7/16

3 day hike from Saturday-Monday was exhilarating and refreshing. I had never been hiking before, and this was a rather large undertaking for a first-timer. We did 7 miles on Day 1, 12 miles on Day 2, and another 7 on Day 3 for a grand total of 28. I played softball on Tuesday (7/15) because it was about the only activity my legs were prepared for.

I didn't discover this until the middle of Day 2, but the proper way to carry your pack on a hike is on your hips. You have 2 shoulder straps and either one or two chest/belly straps on your pack. You want to tighten the belly strap so your pack rests on your hips and takes the stress off of your shoulders and places it onto your leg muscles. Once you master that system, the weight isn't so bad, but your legs feel heavy, like you are walking through a world of molasses.

We got drenched during the first night. Rain was supposed to hold off until Day 2 but it came early and heavy.

I'll update my totals tonight and I'll be back on the running/biking/swimming horse today now that I've got something more than rubber in my legs.

A last note: When I left for this hike I had about 3-5 flies in my apartment; not an unexpected number since I had a window open. I closed all the windows over the weekend, and when I came back there were close to 100 flies either buzzing around or trapped on flypaper I had set up for the original 5. They were dotting the walls and the carpet, buzzing around in relentlessly random and evasive patterns. I believe I have caught all but a few stragglers now, and I expect a fly-free apartment by tomorrow morning so... Call me, Ladies!