Sunday, January 30, 2011

winter hike

Today I decided to go to my favorite shuffling park trails and check out if they were passable or not. I dusted off my hydration pack and hiking boots. I was working on a theory that some kind of path would be packed down seeing as though the nearby stable used these routes for trail rides. I know from experience that winter trail rides a great. I pulled into the parking lot and there were a couple of cars; a cycling group was meeting and some people were going cross-country skiing. I checked out the situation and noted that there was a path. I knew that my hiking boots were water resistant but I had never actually tested them in the snow. I decided that I would just go for it and if my feet got wet I would turn around. In the beginning I was having a ton of fun. My feet were dry, I was having a hard workout, and the scenery was beautiful. It was fascinating to see my favorite stream decked out for winter. The air smelled cool and crisp of winter and musky and wet from the stream. It was quiet, peaceful, and perfect. Now I'm going to be honest, about 15 minutes into my hike I began to get bored and really sick of the snow. You see, the conditions were difficult. The snow was packed and therefore kind of slick. I could not take my eyes off of the path which is why I started to get restless. I slipped and slid and had to pick my steps carefully. If I went off of the path the snow was up to my knees. I decided to keep going to my 25 minute turn around. On the way back I thought about how as little as 2 months ago I would not have been able to do this. As little as 4 months ago I could barely walk up the 2 flights of stairs to my door after work. Subsequently, I picked up my step and enjoyed my walk back. In the end, I walked for 2 miles in 47 minutes. In addition, my feet stayed completely dry so I guess my boots are more hardy than I thought. Please enjoy my amateur photography.






4 comments:

  1. I know you like the beach pictures, but I'm lovin these winter ones. Gorgeous!

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  2. thanks! We're getting hit with more snow and ice yuck

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  3. GORGEOUS PICS!!!
    Thanks for coming to my blog... :)
    I read back a bit and saw that you got bitten by something on 5/15 then had the flu by 5/20...I am just throwing a few things out there, because as you said, our symptoms sound VERY similar.

    Lyme usually presents within 7 days of a bite as a flu-like sickness. It is possible you were bitten by a tick in the woods(stopping to pee is prime tick attack time!)and you didn't even know. Ticks are SO tiny, some as small as a poppy seed! It could easily stay on you long enough without you knowing. Ticks do not have to be on you for 24hrs for you to be infected, that just increases the risk. If a tick has started to become engorged, you are at risk. Honestly, even if you did a Lyme test right now, it may not come back pos. even if you did actually have it. Not sure where you live, but there are several blood tests you can have done that may yield some results that could help direct your treatment, as well as a few *tests* you can do on your own. High ANA with no other markers is seen with many people with Lyme. You can email me if you'd like and I can inundate you with info ;)
    rawveganrunr@yahoo.com There are ways to rule this out or confirm it. Your ND should be able to help you with this too.

    I very much hope this is NOT what you are dealing with but if it is, the sooner you start treating, the better off you will be.
    InJoy...
    ~Julie

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  4. I don't know where else to put this answer? Oh well, I use the same generic upload button as you referred to. With that particular post I made the collage, in Picasa, and then saved it and uploaded it as one picture, if that's what you're asking about.

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