MIA

I feel like I've been MIA on this blog for a long long time.  Heck, I feel I've been MIA in everything lately as I'm pulled in all sorts of different directions and activities and jobs. 
I just returned from a week long Scout Camp with my son which explains my lack of blogging since I can't very well drag along a laptop with me. And while I wasn't able to blog about hiking, I was able to do a lot of hiking/walking in those 4 days.  I probably hiked/walked miles over the week that I was there.  My biggest concern was how I'd manage with my injury/piriformis syndrome.  I had to carry the daily necessities (sunscreen, water bottles, rain ponchos, clipboard, etc.) in my back pack all day traveling back and forth from camp to the different program sites.  Surprisingly, I managed okay without the benefit of any heating pads or massages to help ease the muscle tightness.  I wasn't carrying around a 30 pound pack, but I was carrying several pounds in the pack I had for 4 1/2 days.  My muscle was very tired and sore still.  I'm hoping that it will continue to improve or it will be a very slow hike I do in October. All in all it was nice to spend the time with my son and be outdoors, but I am glad to be back home.  Hopefully I can get things organized and back to a more regular blogging schedule (and maybe get everything else to fall into place).

Almost Pain Free

Went for a last minute hike this past Sunday.  The temps were in the upper 80's and the humidity made it ungodly hot.  But we went anyway.  I wanted to take along my pack to see how I managed with my injury.  I'm anxious to get back to work and get ready for the upcoming trip. 

I was carrying around the water for everyone else and the pack in total weighed about 12 pounds.  Not quite half of the maximum weight I expect to be carrying on the trail.  Did I mention it was hot?  We only did about 2 miles because of the heat.  I managed okay with my pack.  I stopped three times to stretch my muscle and it didn't really bother me too much.  I had more trouble with back pain than butt pain.  At the end, I was feeling encouraged that I'd be able to overcome the pain in my hip/butt.

When we returned to my mom's house, I crashed on the couch for an hour and a half.  I'm sure glad that our big hike takes place in the fall and not in the heat and humidity of summer!

Wordless on a Thursday

A few shots from my hike at Hashawa:

Back to the Routine

Julie and Ernie walking the trail

It's been a while, but I was finally able to get back to the trail.  The summer months are the busiest months for me.  We have our typical Scout activities plus baseball plus gardening plus trips to the beach.  It hasn't left much time for trips to the woods.  So last minute we planned a quick hike over at Hashawa Environmental Center.  I love hiking there.  The visitor's Center offers nice bathrooms and information on hikes and activities.  The trails all interconnect so you can make your hike as long, short, strenuous or easy as you want. 
My husband and I had been busy the day before the hike.  We have a large veggie garden and because of the rainy days we've had, it needed a lot of weeding.  That and cleaning out my parent's basement until midnight meant my body was in quite a bit of pain the morning of the hike.  I wasn't sure if I would even be able to go.  My knees hurt, my back hurt, my hips hurt and my piriformis muscle hurt.  But I swallwed a couple of Alieves and did my muscle stretches for the piriformis injury  sucked it up and went on my way.  And I'm glad I did.

E checking out the groundhog hole

My son enjoyed checking out things on the trail.  Here we stopped to try to get mulberries off the mulberry tree there and in doing so discovered a large hole dug directly under the tree.  Our consensus was that it was a groundhog hole (there was another hole dug nearby.  We all checked it out and continued on our way.  We eventually came to the Raptor cages along the trail.  Hashawa has several birds of prey that have been severely injured to the point of being unable to live in the wild.  They have a Kestrel, Screech owl, Barred owls, Great Horned owls, Red Tailed Hawks, a Black Vulture and a Bald Eagle. I love visiting the birds.  The benches there make a good spot for muscle stretching which is something I have found I need to do regularly while hiking.
It was a really nice hike and while it had a few inclines, it wasn't too taxing.  I had minimal pain associated with my injury and that was a great thing.  I think I might be able to work more wearing my pack and begin adding some weight to it.  I don't want to over do anything, but in reality that 40+ mile hike is fast approaching in October and I'd like to be physically ready (or at least more ready than I am now).  I'm hoping to find some time to go on an overnight to get the hang of things.

E and I

(I'm sporting the AT: Women's Group headband and I love it {even if my husband says I look like a hippy}

you can join the Facebook group if you're a woman and you hike.  I highly recommend it!)