I started off last week with a 7.5-mile lumber that was both stupid (due to nursing an ongoing foot issue) and amazing because I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I covered 7+ miles on foot and did it in just over 2 hours.
However, it was mostly stupid because my heel was fucked the rest of the week, and while I completed my 25-mile week, it was not without its share of f-bombs, grinding teeth, and the pinky promise that I would take a minimum of 5 days off this week and actually rest. Which, admittedly, poses to be more of a problem for me and everyone in my life than plowing through the pain. But, chubby fingers are crossed that it helps.
I also threw more money away on shoe inserts, and yesterday, on the advice of a random reader who e-mailed me, I picked up a night splint for my ongoing plantar fasciitis. I only have half a night with it so far, but I hope to acclimate to it as the nights go on and hope it helps.
On Saturday morning, I snuck out super early and was at the trailhead before 7 AM, excited by the prospect of early morning critters to photograph. As I tucked away my keys and got my CamelBak vest and camera situated, I heard a low rumbling that was getting progressively closer. Then I heard a continuous “bam-bam-bam-bam-bam” for a few seconds before the rumbling continued.
Then, there he was, a disheveled camper who had made the mile-ish trek through woods, down a footpath, and over the suspension bridge to the parking lot dragging a hard plastic cooler behind him—at 6:50 AM. In my mind, I could see every critter in the woods fleeing for quieter confines and my camera’s SD card remaining empty. Cooler dragging jagoff.
That pretty much set the tone for the hike, which got slightly more miserable by my aching foot and being passed twice by a bald, shirtless, uber-fit man running with ease over the wooded trails (I hate him solely on the principle that he’s super fit and runs without a shirt on in the bug infested woods, while I’m sprayed down with DEET and I haven’t gone shirtless in public without shame since I was about 7 years old).
I was glad to hit my weekly goal but not so glad to have to push through more pain. And I’m even less glad to take time off because if I know me, in 5 days, I’ll find a way to regain the 32+ pounds I’ve lost over the past 1,000+ miles and be back at square one by the weekend. The mind of a fat kid turned skinny, crap endurance cyclist turned fat loser, turned slightly less fat aging lumbering hiker/loser, can be a dark place.
I did manage to get some pics this week, despite the best efforts of loud early morning campers and the drunken river tubers and their mounds of garbage.
Weekend tubing/porn set aftermath along the parking lot footpath.
My favorites are the ones of the bumblebee stuffing its pollen sacks along the trail.
I like the bee photos even more, knowing that despite owning a full frame Nikon z6 and D4, I took these photos with a crop sensor Nikon z50 and a cheap “kit” zoom lens that combined cost less than $1,000 (used), weighs less than 2 pounds (with battery, SD card and pack locking plate attached), and can easily clip onto my pack on days that I know I won’t be doing any running. Hooray for lightweight used cameras!
Time to find some work to do and not think about lumbering… or stuffing my face in a Jet’s Pizza and 80 ounces of Founder’s 4 Giants IPA
Later.