Miles Today: 7.3
Map Way Points: C to D
Google Map
Today is more of a thinking day for me. I was a little fatigued from yesterday. The best thing to do when tired is go for a walk. So that's what I did and the fatigue is gone now. I have a theory that things are slow to recover when they feel tired. I've read studies on the buildup of stuff in the muscles that cause fatigue. Once it is out of there, we feel a lot better.
The best way to get it out is to gently walk it out. If I still feel fatigued, then it might be time for a short day. But I don't make that decision until after the first couple of miles unless I'm concerned about a rare injury.
Making time for an enjoyable exercise plan can be a powerful motivator for getting other important things done. I know if I waste too much time, the other work still needs to be done, but I'll miss the fun part.
Today I took some time to congratulate myself on what I've done. I'm on the 25th consecutive day of walking over 6 miles. Only one day was under seven. I've averaged 8 miles a day for those 25 days. I'm about 620 miles into the hike. Next week, I'll be 10% done. As I look down the sidebar, I see a lot of blog entries. I read through a few and I remembered things I forgot about. I wish I started it sooner so I had some good pictures of walking in the snow storms.
Then I looked back on my reasons for doing this hike. The one that stood out was "It keeps me in shape for backpacking." We went for a hike in the woods yesterday and it was very easy. I didn't race up the hills or anything. But I did see a noticeable difference in my energy level. Our first overnight trip will be fun. It won't be too long. We found a great place for it yesterday.
It's time to start cooking breakfast on my Svea 123r stove again. I slacked off a little bit because of the cold and mostly because of the late sunrise. Now it is a nice quiet time. I'll need to put a review of the stove, too.
Still thinking today. I hardly notice anything around while I'm walking.
Today, I was thinking about being a "Free Radical." In the book "Crises in America" by Demming, he says a lack in quality in production is rooted in the process. An example of mine is if a person is given a job pounding nails with the sharp end of an ax, they are going to bend a lot. Extra practice will not improve things except maybe for a Ninja. But Ninja's are never seen. The simple answer is to use the proper hammer.
Often we pound nails with an ax with gear. If boots are not working for us, we look for a different boot. The simple answer may be to use a hiking shoe. The reverse is often true, also. In my case going outside what the gear manufacturers want us to buy for hiking found the ideal solution in a combat boot. A soldier used to a combat boot might find a shoe works better. The "Free Radical" label means to not be afraid to venture outside what is considered normal for backpacking. There may be gear for other uses that works just as well or better.
Another quote I heard is "Spend money where your time is." It was made by BrianLe in his CDT journal. This makes a lot of sense. If a person takes an occasional weekend trip, there is no reason to have top of the line gear. My feeling is if I buy clothes I wear often at home then it pays to buy better clothes that can also be used for backpacking. My fleece and rain jacket are examples of this. I wear my fleece almost everyday when it is cooler. When it gets cold I add the rain jacket as an outer layer. Due to the wear factor, this may also make me decide on a less expensive fleece. A paradox, I know.
To put this in terms of individual gear, we spend most of our time in the tent and sleeping bag. After that, in our footwear. Most problems seem better in a dry tent and bag. Few things are more miserable than sore feet. Most other gear has substitutions or lower cost options that work almost as well.
Just do a lot of research before buying an expensive tent and bag. Especially the tent. Getting one that is too heavy is hard to recover from. For a first good tent, I'd suggest buying from REI which has a very liberal return policy. With bags, you generally get about what you pay for.
The sky to the east is perfect. Clear blue sky with white clouds that are fun to chase in a small maneuverable jet.
To the west is a little different story. Low clouds are forming over the mountains which will likely bring afternoon rain and thunderstorms to the mountains. They seldom move to Pueblo though. It should continue to be a great day for walking.
After the rain a couple nights ago, the trees along the Fountain Creek suddenly turned green.
On the virtual hike, I passed through Castleberry, AL. Here is some info from Wikopedia.
"Castleberry is a town in Conecuh County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 590. Castleberry is known as the "Strawberry Capital of Alabama" and is home to the annual Castleberry Strawberry Festival.[1]"
Virtual Hike End of the Day Picture
TransAmerica Virtual Hike
I moved back to 5th place today.
| Name | Distance |
| RebeccaJ | 825.7 mi |
| LarryB | 807.0 mi |
| BernieS | 803.1 mi |
| Carol H.W | 794.2 mi |
| GaryT | 784.2 mi |
| LamontA | 779.7 mi |
| PatM | 777.8 mi |
| JohnZ | 764.8 mi |
| AnnF | 758.4 mi |
| johnd | 751.7 mi |
| DanaA | 751.4 mi |
| RamonaH | 751.2 mi |
| JohnA | 744.7 mi |
| AshleyA | 740.7 mi |
| sarah w | 734.1 mi |
| LT | 733.8 mi |
| SusanP | 719.9 mi |
| SHIRLEYE | 717.0 mi |
| MarilynrH | 714.7 mi |
| DavidG | 712.2 mi |
| JoyJ | 708.9 mi |
| StaciR | 705.9 mi |
| LoreneE | 693.7 mi |
| FayeD | 693.3 mi |
| MaryP | 692.1 mi |
| billP | 690.6 mi |
| KellyB | 683.4 mi |
| GordonM | 670.3 mi |
| MichaelA | 669.2 mi |
| JohnB | 667.3 mi |
| KeithC | 661.6 mi |
| MatthewM | 659.6 mi |
| LizK | 654.6 mi |
| beverlyp | 653.2 mi |
| KarenH | 649.2 mi |
| JamesJ | 648.2 mi |
| MarkR | 648.2 mi |
| SteveB | 645.9 mi |
| CherylB | 637.5 mi |
| ShirleyE | 637.5 mi |
| LarissaJ | 633.2 mi |
| BillM | 633.2 mi |
| LenD | 633.2 mi |
| CydM | 632.2 mi |
| RitaM | 626.3 mi |
| scottE | 624.5 mi |
| bruceb | 622.6 mi |
| RichG | 622.4 mi |
| Kevin | 607.2 mi |
| JoannM | 603.1 mi |
| George`F | 602.8 mi |
| BrendaS | 599.7 mi |
| GinaD | 599.0 mi |
| SusanJ | 594.7 mi |
| NancyJ | 590.8 mi |
| MonicaM | 589.7 mi |
| RobertB | 587.7 mi |
| KateS | 587.7 mi |
| KathyS | 587.7 mi |
| SandraN | 587.7 mi |
| CatherineR | 587.7 mi |
| MichelleB | 587.7 mi |
| MaryC | 587.7 mi |
| RebeccaL | 587.7 mi |
| loro | 587.7 mi |
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