but it just isn't the same.

    My longest dirt hike this year has been 5 miles and I've a goal of 150 miles this year, feet and knee allowing.

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  7. #52
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    Bummer, Catrin, that's a lot of rain!

    We have been really lucky in the past month we've been traveling (from NC to SC and across GA, AL, MS, and now Arkansas): we seem to be dodging nearly all the rain that's been sweeping across the south here and there. Other than one soggy overnight, we've only had a few isolated showers in the past month that I can recall, and none at all while driving! So that's been nice. I hate hiking when it's muddy out.

    We did another beautiful nine-miler today because it's actually been cooler and lower humidity than usual, and this trail was much better for bugs than what we encountered in Alabama and Mississippi; it was more of a mountain-type trail with lots of rocks and roots. No flies! And we got a cooler, gray day with temp only 71 at 1pm, when we got back. Sweet! That just doesn't happen in May in the south.

    Looks like we may not be so lucky with the rain later in the week, but we can't complain. Oh -- I have gotten out on the Jamis a couple of times lately, and she's still a blast to ride! Hoping to take her out again on an unpaved forest road we found near our current campground in the next couple of days.
    Emily

    2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
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  8. #53
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    Updating my review of the Merrell Moab Ventilator hiking shoes I purchased for very light hiking + pavement walking. I am VERY happy that I bought them from REI because they go back as soon as my foot heals.

    I've been wearing them for pavement walking - and on my earlier post I mentioned that they were a larger size than usual for me. My normal athletic shoes are 10, these were 10.5. Apparently they are still too small, or at least the heel is too narrow on my larger foot (I've a wide toe-box + narrow heels.) The Salomon's I was considering at the same time was an 8.5 though I might go for a size 9 - but their sizes do run large.

    It's really my own fault. I noticed a new callus on the side of my foot last night below my ankle, and without thinking I got my little electric tool and sanded that puppy right off. I then parked about 1.25 miles away from work this morning and walked to work. Now, that area WAS already sore, but I didn't notice anything when removing the callus. Today when I got to the office? HUGE blister right where the callus had been. Could hardly walk around the office and I called UBER to get me to my car after work. I've since tried to pop the blister but don't think I was successful.

    So the Moabs go back to REI and I will exchange for something else, probably the Salomon's if they fit properly. I'm never sure if light hikers should have room for some movement in the heel or if they should be snug (low profile), obviously these were TOO snug. I suppose I could try on the size 11.... Anyway, the Moabs felt really good at first so if you do buy a pair do pay close attention to the heel. Either they were just too small for me, which is possible, or their heels are just very narrow. I've quite narrow heels so that says something.

  9. #54
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    I also have a narrow heel and wide toe box, plus tiny feet. My light hikers (Merrells) were purchased in 2002 in Boulder, when my son was going on college visits. They don't fit right, but I can't say what exactly it is. I can't bring myself to wear my big Lowa hiking boots when I am doing the local trails, especially in warmer weather, but I am not inclined to start a search for new light hikers. I know they are 15+ years old, but they have not been worn that often until recently.The trail runners I bought last fall aren't that great, either. They feel tight. Only my regular running shoes and hiking boots feel perfect.
    I think that you could make a job out of finding shoes that fit.
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  10. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    I also have a narrow heel and wide toe box, plus tiny feet. My light hikers (Merrells) were purchased in 2002 in Boulder, when my son was going on college visits. They don't fit right, but I can't say what exactly it is. I can't bring myself to wear my big Lowa hiking boots when I am doing the local trails, especially in warmer weather, but I am not inclined to start a search for new light hikers. I know they are 15+ years old, but they have not been worn that often until recently.The trail runners I bought last fall aren't that great, either. They feel tight. Only my regular running shoes and hiking boots feel perfect.
    I think that you could make a job out of finding shoes that fit.
    Yep! I just spent close to a month shopping for work/church shoes and only succeeded at the Walking Company. I love my Solomon's backpacking boots for dirt trails, but they are far too much for gravel and pavement and I certainly cannot drive in them. It was a very close call between the Merrills and Solomon's light hikers, so I will give the latter another try. If I think they will work, or something else, at least I will just have to pay the (small) difference. I wear anything from an 8.5-11 depending on who makes the shoe! I had originally kicked myself a bit for paying a little more at REI but I am now very thankful that I did!

    With my other broken bits, from my neck on down, I really need a perfect fit for shoes. I'm thankful I can save up for them, can't imagine what it would be like to try and be active without proper fitting tech footwear <shiver>

  11. #56
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    Gotta say I LOVE REI! One of the reasons I originally went with the Merrill Moab shoes was the price, they were $50 less than the Solomon's. REI is having a sale this weekend - so when I took the Merrills back (my foot is recovering from them, thankfully), they were having a very good sale on most of their hiking shoe brands - including Solomon. I only had to pay $5.50 to exchange them - saved almost $50! And, some lucky woman will get a very good price on the barely broken in Merrills at the next REI yard sale. Good all around and the Soloman's feel downright yummy on my feet! They combine features of trail runner and light hiker - and will be just fine on pavement for me.

  12. #57
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    I may have to check those out.
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  13. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    I may have to check those out.
    These are the shoes. I've the "Peacock Green" version. My local REI has this currently on sale for just a little over $100, normal price = $145. Apparently my feet simply prefers Salomon's foot-bed/lasts over Merrills and certain other brands.

    Hiked 4.45 miles this VERY humid morning after no dirt hiking for at least a month due to weather & muddy conditions. There was still mud but we were able to get around most of it. My knee did great, very stable with the 2 sticks, and my foot did better than I expected. A bit of metatarsal pain now but that's almost impossible to avoid - my boots (here - purple/pink version) have done almost miracles at making it possible for me to hike as pain-free as I do. I WILL add that my boots, same model, are even more expensive than they were last year, so I'm glad that I pulled the trigger when I did.

    I think 4.5 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes is pretty good with all of my 'bits- especially since we were talking pretty much the entire time. We weren't doing it for time, so that's a bit of a surprise. It was so humid that I did take a Saltstick tablet afterwards - I should have probably taken one before I started as well but didn't think about it. I DID use bug spray, especially with all of the rain we've recently had - and yes - bug spray with all of the bad stuff as it's the only thing I've found that works. I always shower as soon as possible afterwards - and while not the main reason getting the bug spray off is one of them.
    Last edited by Catrin; 05-28-2016 at 08:53 AM.

  14. #59
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    Bug spray with the bad stuff is the only way to protect myself from tics/Lyme Disease, which is a huge problem here. I also appreciate keeping away mosquitos. I tried all of the natural repellants when I first moved here, and nothing else works for me. Glad the hike went well!
    Yes, soon hot and humid today. We were going to do a shorter hill ride this morning, but we got outside and changed the plan to a shady loop of 20 miles, with one small climb.
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  15. #60
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    Skeeter repellent

    Catrin - have you tried lemon eucalyptus? It's marketed under a couple of names, I've purchased Repel from REI. For me, it actually works on mosquitos better than anything I've tried. I've been out near dusk around shallow water and not been bitten, which is amazing. I can see them swarming around, but they veer off when they get too near. It's quite incredible to watch. We've usually very few ticks out here, so I can't speak to it's effectiveness against them. It's not effective at all against biting flies and the little gnats that don't bite but are annoying in their determination to get into your eyes and nose. They seem to enjoy the scent… but, it doesn't melt plastic or destroy your clothing and it has a relatively pleasant, if fairly strong odor.
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