Celebrating accomplishments

I'm proud to say that 2019 is still remaining the year of hiking. When you see our monthly spending report in a few days, we definitely dropped some serious $$$$ on more gear (due in large part to the glorious profit share check hubs received, so we are able to) and because we also decided that we wanted gear for birthdays and mother's days and father's days to boot... and because of weather... but i'll elaborate on that in our spending report.

I'm kind of excited to realize that May will mark one year of hiking for us for our family! It seems we have found a way to incorporate exercise, outdoors and family modifications to keep a hobby alive for more than 1 year!!!

We started in May of 2018 and I thought our tiny hikes were huge feats. I remember being so tired and sore that we just had to lay down and rest the rest of the day, too exhausted to move, and feeling the soreness for a few days that followed at work.

In January, I decided I would walk 5 miles with no pack on the path near our home, because I realized if I wanted more hikes, I needed to get in better shape. I could give a whole day up to do a short hike and not be able to do anything the rest of the day, and then also needing Sunday to rest too. Laundry and Groceries had to get done too! I remember the path near our house was completely free of people because it was COLD that first day.... and the next week when it rained, I decided I'd still go out and do those same 5 miles and "embrace the suck" as those trail vlogs I was watching always say. 

Soon those weekend morning got a little busier on the trail as those less crazier than I added to the masses when the weather dried up. Now that I was good with my 5 miles, and able to still get things done around the house after a couple weeks, I started adding my pack and just a bottle or two of water.... 

Then I slowly added more pieces of gear and would occasionally increase the mileage. Hubs would do a little night walking in, in exchange for me getting my morning miles in, and i'd go early and keep it short, using the extra weight to continue to provide more resistance so I could still get back soon enough to re-claim our weekend. Looking back, it was smart I started in the rain when we would be pretty much house bound for the day. My absence wasn't completely missed because we were not itching to leave to go do something in cold and wet weather and I did need more sitting time as my body adjusted to actual exercise.  Sometimes it was just light miles as I took little dude with me so hubs could get a break or pop out tile, but I found the time.

I had told myself before that I would walk more on the weekends, but in 2019 it just stuck, and I think it was because of those few hikes we went on and my desire to do more. Some days we made it a family affair and took the wagon so we could go farther than little dude could walk (which helped both of us get some miles in)... and our little "excursion" family hikes kept the motivation alive when we just couldn't logistically plan a peak... 

 

 

Fast forward to today, and my weekly road walks are really paying off. The scale might not be moving, but I keep telling myself that I started hiking in size 14 pants... and this month, I had to swap them out for size 8 in the same brand because the 10's i'd been rocking were getting too baggy mid hike and were rubbing unpleasantly... I also had to size down in hiking undies, which was sad because we had finally bought enough for good rotation with our laundry ...  but it was necessary so it looks like i'm starting over on the stock up plan cause those things are $24 a pair!)

I even did a solo adventure up a short hike after work one night (one that hubs did solo) The "super bloom was amazing! I have found that I do prefer to hike with people and company than solo on a trail i've never done before, but it was really pretty and not a hike I could take little man with, so I was glad I didn't miss the chance to get up on the Vista Outlook and be in those 12 foot wild flowers. I found I enjoyed some of the solitude, but I was on a time table to get up and back, so not much lingering at the top.

So why the look back post? Well, Friday I walked 8 miles with 25 lb back on my back, to break in my new overnight pack in preparation for my birthday present, a double peak and  my first overnight adventure with hubs as we bag Ontario and Cucamonga Peak! They will be covered in snow, which is why we had to buy more gear, but we didn't want to reschedule and after our last snow adventure, I kind of like hiking in the cooler temps because i'm still carrying a lot of toddler weight and run hot. If we get out there and its more difficult that we anticipate, we will cut out Ontario, and just do Cucamonga. On our way down, we might hit Ontario on day two as we leave if we need to. I like being flexible as mountain conditions will change vastly between now and then. 

So this morning (Saturday as i'm typing this) i'm celebrating the fact that I could still walk after those 25 lbs and 8 miles and function around the house post shower... And today as I write this, my body is perfectly fine. Hubs is actually out hiking Mount Baden Powell in the snow for as his birthday present.

He wanted to do trail magic for PCT thru hikers, and the bubble is around Baden Powell and that's an alternate for his 6-pack of peaks challenge. Do I wish I was with him, yes, but I've already climbed that mountain in different conditions, and while I will do it again, I wanted him to have his time on the mountain and he was super excited to do trail magic, which is why i got in 8 miles the day before since I had an adjustment day at work from working an event, so I can play with little dude and find the balance to take care of me. 

I also love that i'm not purposefully pointing the camera to find a more flattering angle when I take these selfies anymore and i'm getting more confidence in how much stronger I feel.