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| Footpath maps |
Getting There
Take NW Skyline Blvd north from NW Germantown Road. The Skyline Blvd Trailhead is 1.6 mi and a parking are available on right (east) side of the road.
Granted it was a Saturday, I was still a bit surprised to find all the usual trailheads on Germantown Road and NW Skyline. There were more cars/people in Dec and Jan than I saw in the fall. Perhaps, folks are staying a little closer to home for their outings. It could be that I was often hiking midweek.
The Hike
Distance: 7.64 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,761 feet
Moving time: 2:38:17
Total time: 2:38:17
Avg. pace: 23:51
Calories: 1,395 (AllTrails), 3,196 (Fitbit)
Steps: 17,1881 (Fitbit)
Zone Minutes: 100 (78 fat burn, 22 cardio/peak) (Fitbit)
Floors: 210 (Fitbit)
This was my first "dirt" hike of 2022. The first outing was a snowshoeing "hike" at White River Sno Park.
Given all the cars I saw at the trailheads, I didn't see that many hikers out on the trails. I maybe passed a dozen hikers. It's one of the reasons I love this end of Forest Park.
Every time I go out for a hike, my mood is almost always better for it. I've been pretty sedentary since after Christmas. Basically, I got very little exercise between Dec 22nd (last Hamilton hike in 2021) and Jan 9th (1st outing of 2022). I know I'm in pretty good shape and have dropped enough weight to put me in the "Healthy" BMI category, though probably more from low appetite thus lower caloric intake, than proper diet & exercise.
I still have doubts about my physical abilities, regardless of how long it's been since my previous hike. I've been trying to maintain some flexibility of lower limbs (mostly knees) and working on upper body strength with weights.
As far as the hike and trail conditions: It's still pretty muddy out here on the Wildwood and some parts of the trail are eroded or damaged from fallen trees. There will be some work in Spring to restore the trail.
This year is off to a tough start, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I'm starting to see negative effects of my rheumatoid arthritis treatment (methotrexate) and seeing issue with liver and blood. Despite my radical change to diet, quitting booze & cigarettes, and exercise like a mountain goat, I'm wearing down. This hiking is one of the few things that takes my mind off of things yet I'm feeling more and more guilty about my job situation. Fucked if I do, fucked if I don't.
But it doesn't have to be this way. I just am finding it hard to make a difficult choice to turn my world upside down. My recent selection of books has revealed some interesting synchronizations.
Lila - ideas of Quality and being at the leading edge of Dynamic Quality vs static quality, intellectually, socially, biologically.
In the Blast Zone - ideas of destruction or disruption and renewal and hope, rethinking scientific study. Also, how "we" (collective We) can get lost in too much detail, fact, which can lead to "losing the storyline".
Moonbreaker - doing what needs to be done while facing individual struggles, hope despite odds
Thinking in Systems - rethinking how we understand the world and find collaboration between a wide variety of specialties. Also, the quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in the preface.
Jr Devs meeting - Zettelkasten and random access/shuffling of ideas, mind mapping used for writing of Lila.
