First Blog for MoTreks

I decided to start a blog on hiking.  I use to backpack years ago.  In fact, some of my gear may actually qualify as antiques.  I decided to start hiking again to get the exercise (too boring on the treadmill).  It is also too easy to quit when you are on the treadmill.  When you are 5 or 6 miles away from your car, you could still quit for the day (and have a sleep over) or call for an air lift but those are not really viable options.  The real option is to keep walking until you get back to the trail head.

One of the big advances in hiking outdoors is GPS.  I joined www.alltrails.com to find local trails and post my activity including tracks of my hikes.  I can track hikes using my iphone.  It provides real-time data on distance, elevation, coordinates, time and average speed.  It makes the trip more enjoyable and turns it into a game.  Alltrails keeps track of your activity and assigns a point score for your reputation.  The more you accomplish (trails hiked, tracks and pictures uploaded and trail review), the higher your reputation.  I will update this blog with information on new trails, equipment, good and poor hiking judgement, etc.

At this moment I am on a short hiatus (at least I hope it is short).  I hiked on Monday at Trail of Tears.  I typically hike approximately 6 miles on the red loop of the Pee-Wah (no problem).  However, for some reason I developed tendinitis in in my left ankle.  I believe it was due to the method used to lace my boots to avoid jamming my toe into the toe box of my boots.  I have laced the boots in a similar fashion in the past and it has not been an issue.  I can only assume that i laced it too tight or put the knot right over the tendon.  End result, I am not able to hike until it gets better.  I have tried heat and anti-inflammatory drugs and it is still too sore to hike on.  Hope to get out this weekend.