Training Report and some pictures...

Last night, I hiked for about an hour in my regular stomping grounds. It was so damn hot my shirt was drenched with sweat when I returned. I had to stop Rachel from hugging me when I came in the door lest she be covered with Daddy sweat. I noticed after the hike that I am starting to get a blister on my left heel. Fortunately, this morning it appears to have already almost disappeared. With the rain today, I wasn't planning on training anyway, and that'll give me time for it to heal fully. Saturday I hope to spend an extended time hiking to give me a better feel of what I'll be doing on the AT.

I added up all the miles I've done in training so far and I think I'm at about thirty. Add in Saturday's work out and hopefully I'll hit 40 miles. It's still nowhere near enough but it's all I've had time for. Of course, I've found that hiking of that type is more mental toughness than physical toughness. Sure, you need to be physically prepared, but it's your mind that keeps you going. My mind is feeling pretty tough after the insanity that I've dealt with this year.

Here's an example of a person losing his mind on the trail:



Heh. Not really. That's my brother. He was being silly after a long hike through the rain.

Here's a picture of my brothers at the top of Siler Bald:



And a picture of me crossing a bridge in North Carolina:



This last picture is one of my favorites. That's my sister and brother hiking a part of the trail in North Carolina. So green and lush.