Quotes and Dreams....

After endless days of commuting on the freeway to an antiseptic, sealed-window office, there is a great urge to backpack into the woods and build a fire. ~Charles Krauthammer
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir
We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down. ~Robert Sweetgall
The TRAIL is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for. ~ unknown

Just a few quotes I found inspiration in. :) I also found a great website called http://www.trailjournals.com/, and every time I read a persons thru-hike journey of the Appalachian Trail, it makes it that much more alluring to one day hike it. Big dreams, I know. But all great accomplishments start with a dream. :)

Physical Assestment, better than I thought :)

Woo Hoo! thats exactly how I feel right now. Well, minus the soreness setting in my legs, calves, shoulders, and neck. :)
I was really worried I couldn't do this 12 mile backpack , (six in, six out), because it has been so long since I've been out on the trail. But as usual, my body totally surprised me. Man, muscles are resilient, lungs on the other hand, need some work.
Started the first day in the afternoon, (3:30pm), in the heat, (92 degrees), and with a threat of a thunderstorm looming in the sky. Caught a sprinkle or two on our six mile ascent, but luckily no lightening. Yep, thats right, six mile ASCENT, as in straight up the entire way. It started out with a 1/2 mile of narrow, steep, stairs along a waterfall, which were a thigh burner and energy zapper. Then, we huffed it up three mountains, one taller than the last until we made it to the Murray Branch campsites. We set up our tent and had some Trader Joes trail mix and a freeze dried dinner (Chili Mac by mountain house, which was pretty good) around the camp fire before passing out. Too hot to sleep in my bag, I curled it up and made it into a perfect pillow and dosed off into zzzzz-land. The next day we awoke at daylight, packed up camp and ate breakfast on the trail, (cliff bars). All down hill with just a couple of PUDS, YEAH!. When we got to the waterfalls at the end, we decided to take a refreshing plunge in the icy water before changing clothes and loading back up into the car.
I came and breathlessly conquered South Mountain. Even though the ascent was tough, it allowed me to gage where my fitness level was, and surprisingly, I didn't have the heart attack I expected on the trail. It gave me the confidence to plan another hike, and to get my butt back into the gym to train my lungs to keep up with my legs. :)
Being outdoors isn't only physically cleansing, it's also spiritually cleansing. While I'm sweating out all the toxins from my body I'm also clearing the clutter from my mind. And, I learned my muscles can take more than I give them credit for.

I so suck.....

So I was just noticing that I haven't blogged in over 7 months. I totally suck! I've gone on vacation TWICE. Time to get my ass back in gear.

With renewed motivation and determination, I've decided to go backpacking this weekend to give me something to write about. And to gage just how far off the hiking wagon my body has become. The neat thing about the body and your muscles, is that they learn and adapt fairly quick. So good bye to sucky sweetpea and hello to starting over sweetpea. Off to hike!