Summer Hikes - YIKES!

 

Summer hikes in Texas are best avoided. I let my daughter talk me into going on one this past weekend. We went early, just after 8:00 am.  The temperature was 76f, but it was very humid. We went to Mother Neff State Park and would only hike in the wooded, shady areas. I picked out a route that would give us close to a three-mile hike. There wouldn’t be much altitude changes as there are only a few hills there.

Being the first on the trail presents it’s own set of problems  - no one has come through yet to clear out the spider webs that get spun overnight… we did that for everyone else. I hope that they are thankful for that! But we saw several deer on our hike and heard lots of birds. We only met two other people on the trail so it was very quiet.

Oh but the mugginess of the morning. I was quite damp with sweat early in the hike. As the morning warmed up it just began to drain my energy. By the end of the hike, I was feeling discouraged that I was so exhausted by the end. My seven-mile hike at Big Bend with substantial altitude gains didn’t wear me out like this hike had. I know that it was the weather conditions and not the hike itself that wore me out.  It still made me question my fitness level and if I will be ready for the Inca Trail next Spring (Autumn in Peru).

My daughter and I do have our trip to Colorado in a few months, and I will use that to judge my preparedness for Peru. I know too that since I am retiring in a month (instead of in five months) I will have so much more time to work out and go on some big hikes that I should be ready for it. I will most likely have to book the trek no later than early October to confirm that I can get a spot. I wish I could wait until after my late Autumn trip to Guadalupe Mountains, but I would risk all the available trekking spots being sold out. They only have a very limited number available on any given day.

I did have a three-day weekend this past one. I made it to the gym on Friday and had a really good workout. 2000 steps on the stair-master, 3.2 miles on the treadmill with 35 minutes at 15%, and 20 minutes on the rower. I had planned on going on Saturday, but while working in the yard I got stung by a wasp… not good. I am still swollen on my hand and wrist from the sting four days later. It is starting to improve though. The hike on Sunday morning was my workout for that day. I have the next two Fridays off so I will have two more opportunities for three workouts over the weekends. I will then only have three weeks left until retirement and one of those weeks will be short due to the Labor day holiday.

I am hoping that by then the weather starts to cool and I can safely return to the trails!