Thursday, March 24, 2016

Eleven Miles and that's my Final Word

I am happy to announce that I made it through the end of the day on Tuesday and I didn't have any complaints about stinking after the deodorant debacle!!!!!   Whew!  I am also pleased to announce that I have remembered to wear deodorant every day since then!!!  (although I couldn't remember putting it on this morning so I had to employ the subtle lift my arm and sniff technique a few seconds ago to be able to honestly say that I remembered every day since then!)

I dropped 2 pounds this week.....down from last week's weigh in but still up from my sickly low weight!   

Running.....well I didn't run this morning.  I as just sore and a bit achy this morning.   Ok, not really muscle achy, but my feet were achy.  Yes.....much to my shame I need to admit that I COULD have run had I pushed myself.

I'm not sure why I'm achy.  Well, I know why.  I just don't know why I ended up achy this week and not after other hikes.  (Namely the hike from a week and a half ago at Colonel Denning State Park.)

Yesterday was my typical half day of work.  I had a dentist appointment right after work.  Luck was with us and Jason was able to be free shortly after my dentist appointment was over so we headed out for a hike.     We stayed somewhat local and went to the Thurston Griggs Trail....which is a feeder trail for the Appalachian Trail.  The Thurston Griggs Trail is a bit.....well it's all uphill.  This picture doesn't do the 'uphill' justice...but oh well!



We arrived at the top of the Thurston Griggs Trail and found ourselves on the Appalachian Trail.  It dumps us right at the site of one of the primitive campsites...the Pogo Campground.   We wanted to explore this area because we had read that it was the site of an old Hotel built in the 1800's for people to 'get away from the heat and humidity'.  Yes, on the side of the mountain just below the ridge line.   We wanted to see if we could find any signs of the foundations or ruins.  However, when we arrived at the Pogo campsite there was a lone woman hiker (70 years old....easy!)  with her dog heading to the spring we had just passed to grab some water.  She talked for a few minutes and then headed to the spring.   Jason's observation was that she was out hiking for a longer distance and not just a day hiker.   My observation was that she was OBVIOUSLY alone because she threw out a few times that her husband this and her husband that.  We started to explore but stopped when we saw her packs sitting off in a secluded area.  We figured it was best to move on and explore on the way back through.    Sadly enough, on the way back through we could see her walking around on a ledge a ways up the hill...but when we approached, she quietly lowered herself down out of sight for the whole time that we sat on a log to take a breather.  Oh well....it's local to where we live...just takes a nice strenuous hike up the side of a mountain to get there!   I'm sure we will be back. 

I snapped a selfie (of course)



We left the Pogo campsite and headed up further to the ridgeline.....and black rock




It was only a mile or two  further to Annapolis Rock so we headed onward.  (and lets also just note that between Black Rock and Annapolis Rock the trail is mostly flat).  The view from Annapolis Rock is the best of the two overlooks in my humble opinion.



I talked Jason into a picture of us together.   




We turned around at Annapolis Rock and made our way back down off the mountain....arriving back at the car at dusk.   We were tired but happy.

A quick stop for dinner and then home to shower and do a little research on the Black Rock Hotel.  The pictures of the old hotel are really neat.  Let me tell you....I would stay in a hotel in that spot if there was one!  (Heck, I will probably at some point end up camping at that spot some night!)







My step tracker on my phone registered the hike and my walking at WAY high.  Typically my mileage is dead on.....I know how far I run and my mileage on my phone matches my miles run.  I am therefore a little perplexed as to how I managed to end up my day with 11.11 miles for yesterday.  The hike in all the trail guides should have been roughly 6-7 miles.  Hmmm....yes, there were a few steps at work...and going into the dentist and into dinner.   See my why I'm perplexed??   The only thing I can think of?  The trail was rocky...so we weaved back and forth a bit...and we did explore some at a few different locations.  But 4 miles difference?   I have NO clue!



As I was looking at the steps, I switched it over to the year view and it is quite interesting to see.  I can trace where I was by my mileage.

You can see that in June and Julie I was high.....I was training for the half marathon.   October was low as I recovered.  November was higher not from running or hiking but because of vacation where I was consistently knocking out 7-10 miles of walking each and every day!  December I started to pick up with the hiking.....January was COLD...and I've been hiking more and more each week since then.  Just a neat history.....all with one line.  :-)

So I haven't run a step......that may be a fail this week!   But will it really be a fail when I hiked eleven miles (half uphill?)   Hey, my phone says 11...phones don't lie!!!!  Ok ok ok...I'll back it down to 10 since some of that was me walking into a food establishment and into the dentist office!  

Up next????  A walk with Sherry after work tonight!  (Hmmm...I better confirm that here shortly!)