Hiking

[north woods gal]

Constant chatter would drive me nuts, too. In fact, it would irritate the heck out of me while hiking or doing anything out in the woods. It would be like chatting during church, because, well, the woods are my church.

[Crankin]

So, today we went to a state park about 35 miles NW of here. It's not far from the place we x country ski, just over the border of NH. Also near where we climbed Mt. Watatic last summer. So, based on our hike Saturday, we did not bring our ice spikes. There was no snow or ice along the road as we drove up there, so we thought we were safe! We were going to do the "moderate" 5.2 mile hike, that had a lot of climbing. Of course, after just a short bit, there were ice and snow patches, but we could either go along side of them, or walk on strategically placed rocks. However, when the trail turned, it became narrow and full of ice and crusty snow. Even DH was not willing to try, so we doubled back a bit and found the easier "family friendly" trail, that also had some ups and downs. We saw a way to make this longer and climb up a small mountain, but we were stopped by ice there, too. So, we hiked around the camping sites and went back the way we came. Not a total fail, as we hiked 3.3 miles, with some good climbs, and it was really nice. We may even try and camp there next summer.
I think we will go back next week and try again.

[emily_in_nc]

That sounds nice, Crankin. Glad you didn't risk slipping on the ice, but I am sure it was pretty. Although I don't like the cold, I do enjoy winter hikes. No bugs, spiderwebs, weeds across the trail, not as much sweating, and I like the way the woods look in bare branches -- the views are better, for one.

[Crankin]

We were thwarted in returning to the state park today. Still warmer, but in the 40s and cloudy. When we were ready to get ready to leave, we checked the weather and it said it was raining there, and we could see rain on the radar. So, we decided to keep it local. Of course, once we got in the car, we looked at ther radar and there was nothing.We hiked 3 miles in Estabrook Woods, using our app to find a couple of new trails. Saw a few cross riders in the beginning and just afew other hikers, although there were plenty of cars around at the start. We hiked down the old ski hill, which is steep, and that was fun. Not as much fun as snow shoeing up it, though. As we were driving home, we did see several cyclists, as we were on extremely popular roads. I thought about getting my bike out for a short ride, looked up, and it was sprinkling out, so that didn't happen. Stopped at the natural foods store, and headed home for lunch.
So, a 3 mile hike at a good pace. Kind of bored now, I've been reading, but the rest of the world is wrapped up in the football game, which we could care less about!

[Catrin]

Glad you got in a good hike Crankin! As for me, the temps have been unbelievable in my part of the world. I went for a long walk yesterday, and today, with NO COAT! 66 yesterday (almost a 100 yr record), and close to 60 this afternoon. This means the trail are a muddy mess so I'm having to avoid dirt. Hit a MUP yesterday for almost 4 miles, hit the local canal tow path trail today for 2. I seem to be (finally) working out which shoes for what pavement. My feet are happy :-)

I'm also noticing that when I don't walk in some ways most days that my sacrum/SI joint gets very unhappy with me. My chiro keeps having to unlock it. I sure hope I'm not getting arthritis THERE as well!

Very thankful for the warm weather walking, and afterwards bought a small child-size scoop of some amazing ice cream. Great for January...but frankly I would prefer if it were closer to freezing so the trails would be hard and I could try out my cleats for hiking - bought them in December and still haven't had a chance to use them.

[Pax]

Found out the other day that we qualify for a $25 lifetime pass to the University Armory indoor track. You have to be 55 and instead of $3 a day or $250 a year, it's only $25 one time! So we both joined and are going there to take looong walks (my honey runs), they do college track meets there so the track is nice, it's softer than concrete and they don't mind if I use my poles as long as they have rubber tips. Same as Catrin, our weather has been really warm so all the trails are mud bogs, and my poor leg swells up a lot if I walk on concrete... so a big win for our fitness!

[Crankin]

That's great, Pax. How do you keep from being bored? I am not dissing it, just asking because I can't seem to do more than 5 minutes on a treadmill. I tend to go do some kind of class, if it's rainy out. Frankly, I am more likely to hike in bad weather than walk inside!
I restrained myself today... have not been feeling well since late Monday. DH has been sick for a month, still coughing, but better. I've been achy/thinking I had swollen glands for a couple of weeks, which abated and then Monday I got somewhat congested, just in the nose. I can breathe, a minimum of sneezing, but my head is full. No sore throat or swollen glands, just tiredness, achy a bit, no fever. So, I went to yoga with weights today and only warmed up a bit on the TM. Living in fear of it going south to my chest; my stomach is a bit off and my muscles are sore from this morning and Monday's power class. It's nice out, but windy, so I skipped the group hike and definitely would not ride. I am going to curl up and rest this afternoon, so I can assess if I am ok to go to tabata tomorrow morning.

[Pax]

Crankin - usually there are University track and field athletes working out at the same time I'm there. they are fascinating to watch so they keep me entertained. They are so fast! And the watching the high jumpers, pole vaulters, shot putters, and long jumpers has about got me tripping over my own feet trying to follow what they're doing. If they're not there, my honey will walk a few laps with me and chat. All in all it's a decent way to get in a walk.

[emily_in_nc]

The only way I can tolerate treadmill or track running or walking is with good music in my ears. Once I got an MP3 player, all of a sudden I could do a treadmill run on any awful-weather day at the gym (in NC where I lived, it was often too hot/humid to be tolerable outside, sometimes raining) and even in Mexico heat and humidity I managed to run at the track with my music. Without it, I would die of boredom and notice every little niggling pain or twinge.

Glad you found out about the gym, Pax! That is an amazing price. I'd be on cloud 9 too!

Hope you feel better soon, Crankin.

[Catrin]

Pax, that is awesome! So nice you found that kind of facility. Walking is good, however we can do it, but that sounds better than having to stick to a treadmill + earplugs!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Pax]

I know you'll get this Catrin, I just love being able to walk and swing my arms and take bigger strides, seems we don't get to do that much around here until summer otherwise.

[Crankin]

I'd like watching those people, too. I used to walk or run with music, but I stopped and focus more on looking at my surroundings if I am outside. If I have to use the TM, it's usually not for more than a 5 min. warm up, so I just stare into space. I don't even have headphones to plug into the TVs! I do notice the people, though. I had a 6 year hiatus from my gym, and it kills me that the same people are on the same machines, doing the same thing. That would drive me nuts. Then there's the head shakers. They are moving to the music they have and it drives me nuts. One of them does this in spin. She obviously doesn't know about keeping your upper body still when you ride, so you don't waste energy. I can't look at her! I know this is weird. I think it comes from when I was teaching and you would notice every participant and their little "things." We had names for everyone. My favorite was the woman who came to class with her own headphones/music, stood in the corner, did her own moves, and sang *out loud* to her own music.The fitness director finally had to talk to her. Then there were the smelly people, the people who always went opposite of whatever direction you were going, the guys who had running shorts that, ah, showed too much when we would get on the floor (before spandex type shorts), and the ones who be in your face and think they were teaching.

[emily_in_nc]

LOL, Crankin! Your post reminded me of a guy who used to come to our Pilates classes at work (2x a week at lunchtime, taught by an excellent certified Pilates instructor) who was apt to let out a fart at any time.

He was a super nice guy, but really!?!

[Crankin]

That, too. I mean, sometimes people get what is euphemistically referred to as runner's diarrhea when they first start exercising, as it shocks their gut, which is not used to motility. DH and I have a joke that even looking at our cycling shoes causes the need to go! For me, it's more the anxiety of starting a ride.
I could go on and on, but it's no different than types of riders. There was this well known man named Ken Alan who taught workshops for instructors. One of the funniest things I heard him, say was a categorization of group fitness clients; The A's, B's, C's, and D's. He said what everyone thought. I correctly classified myself as a "B" and I continue to find the "A's" as distasteful as I did in 1987.

[Crankin]

We finally got back to Willard Brook State Park. Much more snow there, in the woods. Not enough for snowshoes, but crunchy, with ice under a lot of it. It was about 38 and alternating between sunny and cloudy. I was a bit overdressed, but near the end, glad.
So, there was a good long climb in the middle and then DH decided to turn a certain way so we wouldn't backtrack or do too little. Having the All Trails app is great, but I still get nervous. We turned off of the SP trail, onto one with a name and sign that looked
like it was a nordic ski trail. There were no markers, but signs at the intersections. We eventually saw another couple... and got to a place we were familiar with and near the end.
The scenery was nice, but not especially different. I would love to snow shoe there, with more snow, of course, and also find out where those other trails are from. 4.5 miles.