Journal of the Smokies: 27th Birthday

Has it really been a month since I've turned 27 years old? I suppose so. It's funny how I've noticed time flying now, each year getting shorter and shorter as my relative sense of time expands. When I was a kid, days dragged on forever. Now, I actually have to utilize to-do lists or nothing gets done and I've wasted the day away. This is one of those lessons, I think, everyone learns but can't adequately be described until you yourself have experienced it.

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Four

Week: April 22 - April 28 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7.34
Miles Hiked (April): 20
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 20
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 26.40
Pounds Gained: 5.8
Percentage to Next Milestone: 0%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

OK, so the first half of week four was the textbook definition of a bad week. Things just kind of fell apart, in large part to work stress, and I just got off track. I am pretty shocked that it went that bad, but apparently it did.

Looking Towards the AT: Georgia

View from atop Blood Mountain, highest point on AT in Georgia

Note: Over the next year, we'll be sharing our thoughts on the sections of the Appalachian Trail that we will be walking next year. Only a few do we have any even remotely significant experience with, but we still have thoughts on them that we'd like to share. After we finish our hike, we'll be able to look back at these and see if we were pretty astute with our thoughts, or way off the trail. Although many of the sections are broken down by state, some (such as VA, NC, and TN) will be broken into smaller portions due to length of trail and special circumstances. We begin with Georgia, the first state heading north.

Section: Georgia
Region: South
Miles of trail: 76.4 (Not counting ~9 miles along the approach trail from Amicalola Falls State Park)
Highlights: Springer Mountain, Blood Mountain, Neel's Gap

Hiking the Lists: The Forest Glen 3 in 1

Hike: #12
Title: The Forest Glen 3 in 1
Location: Forest Glen County Preserve, Vermilion County, Illinois
Hike List: Illinois
Difficulty: Mostly easy, although a couple climbs and descents are momentarily steep and it could be quite muddy at certain times of the year.
Duration of Hike: 1-2 hours

OK, so the "Forest Glen 3 in 1" is not an official title for this hike. However, it's a lot easier than calling it the "Willow Creek, Deer Meadow, and most of the Old Barn trails combined into one Hike"*. Although not the longest hike in the park (that's the River Ridge Backpack Trail)**, or most spectacular showcase of Forest Glen's natural beauty (Big Woods), this hike is a good sampler.

AT's AT 2015 Hiking Training Plan, Week Three

Skunk Cabbage at Forest Glen creating a blanket of green in a seep

Week: April 14 - April 21 (8 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 3.46
Miles Hiked (April): 12.66
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 20
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 19.16
Pounds Lost (Weeks 2 and 3): 0.6
Percentage to Next Milestone: 11.11%
Pounds Lost (Total):  1.2
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

Well, I suppose this can be called a victory. I hiked almost 3.5 miles on a "Hiking the Lists" trail that I had planned on doing many times, but chickened out (or wasn't feeling fit enough to tackle). In addition, I lost some more weight, the second of two official weigh-ins in the new training plan period where I've gone down. Considering this came after Easter weekend, a time full of high calorie foods and riddled with candy, probably makes it better. Nevertheless, it's a small victory at best.

Hiking the Lists: Snake Road

Photo by Erin

Hike: #11
Title: Snake Road 
Location: LaRue-Pine Bluffs Natural Research Area, Shawnee National Forest
Hike List: Illinois
Difficulty: Mostly easy, although during spring and fall venomous snakes abound so be careful.
Duration of Hike: No more than a couple hours, depending on how many pictures you take.

Most of the geology of Illinois is dominated by glaciers. The expansive flatness of central Illinois is due to the work of ancient glaciers, as are the occasional ridges which are the remnants of terminal moraines from the glaciers. From Marengo Ridge and Volo Bog in the north, to the ridge that gave my hometown its name (Ridge Farm), the evidence is all around us.

AT's AT 2015 Hiking Training Plan, Week Two

Week: April 8 - April 14 (6 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7.7
Miles Hiked (April): 9.2
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 16.7
Pounds Lost (Week): N/A
Percentage to Next Milestone: 5.67%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0.6
Weekly Goal Met: N/A
Nights Camped (Week): 1
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

This week doesn't have a weight update, because I have yet to weigh in properly. I overslept Monday morning at my parents house on the way back from my weekend camping and hiking trip with Erin (more on that later). And as for today, I chose to come back in the morning instead of last night, so I wouldn't have to deal with the April snowfall. Because this is supposed to be a regular feature, I figured I would just do one without the weigh-in this week, and save it for next week's post.