Writing is sort of like self-gratification; if you stop doing it every day, it’s real easy to lose your mojo. At least, that’s what I assume my creepy college Creative Writing professor would have said had I actually gone to college and had I actually ever taken a creative writing class.
And that is my way of saying that I got off track with my blog writing due to spending too much time in the wintry woods, taking shitty photos, perfecting the dark art of the homemade veggie burger, and of course, self-gratifying. But like wayward vomit to a drunkard’s shoes, I’m back!
At least until I get sidetracked again.
As you can see from the above photo, despite having daytime temps in the high 30s and 40s, the snow on our nearby trails is still 5+ inches deep in places, completely bare in other spots, and frozen solid in others. And those snowy, icy, lumpy sections have me continuing to cherish the trekking poles I picked up; I really think I would have hung up my hiking shoes until spring had I not.
Ouch! Something is missing some hair fuzz.
However, I did not hang up my shoes; I just made some equipment adjustments and gave myself (with the help of FDR) permission to temporarily lower my weekly mileage goals. As a result, I have still been getting out almost every day, and, fingers crossed, I remain on track to hit 600 miles by the 6-month mark of the 2022 Not Dead Yet Comeback Special/2023 Soil The Woods Tour.
Speaking of shoes, I mentioned the “better fitting hiking shoes” I bought in a recent post, and I want to clarify that I was not shitting on the Hokas that I stomped over 500 miles in; the fit was no fault of the shoes it was me believing my foot doctor when she told me I should be wearing a half size larger, and my fault to continue to wear them for 500 miles. That was bullshit, and even though there was the slightest bit of extra room, it was enough to eventually cause some painful calluses from the sliding. Since then, I have been using my old hiking boots through the snow, picked up a new, better-fitting pair of Anacapa’s to get a break-in, and hope to get a new podiatrist.
Lost gloves continue to pile up.
From the look of the long-range forecast, it seems that this Saturday MIGHT be our last day of legit winter temps with a high of 27˚, but then it’s all 40s and 50s for the next week. I can’t wait to hike on snow-free trails! Right now, some stretches of my loop are bare, and it feels so good to hit normal speeds. Sadly, some parts have several inches of soft snow to stumble and slide over.
Lola put herself in time out rather than go into her pen.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST
It’s been a while since I felt motivated to post a track, but for the past few days, I have been listening non-stop to the track Power Chords on Mike Krol’s 2019 album of the same name.
This song (and album) has amazing hooks and melodies and enough noisy distortion to have my tinnitus buzzing and humming like something out of our bedroom naughty box is being forced into my earholes. Again.