Daily Journal: June 14, 2014

Location: Ridge Farm, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 2.75
Weather: Mostly Clear

I visited one of my favorite places at Forest Glen County Preserve today, albeit a favorite place that I forget about pretty much every time. It's at the tip of the Beech Loop along the Crab Tree Trail. Here there is a bench overlooking the end of a ridge above a confluence of ravines. The distance from the top to the bottom isn't great, just a few dozen feet (if that).

Daily Journal: June 12, 2014

Location: Schaumburg, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 0
Weather: Partly Cloudy

There is no doubt that I live in the middle of the developed maze that is Chicagoland. From the parking lot of my large apartment complex you can see several concrete, steel, and glass office buildings that can be found in northeast Schaumburg. Just down the road from where I live (and where I work, which is also visible from my parking lot) is Woodfield Mall, the Northwest Suburbs closest thing to a tourist attraction (besides Medieval Times, which is just down I-90 on the opposite side of town). At night the sky is alight with the glow of the buildings and streetlights. Off to the east you can hear the engines of the jets taking off from or landing at O'Hare.

Daily Journal: June 11, 2014

Location: Schaumburg, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 0
Weather: Cloudy

With the awfulness of this past winter, I am curious to see how this summer will play out. So far we've not had any overly oppressive summer days here in Northern Illinois. Granted, the worst of it rarely happens until July and August, but many years it can get oppressively warm in May and June here.

Daily Journal: June 10, 2014

Note: Andrew here. From now until we begin our hike next spring, I'll be keeping a short daily journal about preparations, recent hiking experiences, and just general thoughts about hiking. Few of these will be too long, and some will have pictures. You don't have to read every one, and we're not going to foist 'em all on you on Tumblr, Twitter,  or Facebook.  However, it will be a good way to keep my writing muscles in shape. I'll still be writing the weekly AT Hiking Training Plan posts, and we'll still have our usual irregular features, but this way there'll be something here every day.

Location: Schaumburg, IL
Miles Hiked Today: 0
Weather: Cool, Rainy

Tuesday evenings can be be tough ones. Not as bad as Monday, but still bad. Even then, none of the evenings are bad in a real sense. More of in a sense that they are pretty far away from the weekend. The memories of the fern shrouded trails and stunning vistas at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin are still quite fresh, but there are still more days left this week than not before I can hike again.

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Ten

Rock Formation atop East Bluff at Devil's Lake State Park

Week: June 2 - June 8 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 11.40
Miles Hiked (June): 12.50
Miles Hiked, (June Goal): 40
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 70.00
Pounds Lost: 1.0
Percentage to Next Milestone: 28.30%
Pounds Lost (Total):  3.0
Weekly Goal Met: Yes
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

OK, now we can call it a positive trend. For the third measured period in a row (and second week in a row), I've gone the right direction on the scale. On top of that, I hit my first weekend with more than 10 miles of hiking, and finally hit an eight mile day. It truly was a good week.

Looking Towards the AT: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Section: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Region: South
Miles of trail: 70.1 
Highlights: Clingman's Dome, Spence Field, Charlie's Bunion, Mount Cammerer, Siler's Bald, bears, long periods in the rare spruce-fir zone of the southern Appalachians, salamanders

A bit more than 150 miles into the trail* hikers on the AT say goodbye to the Fontana Hilton, walk across the dam**, and go past a small sign welcoming you to the national park, with a white blaze on one of the posts telling you that you are heading the right direction. 

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Nine

Week: May 26 - June 1 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 4.10
Miles Hiked (May): 30.00
Miles Hiked, (May Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (June): 1.10
Miles Hiked, (June Goal): 40
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 58.60
Pounds Lost: 1.8
Percentage to Next Milestone: 18.87%
Pounds Lost (Total):  2.0
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

As much as I'd like to, I can't call this a second consecutive week of progress on the weight loss front. Sure, it's the second straight recorded period where I've lost weight. However, I did post an update for last week, despite not having an official weigh-in.