Monday, March 22, 2010

Motivation

I've been losing sight of where I'm trying to get to. I seem to have lost a little bit of my steam, and thus have to reassess what I'm trying to accomplish with this Project. I've mostly gotten all of my gear purchased, I've got an idea of the order of my hikes; and since I haven't actually started hiking yet, I've let myself get into a sort of a "holding pattern". Which is kind of boring after being so pumped up for so long. I've started eating poorly again, and I've even allowed myself to start skipping the gym on some mornings.

So, today I have decided to start getting back on track. To start with, I'm going to start breaking in my new boots, so that when things melt, I can get directly onto the trails. Since things are starting to melt a little bit, I have already put some waterproof treatment on them and I'll wear them to work for a few hours. I'll also take my tennis shoes and then I can switch my shoes if my feet start to get uncomfortable.

I also bought a map of the Chugach State Park the other day. I think I'll see if I can get it laminated somewhere and start marking where all my parking, starting, and stopping points. I should also start loading up my backpack and at least walking around the neighborhood to get used to having the weight on.

Just writing this has helped get me excited again about the Project.

Until next time...

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Boots: Part Deux

I took back the last ones. They just weren't going to ever work out.

Went back to REI and spent a few hours trying on different boots yesterday. Well, actually, I only tried on one pair, but I tried a couple of different sizes, and then went and borrowed a pack and put 25 lbs. in it and walked around shopping. Then I climbed their little rock that they have in the shoe department. And I basically tried to test out how these new boots were going to work out for me. And I think I may have a winner. They are from a company called Vasque, and they are full grain leather instead of a leather/cloth hybrid. That does mean that they are going to take forever to break in, so I better waterproof them and start going on short walks pretty soon if I want them to be comfy for my summer of hiking.

In other news, I keep having trouble getting myself to bed early enough that 4 am is acceptable for getting up and going to the gym. I guess it's time to really buckle down and exert my willpower to get in bed by 9 at the very latest. *yawn*