Daily Journal: June 29, 2014

Location: Schaumburg, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 5.0
Weather: Muggy, Storms on the Way

Sometimes the best thing is to just take it slow. It's a well-worn strategy of mine when I have several miles of rough hiking to go, and my energy is zapped. I tend to do this by counting my steps, and adhering to strict stops for breaks. Eventually I'll probably bump it up to landmarks or amounts of time between breaks, but for now steps will suffice. Sure, this way hurts my mph average, but I don't really care when it comes to going up and down the trails that go to truly great places. If I wanted to do nothing but beef up my MPH average, I'd spend all my time at Illinois Beach, Moraine Hills, or Cuba Marsh. But come next year I won't be walking on these "hiker highways", I'll be hiking the Appalachian Trail. The only way I can begin to get ready for that is going on trails with roots, rocks, and inclines galore.