Loblolly Trail Archives - I'd Rather Walk

Week 7: It’s the Week 7 Stretch!

– – Training Week 7 began on Monday with a quick kickboxing and upper body weights session before loading the car and heading for the beach!

Why? Because I needed a change of scene, wanted to spend time with my girls, and had hotel points that were expiring 🙂

Training shouldn’t be torture, but doing the same thing in the same place over and over again can be just that – so I decided to shake things up for a few days.

Tiny liittle bit of beach view from our lodgings.

I arrived too late at our lodgings to do much but get settled in and cook dinner.

By the time we were finished, it had gotten pretty cold on the beach.

It IS still February!!

So, I had to wait for a beach walk until Tuesday morning.

I did some quick yoga, then went out for an early beach hike before the girls woke up.

I went North (away from Myrtle Beach) about 3 miles and then turned around, for a total beach walk of ~ 6 miles.

After breakfast, we braved the (horrible) beach traffics to get to Brookgreen, a wonderful sculpture garden, arboretum and Nature conservancy that sits a few miles South of Myrtle Beach proper.

Peacock statues guard the entrance to one of the main paved paths at Brookgreen.

Brookgreen has a couple of very short unpaved “trails” but we stuck to the paved garden paths to see all of the outdoor exhibits.

The girls at Brookgreen Gardens. Aren't they pretty??? — The girls at Brookgreen Gardens. Aren’t they pretty???

We only walked a couple of leisurely miles before stopping for an outdoor lunch at one of the restaurants on the grounds.

That said, if you were determined to get a workout in, you could certainly plan a much longer route to get a longer hike in during your Brookgreen visit.

Wednesday I let the girls sleep, did some yoga and was out early again – this time for a bit of a longer walk.

It was about 10 miles by the time I was done and perfect weather!

I did learn that one should NOT walk long distance in water shoes – even with a “hiking” sole – because I ended up with a huge blister on the bottom of my big toe 🙁

During my walk I saw an Irish Pub, Molly Darcy’s, right on the beach and thought the girls might like to go there for lunch.

Bonus being we could walk there and wouldn’t have to drive in the terrible traffic…but, no. They didn’t want to walk but we ate there anyway, and it was pretty good. 🙂

There was a bunch of stuff in the air and we couldn’t figure it out – then I realized that Myrtle is a few weeks ahead of us weather-wise, and I checked my car.

Sure enough, my car was covered with yellow dust. It was The Pollening.

That said, it was our last night at the beach, and the sunset was gorgeous. Perhaps partly due to pollen 😉

The next morning, the girls left before sunrise to get home in time for work, and I did a quick beach walk (about 3 miles) to say goodbye before checking out.

My plan was to check out, zip back down to Brookgreen (the ticket is good for 7 days) and get on an early tour of the historical and Nature preserve parts of the garden that you don’t normally see.

The Brookgreen Silent Cities Tour

The tour started from the promenade near the Welcome Center.

There are a few tours offered at Brookgreen that take you to places you don’t get to see with your general admission ticket.

The tours change seasonally – mostly because some of the places are inaccessible during wet weather.

We boarded an open-sided short bus (stop it!) and took off away from the paved garden area.

Our guide narrated local and Brookgreen history and wildlife as we went.

Fox Squirrels

I was surprised by a fox squirrel – a creature I’d never seen before – staring at me from a tree limb as we drove along.

It was huge, and seemed a lot more intelligent than a regular squirrel….

Fox squirrels, the largest of all tree squirrels, are the true life ROUS's. — Fox squirrels, the largest of all tree squirrels, are the true life ROUS’s.

Described by our guide as a cross between a squirrel, a fox, and a raccoon – because who really know what goes on in those woods at night? – the Fox Squirrel is a relative of the common gray squirrel, but about twice the size.

An adult Fox Squirrel can grow between 20-26 inches in length (tail included) and can weigh up to 2.5 pounds.

Stopping at an English-style walled cemetery.

Aside from Rodents of Unusual Size, this tour focused on the two cemeteries dating back to the 1700’s – one English style, and one slave (Gullah style) cemetery – encompassed by Brookgreen lands.

Alston family tree chart outside the cemetery walls.

Our first stop was at a walled, English-style cemetery from the 1700’s that had been restored by the Huntington’s when they purchased the land.

The original Alston family (previous landowners) were the primary inhabitants.

Alston family descendants also have a right to be buried there, and we did see a headstone from as recently as 2013.

There were three kinds of graves in this cemetery: the kind of headstones we see mostly these days, “table” memorials, and raised vaults.

Our second stop was a slave cemetery, unwalled, and we followed a short natural trail through the woods to where some of the graves had been uncovered.

Some of the visible headstones from the slave cemetery.

Some of the earliest graves were unmarked save for a metal plaque or just a sack of tabby (old time cement made with oyster shells) without a name – and some with the words “Go Back” inscribed.

According to Gullah tradition , once buried, deceased loved ones would “go back” to where they were originally taken in Africa.

The mourners would never again return to the grave after the initial burial.

And since there would be no spirit there to visit, there was no need for a long-lasting memorial.

That said, there were some hand-made headstones there, and some more modern memorials where descendants of these slaves also had a right to be buried.

No longer following Gullah tradition, these headstones are like you would see in any modern cemetery.

Along the way back, we stopped by the Waccamaw River, across from Sandy Island, home to one of the last existing Gullah communities.

Sandy Island can be access from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Waccamaw River.

Brookgreen is hoping to work out a deal with the community there to allow tours to visit from Brookgreen, but they haven’t worked it out yet.

We returned the way we came – but faster! – back to the Welcome Center.

Informational plaques outside the English cemetery.

I had hoped to get done with the tour and then go across the street to Huntington Beach for a quick hike before heading home.

I had a quick pack lunch outside Atalaya Castle.

But the tour took 2 hours, so I had to settle for a quick pack lunch outside Atalaya Castle before hitting the highway. (You can take tours of the castle, which I’ve done in years’ past, but didn’t do this time.)

So, I guess Thursday was basically my “rest” day.

Friday morning I led a great group of hikers on one of my favorites routes – 9.3 miles on the MST on the Eno river, from the Pump Station trail all the way to West Point on the Eno park and back.

It was a beautiful day, and a great group!

I was ready for a good long hike after a light exercise day and long hours driving Thursday.

View of the Eno River from the rocks along the Eagle/MST Trail.

Saturday was a kickboxing and upper body weights day in my home gym – partly because the weather took a big dip to the colder side, and rain was predicted for most of the day.

It felt good to use my “El Supremo Butt-kicker” muscles again after a few days away.

Sunday morning it was back to a little bit warmer after Saturday’s cold rain, so I had a big group signed up to hike part of the the Company Mill trail in Umstead State Park and some of the MUT.

It was a pretty short hike, but I added 15 lbs to my pack to make it a strength-training hike.

My beach walks were all flat with no added weight.

The extra weight was especially needed because all of my beach hikes earlier in the week were flat, with no added weight!

What a great hike, with a good group of hikers – many newcomers, so that was wonderful to see, too 🙂

So that’s it for Week 7! You did it!

It’s time to take a look at your goals and see what progress you’ve made.

Just think about what you've done! — Just think about what you’ve done!

Everyone should be improved somehow from where you started – even if it’s only that you’ve stuck with an exercise plan this long!

Think back to how hard it was to make yourself do SOMETHING every day.

How scary was it at the beginning to take your first longer hike – especially if you were hiking on your own for the first time? But you did it!!

Week 8 is coming up – the last week of the Awesome training!!

You’ve come this far – it should be a piece of cake! Well, okay, maybe no cake.

Just focus, focus focus….. and some longer hikes 🙂

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Training towards a goal is a planned process, but you should be able to respond to changes in weather or location without giving up your training entirely.

Just keep going – but safely, of course.

If you’re new around here, but you still want to do the training from the start – you can!

Take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what this hike training is all about.

To Track Your “Awesome” Progress at Home Click Here!

Track your progress towards your fitness goals!

You’ll get instructions and three printable trackers:

- Your Hike Plan Worksheet
- Daily & Weekly Workouts
- Weekly Meals tracker

Happy training! LJ

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my other Fitness and Wellness posts, if you want to see more of my fitness, diet and asthma care articles.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 6: Are We There Yet?

Most recently updated February 25th, 2023

– It’s Week 6 of our training! Are we there yet?

If you’re like me, you’re getting tired of this training routine and are ready to move on to something else – hopefully something, you know, easier…

But don’t do it! Keep going, just for a couple of weeks longer.

Just a couple of weeks more - you can do it! — Just a couple of weeks more – you can do it!

And with that encouragement… on to my Week 6 Training report!

Monday was a beautiful day, so I joined Lenore and a good group of hikers for what I thought was going to be a pretty flat 7-ish mile hike in Umstead State Park on the Multi-Use trails.

Gathering at the trailhead for a sunny Monday hike.

With that in mind, I loaded my pack with 15lbs extra to make it a strength-training day.

But in a mid-hike surprise twist, Lenore handed the reins over to Michael.

We ended up tromping through a less-traveled section of the woods, fording streams and climbing mud banks before we were through!

It turned out to be an 8.25 mile hike in all.

It was so much fun, I hardly noticed the extra weight in my pack 🙂

Tuesday was a kickboxing and upper body weights day in my home gym – despite the wonderful sunny Spring-like weather outside.

A beautiful sunny Winter's day in Bond Park. — A beautiful sunny Winter’s day in Bond Park.

This is because Tuesday was also “refrigerator day” and I was trapped there until my new fridge was delivered and the old one removed.

But it was also Valentine’s Day and That Man and the puppy came to my rescue, just moments after the fridge business was over.

We had just enough daylight left to have a picnic and take a nice 3 mile walk in Bond Park!

Wednesday was supposed to be my “rest” day, but it was another nice NOT rainy day and I couldn’t stand it!

So after some yoga, I loaded 15lbs extra weight (and a snack lunch) into my pack, and set off to explore a bushwack at Eno River State Park.

A “bushwack” is when there’s no official trail blazed from one point to the other, so you’re just using landmarks or info from other hikers to find your way.

This particular bushwack was an out-and-back from the Cole Mill Road trail access to the Pleasant Green Road trail access in Eno River State Park – about 6 miles in all.

Map of the Cole Mill to Pleasant Green bushwack

Aside from looking for a passable hiking route between the two access points, I was also hoping the find the old Cabe Ford in the river, and the old slave cemetery back in the woods behind the powerline cut.

Cole Mill to Pleasant Green Road Bushwack

I was fortunate to have some guidance from the Eno.com website to get me started on finding a route.

Starting from the Cole Mill Road Loop Parking area, I took the Eno Trace Trail, staying close to the river until it turned uphill to the left.

I went straight ahead, following the river.

At that point, I left the established trail and followed the river bank downriver.

There was still a trail to follow, but it was un-blazed.

Follow the power line cut until it goes away from the river.

I followed the trail south under the powerlines until it turned left away from the river.

I had to cross a small creek – fortunately someone had placed stepping stones to make it easier.

After a while I came to the remnants of the old Cabe Ford in the river.

I knew from the map that the the historic cemetery for the slaves of the Cabe family was nearby – supposedly just a a few hundred yards away from the river.

I poked around, but I didn’t see anything, so continued to follow the river.

After a bit, the trail turned back into the forest, and the way became less obvious and not so well-used.

Then I noticed the pink ribbons tied at intervals to the trees….

At first, I thought it was just some random surveyor’s marks, and I thought they’d stop after a couple of ribbons. But they kept going!

Pink and green ribbons were tied to the trees.

And not only did they keep going, but now there were both pink AND green ribbons tied to the trees.

I’d had my suspicions before, but now I knew for certain – it was Bushwack Fairies! 🙂

And thank goodness for the Bushwack Fairies, because the way became more and more obscure – especially hidden under fallen leaves – so I just followed the ribbons.

After a while, I had to cross a small creek, but couldn’t find a good place, so I followed it up on one side and came to another larger creek, with some little waterfalls.

This would be a good spot to take a break and have a snack on a sunny day.

I found a large creek with a series of little waterfalls upstream.

This was a pretty large creek with a series of waterfalls upstream adding to the water flow.

I crossed the creek on the rocks and kept going, staying on the high ridge and following the pink and green ribbons when I could see them.

I passed a house with a pond just outside the State Park lines, then emerged from the woods to the powerline cut again.

The route goes through the powerline cut again.

The trail goes back into the woods and follows the river.

Along the way, I saw some unexpected waterfalls on the other side!

Eventually, you end up going through some scrub brush along the river to a point where you approach some old farm buildings.

The trail goes through a tunnel of laurels.

Emerging from the bushes you can see the Pleasant Green Road Parking area on the other side of the river.

The Pleasant Green Road parking area can be seen across the river.

About a quarter mile further down, the trail ends at the bridge on Pleasant Green road. This is where you would cross the river to actually get to the Pleasant Green Road parking.

But since the bridge and road were under construction, and there were a lot of cars backed up, I decided that seeing it from across the river was good enough!

I went back down the trail the way I came, with no surprises.

But when I got back to the woods near the powercut, I decided to try again to find the Cabe slave cemetery.

Remnants of stone walls may mark the location of the cemetery.

I found remnants of stone walls in the cemetery location shown on the map.

I don’t know for sure that these were part of the cemetery, but there were no other ruins that I could see nearby.

Old cabin across the river from the Eno Trace Trail.

I retraced my steps back to the parking lot at Cole Mill, then got in the traffic line behind the flag guys on the Pleasant Green bridge 😉

Thursday started with a balmy 9.3 mile hike on the MST at Falls Lake with a great group of hikers!

Cypress tress in the water near Little Lick Creek bridge on the MST.

This hike is one of my favorite sections of the MST, because it’s long enough to know you’ve had a hike, and has some interesting features along the way – including the friendly horses in trail- adjacent corrals.

Feeding an apple to the friendly horses. — Feeding an apple to the friendly horses on Thursday’s hike.

Sometimes they ignore me, but this time I was worried I didn’t have enough apple to go around! I’ll bring more next time 🙂

I took my first spin on my new vertical climber!

Friday I finally did take a rest day, and just did some yoga…but I also put together my new Vertical Climber machine and tried it out for about 30 minutes.

The climber folds up and stands in a corner when not in use.

I got the machine because I really need to get more training in really steep vertical gain hikes.

The hike I’m training for has several miles of almost straight vertical climbing up rock faces – almost as steep as cliff climbing.

CLICK HERE to see purchase details for the Vertical Climber.

Saturday was a rainy day, so I did a treadmill climb in my home gym with 10lbs on my back.

I did 2 miles in 35 mins with 1000ft vert gain, then another 2 miles in 30 mins with 700ft elev loss.

Sunday I led a great group of hikers in what ended up around 9 miles at Umstead State Park.

It was a long hike but a fast one, with an average pace of 3.7 mph.

Next up: Week 7!! Let’s make it a good one 🙂

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Don’t give up if you’re getting bored or worn out in the middle of the program – change it up, make it fun, or take a rest day – but keep on going!

We’re winding down with this year’s 8-week hike training, but you can get started and do it on your own whenever you want!

Take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what this hike training is all about.

To Track Your “Awesome” Progress at Home Click Here!

You’ll get instructions and three printable trackers:

- Your Hike Plan Worksheet
- Daily & Weekly Workouts
- Weekly Meals tracker

Happy training! LJ

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂

To see more of them go to my Training Log. Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 7: But Wait – There’s More!

Most recently updated February 26th, 2022

– – Training Week 7 began with That Man and I taking advantage of the last forecast day of mild, Spring-like weather with our first bike ride of the season.

We biked about 25 miles on some of our favorite local greenways, including the American Tobacco trail.

Some of our local greenways have fun tunnels!

A gorgeous day, and lots of other people were out enjoying it, too.

Biking hits a different set of muscles than hiking, so I was worried I would be sore the next day – but I wasn’t! The training must be working 🙂

Sunday morning it was back to a colder and rainy weather forecast, but I had a big group signed up to hike the 6.5 mile Company Mill trail in Umstead State Park before the rain set in for the rest of the day.

Monday I was planning to just do some kickboxing and weights, when Lenore posted a hike at Umstead so I signed up … but, it was not to be!

Work intervened, and I ended up doing the kickboxing and weights, and also a short urban hike with That Man in the cold sunshine later.

Which was probably a good thing to do on Valentine’s Day anyway 🙂

Tuesday we were back to the MST at Falls Lake for a 9.3 mile hike with a small group from the trailhead on Baptist Rd to Little Lick Creek Bridge and back again.

View from the middle of Little Lick Creek Bridge.

A great hike, as always!

That said, my ankle started hurting badly on the last half of the hike, even though I didn’t remember doing anything to it….

I was relieved when the hike was over, so I could go ice it and put my foot up!

Hiking a bridge on the Loblolly Trail in Umstead State Park.

Wednesday was to be my Strength-Building hike for the week, and I had a good crew signed up for a 6-7 mile hike on Loblolly trail in Umstead State Park.

Technically the Loblolly Trail is an out-and-back from the trailhead to the edge of the park, but I add on a portion of the Schenck Forest Loblolly and the Reedy Creek Greenway to create a 6.5mile loop.

This route is primarily natural trails with a portion of the compacted dirt multi-use trail and paved Reedy Creek trail.

The Loblolly route is not as rocky as the Company Mill Trail, and has less elevation gain, though there are a couple of long uphill climbs.

But even with ankle compression – and a sleeve on my opposite knee that was hurting from compensating for the ankle – it was just too painful to continue more than a mile or two.

Fortunately, I had a group of strong hikers who were familiar with the route, so they were able to continue on without me.

I went straight to the pharmacy to get the strongest ankle brace I could find – and more ibuprofen 😉

Between that and rest in the meantime, I’m determined to be ready for my next posted hike!

Thursday was going to be a kickboxing day, but I opted for some heavy core yoga work and arm weights instead, to keep from stressing my ankle.

I tried an urban walk, just a few miles, on Thursday evening, and found that there hadn’t been much improvement – so I decided to try something different.

Friday after more core yoga, I made an appointment to take a session in an Infrared sauna.

I mainly wanted a sauna to work up a sweat to take the place of the cardio workouts that I can’t do until my ankle is healed.

But, Infrared is very different than a traditional sauna, and I also discovered that the Infrared sauna has a lot more to offer than just a good sweat.

Before we get into the benefits, let me explain exactly what an Infrared sauna is.

The use of sweat bathing or “hot air baths” were a part of Chinese, Native American, and Eastern European culture, and have been used all over the world for centuries.

Traditional Saunas | Traditional Finnish Saunas — Traditional Sauna

These traditional saunas use heat or steam to create an atmosphere that will raise your core body temperature by raising the temperature of the air inside the sauna.

The appeal of saunas in general is that they cause your body to react as if you’re exercising, with sweating and an increased heart rate.

Infrared saunas use infrared light to heat your body without changing the air temperature around you.

Infrared saunas are built using three different sauna therapies:

- - Near IR impacts the surface of the body, namely the skin.
  - Mid IR affects the muscles, and
  - Far IR permeates far into the body to reach the organs. (ref)

Benefits of Using an Infrared Sauna

1. DETOXIFICATION

Sauna therapy, especially far IR, is excellent for detox. By using an infrared sauna, you can rid your body of built-up and dangerous mold, chemicals, and heavy metals.

2. CIRCULATION

Mid IR sauna therapy improves circulation and can give muscles a greater degree of flexibility, increased range of motion, decreased stiffness, and less joint pain.

3. REPAIR AND REGENERATE CELLS

Near IR sauna therapy promotes faster cell regeneration and tissue growth, which speeds up the skin’s healing process. By activating heat shock proteins, infrared sauna therapy also repairs cellular damage in the body.

4. LOWER INFLAMMATION

Near IR consists of extremely short wavelengths, which lowers inflammation. The short wavelengths can improve the quality of your skin and diminish the appearance of unwanted blemishes.

5. BOOST IMMUNITY

Near IR sauna therapy increases blood circulation and oxygenation in blood cells, strengthening the immune system, improving cellular health, and aiding in muscle recovery.

6. WEIGHT LOSS

Studies show that a single far IR sauna therapy session can burn up to 600 calories. In cases of patients who must remain sedentary, a sauna could be used as a substitute for traditional exercise.

8. ACTIVATE MITOCHONDRIAL ACTIVITY

There is evidence that heat exposure is very healthy for your energy-producing mitochondria.

9. INCREASE BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF)

The Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein in your brain that helps keep your brain young and healthy. Studies show that heat exposure can help boost your levels of this all-important protein in your brain!

In some studies, people who used Infrared saunas experienced an improvement in their asthma symptoms.

Improve Wound Healing and Chronic Disease

Infrared saunas are unique in that they can help to improve wound healing – though you shouldn’t use one with an open wound.

Specifically, research out of NASA has shown that infrared light significantly increases tissue growth and cell regeneration due to our mitochondria readily accepting infrared light (ref).

This increases the cellular activity needed for wound healing.

In the study, wound size decreased by as much as 36%, and cell growth was enhanced by 150-170%.

Harry Potter's scars — Infrared sauna can help with healing wounds and scars.

The young woman who helped me at my local spa said that she had scars on her abdomen from several surgeries, and that the Infrared sauna made them heal and disappear very quickly!

Several studies have looked at using infrared saunas and found some evidence of benefit, in the treatment of chronic health problems, too, such as:

- - high blood pressure,
  - congestive heart failure,
  - dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,
  - headache,
  - type 2 diabetes and
  - rheumatoid arthritis

However, larger and more-rigorous studies are needed to confirm these results. On the other hand, no adverse effects have been reported with infrared saunas.

Cost for one 45 minute session at my local salon is around $40, though you can get discount packages.

If you try Infrared Sauna and really like it, you can even get one for your own home at relatively small expense.

I went for another short urban walk with That Man on Friday evening – around 2-3 miles – and found that there was some improvement in my ankle already!

Was the improvement due to the Infrared sauna treatment? Hard to say, but it probably didn’t hurt.

So, I think I’ll do a few more sessions in the Infrared sauna – at least until the ankle is a lot more healed up.

Who knows, I may see some other improvements as well 🙂

Week 8 is coming up – the last week of the training!!

It might be difficult with my bum ankle, but I’ll find a way. If I can do it, so can you!

Perhaps I’ll go back and read my article on training back from an injury and take my own advice 🙂

And focus, focus focus…..

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Training towards a goal is a planned process, but you should be able to respond to unplanned events like injury or weather changes without giving up your training entirely. Just keep going – but safely, of course.

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 6: Don’t Stop Now!

– – Training Week 6 started with a cold Saturday morning 9 mile hike on the MST at Falls Lake.

This hike is one of my favorite sections of the MST, because it’s long enough to know you’ve had a hike, and has some interesting features along the way.

I normally don’t lead hikes on Saturday, but the weather forecast for Sunday was for snow, ice and extreme cold (again), so I switched it up.

Needlessly, as it turns out, because the forecast was completely wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Oh, those wacky meteorologists…..

Hiking at the North Carolina Museum of Art park.

So, instead of cowering inside all day Sunday and doing the dreaded housework, I did some kickboxing – and, yes, housework.

Pretending to be sculptures in the Rodin garden.

Then I convinced That Man and the puppy to join me in the afternoon for a nice 4 mile walk at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Monday, it was forecast to be rainy all day and evening – and it was!!

So it was a treadmill training and weight lifting day.

Tuesday – I was able to join Lenore and other hiker friends at Umstead State Park – and this time I was not thwarted by a slow lumber truck!

We hiked the MUT about 6 miles, and I had a heavy pack, so this was my official Strength Building hike for the week.

View of the old boathouse at Umstead State Park.

THE SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION PART

A couple of weeks ago I got an email out of the blue from Mary Insprucker, host of the “Triangle 411” podcast.

She wanted to know if she could interview me about hiking and the I’d Rather Walk meetup group. How cool is that?

So I said okay, and the interview was just published. Here it is:

Triangle 411 I’d Rather Walk Hiking Interview

Please feel free to share with wild abandon!!!

I just hope I don’t sound like a doofus…

View of the Eno from the MST at Penny's Bend. — View of the Eno from the MST at Penny’s Bend.

Wednesday was another gorgeous day, so another hiker and I explored a new-to-me trail from Penny’s Bend to the River Forest trailhead.

The whole RT route was about 8.8 miles on the MST – our turnaround spot was just a mile or so from West Point on the Eno.

Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve is a small 85-acre natural area in northeast Durham that is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and managed by the NC Botanical Gardens.

Map on the kiosk at Penny's Bend. — Map on the kiosk at Penny’s Bend.

The nature preserve protects a peninsula of land that is surrounded on three sides by the Eno River just upstream of where the river flows into Falls Lake.

Thursday I hosted a longer training hike at Umstead State Park with a great group of hikers, hiking about 9 miles on the Loblolly Trail into Schenk Forest and back.

For some reason this hike kicked my butt…

Friday was such a gorgeous day, I spent most of the day hiking a new-to-me section of the MST with a wonderful group of hikers led by Rich B from the “Life is a Hike!” meetup.

MST Hike K is a 14 miles out-and-back between Hwy 98 and NC 50 near Falls Lake.

It was fun, but after completing that hike, my legs hurt and I realized I’d hiked 51 miles during the week!

So, I got off my feet and let That Man pamper me with a nice dinner 🙂

This MST section runs opposite the Rollingview Marina on Falls Lake.

I may have slacked off a bit this week on the kickboxing and weight lifting because the sunny warm weather made me do a lot of hiking and ignore the rest.

That said, there’s still time to focus and get back on track before the 8-week program is over.

Okay, then – time to go work up a sweat somehow.

THE SHAMELESS SALESY PART

In case you haven’t noticed, Valentine’s Day is just a few days away.

If you haven’t planned anything yet, here are few suggestions from the IRW Merch Shop Valentine’s Collection:

At this point, your gifts won’t get there in time, but you could tell your sweetie it’s on the way!

Week 7 is next. Let’s make it a good one 🙂

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Don’t give up if you miss a cross-training workout or snarf too many jelly beans – every day is a new opportunity to do better!!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 5: Ice and Rain

– – Training Week 5 started with another snowy, icy Saturday morning – so it was treadmill training for me!

But Sunday the roads were clear – although it was still very cold! – and I went back into the woods with a great group of hikers for 6 miles on the Loblolly Trail in Umstead State Park.

We started a bit later than usual due to the cold, so I had time before we started for some extra yoga 🙂

A thin skim of ice on Big Lake in Umstead State Park.

Monday I attempted to join my friend Lenore for another hike, this time on the other side (Glenwood entrance) of Umstead State Park, to hike the multi-Use Trails.

But I was thwarted by a slow lumber truck that made me late, so I went my own way.

This was a short Strength Building hike for me, so I carried extra weight in my pack and hiked around 6.5 miles.

I decided to check out a trail at Forest Ridge Park.

Tuesday was supposed to be kickboxing, but it was an unusually warm day, and I just had to get outdoors, so I went to check out a new trail – recommended by another hiker – at Forest Ridge Park, and did a short 5 miles on the Shoreline Trail.

It was another trail along the shore of Falls Lake, but this time not part of the Falls Lake Trail or the MST.

Hiking the Shoreline Trail at Forest Ridge Park.

Wednesday I scheduled a long hike (`9 miles) that we hadn’t done in a while, due to weather.

The hike follows the MST along the Eno River from the Old Pump Station ruins to the Old Mill at West Point on the Eno.

There’s been construction along there for a couple of years, and it looks like it’s finally winding down.

Construction is finally winding down at the dam at West Point on the Eno.

Thursday was another long hike at Umstead – 9mi on the Co Mill & Sycamore trails, followed later in the day by another 4 miles on Loblolly and MUT with That Man and puppy.

Second hike of the day at Umstead with Colleen, the prettiest puppy :-) — Second hike of the day at Umstead with Colleen, the prettiest puppy 🙂

Friday it was supposed to rain all day, so I’d planned for kickboxing and indoor work.

Turns out we got hardly any rain at all. Hmmmph.

Nevermind, we’ve made it through 5 weeks so far.

In case you’re feeling proud of yourself (and you should!), I designed some Awesome T-Shirts to commemorate your training:

Wednesday this week was Groundhog Day, and the Rodent says we have 6 more weeks of winter.

Whatever that means around here…. But, no matter what, we know that:

Are you ready????

TAKEAWAY LESSON: The weather can have a big impact on your workout plans! Always check the weather and trail conditions before you head out, and even though the forecast is wrong A LOT, plan as if you believe them 😉

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Hike to the Zombie Tunnels! – Schenck Forest’s Richland Creek Trail

Most recently updated May 4th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

The Zombie Tunnel Hike is a route that goes from Umstead State Park, and all the way through Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest – with the help of the Richland Creek Trail.

All tunnels could be zombie tunnels... — All tunnels could be zombie tunnels…

I’ve been leading this hike for years, and people really enjoy it.

At over 11 miles, it’s a good long hike, but it’s pretty flat, and has a lot of different features – like Zombie tunnels!

Okay, there may not *actually* be any Zombies, but it sure looks like there could be….and one time I did find a mutant fish in there 🙂

According to legend, Brigadoon only appears for one day every 300 years.

I don’t host this hike very often because conditions need to be just right or the route is impassable, and I hate to disappoint anyone.

The other thing about this route is that, depending on recent weather conditions or new construction, parts of the trail have been known to disappear like Brigadoon at sunrise.

So earlier this year, before I posted the hike for others to join me, I decided to take a look and see if the route was still there – and still the same.

Good news! The route was still there – and still mostly the same. In fact some parts had actually been improved!

Now – just in time for Halloween! – I’ll tell you what I found, and how to get there – and maybe you can go try this somewhat spooky trail for yourself…

UPDATE: There have been some major changes to the Schenck Forest access area over the past few months. Read on for more updated info.

New construction on the Schenk access road off of Reedy Creek road. — New construction on the Schenck access road off of Reedy Creek road.

Continue reading Hike to the Zombie Tunnels! – Schenck Forest’s Richland Creek Trail

Harness the Health Benefits of Sunshine

Most recently updated January 20th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

The idea that sunshine has health benefits isn’t anything new.

The Earth has been basking in the sun for more than 3 billion years.

And as our planet’s early life forms evolved in the ocean, they were exposed to – and adapted to – sunlight.

It makes sense that all lifeforms on our planet, including humans, have evolved to use the power of the sun to their advantage.

The sun is vitally important to all life forms on Earth.

But sun exposure has a particularly wide array of health benefits for humans.

We have a long history of using sunlight therapy – called “heliotherapy” today – that dates back to the ancient Greeks.

Here are some ways you can harness the power of the sun to maintain and even improve your own health – even if you can’t go outdoors!

Continue reading Harness the Health Benefits of Sunshine

Week 8: Our Last Chance!

– – Training Week 8 started with a wonderful hike in Umstead State Park – with 6 mile and 10 mile options.

We combined Umstead State Park’s Company Mill trail, Sycamore Trail, and the Reedy Creek Multi-Use Trail. It was a little brisk (about 30 degrees) to start with, but warmed up quickly to about 50 degrees by the time we finished.

The weather was gorgeous and we had a great group of hikers – what a wonderful start to the day!

I had a moderately weighted pack and was planning on going a bit more slowly than normal, but some of the group wanted to go faster, so I added more frequent and a little bit longer breaks along the way.

Carved tree along the Sycamore Trail, Umstead State Park, Raleigh NC

For this week’s shorter Strength Building hike, I returned to Bond Park.

I’ve been slacking off in the pack weight department, so I added 5 more lbs to my pack.

The 5-6mi route around the lake is partially natural trails, and partially paved trails.

The route is pretty flat, but unfortunately the natural trails have a tendency to get muddy after a rain.

Luckily for us, the weather was pretty dry for a couple of days before the hike so all we had to deal with was bright sunshine 🙂

This week’s training included these two hikes along with kick-boxing a few times, treadmill runs (on rainy days), shorter fast walks and a gym trip or two.

So, in case you’re just joining us, I’ve been spending 8 weeks training for an awesome hiking trip to New Zealand.

I’ve done all I can to train for the hikes, the biking, canoeing, and yes – even zorbing. But how do you train for excessively long air travel???

My flight from the US to New Zealand will take two calendar days, while on the return I will actually get home BEFORE I leave New Zealand.

Time travel is REAL!!! I knew it…. 🙂

Seriously, although I have taken flights this long before (Patagonia comes to mind), I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.

But I think I’ve done everything I can – other than purchasing the incredibly expensive Business Class pod – to make this trip more comfortable and less exhausting.

Some people sedate themselves (herbally or otherwise), but I’m not a fan.

Besides, as soon as I land, I’ll need to board a shuttle (I already have tickets) to get to a kickoff dinner, and then we leave the next morning on our first hike.

So I will literally need to hit the ground running – and the less travel-worn I am, the better.

There a few things I’ve learned to do, both to make a long flight more bearable and to deal with jet-lag once I’ve landed.

TIPS TO SURVIVE YOUR OVERNIGHT FLIGHT

Choose Your Seats ASAP for the Best Choices

I always start with the least expensive Economy flight I can find, but somehow end up paying much more for things that I think should just be included.

(“What? You say you want to breathe while you’re in flight?? That’ll be $40 more! And a pint of blood, please.”)

Sometimes, they won’t let you choose a seat online before check-in UNLESS you pony up more cash. And we all know you’re more likely to get bumped if you don’t have an assigned seat.

As annoying as it is to be financially nibbled to death, for overnight flights and tight connections, I’ve learned to just suck it up and pay extra for at least a Priority seat.

Choose the Best Seat for You

I prefer the window so I can lean against it – and away from my neighbor – to sleep, but you might want the aisle for ease of access or to sneak your long legs into the aisle. (My legs are pretty short.)

Nobody wants to be in the middle seat, imprisoned by seat backs and stranger’s shoulders for longer than you usually spend in bed each night….

Priority seating may also allow you priority boarding (to ensure space for your carry-on) and put you closer to the front of the plane so you can exit more quickly when you land.

The time you save de-planing may let you make a connection with time to hit the restroom, or beat the rush to Immigration.

Hydrate Before You Travel

I always bring water on the plane with me, but try to use the restroom just prior to boarding and drink sparingly while in flight so I don’t have to use the plane lav more than a couple of times.

Especially since my trips tend to be outdoorsy, I don’t want to be dehydrated at the outset.

So I drink a lot of water the day before I leave, and chug a bunch of water when I reach the destination airport. Getting hydrated again ASAP will also help with any jet-lag.

Airplane Food

Eat real food at home before you go. It’s healthier and less expensive than airport food.

But once you’re imprisoned in the metal tube, eat sparingly. (You probably won’t have to work hard at this… 😉

Once you’ve landed, though, try to eat and sleep in accordance with your destination time-frame.

Toiletries and Meds

Don’t put all of your toiletries in your checked baggage – make sure you’ve at least got your toothbrush and any daily meds you need in your carry-on.

You may even want to bring a change of clothes to freshen up before you leave the plane.

I just realized Daylight Savings Time is also happening during my trip. Man, am I going to be messed up when I get home….

Take Care of Nagging Details

Before a major trip, I always try to wrap up any of life’s details – paying bills in advance, finishing up projects if I can, answering any emails, etc.

When I return, I likely won’t remember much of what I was in the middle of before I left, which is kind of the point.

A big trip is supposed to bring you home with fresh eyes and a “cleansed” brain.

The Tardis has more legroom than Economy Class

Bonus Week – The last planned Training Week is over, so now it’s time to try on all of my pants! Seriously.

I”ll continue with maintenance training as long as I’m here – but nothing too ambitious.

I’ll be resting up for time travel 🙂

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Training towards a goal should include a rest period just before the event. Relax, trust in your excellent training work and your body will know what to do!!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful in your training process – or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing. It might work for your goals, too.

Keep an eye out for new posts about New Zealand in the next month or so….

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 7: More More More!

Most recently updated February 25th, 2020

– – Training Week 7 began with the longest training hike yet – a combination of Umstead State Park’s Loblolly trail, the Reedy Creek Greenway, and multiple trails in the North Carolina Museum of Art Park. We even added in the short tunnel to the back gate at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation on the way!

We took a short break near the NCMA amphitheater then made our way to the I-440 pedestrian bridge – our mid-point on this 14 mile hike.

On the return, we took the long way around so we could stop and take a look at the community apiary (beehives) before we left the park.

This was a beautiful day with a great group of hikers – even so, 14 miles is a long way! Plenty of sunshine and good conversation made it go quickly, though 🙂

Community Apriary at NCMA Park — Community Apiary at NCMA Park

Due to the length of the hike, I cut back my extra pack weight to only 10lbs, and because my knees were hurting I kept it at 10lbs for this week’s Strength Building hike on the Loblolly trail and MUT in Umstead State Park.

Technically the Loblolly Trail is an out-and-back from the trailhead to the edge of the park, but I add on a portion of the Schenck Forest Loblolly and the MUT to create a 6.5mile loop.

This route is primarily natural trails with a portion of the compacted dirt multi-use trail and paved Reedy Creek trail.

The Loblolly route is not as rocky as the Company Mill Trail, and has less elevation gain, though there are a couple of long uphill climbs.

I wasn’t totally wiped out at the end of the hike, but I sure was happy to get rid of my weighted pack!!

This week’s training included these two hikes along with the usual kick-boxing a few times, short walks and a gym trip or two.

PLUS another bonus walk just for fun – because we had fresh snowfall and it was sunny outside 🙂

So, in case you’re just joining us, I’ve been spending 8 weeks training for an awesome hiking trip to New Zealand.

One of the optional activities on my NZ trip is Zorbing. Honestly, I don’t know how to train for that – maybe turn cartwheels down a steep hill?

What the heck is zorbing, you ask?

Although it’s one of the stranger sports out there, zorbing is actually pretty simple:

You climb inside a big inflated ball and roll down a hill.

The zorb rolled onto the scene in the mid-1990s in New Zealand, and hit extreme sports in 1998.

The ball has two skins, and the area between them is inflated, but the inner chamber is always open to the outside – so you have fresh air coming in all the time.

I will have the opportunity to try this, and I might. But I think I want to take a look at how steep the hill is before I commit 🙂

I’m closing in on all of the trip planning details, but still have a few things to do to get ready.

I’m also still hoping to drop a pound or two of “extra” me, with the help of my clean eating anti-asthma diet 🙂

There’s still time to get it done, but no more time to procrastinate. Focus, focus focus…..

Week 8 is coming up – the last planned training week!!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 6: Longer and Stronger

– – Training Week 6 started with a morning hike combining Company Mill, multi use trails and the Sal’s Branch Trail in Umstead State Park for a total of about 12 miles.

Sign for Sal's Branch Trail — Sign for Sal’s Branch Trail

The route crosses the park from the Harrison Ave entrance all the way to the Visitor’s center on the Glenwood Ave side of the park.

This week’s long hike was a few miles longer than last week, so I kept my extra pack weight at 15 lbs.

It’s a beautiful hike beside the lake to Sal’s Branch and then it’s into the woods again until you reach the Visitor’s Center at the halfway point.

We took a brief break at the Visitor’s Center, and then hiked down the other side of Sal’s Branch back to the lake for the return.

The natural trails portion of this route is rockier than the Loblolly trail, and has more elevation gain, especially on the return trip because a long stretch of the MUT is all uphill from the lakeside.

I was delighted to find that even with the extra miles, I wasn’t nearly as tired climbing the last hill on Company Mill back to the trailhead as I was in Week 5. The training must be working!!!

For this week’s Strength-Building hike, I chose another mostly multi-use trail hike because of very wet weather through the week.

I started from the Old Reedy Creek trailhead beside Lake Crabtree County Park. and walked from there over the I-40 bridge access into Umstead to the Warren Hill Cemetery and back.

I carried an extra 20lbs and total hike distance was about 6 miles – mostly uphill for the first half.

Even with extra weight and elevation gain, average speed for the hike was at 3.75 mph – which is a respectable speed even without a pack!

This week’s training included those two hikes along with the usual kick-boxing a few times, short walks and a gym trip or two. On one of the gym trips, I tried out a new machine (to me) – the rowing machine!

So, just in case you’re new around here, I’m spending the next 8 weeks training for an awesome hiking trip to New Zealand.

My NZ trip includes canoeing in the Whanganui River, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to do some rowing ahead of time.

The Whanganui River – in the heart of the heart of Whanganui National Park – winds its way from the mountains to the Tasman Sea.

The area has a unique history and Maori culture is an important part of the park.

I’m getting more excited about the trip, but worried that I may have slacked off a bit this week due to the rainy weather and an overwhelming need for coffee sorbet…..

That said, there’s still enough time to focus and get back on track before it’s time to go. Okay, then- gotta go work up a sweat somehow.

Week 7 is next, and it’s a doozy 🙂

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Don’t give up if you miss a workout or snarf too many doughnuts: every day is a new opportunity!!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ