There’s still too much rain, snow and mud for after-work hiking, but just after dawn, when the ground is still frozen, is a good time to hit the trails. I did exactly that on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

On Saturday, we climbed to the top of Burnt Ridge and then caught the aquaduct trail to the old mine road, for a total of 6 miles. It was a beautiful, chilly morning, and I could hear cranes croaking nearby.

On Sunday, we did the same loop in reverse, and it was almost like hiking a completely different trail.

I have nerve compression in both my feets, so I am trying to find a way to keep hiking without too much pain and, more importantly, without exacerbating the problem. It seems as if keeping the distance to no more than 5 miles helps. I think I’ll try hiking poles, too. 1 month ago

It’s been raining here, and the weather is warmer, which is the perfect recipe for muddy trails. I avoided that by taking Becca & Elbee hiking as early as possible.

We set out to climb Burnt Ridge at 6:45 a.m. The sky stayed snuggled under a blanket of cloud cover, but the birds were up and at ‘em, chattering away. The air felt soft and humid.

My foot was a little sore, but it wasn’t too bad. I was able to walk a little faster than last weekend. Becca and Elbee had a great time sniffing, running and frolicking, and they were very good about staying close to me.

The grass on the ground is really greening up, but the shrubs and trees are still leafless. I saw on tiny yellow glacier lily preparing to bloom. These mountainsides should have lots of flowers by next weekend.

A very fun and exhilarating hike, and we were back home by 8:30 a.m.

75 minutes, 4 miles. 1 month ago

On Saturday, I took Becca & Elbee to our favorite state mountain park. With this winter’s scant snowfall, I’m sure we could have hiked all winter, had it not been for my foot sugery. The trails are still very muddy, so we left as soon as the sun was up, before the ground thawed.

It felt great to be hiking on such a beautiful and familiar trail again. The trees were still bare, and the trails were lined in piles of last autumn’s fallen leaves. The air was full of bird songs, including a lot of goose honks. There are a lot of geese in the area this Spring, which is unusual.

As we climbed up the mountain, there were more patches of snow. We didn’t go past Spring Pond because at that point the trails were lined with big ice patches. I didn’t have cleats on my boots and didn’t want to risk another injury.

Speaking of foot injuries, I saw my doctor on Friday and he told me something interesting. He told me that the antibiotic Levaquin now carries a black box warning because it can cause tendon problems. That goes a long way toward explaining my original injury, which occurred about a year ago, when I was taking Levaquin for about 8 weeks to combat a severe and very stubborn ear infection…and was snow hiking most of that time.

Anyway, on the way back, my mind was elsewhere, thinking about a job application I’d just submitted, and I took a wrong turn. I’ve hiked in this park hundreds of times, yet I took a wrong turn! It took me about a mile to realize that we were off course, and then I actually got a little confused. Strangeness! I finally decided to turn around and retrace my steps, and eventually my mistake was clear. I had intended to hike only about 3 miles, because my foot was hurting, but it ended up being a 5 mile hike.

It’s good to be back at it again, and I was pleased that I’ve been able to maintain my heart and lungs conditioning through the winter, despite taking it easy for several weeks following surgery. Right now, the trails are too muddy to hike after the ground thaws, but I’m hoping to do some more early morning hiking this weekend. 1 month ago

This morning I took Becca & Elbee back to the Old Mine trails. We climbed to the top of Burnt Ridge again, but this time we took different routes. We climbed up the Sage Trail and returned on the Cottontail Trail. I thought this was a slightly shorter way, but it is actually longer.

It was cold, 14F, and kind of windy. I regretted not wearing my thermal underwear. Three seasons were evident: wintry patches of snow and bare trees, piles of dry autumn leaves, and Spring green grasses coming up for air. I saw some robins and bluebirds, too.

Total time: 100 minutes. Mileage: 5 miles. 1 month ago

:D

It’s been four months since I’ve done any serious hiking. Finally, thanks to a combination of medical treatments and my wonderful new orthopedic super hiking boots, it was time to give it a try.

I took the girls to one of our favorite spots, the Old Mine Hollow trails. The road to the trailhead is still closed for winter. We squeezed past the gate and walked the trailhead road up to the trails. I planned to take it easy and turn around if I had pain or the trails were too tough. Guess what?! I didn’t have to turn around! Yahoo!

When the temps warm up again, these trails will be mucky with mud, but they were solid this morning, when the temp was 17F/-8C. We started out as the sky was just lightening, before the sun was up. We climbed up the Overlook Trail, farther up to the top of Burnt Ridge, and then looped back down on the Sage Trail.

The ground, trees and bushes were sprinkled in a light snow and made me think of powdered sugar doughnuts. The mountain peaks shone with rising sun and snow. The air sparkled with ice crystals. Birds chirped in the bare trees. Becca and Elbee zoomed up and down the mountainsides and came back every time they were called.

When we were almost back to the car, we met up with a woman and her three dogs, who were just starting out on their morning hike. I stopped to chat, and Becca stayed calm in the midst of all those unknown doggies.

It was absolutely thrilling to be hiking again!!!!!

total time: 80 minutes. total miles: 4 max heart rate: 156. 1 month ago

I wanted to watch the festivities in Washington, DC, so I took Becca and Elbee out to hike as soon as the sky started lightening. It was beautiful and cold. My hair froze in places, and Elbee’s black fur was frosted all over.

Elbee was awfully adventurous and ran far ahead of me. This is unusual for her. Becca, on the other hand, stayed near by, which is unusual for her. It’s as if they traded places.

I hiked for 3.5 miles, and my foot hurt only a little. Yay! 3 months ago

I was up early yesterday to drive my brother-in-law to the airport. Of course, Becca & Elbee went along for the ride. On the way back home, I decided to stop & take the girls for a little hike.

Some wonderful soul has flattened the snow on the entire Donkey Ridge trail with a sled. This is just what I need right now, while my foot is still healing, since the very worst thing for it is walking on uneven ground. It was a beautiful, cold day, and it felt just great to be out in the clean air, with brilliant blue sky overhead and glittery snow all around. Becca especially had a blast. She was bounding through snow banks, rolling in snow, and chasing Elbee around.

I turned around to come back as soon as I felt the first sign of foot pain. Still, this was the longest hike since the surgery, at just over 3 miles. 4 months ago

Yesterday I took the girls back to Dutchman’s Way. It was a classic winter day in the mountains, cold air, gray sky, and snow everywhere. And it was quiet. No birdsongs or squirrel chatter, just a little rustling wind in my ears.

Becca and Elbee had a good time sliding around on the trails and chasing each other. We ended up hiking three miles, which is the farthest I’ve gone since my surgery. It felt okay while I was doing it, but later in the day my foot hurt a lot, and I think that means it was too much.

I am feeling pretty discouraged about how long it is taking for my foot to completely heal. To counteract the discouragement, I’m reminding myself of other injuries that did finally heal, even though it seemed to take forever. I’m thinking that maybe I should pay me GP/sports medicine doc a visit for some advice on a post-surgical recovery exercise program. Yeah, that’s a good idea… 4 months ago

Yesterday, we went back to the Donkey Ridge Trail and climbed a bit farther, for a total of two miles. The day was beautiful, sharply sunny, blue and cold. My foot was hurting, so I didn’t want to push it. I’m looking to going out again today! 4 months ago

This evening, Mr. Wren, Becca, Elbee and I went out to Donkey Ridge. There is a lot of snow on the ground and the trees, and on this trail it is so well-packed that it is like walking on a cold, white sidewalk.

I just wanted to give it a little try to see how my foot would feel. I had no big expectations. As it happened, I was able to walk without any pain. We climbed up the hill until the trail started to get choppy, and then we turned around and came back down.

It felt FANTASTIC to be hiking in the mountains again. The cold air made my face feel tingly, the trees were bare and snow-covered, and the sky over the mountains blushed amber is we walked back.

We hiked about 1.5 miles, and so far, my foot feels okay. I think we will do this again tomorrow! 4 months ago

As much as I dislike daylight savings time, I do love the day when we go back on to standard time. That extra hour rocks!

I got Becca & Elbee out as the sun was rising in patches of deep pink and we headed to our favorite state mountain park. We climbed all the way to the big aspen meadow. The air was quite cold. The leaves on the ground were painted in shining frost, and the meadow grasses glistened like they were covered in diamonds.

I’m set to have surgery on my foot this Thursday, but now I am having second thoughts. My foot seems to be feeling better. Not pain free, but improving. Of course, this is what it’s been like since last March, better then worse then better then worse, but I’m thinking that maybe I can keep going and then give it some rest when the snow falls. Argh. I think I’ll have to decide by tomorrow, which is the day of my pre-op appointment.

I am a little disappointed with Mr. Wren because he is not taking my worrying seriously. He thinks I should just get the surgery already. When he says, “what’s the downside?” and I say, “well, my foot could end up more messed up than it is now,” he just snorts and makes illusions to the many and much more serious problems he has gone through with his knee surgeries. I know my foot pain is nothing compared to his problems, but it still hurts and inhibits my activity. So anyway, blah, blah, blah…today I am leaning toward putting the surgery off. And it was a lovely hike. 6 months ago

I haven’t written about hiking in a while because I’ve been so limited. I do get out for a couple miles every day, soaking in a little sunshine, fresh air & happy dogs. A couple days ago, I decided to bite the bullet and make arrangements for foot surgery, which will happen toward the end of next week. Admitting “de-feet” in that way has freed me up to enjoy a bit longer hikes. My foot pays for it, but the rest of me feels happy. With surgery & winter coming, I know these may be the last hiking days for several months.

Yesterday we hiked to Spring Pond in my favorite state mountain park. I haven’t been there in a few weeks and felt happy and energized just being there. I thought the trees would be bare after last week’s storm but was surprised to find little patches of red still hanging on. We wore sweatshirts in the cool air, crunched through leafy trails, and listened to geese squawk in the dimming early evening. It was peace and quiet and heavenly. 6 months ago

since I made an entry about hiking.

I’m still hiking every day. The weather and scenery are beautiful, and I am grateful that it is so easy to hike in such restorative places.

I’ve been nursing a foot injury for the past 6 months. I need a surgery to fix the problem but have been trying to delay it until the snow falls & hiking is no longer so appealing. Lately, part of my foot nursing involves doing much shorter hikes and relying on an elliptical machine for cardio exercise. Last Saturday, I enjoyed a perfect early morning hike, that ended up making my foot pain much worse. I’ve still been hiking, but the pain takes a lot of the fun & meditative quality out of it, which is why I haven’t been reporting here.

So that’s the story of that. I’m looking forward to getting the operation and being pain free! 7 months ago

This afternoon we went hiking in our favorite state mountain park. It is supposed to rain a lot tomorrow, but today the skies are sunny and blue. Shortly after we started on the trail, we very unexpectedly encountered a class of first graders who were out on a field trip. We stepped off the trail and called Becca and Elbee to our side while the children passed by. The kids were so cute, ooohing over our dogs, and one brave boy even broke out of line to give Elbee a pat. I wish we would have had field trips like that when I was in school!

After that we climbed up to Spring Pond. It was a beautiful, fair afternoon, and we all enjoyed the hike a lot. 7 months ago

Yesterday, I didn’t feel well but went into work anyway because of a meeting that I believed was unmissable. An hour before the meeting, the key player phoned to say he was cancelling. There’s a message in there for me, I’m sure! I finished up a few things and went home for several hours of sleep.

I really didn’t feel well enough to hike, but winter is looming, and I can’t bear not hiking on any of the year’s remaining sunny days. So we climbed to the top of Dutchman’s Way and came back on the old mine road. This area is full of oaks and sage and has seemed dull in comparison with the blazing maples and shining aspens of some of our other favorite hikes. All that has changed quite suddenly, and while the maples have shed most of their leaves, the oaks are just coming into autumn, with rich, burnished colors.

Total time: 70 minutes. Max heart rate: 144. Average heart rate: 118. Total calories burned: 847. 7 months ago

Today I left work a little early (ten minutes, hardly counts as sneaking out) because I wasn’t feeling so hot. I got home and took the dogs on an easy hike in our favorite state mountain park.

I did a favorite hike in reverse, which never fails to give me beginner’s eyes. It was so beautiful and peaceful, walking on a carpet of red leaves, beneath bare trees limbs. The most remarkable thing of all was the constant singing of frogs.

Becca and Elbee were feeling their oats and did lots of zooming and wrestling.

Total time: 50 minutes. Max heart rate: 140. Average heart rate: 120. Total calories burned: 624. 7 months ago

in several days. I’ve been feeling really tired & sleeping a lot. In fact, I almost didn’t write today for the same reason.

I have hiked every day, though. I won’t go back over all of them, but today I took Becca & Elbee to our favorite state mountain park as soon as dawn broke. It was cold, below freezing, and the grasses were twinkling with frost. This is the first time in months that I’ve bothered thinking about dressing warmly before going out. I wore shorts and two sweatshirts, which was just about right.

Most of the maple leaves have blown down now. The trails are piled deep in red leaves,and every step sounds crunchy. We climbed to the big aspen meadow in peaceful morning light. Becca & Elbee were energized by the cold and zoomed after each other. They both looked very cute in their blaze orange bandanas, which are supposed to help keep them safe in case we get too close to hunters.

This may have been too far to hike with my sore foot. I’ll know more about that in the morning.

Total time: 70 minutes. Max heart rate: 148. Average heart rate: 120. Total calories burned: 925. 7 months ago

Yesterday we went back to Donkey Ridge and did some more hiking among the scattering oak leaves. My foot was feeling pretty good, so we walked a couple miles more (and now my foot hurts again…oops). It’s hard not to notice the change in the quality of sunlight. Although it was a blue-sky, sunny and warm day, the autumn sunlight feels mellower than the summer sun. It’s a hard thing to describe.

While I walked, I did a lot of work in my head, mostly about taking care of anxiety and managing expectations. I believe that my brain works best when my body also has something to do.

Total time: 75 minutes. Max heart rate: 140. Average heart rate: 115. Total calories burned: 887. 7 months ago

On Sunday, I got Mr. Wren up and moving at an earlyish hour so he could get some exercise before camping out on the sofa for a day of football. He was a good sport and allowed me to push him around in this way, probably because he knows it is good for him. Or maybe it is just my terrifying presence…

We hiked along the Donkey Ridge trails. It was a perfect autumn morning, with vivid blue skies and gentle breezes, on the cool side of warm. This area is filled with gambol oaks and sage, and the oak leaves are now mostly brown. Unlike other trees, oaks don’t show off in the fall.

This was just a little hike, not strenuous at all, so I paid a visit to my elliptical machine when we got home.

Total time: 50 minutes. Max heart rate: 138. Average heart rate: 118. Total calories burned: 576. 7 months ago

I had planned to take Becca to the vet for a check up this morning and then go back to the High Uintas with Mr. Wren and the girls to find the Haystack Lake trail that we couldn’t find last weekend. Things didn’t quite work out like that. First, Becca had to have a foxtail removed from her ear, which takes about an hour and requires a little sedation. Then Mr. Wren didn’t feel like going hiking. I decided to go with Becca & Elbee anyway.

As soon as we started on the trail, hail started falling. I pulled up my hood and kept going. The storm last only about ten minutes, and then we had a lovely hike through a pine forest that was full of lakes and squirrels.

Total time: 67 minutes. Max heart rate: 151. Average heart rate: 124. Total calories burned: 957. 7 months ago

Yesterday I got out of work a little early, so I hurried home to hike! The whole family went to our favorite state mountain park, where the trees and trails are covered in brilliant red maple leaves. The trails were pretty muddy after the previous night’s soaking rain, but they were still easy walk on.

On the drive to and from work I listed to an episode of This American Life called “What Happened at Dos Eres,” which had a lot of information about the unspeakable atrocities committed by the Guatemalan army in the 1980s. It was on my mind and made me feel incredibly blessed and grateful for everything, including the simple pleasure of being able to hike in the woods with my husband and dog and then go home for supper and sleep, all in relative safety.

I was also pleased to note that my foot didn’t hurt too much. It seems to be getting a little bit better. Maybe I won’t have to have that operation…

Total time: 60 minutes. Max heart rate: 141. Average heart rate: 118. Total calories burned: 710. 7 months ago

Yesterday evening we hiked in Center Canyon. I wanted to go there all week to see if the aspens have turned gold yet. I took photos to share but haven’t downloaded them yet. Oops!

The weather felt cool and fall-ish. A moderate wind made the aspen leaves twitter. Occasionally, as stronger gust would send leaves falling like glitter.

The sky was sunny and blue when we started, but after a couple of miles, a thunderstorm had moved in. It was nice walking in the rain, but the thunder was a little scary.

Total time: 75 minutes. Max heart rate: 138. Average heart rate: 115. Total calories burned: 874. 7 months ago

I felt pretty yucky yesterday and really just wanted to be in bed sleeping all day. After work, I did go out with Mr. Wren and the girls for a short hike along the Donkey Ridge trail.

This area is full of scrub oak and sage. The oak leaves are turning on their mellow autumn colors – quiet browns, golds and reds – not nearly as flashy as the maples and aspens, but gently lovely all the same. The eastern sky was dark with occasional lightening flashes, and our entire hike was set to a soundtrack of thunder.

Total time: 50 minutes. Max heart rate: 136. Average heart rate: 118. Total calories burned: 545. 7 months ago

It rained most of the day yesterday but cleared in the late afternoon. Mr. Wren, Becca, Elbee and I hiked muddy trails to Spring Pond. Because of the rain, the autumn colors were even more brilliant, which hardly seems possible. A nice hike, although I wish I could go farther without hurting my foot.

Total time: 70 minutes. Max heart rate: 140. Average heart rate: 118. Total calories burned: 698 7 months ago

to post a photo of my favorite hiking spot, but I keep getting an error. I’ll try a different photo and see if it works… 7 months ago

On Saturday we drove to the High Uintas, about 20 miles from our home. Autumn is exploding in showers of golden aspen leaves. This made for some exceptionally beautiful hiking. 7 months ago

For the last two days I’ve been working out in the morning and then doing shortish hikes after work, in the continuing effort to heal my foot. Mr. Wren has been joining us, as he seems to be making great progress in recovering from his surgery. The weather has been perfect, sunny and cool. Yesterday’s hike at our favorite state mountain park was glorious. The maples are at the peak of their autumn redness, and hiking was bliss, walking beneath a canopy of red, with an equally brilliant carpet of red maple leaves underfoot. Becca and Elbee added to the colorfest, zipping around in their new hunter orange bandanas. Good times. 8 months ago

This morning I took Becca & Elbee hiking in our favorite state mountain park. Autumn has been tiptoeing around, but it suddenly has taken over. The trees, ground and mountainsides were full of Autumn reds, and the cool air was full of the sounds of geese, frogs and crickets. It was captivating.

My intention was to hike one hour. I ended up climbing to the big aspen meadow and then taking a short cut back, but it still took 70 minutes to hike about 5-6 miles. From the perspective of my sore foot, that was probably too much, but it felt so good, I couldn’t restrain myself.

Total time: 70 minutes. Max heart rate: 151. Average heart rate: 119. Total calories burned: 947. 8 months ago

As mentioned before, I’ve been doing mini-hikes with Mr. Wren as a compromise between the desires of my sore foot and the desires of my sole. On Friday, we hiked for an hour on the East Bench road. This is a high-desert hike, and I find that I miss the trees. On Saturday, we decided to try something new and went into the middle of the mountain, half way to Robert Redford territory. It took a quite a bit of bumpy dirt road driving to get there, and then we found a nice trail through lots of aspens, turning maples and pines. I would have liked to have hiked for a couple of hours but practiced self restraint. 8 months ago

Today we did a nice, easy hike in Center Canyon. We took it easy because I didn’t want to stress my injured foot. Knowing that my goal was not to push it but instead to get outside & do a little hiking without aggravating the injury was unexpectedly freeing. It allowed me to just enjoy the day.

The canyon was lovely as always. The aspen leaves look tired. In another week or two they will be glowing autumn gold. About a half mile in, we noticed a small group of 8 brown cows. Elbee really showed her herding instinct. She zeroed right in on those cows with her super-intense border collie “eye” and really fixated on them. We told her to stay close, and she did, but she wanted to be moving those cows.

After a couple of miles, we called it a day, and I’m happy to say I could hike that much without feeling as if it was harming my foot.

Total time: 45 minutes. Max heart rate: 138. Average heart rate: 118. Today’s Hiking song8 months ago