First, today.
With today’s sunrise not scheduled until 7:22 AM, I finally bit the bullet and strapped on my headlamp to start the lumber. Something I was slightly hesitant to do after yesterday’s early morning Homeless Camper encounter.
But, it was all good, and it allowed me to get to the park earlier and get a 6.01-mile hike in my feetz, well before 9AM. And I finished my week of lumbering with 30.71 miles over 5 days. Win.
Due to the earlier start and bad luck, there are no photos from today; I had to use scraps from the week.
Now, on to my 3rd Lumberversary
It’s that time of year again, the time when I celebrate, or at least recognize the date on which I traded continuing to force myself outdoors on two wheels for actually enjoying the outdoors again on two feet. All in an attempt to keep myself fit (enough), and resist the urge to stay in the Bed of Torment all day, wishing I was somebody else or nothing at all.
Most days I lumber, which is what I call hiking at a pace just below a jog. Some days I run, which barely happened at all this year, and some days I’m content to just hike along with my camera looking for critters and banking miles.
What’s not part of my yearly stats are bike rides, dedicated photo creeps, and anything done indoors.
So, here are my stats from the past three years…
September 19, 2022 – September 19, 2025
Total Lumbers/Hikes/Runs: 726
Total Distance: 3,677.94 Woodsy miles
Average Distance: 5.06 miles per lumber/run (rounded off)
I won’t be winning any fitness competitions anytime soon, but as always, I’ll take what I can get.
Of the stats above, the one I’m most proud of is my average distance of 5.06 miles per hike. Because, as I’ve mentioned in the past, when I first started lumbering back in 2022, hiking 5 miles nearly killed me! Well, at least my back and feet. Fast forward to 2025, and most of my hikes are between 5.5 and 6.5 miles per hike, and I could easily do more. I’m still fat, but at least I give the illusion of being fit.
The weekend is wide open to slack, and I’m looking forward to it, especially watching Spurs at Brighton tomorrow! I like Brighton well enough, but their form is down, and it could be a chance to pick up another 3 points for Spurs! C’MON YOU SPURS!!!
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST
I can’t say enough about the new Bass Drums of Death LP titled SIX, released on September 12.
I think just about every song is a banger, and is a great mix of super melodic garage rock with big-sounding guitars up front in the mix to make you think about putting the top down on the Camaro, grabbing a six pack, and firing up the 8-track.
Check out the entire album wherever you listen and or buy your albums. BDoD are the best thing to come out of Mississippi since Elvis.