Whew!

Tax season is finally over! Now maybe I can get back to some serious training for my trip. Going back into the office in late March after thinking I was done for the year really threw me a curve ball, from a training standpoint. Even the days I was only working 5 or 6 hours I found it really difficult to find the time to get good workouts in. I don't know how full-time workers can make the time to train seriously for whatever endeavors they pursue. I guess you just have to make it a priority, and something else has to give.
So now it's time to catch up on yard work...my lawn is beginning to resemble a hayfield, so I imagine I will be mowing every 2 or 3 days for the next couple of weeks until I can get the length of the grass where I want it and the clippings mulched in. Also, the typical homeowner's to-do list is always there too, so I will remain busy, but without the pressure of a deadline looming over me like April 15 was.

Our National Bird

No, not that one! It slipped my mind Sunday night when I blogged, but Sunday morning, as I was driving, I saw a Bald Eagle! What a spectacular raptor! It was about 10:00 am as I drove along M-71 past Vernon, MI...he was just floating along, riding the breezes, barely even having to flap his wings, and probably only 60-70 feet off the ground. I have only seen a few of these majestic birds in the wild, so it was really a thrill for me even though I was only able to watch hin for a few seconds. I can hardly imagine that they were nearly extinct just a couple of decades ago and have now rebounded so heartily. I'm sure glad we humans got it together on this score and quit polluting their environment (and ours) so that the resiliance of nature could take over and preserve the species.

Good news for me!

The latest developments are good for me on two fronts...my feet are finally healed up from all the blistering problems I was having. Now if I can just keep them healthy as I resume a more rigorous walking program. Hopefully the advice I got from the doctor regarding powder in my boots and doubling up on socks will take care of the issue for me.
Also, I was talking to my friend Dan on Friday and he expressed a renewed interest/possible availability in acccompanying me on this trip! It's still very early and he has to figure out his timetable but since we talked about it in the spring and he thought he had other obligations, I had pretty much ruled him out in my own mind. It's still early, but who knows?

AAARGH! Blisters!

I hate this! My training is getting delayed by the most common and despised enemy of hikers...blisters. I thought the boots I have were suffcently broken in and properly fitting so that I wouldn't have any foot problems, but it seems that I'm mistaken in that belief. As my body's fitness has improved, I've been trying to add distance to my workouts to increase stamina, but my feet are betraying me. One pair of boots seems to be too loose, resulting in blisters and hot spots on my toes and balls of my feet, and the other pair rubs a spot on my left heel, leaving a raw hole in my foot. This does not bode well for me if 6 mile walks on basically flat level ground is tearing up my feet. The idea of switching to running shoes is not real attractive either...the last thing I need to happen is turn an ankle out in the wilderness miles from my camp.
While I've been waiting for my feet to heal, I've been cross training on my bike. Boy, is that a change! All new groups of muscles protesting the unaccustomed work, but I think it's a good way to get a cardio workout. I know I sure wind up out of breath, especially after riding into a headwind for a mile or two.

The costs are mounting

When I conceived the idea of this trip last fall, I knew there would be some fairly substatial costs involved, in terms of getting together all the gear I will need, but already I'm finding out how quickly all this stuff can add up.

I've tried to be very careful when choosing what to purchase, doing a lot of research online to make informed choices, but sometimes you just have to be lucky too. My first purchase was an Osprey backpack, and so far I am feeling pretty good about that choice. It wears comfortably and I am figuring out how I'm going to attach and carry everything. I also bought a 3 season coat from The North Face, just to be prepared for the mountains, but am wondering if I overspent on that item. At the time, having vents in the outer shell seemed like a very important feature, but after shelling out over $200, it remains to be seen. I guess if I get caught in weather where I need to use it, I will know whether or not it was money well spent.

And then there's the subject of boots. I bought a pair of Red Wings last summer for outdoor wear, and thought they would be great for this trip, but after this week, I don't think they are going to be sufficent after all. Monday of this week I did a 6 mile walk, and when I got home, the soles of my feet were tender...felt like I had been walking on sandpaper. I attributed that to the cotton socks I wore, and the next day I switched to wool hiking socks. By the time those 6 miles were completed, I had several blisters on my little toe and the soles of my feet. I guess I bought that pair of boots too loose, and I don't know if a second pair of socks will remedy the situation.

I also spent some serious dough on some optics for my camera--$600 for a new image stabilized lens! I'll let you be the judge on that...I'm posting a couple of shots here of a red-tailed hawk that I took last week.

The Aftermath of Winter

Lately it's beginning to look like spring has sprung. I know it hasn't, and we will still have some crappy weather before it's all done, but I'm enjoying the warm temps and sunshine while they are here. I've been doing 6 mile walks the last couple of days, carrying my backpack loaded at 22 pounds, and been feeling strong and fit, but I'm seeing the ugly aftermath of the winter season.
It's amazing how much trash and litter finds its way into the ditches and fields. Some of it is understandable...garbage cans get knocked over or papers and stuff blow out of them, then the winds move them around or maybe they get scattered when the snowplows clear the roads. But I am appalled by how much stuff is there willfully, by people who just don't have respect for the environment or for their fellow man. The number of fast food wrappers and containers as well as drink bottles just disgusts me, because most of that stuff is there because people are too lazy and/or disrespectful to give a damn. I mean, c'mon, how difficult is it to dispose of you McDonald's wrappers in a trash can? Do you really have to have it out of your car right this minute? Can't you wait until there's a proper trash receptacle handy? I can only imagine how much worse it would be if Michigan didn't have the deposit on soda and beer bottles and cans...at least there's a little bit of incentive not to throw those out, which was the reasoning behind the deposit law to begin with.
I've been seeing more wildlife, too. More birds out and about, and the small critters are more active as well. Something startled a couple of deer yesterday...I saw them cross the road a few hundred yards ahead of me and go racing across a field with their tails high, wasting no time getting back into cover. Always a joy to see.

Gotta love Michigan weather

Went out yesterday for a hike. While I was inside stretching and warming up, it was dry as a bone...by the time I left the house it was starting to sprinkle a little bit. I thought "No big deal if it's a little damp out", and by the time I was a couple miles away from home and town, it had turned into a steady drizzle and the wind had picked up too. Needless to say, by the time I finished my 6 mile walk, I was pretty well soaked through and chilled a bit too. Oh well, I guess if it was easy, anybody could do it!