Getting Back on Track

It's hard to believe that my last post on this blog was almost 4 years ago. A lot has happened since then. A couple of weeks after the last post I hurt my knee. I'm not really sure how it happened, but it hurt too much to run. I rested it for a week and tried to run but it hurt again. I waited two weeks and tried again and it still hurt. I wound up wearing a knee brace for a long time.

In the midst of the knee problems, my Mom decided it was time to move from Arkansas to McDonough Ga. Her house went under contract and I had to help her find a house to buy. I also had to arrange people to replace the flooring on the new house and paint it before she could move in.

Then I had to fly to Arkansas and help her finishing packing (which was a BIG deal). It was difficult for her to move since she had lived in the same house for 35 years. A friend drove the first truck load back to Georgia. I drove the second truck load back to Georgia with my Mom following in her car (with her 4 cats). I got a call on the way that the painting was finished but the flooring guy I lined up bailed on me. He was able to connect me with someone who could finish the job but it was a two day delay. That worked out since technically we had not yet closed on the house! So, we officially closed on a Friday. The floor was finished the next day. And we crammed all of her stuff into the new house.

Needless to say, with all of the chaos and my knee problems my weight loss project was out the window.

My knee eventually healed. A doctor told me that I was probably too old to run on a regular basis (something about being 54 and too much pounding on the knees). Life happened. I got busy and stayed swamped most of the time. The weight loss was something that I was going to get to “sometime”.

Last week my wife and I celebrated our 28^th wedding anniversary with a week long trip to Pigeon Forge, TN just outside of the Smoky Mountains. We rested a lot. We ate a lot. And we had fun. I’m afraid to step on a scale right now because I’m sure I put on more weight. Before the trip I weighed in at 196 pounds.

Now it’s time to start getting back in shape again. Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge for a lot of people. I’m certainly not “obese”, but I do have a gut that needs to be trimmed down. And my heart will probably benefit from some regular exercise. I will have to get creative about the kind of exercise to save my knees. I’m thinking bicycling, walking, light weight lifting and perhaps some swimming. And of course I will have to watch what I eat. I’ve done it before, I can do it again!

The last day of our trip we drove through the Smoky Mountains. We stopped by the mountain stream at the Chimney’s picnic area. We stopped at Newfound Gap (over 5,000 feet high) and took in the views. The Appalachian Trail crosses through that area and I walked up the trail for a few minutes. I took a picture of the sign which shows the distance to Mt Katahdin, Maine as 1,972.0 miles! It’s hard to believe that I backpacked that whole distance in 1980! On the way down we saw a herd of elk grazing in a field and a large flock of turkeys in another field. It was great to get back out into nature. Stay tuned for more updates as I am able to post!

Running Out of Food Is NOT Fun!

I began to hike through some rugged trail. Well, all of the trail is rugged, but this section was particularly difficult. When I was in Virginia I could put in a very long day and walk 20 miles. But in this section I put in very long days and barely made 15 miles. It was tough!

Hikers are always hungry and I had a standard supply of food designed to last for one week. For several months this worked out, but I found myself in a very unusual situation. I looked at the miles to my next re-supply point and then evaluated my food. For the first (and only) time, I had more miles left than food. At my current rate I would be one day short of food. In the deep wilderness, on foot, miles from any road (and who knows how far from a store), this was a crisis!

I looked at the food supply long and hard. Was there any way I could walk faster? A detailed study of my mileage data book showed that it was not possible. The only solution was to eat less and “stretch” the food to last. I began to eat less. And, for the first time, I was truly hungry. Oh, sure, I was always hungry and could demolish a plate of food in short order. But now I was hungry all of the time. As I laid down to sleep, I felt the gnawing pains in my stomach. I was miserable. How many days would this last? Just a few more I told myself.

The next day was equally miserable. All I could think about was food. Toward the end of the day I found something. No, it wasn’t food. It was a paved road. I decided to hitch-hike until I found a store. It didn’t take long before a logging truck stopped and picked me up. In a few miles I spotted a small store on the side of the road. Shouting my thanks to the trucker, I dashed in and drooled over the shelves packed with food. Well, if you saw it then you would have thought that it was a tiny “hole-in-the-wall” store with limited inventory. But for me, it was a bonanza!

I honestly don’t remember what I bought and ate at that store. I do remember buying a 2.5 pound can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew and a large package of Oreo cookies. I hitch-hiked back to the trail and carried my treasures with me about a mile until I found a shelter. I pulled out my stove and very quickly it roared to life. My large pot was soon filled to the brim with the ENTIRE 2.5 pounds of the Dinty Moore Beef Stew. Steam wafted from the pot as my large spoon began to shovel the tasty meal into my hungry belly. In short order the pot was empty and licked clean. Now it was time for the Oreos. One by one they disappeared as I savored the sweet taste of victory. When nothing was left but an empty container, I sat back satisfied for the first time in what seemed like years.

I slept soundly that night and woke refreshed. I was back on “normal” eating and ready to continue my quest for Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I knew that I was going to make it!

The Hardest Mile

   J.R.R. Tolkien wrote "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (which I have read several times). While writing these books, Tolkien reached the point where Frodo and his companions were in the mines of Moria and had just reached Balin's tomb. Readers don't usually know this, but Tolkien paused for about a year when he reached this point in writing. I can understand that. It's been about 9 months since I have posted on this blog. Life happens, and there are many distractions. But I remember learning in kindergarten, "if you start something, finish it!" And so, after a long pause, I am going to try to finish this blog. So, dear readers, here we go:

   All of the Appalachian Trail is physically challenging. Some sections are harder than others. In Virginia the trail follows a lot of ridges which makes for easier walking. Other places have lots of steep ups and downs. But there is one mile on the Trail that is the hardest. It's called Mahoosic Notch. I'm pretty sure that it's in New Hampshire, but it is very close to Maine.

   What makes Mahoosic Notch the hardest? Imagine a narrow valley with steep sides. Now imagine giant boulders the size of small cars fills the bottom of the valley. That's Mahoosic Notch! Hiking through a giant boulder field with a full pack is not easy. I had heard stories from other hikers, so I knew what to expect. Some hikers would take a long time to traverse this mile, exploring the remnants of ice still present under the rocks even though it was past mid-summer. When I got there, I was by myself so I knew that I needed to be careful. But I also love challenges. I decided to see how quickly I could get through this one mile stretch.

   Under normal circumstances I could hike about two to three miles per hour (as long as I had some rest stops along the way). But this was not your normal trail. I quickly discovered that my hiking staff was no use, so I put it in my pack which freed up both of my hands. Following the white blazes that marked the trail, I scrambled up and over the boulders. A few times I had to squeeze through narrow holes between boulders. The challenge was on and my stopwatch was ticking away. When I finally reached the end of the one mile boulder field, I laid on the ground utterly exhausted. How long did it take? Right at one hour.

   I was through the hardest mile of the Appalachian Trail, but I still had many miles to go. I knew that if I kept going I would eventually make it to Mt. Katahdin in Maine and stand on the summit in victory. Onward and upward!

Lonely Thoughts

   Morning broke quietly in the halfway house on the slopes of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. The old abandoned building was boarded up. It kept the wind out but also blocked most of the light! I remember cooking breakfast by the light of my little flashlight (a first for me, since I have never been an early riser). Ted the Head and the Strohs Brothers wolfed down their breakfast too. We loaded up our gear and squeezed out of the window by pushing on the lose piece of plywood. I half expected to see the park rangers waiting to arrest us, but the coast was clear.
   In the light of day we were able to look back at the summit of Mt. Washington and see how far we had walked the night before. The mountain towered above us and was very impressive. It was the last gigantic mountain I would see before reaching Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Yes, there were lots of other mountains to climb, but not like that one!
   We started walking down the road and made good time. Before lunchtime we reached the base of the mountain and civilization. There was a hostel near the road and we went in to take a break. I need to clarify this statement. "Take a break" for me meant a half hour or maybe an hour. But "Take a break" for Ted the Head and the Strohs Brothers meant that they checked in for the night! Their next thought was where they could find a beer. I was invited to stay, but I politely declined. We were past the most dangerous part of the White Mountains. I appreciated their companionship, but my goal was Katahdin in Maine, not a party.
   The climb up the next mountain was not terribly difficult, but it was different. For one thing, I was now hiking through forests (a welcome change after all that hiking above tree line). But the biggest difference I felt was solitude. The constant banter of Ted the Head and the Strohs Brothers was suddenly gone. I stopped and listened to the silence. It was peaceful, but a bit lonely.
  After a brisk climb, the trail came to a rock outcropping. It was a great place to take a break and soak in some sun. The temperature wasn't very cold, but still a bit cool because of the elevation. Sitting on that rock I began to think about being alone. It had been months since I left home. I had less than 400 miles to go before reaching the final mountain in Maine. I knew that I would make it. I also knew that I would see other hikers soon, even if I never saw Ted the Head and the Strohs Brothers again.
   I sat with my lonely thoughts, soaking up the sun and resting my tired muscles. But then there was something....a tiny noise. The trail has lots of sounds if you pay attention. But this noise was a bit unusual. It sounded a bit like scurrying. I looked around to see the source of this unusual disturbance. Much to my delight I spotted a small chipmunk. I was scurrying across the rock, oblivious to my presence. At that moment I laughed inside, realizing that I was not really alone!
   My new friend was busy going to and fro. I pulled out my camera and tried to get some photos. Have you ever tried to take pictures of a chipmunk in a hurry? Well, if you have then you know what I went through. If the light was right for a shot, the chipmunk ran too fast. When he was still, the light was too dim to capture the moment. By the time I got close enough to get a really good shot, he saw me and dashed away.
   Isn't that just like God to send me a tiny friend when I needed him most? My dark mood was gone. With a smile on my face, I hoisted my backpack and continued walking on the trail. I had miles to go before I would sleep.

I Did It!

   I did it! On April 12, 2011 I started out to reduce my weight to 165.0 pounds. I started out at 186.8 pounds. Now after 157 days I finally reached my goal. As of today I have lost 21.8 pounds. That is about 2.2 ounces per day or about one pound per week.
   It wasn't easy. Sometimes I lost weight and sometimes I put weight back on. But through it all I kept focused and continued to persevere. I changed a lot of my eating habits, but I refused to starve myself. I started jogging, then running. I had to deal with severe cramps in my calves which were major setbacks. But after my body healed, I kept on going. My daughter gave me the nickname "sweaty man" because I would come home from runs soaked in sweat.
   My clothes aren't tight anymore. And I was able to take some clothes down from the top of my closet and actually fit in them! My blood pressure is normal (and I don't take any medicine). I have a lot more energy now and I haven't been sick since I started exercising (probably a stronger immune system).
   And of course I have written many blog posts about the Appalachian Trail. As a matter of fact, this blog post is number 100! It is also the first that doesn't have a trail story in it. I haven't quite finished telling all of the stories about the trail, not yet! So, from this point forward I will just write about the trail until I finish the stories. I appreciate you, the reader, and your encouragement. You are welcome to leave comments if you want. I'd love to know your thoughts about this journey.
   Moving forward I intend to keep on exercising and trying to eat right. If I ever get above 170.0 pounds in the future, then I will immediately go into diet/exercise mode until I get below 170.0. I have other goals in life that I hope to pursue. One is to run one mile in under 5:00. My best time when I was a student at Georgia Tech was 5:12 (then I had mid-terms and lots of homework followed by finals!) I may start working on that project next.
   As for the trail stories, it has been good to write them down. Some folks have encouraged me to put them in book form. I am considering that, although it would need to be edited some. Don't worry, I won't leave you at the "halfway house" just below Mount Washington in New Hampshire. I will make sure that you get the stories all the way to the final mountain, Mount Katahdin in Maine. Onward and upward!

We knew that it would be very risky to keep going down the trail since nightfall was not far away

   We continued our climb up Mt. Washington. Before long we passed the tree line. The wind began to kick up. We passed giant boulders and some small pools of water. The trail kept going up and up. When we reached one of the huts it was getting late in the afternoon. Ted the Head & the Strohs brothers tried to talk the hut keepers into letting us stay the night, but they insisted that they were full. We tried to get permission to sleep on the floor of the common room but were also turned down. The only solution was to keep on going.
   We kept on climbing. It was August, but we were cold even though the sun was out on this summer day. After a long climb we finally reached the 6,288 foot summit, the highest peak in the Northeastern United States! At the peak is a giant observation tower and weather observatory. At this location, the highest windspeeds in America were recorded (231 mph on April 12, 1934, exactly 46 years to the day before I began my hike of the Appalachian Trail).
   We also saw lots of tourists at the summit. There is a road that leads to the top and many vacationers drive up to the top. It was interesting to suddenly enter a place that looked like Disney! Now it was REALLY getting late in the day. We still had a lot of miles above tree line before the trail dropped in elevation. There was no way that we could get below treeline for the night. We tried to get the rangers to let us camp inside the weather station (it is very large and has lots of room). Again, we were flatly refused.
   Now we were stuck. The light would fade soon and we had to camp somewhere. Were weren't about to go back, there was no place to camp in that direction anyway. We knew that it would be very risky to keep going down the trail since nightfall was not far away. The chance of missing the trail in the dark could be disasterous! There was only one solution. We began to walk down the road. Almost all of the tourists had already headed down the road so we had it to ourselves.
   On a rare occasion every thru hiker takes a different route, sometimes a road. The point is that we walked the entire way. Yes, we missed a few miles of rugged trail, but that was minor in comparison to the over 2,100 miles that we walked. And safety is always important. I kept remembering the sign we saw before we climbed Mt. Washington warning of extreme conditions that could lead to injury or death. They weren't kidding!
   We kept walking down the road. Ted the Head & the Strohs brothers kept up a constant banter as we walked. Night fell and we were still above treeline but we were making progress. After a while we saw an old ramshackled house on the side of the road. This was called the "halfway house", not because it was a place for ex-convicts to live! It was about halfway from the base of the mountain to the summit.
   Ted had a "great idea". We could camp inside this old, abandoned house. I was quite skeptical. It was locked and boarded up. It looked like a stiff wind would knock it down. Ted the Head & the Strohs brothers began looking for a way to get into the house. I imagined that they had practice in this art when they had locked their keys in their own house! Suddenly I heard a shout. A way in had been found. One of the sheets of plywood over a window was loose. We were able to squeeze in!
   Or flashlights cut beams through the dusty interior of the old house. We were amazed at how much warmer it was inside. It wasn't actually warm, but we didn't realize how cold the wind was outside! Before long our campstoves were cooking hot supper and hot tea. We snuggled down into our sleeping bags, glad to be in a warm, dry place, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Mt. Washington was tough, but we had made it. There would be many more challenges ahead, but none that compared to the extremes of this giant mountain. We dreamed of good food, home, and standing on Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The final mountain was getting closer and closer.

   2011 update:  Today I weighed in at 166.8 pounds. That is (drum roll please) 20.0 pounds that I have lost! It's been a long journey, but worth it! I'm so close to my goal of 165.0 pounds. So, I'm getting radical. I'm going to hit that number tomorrow. All I had to eat today was my regular bowl of oatmeal, two almonds, a big bowl of salad (with one carrot and almost no fat free dressing). I went running this morning. Then I went running again tonight. After I run tomorrow, I will have run over 10 miles in 24 hours (a lot for me). So, tomorrow is the big day. Say a prayer for me that I make it!

I Meet Ted the Head & the Strohs Brothers

As I continued to hike through the rugged White Mountains I started to get concerned. Hiking by yourself is ok in lower elevations, but in the Whites it's not a good idea. I stopped for a rest and was pondering what to do when I heard the familar "clomp, clomp, clomp" of hiking boots on the trail behind me. I was not an Indian tracker, but I could tell that it was more than one person, so I waited. 

   There are notebooks in almost every trail shelter where people can sign in and write notes. I signed in to almost every one that I saw. I also read what other hikers wrote too. For a long time in the South I had read entries by "Ted the Head & the Strohs Brothers". But in Virginia I had apparently passed them while they were off the trail. But here, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I finally met Ted the Head and the two Strohs Brothers. 

   You can tell by their trail names that they were known for "partying". But they were very friendly to me and greeted me enthusiastically. When they realized that I was alone, they insisted that I hike with them for a while. I was glad to have the company. These guys were quite a sight! One of them yelled, "piss break" and immediately all three of them turned in unison, pulled down their zippers and peed on the side of the trail. I found out how I had passed them in Virginia. They had gotten "some good stuff" and spent several days getting high. That was when I passed them and they were just now catching up to me.

   We kept gaining in elevation as we approached Mount Washington. We passed a sign that warned us of danger. It said that conditions above that point could be hazardous and could result in death in bad weather. All hikers should proceed with caution. We kept on going. It was a nice summer day, but the temperature high in the mountains was a bit cool. At another point we came to a short, shear cliff. A metal ladder was bolted to the rock. Each of us began to climb the ladder. It was harder than you think because we had our backpacks to carry too. One of the rungs was a little damp and I slipped. I didn't fall off the ladder, but I did smack the side of my head against a rock. Boy, did it hurt! Ted the Head & the Strohs Brothers gathered around me to make sure I was ok. I was a bit dizzy for a minute but recovered. I joked about the benefits of having a hard head! I also was thankful that I was hiking with some other guys. Things could have gone very bad for me if I had been knocked out by my slip on the ladder. This was a time of safety in numbers.

   We approached the treeline as Mount Washington loomed high ahead. It was going to be a challenge!

   2011update:  This morning I weighed in at 167.4 pounds. That is 19.4 pounds lost since the beginning of this project. It also means that I am 2.4 pounds away from my goal of 165.0 pounds. If I can hit that weight just once then I will be satisfied. Long term, I have decided that I want to always stay below 170.0 If I pass that weight in the future then I have to immediately go back on strict diet and exercise. Today I ran 3.4 miles. It's time for a salad!