We haven't hiked since the weather got hot in June. I've been working out regularly (usually 3-4x per week) but not outside and not on inclines and not for more than 30-45 minutes at a time. Jeff's been super active at his job, but that is not the same as training for a hike.
So...we decided we ought to get back to it this weekend and get some miles under our belt to prepare.
We decided to go to FDR State Park, one of our favorites, and try a new loop off the Pine Mountain Trail.
Our planned hike was of the Dowdell Knob Loop Trail - a combination of the Pine Mountain Trail and various connectors to make a nice 4.3 mile loop.
Yikes. Here are the things that made the hike a really tough pill to swallow:
1. A tornado came through about a year and a half ago - so most of the downed trees are cleared from the trail but it was SUNNY and HOT and EXTREMELY WEED-COVERED in two major spots (aka, the beginning, and the end). (Usually my Georgia hiking is in full shade with minimal undergrowth - good for fair-skinned redheads who are extremely allergic.)
Turns out, there was a warning on the website, which I totally did not see till today:
NOTE: The April 2011 tornado impacted the area west of Mile 14 (for 4,485 feet) and east of Mile 15 (3,800 feet). The trail is back open but just to make you aware you will be hiking through areas that the tornado hit hard, but the trail is cleared for hiking.
2. Hiking at a constant right-turn around a mountain made my hip and right oblique very sore.
3. A nice 45 minute workout class or 30 minutes on the elliptical is NOT the same as up-and-down hiking 4.3 miles. UGH. My puppies were really barking by the end.
There was one nice part - before we got to the 2nd weedy portion - where I was like, YES...this is fun! It was about the 2.2 mile mark - I felt good, it wasn't too hot yet, and the birds were singing. I'm choosing to remember that moment, in order to get psyched to keep training instead of running the other way.
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