Monday, October 3, 2016

APPALACHIAN TRAIL

On Sunday, due to a family emergency which involved bone fractures but not life-or-death, my trip to Connecticut was curtailed. Even so, I managed to squeeze in a five mile hike prior to leaving Connecticut. My hike on the previous day was memorable as it was a quick jaunt from the parking lot at the trailhead to the beautiful vista on a mountain ridge. The trail was exceptionally interesting to me as it was a part of the Appalachian Trail. With this one mile section of the Appalachian Trail now completed, I need hike another 2,200 miles or so to be considered a 'thru hiker.' At this point in my life, that seems rather unlikely, still it was great fun to hike on part of the trail. My guide on this quick hike was my sister-in-law and we did meet two bonafide thru hikers that had started the trail in

Georgia, approximately 1500 miles to the south. They were apparently both young, healthy, and fit. How could one not be after hiking 1500 miles?

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Rock Hill Bakehouse - 8-Grain 3-Seed Bread	90	18	2	3	230	3
Banana	110	30	0	1	0	19
Apple - Gala Small (4oz), 3	195	51	0	2	0	38
	395	99	2	6	230	60
L U N C H
Generic - Sliced Deli Turkey	200	4	4	39	941	0
Clover Valley - 100% Whole Wheat Bread	240	44	2	16	440	4
	440	48	6	55	1,381	4
D I N N E R
Sliced Country Multigrain Bread	210	36	3	6	510	3
Chicken Cacciatore	350	7	11	58	571	0
Homemade - Ratatouiile	100	0	8	8	121	0
	660	43	22	72	1,202	3
S N A C K S
Nestle - Milk Chocolate Bar	400	51	23	4	38	48
Brownie	300	24	21	6	188	21
	700	75	44	10	226	69

Totals	2,195	265	74	143	3,039	136
Your Daily Goal	2,748	343	91	138	2,300	103
Remaining	553	78	17	-5	-739	-33
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 818 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today... You'd weigh 203.3 lbs in 5 weeks.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
5 MILE HIKE	72	902
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	-84
Add Exercise Quick Tools

Daily Total / Goal	73 / 30	818 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1129 / 210	15,071 / 4,130

from wikipedia...

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail is about 2,200 miles (3,500 km) long, though the precise length changes over time as parts are modified or rerouted. The trail passes through 14 states: Georgia, North Carolina,Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York,Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The Appalachian Trail was completed in 1937 after more than a decade of work, although improvements and changes continue. It is maintained by 31 trail clubs and multiple partnerships,^[2] and managed by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The majority of the trail is in forest or wild lands, although some portions traverse towns, roads and farms. The trail conservancy claims that the Appalachian Trail is the longest hiking-only trail in the world.

At least 2 million people are said to do at least one day-hike on the trail each year. Thru-hikers attempt to hike it in its entirety in a single season — more than 2,700 people thru-hiked the trail in 2014 — and some hike from one end to the other, then turn around and thru-hike the trail the other way, known as a "yo-yo". Many books, memoirs, web sites, and fan organizations are dedicated to these pursuits.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

A WALK IN THE WOODS

I was really knocked out on Sunday. I could barely move. I could barely speak. And breathing wasn't working too well either. I did wake up yesterday, Monday, feeling infinitely better, although nowhere near 100%. Nevertheless, in the afternoon, I was able to take an urban hike. After my complete system-wide malfunction on the previous day, it felt really good to stretch my legs. I plan on being completely cured by Wednesday. I know that things don't really work that way, but it is important to have the mindset of health in order to be healthy. And even if that is completely ridiculous, I can't see what harm can come of it.

I have started reading my next Bill Bryson book. As anyone can attest, it is very easy to get hooked on a Netflix TV show. It certainly takes a bit more effort to get hooked on a series of books by the same author. Naturally, the payout of reading a good book far exceeds the payout from watching hours and hours of a TV show or movie. The next Bryson book that I have just started is A WALK IN THE WOODS. This book details the travels of Bill and a 'friend' of his as they hiked the entire 2000+ miles of the Appalachian Trail. Although I only started the book today, I can tell that I am going to enjoy this journey. Although thus far, my hiking expeditions do not include overnight camping, still there is much about this experience which I am going to vicariously enjoy. Bill Bryson is a great storyteller. Each page of each of his books is enjoyable. The reader eagerly reads each page with the anticipation of the best of any Stephen King thriller. The Bryson books appear to keep the horror in much smaller doses. Still there are some minor horrors and many more bits of humor. This book was actually made into a major Hollywood Movie - which until about 5 minutes ago - I had never heard of. The movie stars Nick Nolte and Robert Redford.

A quick check of Netflix has confirmed that A WALK IN THE WOODS is not available for streaming. But Cape Fear starring Nick Nolte is... and that sure is a great movie and in this specific case, a non-sequitur. The thing with blogging and bloggers - we don't have editors. Of course, that is obviously obvious. (An editor would surely have ripped apart that last sentence!)

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	600	108	10	16	0	4
Quaker - Chewy Granola 90 Calories	270	57	6	3	240	21
	870	165	16	19	240	25
L U N C H
Read - 3 Bean Salad, 1.67 Cup (85g)	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Cabbage Soup	200	20	0	5	157	11
Fried Chicken Tenders	300	17	20	14	766	2
Home Made - Garden Salad, 1 bowl	100	6	0	4	400	4
	900	108	20	28	2,823	57
D I N N E R
Fried Chicken Tenders	300	17	20	14	766	2
Home Made - Garden Salad, 1 bowl	100	6	0	4	400	4
	400	23	20	18	1,166	6
S N A C K S
Hersheys Dark Chocolate Bar	500	28	38	9	100	11
Oreos	200	31	9	1	175	18
Hostess - Banana Twinkie, 3 cakes	405	69	14	3	540	50
	1,105	128	61	13	815	79

Totals	3,275	424	117	78	5,044	167
Your Daily Goal	4,179	522	139	209	2,300	156
Remaining	904	98	22	131	-2,744	-11
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,249 extra calories from exercise today

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
11 Mile Urban Hike	134	2,377


Daily Total / Goal	134 / 30	2,377 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	134 / 210	2,377 / 4,130

I guess this step count for Monday makes it easy for me to quantify how much better I felt yesterday compared to Sunday. On Sunday I managed to 'accumulate' a grand total of 2031 steps for the entire day. On Monday my step count was 20103. This is nearly a 1000% improvement (989.8% for all the 'rainman types' out there) Yep, I definitely felt better on Monday.

and one more thing of some note...
a few weeks ago, a wished myself a Happy Anniversary which commemorated the important day that purchased my fitbit. It will probably be a good idea today, to wish myself and my wife a Happy Anniversary which commemorates the day we were married 19 years ago. So I will.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, JENNIFER
I considered adding something sardonic and/or sarcastic and/or humorous here... but I think I will just stick with the basic good wishes. Why risk the delicious fondue dinner that we have planned for this evening?