Mt. Monadnock with New Hiking Poles!

I could not get my hiking poles to open - I really liked those poles so was sad to have to retire them. But then I got my new poles, and I have to say they made me happy! I got the black diamond shock control poles for women. The "for women" part only means that they are shorter and a little lighter, and they are a pretty blue. That works for me! Since I just got them, of course I had to take them out for a spin.

I was trying to decide where to go, and was thinking of Chocora, but the trail reviews said there is still snow on the top and it's a 2.5 hour drive to the trail I wanted to take. So, I decided on Monadnock instead - it's only an hour and a half and, although it's got really nice views, it's actually not that long a hike. It's no joke though, either. 

Since it is closer, I slept in until 9, and then sat around drinking coffee deciding if I wanted to go. Finally, I was like "I'm doing it!" and I was so glad that I did - it was a really nice hike. My one requirement for Monadnock is not going up the white dot and down the white cross. I thought about the different routes and decided to do Halfway House to While Arrow, which I thought I hadn't done before (I had, but that was OK, it's still a good one.) I started my hike at 12:12, it was sunny and cool and no bugs yet. I got these new patagonia hiking tights that were awesome! So glad I got them - they are thicker on the butt for sliding :) Anyhow, the trail starts out really gradual for the first mile/mile and a half, it's a really nice stroll though the woods. Then it goes up pretty steady for the rest of the hike. Towards the top there's a lot of rock scrambling and places where you need your hands, so I had to put my shiny new poles away. I got to the top in about an hour and a half, so a pretty good pace. It was crowded up top, but not too bad - not like it will be in summer. I sat and ate for a while, but it was so windy up top that I decided to descend a little to finish eating. I discovered a new trail snack - dill pickles! They are salty and crunchy and delicious. And, they aren't full of calories. Must remember for future trips.

The way down was slower than the way up to start. My left knee was really sore - I guess I have to get back into doing the PT exercises that I find so boring. Once I got down a bit I could use my new poles, and that made it a lot easier. I actually passed a few people on this hike, but one was a family with a crying kid who looked like he was about 3, and another was two women who had very new looking packs that were way too full for a day hike. The last mile or so out the bottom of my foot was really sore, but other than that it was just lovely - a nice second hike of the season. And the poles are definitely a success!

Prozac for my cat

I finally gave in and decided that I have to give Tigger prozac. She has turned into a little demon over covid, becoming a hissy beast any time that poor Rufus tries to play with her. Also, when she doesn't get like 10 snacks a day she beats him up. Which has resulted in Rufus becoming obese. He is so fat, and it's because of this manipulation by Tigger. She never beats him up when I'm not there (I can tell that they have been brawling because there are clumps of fur all over the floor when they're done.)

She's so hard to give pills, I tried to make it easier by getting the tuna flavored prozac and mixing it with a little yogurt (mmm, tuna flavored yogurt) but she would have none of it. So, I had to force it in her mouth - which results in a low growl, but nothing worse. We'll give it a few weeks and see how it works. If this doesn't work, the next step is an exorcism.

She really is an awesome cat - when she isn't all hissy she spends so much of her time purring and cuddling with me, or sitting in the sun on the windowsill, watching birds, or napping on one of her many nap spots. She's a big fan of the laser pointer, and I got her an auto pointer toy, but she still gets all hissy. Well, I understand a lot of cats are on prozac, and maybe it will make her feel better. 

Swam 2/3 mile!

Today I swam over 2/3 mile and got up to 30 breaths on the crawl. But, every time that started thinking that I was doing well I lost my focus and choked on water. Clearly I need some sort of mantra for myself instead of "you're doing it!" because that seems to stop me from actually doing it. I'll think about that one. I feel like by the end of the summer I will be able to swim a mile without stopping, but we'll see - maybe that can be a goal.

It was a perfect spring day today! It was in the mid-sixties, but it felt really warm. At parkour we worked on rail precisions, and I was able to step from one rail to another at height after a bit. Everyone else was jumping, but whatever. Then we did strides to precision and played in the high school parkour park. After class finished I walked on the rail again, and was able to walk a pretty good distance. Definitely feeling good about my 2 achievements.

This weekend was open studios, and I went to the pottery studio and bought a couple of cute bowls, a mug and container for my kitchen spoons and spatulas, etc. I spent maybe a little more than I should have, but everything definitely sparked joy, so I decided it was allowed. This morning I ate breakfast out of my new bowl, and drank coffee from my new mug and it was so nice! Later in the day I decided that I should always eat off of nice plates, and decided that I would use my china for every day. I mean, who the heck am I saving it for? 

I was officially offered a volunteer position as the city wide garden coordinator! I've been coordinating for my community garden for the last three years, and it's been fine. I think I can help the program, and it sure seems that they need someone to do it. Hopefully this wasn't a huge mistake.

Mt. Major and Straightback

I finally made it to Mt. Straightback! Today the plan was to go to Kittery and hike Mt. Major for my first hike of the season. I woke up at like 9, and seriously considered not doing either, but then I was like "then you have to do parkour," which for some reason I didn't really feel like doing. So, I got off my lazy butt and went. I started at Kittery where I didn't find a single thing that sparked joy, and after two hours of shopping I thought about just heading home. But, thankfully I didn't, because it was so nice out there hiking!

I got to Mt. Major around 1:45, which I knew was fine because the sun goes down at like 7:30, and Major only takes a couple of hours to hike. I started going and felt really good, maybe because I slept until 9? Anyhow, it didn't seem like a difficult hike at all, and I got to the top in about 45 minutes. At the top I sat and admired the view, and ate a banana, which was unfortunately all I had packed to eat. Sitting up top, I was feeling really good and decided that today could be the day to hike Straighback finally, and so I headed off.

The walk from Major to the turn for Straightback was the best part - it was pretty ridgeline like, and slabby. The weather was perfect, still no bugs, and just a really nice walk. I didn't have any problems finding the turns, and got to Straighback in good time. As I sat down to admire the view, I also realized that I was hungry. Fortunately I had a peanut butter in my backpack which was delicious, and a rather disgusting looking power bar, which was not delicious. I ate a few bites and then put it back in my backpack to throw away later. I was still feeling pretty good at Straighback, so I decided to hike back up Major, admire the view for a few more minutes, and then go back down the blue trail (which is really the best.) 

For some reason, I decided to go down the orange trail - I think it was because that was what alltrails thought I was going to hike, and so I did. It's been a while since I did that trail and I forgot how steep it was - My knees were killing me! I did something to my hiking poles last summer and I can't get them to open, so I was poleless. I'm going to have to figure out if I can fix them, or I will have to get knew ones, I was really wishing for some hiking poles.

Anyhow, it's fortunately not too long a hike, and I was back at my car before I knew it. I was so hungry, though, I stopped at this pizza place and when they didn't sell slices I bought a calzone and ate the entire thing driving back. It was so good. And, I regretted eating it after, but only a little. Once again, Mt. Major is a success, a good choice for a first hike of the season - really glad I got off my butt and went.

Swim to the Point!

Since we've been able to stay in the water for longer folks have been swimming over to "The Point," an outcrop that's always looked way too far for me to swim to. But, today I swam to it! It wasn't fast and my breathing isn't getting any better with the crawl, but I did it without it being too hard. I was super excited about it - definitely will work on improving speed and breathing skills, but happy with the length.

Last time I was swimming I got a mouth full of water and had to hang on one of the other swimmers "swim buddy" float for a couple minutes. I decided that if I really want to do open water swimming I should get one of my own. It's basically a small, brightly colored inflatable bag that's just big enough that you could hold onto it and float if you got a leg cramp or a mouth full of water. It clips around the waste and come with you in the water. It's small enough that there really isn't much drag. I don't think I would have gone so far without it, because we same right through the lake, but with it I was fine (and I didn't need it at all.)

We had a little party on the beach with food and an egg game. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie from my first rhubarb from the garden and it was really delicious! The crust was full of butter, so of course it was good :) There were also other delicious treats, and I ate way too much, definitely undid the good of swimming. I'm looking forward to improving over the summer!

 

Updates on swim and parkour

It's been a while since I've blogged about my exercise activities. I'm still doing parkour and swimming, still loving both. My parkour balancing is getting much better - a couple weeks ago we were walking on the handicapped ramp hand rails at the high school and I made it about 2/3 of the way up the path. Probably about 20 feet, which isn't that far, but it was for me and I felt good about it! It was a big confidence booster, and I'm working on longer, higher routes on bars. I also got up for the second time on the column that I feel off of - it felt way easier the second time. I was going to try it yesterday, but there were a bunch of kids around and I felt nervous. Another day.

I'm loving the open water swimming - who knew it was so fun?! The water is much warmer now, it's up to like 60 degrees. Still cold, but I've stayed in for a half hour a couple times. Some of the folks swim in the race, the memphremagog winter festival, which is in northern Vermont in February. It's a swim race, and they cut a 25 meter by two lane hole in the ice and have a three day event. And so of course I had to sign up for it next year, because I'm crazy like that. It just sounded so fun - the water is like 30 degrees, so it's freezing up as you are getting in, and they have to keep scooping ice off the top. Each athlete gets their own escort to take you to the water, a stripper to help you disrobe and get dressed again, and a hooker who walks next to you as you are swimming with a long hook, and fishes you out if you look like you're going to drown. What could go wrong? 

Now, of course, I'm working on my swimming. I looked back in my blog and I took swim lessons in 2018, but never really got the breathing thing going. I've been staying in the water and getting better at things for a couple weeks now. I started doing the breast stroke for a swim, going first to this tree, and then past the tree to the next one, etc. Now I can swim for about 20 minutes - with my crawl being maybe 5 minutes of it. I've gotten to a point where I can do about 15 strokes, all breathing on the left, before I have to stop. It's a work in progress, but one I hope to get better at. It's still cold putting my face in the water, but I've been doing it. My goal is to be able to swim 25 meters, of course, for the festival, but then to swim more so it's good exercise. It's so much more fun in open water than in the pool! I can see myself continuing with this for a while.

Finally Got Back on the Horse!

Since The Big Fall I've been trying to climb on the cement pillar that I fell from, but without any luck. To be fair, sometimes we aren't in that area of the park and sometimes it's wet or covered in snow, so it hasn't seemed like a good day for Overcoming Trauma. Today I was feeling pretty good, there is snow on the ground but not on the pillar, and I thought I would give it a try. During class I sat on top of the pillar and then after class I went up again, got my foot up, and then started feeling nervous. But, my balance felt good and I was feeling strong, so I did it! I stood up! It was awesome! I was also really grateful because my friends all came over to spot me and offer me a hand as I was getting up. It felt good. I stood on top it for about 20 seconds and then got down, which has always felt easier and still did today. After, my hands were shaking a little.

We did some practice balancing walking on the metal bar, and I walked on the slightly taller one to challenge my fear of heights. I'm realizing that we did turn vaults in class on Wednesday and I was all in my head about them because of the height, but could have practiced them today on a lower bar. I'll have to remember that for next week.

I'm headed out for more swimming! I went on Thursday and it was so so cold, but today the air is a lot warmer. Tomorrow it's supposed to be almost 60, so that will be a nice day for a swim.