New Trail

 The weeks are flying by. I can't believe it is already February. I'll be heading off to Peru before I know it. First though I have Big Bend NP coming up soon. It will be an adventure this time as the Chisos Basin where I will be based is currently without water service and I expect it still will be when I arrive. Port-a-potties are in place and they are telling everyone to bring all the water that they will need while there. Luckily I had been saving jugs of tap water the past nine months as we have had numerous boil water notices here at home. So I will have that to use for washing up and then my purchased jugs of spring water to consume.

Yesterday (Sunday February 1), I went hiking at Inks Lake State Park. It was my first time there. They have a five mile loop trail that looked like it would be a perfect hike for a cool winters day. The drive is about 80 minutes from where I live so it wasn't too bad of a drive. The trail I took is a combination of three trails to create the southern loop trail. The length was right at five miles. The trail has a good balance of terrain and views. There were rocks, boulders and stone formations, wooded areas, lake views and lake front and then hills with panoramic views across the area for miles all around. The trail was mostly well marked with few exceptions. I was glad to have the map downloaded from my All trails app. The weather was perfect, clear and sunny with a starting low of 40f to a completion high of 55f. I would classify this trail as moderate, but leaning towards the easier end of it. I never felt challenged, but I did get a good workout. This trail would be perfect for someone ready to level up from easy trails to moderate trails. 

I will be returning soon to hike the Devil's Backbone trail there and will be a regular on this Southern Loop trail. I liked it that much! They also have a tent camping area so I might look into that for a future trip.

Here are a few pictures from the hike.

Another Trip Around the Sun and Another Summit of Enchanted Rock

 I quietly celebrated my 67th birthday a few weeks back. I delayed my annual trip to Enchanted Rock due to way above average temperatures and the crowds that descend there during the holiday break. So this past Monday (January 12th) the forecast called for cooler weather and mostly overcast skies. Perfect for hiking the trails there as there is very little to no shade. It was in the low 40's (Fahrenheit) when I began and was in the low 60's when I finished. 

First up was the Summit trail. 1.2 miles round trip 500+ feet altitude gain. I first did this trail for my 65th birthday. I had just started hiking and doing some simple workouts at home. It took me 40+ minutes to get to the top. I had to stop frequently and pick out the route cautiously. I was so proud though to have made it to the top. When I went for my 66th birthday my two youngest kids went along with me. I was in better shape and had been working out at the gym for about 7-8 months. I had also completed the Manitou Incline four months prior. it took me 30 minutes to get to the top. It was much easier and I didn't stop as often. This year for my 67th birthday I was expecting to do maybe slightly better than the last one. As I stood at the trail-head and looked up, I felt like it had increased in altitude by100 feet. I don't know why it looked so daunting, but I came to conquer. Conquer it I did! I only paused once on my way up and that was to check my pulse rate. I did it in 22 minutes. I was shocked, excited and proud that  my fitness level had improved that much. It was so easy to do this year. Not bad for a 67 year old.

After completing the Summit trail I headed out on the Loop Trail. at 5.2 miles it is the longest trail in the park. It is a moderately easy trail with a few hills, lots of rock and gravel. The scenery is nice (even in the winter) and on a quiet weekday there were only a few other people about. It was a really nice hike and I completed it about 45 minutes ahead of my targeted time. 

My trips to the gym lately are still a bit irregular. Life has a way of interrupting plans and schedules. Today I will be sitting home waiting for a plumber to come install a new toilet. I have also adjusted a few planned workouts due to just being tired and worn out.  I had my flu shot last week and it hit me with a few restless nights and low energy so I skipped one day and lightened my workout on another. I did purchase a weighted back-pack. I'll have to wear it for short spells before I start working out with it on. I just will need to get used to it.

A few pictures from my hike....

Year-end Update

 Christmas has come and gone. It was a calm and uneventful few days. The weather was very warm and well above average. It really did not feel like December at all. My two youngest were here. We went for an early morning hike at Mother Neff State Park. We took King and Uisce with us, so it was a fast paced hike. It felt so good to get out. I had been craving a walk in the woods. It was very healing to walk among the trees. When we returned home we had our traditional Christmas brunch of Smoked Salmon Benedict and mimosas. Then we opened our gifts. My daughter shopped my Amazon wish-list and got me most of the things I was needing for my trips next year. We spent the afternoon relaxing before having a nice dinner of baked salmon and butternut squash stuffed with red curry rice. Both of those were new recipes and will probably become our traditional meal. They were both so good!

I have been sticking to my workouts. My energy level had been pretty low after my trip to Guadalupe Mountains. But I am getting back to where I was. Stair-master has been 1250 - 2000 and the treadmill is an hour with 35 minutes at 15% incline. Yesterday I did just do the treadmill and completed an hour at 15% and then 3% to -3% for thirty minutes. 

I looked back to my post from the end of last year. I am still at about the same level I was at this time last year. I am just going to the gym 5 days a week instead of 2 days. I'm not really pushing myself to go any harder as I don't want to wear out this old body. I am thinking of adding a weight training day to my workouts. I need to build up my strength to make it a bit easier to handle the weight of my backpack. 

Flights and hotel are booked for Peru! Flights are very affordable for March/April travel. Not much difference between them and a US domestic flight/hotel. It was in fact cheaper than a flight /hotel package to Alaska for winter travel to see the Aurora Borealis. I have not booked that trip, but I am keeping my eye on the Aurora and weather forecast for a possible last minute trip. 

Five more days until we ring in 2026. I am so excited for what the year will bring. I am most excited about the volunteer opportunities. The treks have me a bit nervous, but determined and excited to take them on. I know that the sights I will see and the experience of hiking in the Andes and Himalayas will be life changing. 

Here's to 2026! May it be a year of safe and incredible adventures.

Christmas Day hike at Mother Neff.

Just an update...

 The holiday season has had me a bit distracted from updating here. There hasn't been much excitement and the days have been passing too quickly, but uneventfully. I did finally get confirmation of my two-day Inca Trail trek yesterday. I am now in the process of trying to find flights and lodging for the last few days of my stay there. I've a few more things to get in place for my volunteer placement. I will do that in January. 

I have spent the last three months keeping an eye on the weather conditions in Nepal. By this time next year I will just be returning home. When I arrive in Kathmandu in September it will be quite warm and rainy. Salleri will be mild, but wet. By the time I start my trek in November winter will be ramping up. It doesn't get too cold in Salleri, but if I trek all the way to Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp it can be in the single digits there. I had been thinking of a stop-over in Singapore on my way back home. But when I looked at the forecast, I changed my mind. High's are in the  upper 80's to Low 90's with rain every day. I am thinking instead of maybe going to Seoul instead. I might just come straight home. It will really depend on the airfares at the time.

My workouts are going well. I haven't been doing as many steps on the stair-master, but I notice I am much stronger on it. My treadmill workouts are still the same, just have become easier as I get stronger. I have also been going hiking at Mother Neff State Park once a week. I do 3.25- 3.5 miles each visit. I have my son's dog for the month and take him with me. He keeps the pace pretty fast. It has been a good workout. 

I do have my annual birthday hike to Enchanted Rock planned for early next year. My birthday is the end of the month, but in years past the park is so busy then, it has left me thinking that I might just wait until early January. I will keep an eye on the weather and then decide. Big Bend is reserved for 5 days in February and I am really looking forward to returning there. I need to get my confidence back up after the Guadalupe Mountains fiasco. 

Merry Christmas to all.

Butt kicked....

A week ago today I set off on what was planned to be a week-long adventure in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. And as I am sure you can tell by that first sentence it did not go as planned.

The drive was long... just a bit over eight hours. This included gas, bathroom breaks, a stop for lunch. and a stop at Walmart in Carlsbad as I had forgotten to bring my pillow. It was very tiring.Upon arrival at the campsite I discovered it was not what I expected. The sites were a lot closer than what they appeared on the website. The one I booked was very exposed to the elements and the adjoining sites. The trail to the site wasn't in the best of hape but I was just able to pull my (folding) wagon down it from my car to the site. Traffic noise was very annoying and it went on all night. My campstove mal-functioned which led to a cold burn by the propane tank on two of my fingers. Luckily I had on gloves at the time so the burns were minor but still painful. The weather forecast kept changing for the week so I knew f I wanted to complete the hike up to the top of Guadalupe peak I would need to do it on Monday. Not ideal to take on such a big hike the first day, but it had to be done. I knew it would be challenging. It was. The trail wasn't in the best condition. Extremely rocky conditions, high steps that aren't great for old short ladies. I pushed through and made it to the top within my targeted time. I rested and ate a sandwich and a banana at the top. Had a nice conversation with a Park Ranger bfore heading back down. Now I knew that downhill hikes are the most difficult for me. Rocky trails  and lots of steps just add to the misery. I knew the return would be a challenge. Halfway down my head started pounding and my stomach became quesy. I had to keep going. It took me longer to get down than it did going up. I felt wretched by the time I returned to the campground. My headache worsened, I was only able to eat a few bites of soup for dinner. I was asleep by 7 pm. I was awakened at 10 pm by winds pounding my tent. The winds just increased as the night went on. I managed maybe another hour or so of sleep. OTC pain relief did not help the headache. It was a full-blown migraine at this point. I just wanted to go home. 

The weather forecast was not looking good for the remainder of the week. Highs in the 80's! The had been forecast for the upper 60s. The trails for the other hikes I had planned were in worse condition than Guadalupe peak and were very exposed to th sun and wind. I just could not see myself staying another day. So I packed up and drove the long drive home on Tuesday. I still felt like crap. Head pounding. Queasy stomach and sore muscles. My migraine didn't abate until Wednesday morning. 42 hours after it began. The drive home was so hard. But I just didn't want to stop as I wanted my own bed.

Guadalupe National Park kicked my butt!

I had plenty of time to think on the way home about my planned Inca Trail trek. I knew it was more than I could probably achieve. I knew I would need to change it to the two day trek. With just four months left to train, I doubted I could be in the condition I would need to be. The two day trek is right where I successfully hike right now. I just have to maintain this level. I contacted Alpaca Expeditions and made the change on Wednesday. 

My biggest concern with the Inca Trail is it has to be done with a group. You have to be ble to keep up. Most of the trekkers are under the age of 35. I was getting passed all day by young people on Guadalupe Peak trail. While I did see many of them at the peak, I was decades younger than most. The Inca trail is also very rocky. Four days/26 miles of it would kill me. The 2 day is 6 miles. My favorite distance to hike. 

I still plan on the EBC trek. I will be flexible and I will be able to go at my own pace as it will just be me and my guide/porter. My goal is just to see Mount Everest. I probably won't hve to go all the way to Base Camp - it's not even visable from there anyway. Base camp is just the photo op. The best view is from the top of Kala Pathar near Gorak Shep.

So I did learn a bit about myself on this trip. I am human, I am 66 years old and at 5ft 3 in, 114 lbs I am not a super-woman. I am determined but fallible. I have to know my limits and not take risks by pushing myself beyond them. 

But, hey... I did stand on the highest point in Texas.

A New Month

 November has arrived. We are also having a bit of Autumn weather, but it is supposed to warm back into the 80's this week. This time next year I will be wrapping up my teaching assignment in Salleri and will be preparing to set off on my EBC trek. I have been following the weather closely and it has been a wet Autumn with bitter cold and snow at the higher elevations. The trails and passes were shut down for a few days this past week due to the heavy snowfall on most of the mountain treks in the Nepalese Himalayas. The temperatures have not been above freezing for the past 4 weeks in Gorak Shep. Overnight lows are in the single digit Fahrenheit. 

My trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park is getting closer. A few kinks have come up due to the Government shut-down that has me looking at a few other options. McKittrick Canyon trail is closed and inaccessible and Carlsbad Caverns is completely shut-down. Those were the two places I was going to go to on the windier days when the elevated trails are a bit perilous. I am hopeful that the shut-down will be resolved before I go, but if not then I may head up to New Mexico to one of the State Parks there to camp for a few nights.

No change in my workout schedule. I feel I am at a good place and doing what I need to be to prepare for the Inca Trail. I think once the holidays are over I will start wearing my backpack several days a week when doing the treadmill and stair-master. I have been trying to do so once a week the past two weeks. I am also going to Mother Neff once a week and hiking 3.28 miles. Today is my 1 hour on the stair-master workout (ugh) It is a challenge but I have been completing it the past three Sundays. I have also added a short treadmill workout (30 minutes) afterward.  My Saturday workout is limited to the treadmill but I do 90 minutes on it with 50 - 55 minutes at 15%. I have also set my pace on the treadmill a bit faster. 

Mentally, I am in a very good place. Yoga and meditation are really paying off. I am also re-reading Thich Nhat Hanh's " The Heart of Buddha"s Teaching". Each time I read it, I understand so much more. I am gradually living more in the present. I am creating a more peaceful existence for myself and hopefully others around me.

I am looking forward to the weeks ahead and hope that everyone has a peace filled month.

Kripaya

 Another week is flying by. I had thought the days would pass more slowly once I retired. Instead they are flying by even faster. I do find that I am quite busy and much more physically active now which probably helps. I can now spread out my household chores and yard work across the week instead of trying to get it all done on the weekend. I have tackled over half of the projects I had on my list. I still have a large landscaping project to get to, but I am waiting for cooler weather and a trip to Waco for supplies. 

I am still watching the Aurora Borealis forecasts, hoping to catch a strong showing. Fairbanks or Yellowknife, NWT are my best bets. But weather and aurora forecasts just don't seem to want to align. Flights and hotels are also a detail that has to work out. I keep watching and hoping.

Since returning from Colorado, I have really been doing great with getting to the gym or going hiking. On Sunday I hit a goal that I was aiming to get to in the next month or so. I did a full hour/3177 steps on the stairmaster plus an hour on the treadmill. It felt great. I then went hiking on Monday at Mother Neff State Park and completed a 3.28 mile hike. It was a beautiful morning and I got started early before it warmed up. Tuesday and Wednesday, I was feeling my energy start to drain and I was having a bit of back pain. I still went to the gym both days but cut back on the stairmaster. I think I may take a day off today. 17 days without a break, I think one is due!

I have completed the first two chapters on my TEFL course. It is so easy and at the pace I was going I would complete it in just a few weeks. So I have slowed down and just trying to do a chapter a week instead of one a hour. I am trying to spend more time on my Nepali course instead. I thnk it might be starting to sink in as I was watching show on HBO while working out at the gym yesterday. "The Pitt", set in a Hospital Emergency Room. They had a seriously injured woman come in and they couldn't understand her and could not figure out what language she was speaking. She kept repeating Kripaya, kripaya.... Please, please - in Nepali. I knew!! They did eventually figure it out. 

Please - Kripaya

Thank you very much - Dherai Dhanyvada