January 2012 Mileage Update

It's been cold.  It's been snowy.  It's been muddy.  It's been raining.  I have put one foot in front of the other pretty much every chance I've had. 

Mileage Total for January:  28.65

6+ Miles in the Mud!!!

I just realized that I have hiked a full 10 miles in the mud this weekend!  Wow!  That's awesome!



Just me



After church I grabbed a quick lunch and packed a snack and some water.  I met up with my gal pals at North Park where we pounded out a full 6+ miles on the muddy trail.  It was REALLY sloppy!  There was one fall (not me).  We caught two dogs on the fly.  Snagged a geocache called "Ice Rink and a Bathtub."  We spotted some other hikers right in the vicinity of the cache and thought surely they were looking for the same.  I asked the man "How much further?"  He said "I don't know, where are you trying to go?"  My reply "Ice Rink and a Bathtub."  "What?" he says.  Ummm... it was then fairly apparent that he had NO IDEA what we were doing.  LOL  A few feet beyond that conversation we found the container.  I logged the find from my iphone.  Very cool!

Those of you on my facebook, had you been on FB this afternoon you may have been able to track our progress via Runkeeper.  I'm loving this tool that maps our hikes.  It's impressive technology.



Girl Power!!!!



4+ Miles In The Mud

Today: January 28, 2012
Where: Hartwood Acres
With: Me Myself and I
Mileage: 4+

I just HAD to hike today! Couldn’t find a buddy, so I opted for the trails more traveled just in case. It was MUDDY, like a slip and slide! I hiked out a mile and remembered there was a geocache somewhere in that vicinity. I love my new iphone. I does SO MUCH! I opened the geocaching app, searched for the closest, just to find that it was 113 feet from where I was standing. YAY!!! So I logged a cache today too.

For some reason I keep making mistakes with my RunKeeper. Last week I forgot to zero it out before I started. This week I accidentally paused it along the trail and didn’t realize it until I had gone some distance. On my map there is a gap. I could account for a third or a half mile or somewhere there about. Oh well. FOUR miles is good! I’m happy with it.

Welcome Snow!

It finally snowed… a good 6 inches!!!!  Yay!!!

I shoveled my little heart out today.  I like to shovel.  That’s nothing new.  I shoved the walkway, the porch, a path around the house, and the parking area.  I also shoveled a third of the driveway we share with all the neighbors.  It’s good exercise.  I shall not complain.  The fact that it was cold and sunny, but not windy was a blessing.

Here are my new snowshoes!  Oh ya!  I finally got to try them out.  Now I need to find some matching attire to go with them. 

I learned that my usual hiking boots are not the best option.  My feet eventually got wet.  They ended up rubbing and I got a blister.  Oh well… live and learn.  Next time I shall wear my leather boots. 

 

There were 4 of us today.  Tammi, Jill, & Jordan were with me.  Love this classic shot of all our feet at the end of a hike.  I didn’t set my Runkeeper correctly, so our mileage was all fussed up.  I’m recording 4.5 miles for today. 

6 Mile Hike

Hiked and even 6 miles with my gal-pals this afternoon at Jennings Environmental Center.  It was cold.  I'm thankful for my matchy matchy hat and scarf that Rene'e made me for Christmas.  What a practical gift!  A fine time was had by all! 

Is This Winter?

This winter has been mild.  It’s been unusually warm for the most part.  It’s much more bearable than a complete dumping of snow.  I do like the snow.  I like it when the sun is shining and the wind is NOT blowing.  I like it when you walk outside into a winter wonderland of untouched beauty.  You know… before the first tracks are laid into it.  I like the white outlining each and every exposed tree branch and it’s heaviness weighing on the evergreens.  I’m excited to try out my new snowshoes.  I’m waiting for some of the fluffy white stuff to arrive.  It’s here… but not in the pleasant way.  It’s BITTER cold outside this morning!  There are gusts of wind too…. not pleasant. 

  Brrrrrrrrr!!!!

New Adventures… 2012

The New Years Day hike was cancelled, partly due to in climate weather (rain) and party because both myself and my Pal were feeling slightly under the weather.  But, alas, today we made up for it!  Yay!  2012 will surely bring many many new adventures, many of which will be on foot.  (some will be via horseback too)  We set out on the North Country Trail at Moraine State Park.  It was brisk and windy, but pleasant in the cover of the trees.  The mud was a slight challenge, but did not deter us.  We hiked out under the 422 bridge.  Very cool picture, don’t you think?!

Two miles past the bridge we hit road.  The trail crosses over Interstate 79 and continues west, eventually crossing route 19.  We turned back at the 4 mile mark, just shy of route 19.  Road walking is less interesting.  I much prefer the soft floor of pine needles.  There was a way to shorten the trip, but we chose to backtrack the entire route.  All said and done, we walked ALMOST 8 miles, 7.8 miles to be exact.  By that time my Pal had a blister from an ill fitting sock and the bottoms of my feet were beginning to feel less cushioned in my hiking boots.  When I changed back to my tennis shoes, I noticed that I’ve walked a hole right into my sock.  Grrrr!!!  These socks are NOT that old!  I feel pretty good now, despite a small blister on the pad of one of my tiny toes.  Ouch! 

 

I’m so excited to log my hiking miles this year!  We are off to a good start!  Here’s to adventurous hikes in 2012!!! 

Holiday Observed

Today was the holiday observed.  I observed a whole box of tissues for my runny eyes and dripping nose!  I observed my headache coming and going and experienced ongoing congestion.  A few meds and lots of fluids… still fighting.  UGH!  Not a very happy way to bring in the new year.  Bummer

Looking Ahead With Sweet Anticipation

The new year has come and with it arrives many new beginnings and aspirations.  What do I hope for it to bring?

1. Many Many miles of hiking!  This time I’m keeping track, starting TODAY!
2. At least 25 more geocache finds!  That’s about 2/month, should be doable.
3. I’m going to clean out at least one of our spare rooms.  Should it be the small or medium sized room?  Hmmm… The medium sized room would be much quicker, but the smaller room has the potential to be somewhat of a game or tv room.  It has cable hookup.  Hmmm…  Any votes?
4. I’m going to reconcile my birthday list and post a master calendar.  My aspiration is to send everyone a birthday card for his or her birthday. 
5. With Keith working a new tour, hopefully our budget will iron out.
6. I need to get back to my weekly couponing.  We save a lot that way and it brings extra to share with friends, family or for donating to the less fortunate.

 

Ideas that are still developing…

• I’d like to take a class on web-design.
• I’d like to find a farm that is affordable (ministry opportunity)