Highs and lows of the holiday season

 The weather was cold and wet this past weekend. It made it pretty miserable to get out. I really just wanted to wrap up in a blanket and binge Netflix. But I made myself go to the gym on both Saturday and Sunday. The workouts weren't great, but I did do an hour on the treadmill on Saturday and about 600 steps on the Stairmaster and 45 minutes on the treadmill on Sunday. I just wasn't really feeling very energetic. I have promised myself though to get on my mini- stair stepper at home for at least 200 steps every morning after I complete my yoga routine. 

The stress of the holidays, bad weather, and cedar allergies (aka cedar fever) are taking it's toll on me this year. My energy levels have been low. I fall asleep too early because I am so tired and then I don't sleep well for  most of the night. My sleep is broken with dreams, sinus congestion, and sometimes just being wide awake at 3:00 am. I often read for a bit to help re-set my mind or do meditation, but a sound sleep never does return. As much as I enjoy the holiday season, I am looking forward to January and putting it behind me.

Today is December 9th, which means it is exactly 13 months until I retire. The months are passing quickly, but I look forward to January 10th when I can officially say I will be retired in less than a year! Even better will be January 10th, 2026 when I will wake up and know I never have that long drive into work ever again. I can then concentrate on doing only what I dream of doing. So along those lines I did a bit more research into the Inca trail last week and compared the difficulty of doing it in five days instead of the standard four. It is only slightly more expensive and from what I read it does make the trek easier and more doable. So with that in mind I am feeling more confident about going for it. It is too early to book it, but I will start looking into it a bit more seriously now. I am also hoping to do a bit of volunteer work in Cusco for a few weeks before starting the trek. I think since it would just be for such a short time I will look at some of the opportunities to work with animals either at the Cusco Humane Society or the University of Peru Zoo ( not a western style zoo, but a rehab/learning center). I'd be happy at either and would go where I would be most useful. I'm thinking of doing this the end of March or early April 2026. 

Another month in the history book.

 Thanksgiving was last week and Christmas is just over three weeks away. This year has flown by. I am now just over thirteen months to retirement and twenty-one months until I depart for Nepal. I am more confident about my journey there. I know spending nine weeks there working will build my fitness level up to the challenge that the EBC trek will bring. Since I have also decided to hire a private guide I can pace myself and keep it a bit more comfortable. The average group tour takes twelve days, that includes flight departure from Kathmandu to Lukla and return. I will be departing from Salleri and returning there. That will add about four days (2 up and 2 back) to the trek. I will have a total of about four weeks from when I depart until I have to be back in Kathmandu for my flight back home in early December. I am hoping to do it in three weeks so I will have time to go to Chitwan National Park in Southwestern Nepal for a few days.

I am still undecided about traveling to Peru and taking on the Inca trail. I will make that decision next Autumn. I will at some point in time travel to see the Andes, but it's the trek that makes me nervous as it has a set schedule and it is with a group. I will have to see how well I do on my next two big hiking trips before I make the decision on whether or not to do it. 

Since this past weekend was a 4-day holiday weekend I took advantage of it along with the cooler temperatures and got back on the trail at Mother Neff State Park. I took my little runt-mutt Uisce as she has been feeling neglected as I have been dog-sitting my sons dog. She does love hiking and her spirits were lifted from the day out. I also hit the gym on Saturday and Sunday. On  Saturday I did 1000 steps on the stair master (20 minutes) and the three miles ( one hour+) on the treadmill. I did three fifteen minute sets of 5 min at 3%, 5 min. at 7.5% and 5 min. at 15%. I finished with 5 minutes each at -3%, 3% and 0 for a cool down. On Sunday I just did the treadmill,  5 min at 3%, 10 min. at 15% - 3 sets then the -3%, 0 cool down. My legs were a bit sore overnight last night but by this morning I felt fine. 

I've had some quiet time at work today so I looked up strength training for hiking in the mountains. I even searched weight training. I didn't really find anything regarding weight training, they just mention what I am already doing, Stairmaster and treadmill at high inclines. They also recommend Yoga and I did pick up on a few new poses I could add in to my routine. So I at least know I am on the right track regarding my training. I could do with increasing the frequency, but with work my time is limited. But once I retire - daily workouts will be on the cards. 

My sons dog, King

Uisce on the top wall of the Old CCC built stone tower at Mother Neff