So, This Is What Hiking Is? or, I'm Back, Baby!

My First Rehab Hike!

Short hike but still a little longer
than I expected to be out there: 1 hour & 20 minutes

Way early in the morning, left before 6 a.m. Overcast. Wet.
Wonderfully chilly, 52°F (11°C), long sleeve hiking shirt needed.

Back, cleaned up and resting. Twas unbelievably strange earlier when getting ready to go. Hiking shorts -- first time in more than two months! Not that I haven't worn shorts in two months, I wear 'em everyday! But my hiking shorts have been sitting untouched and to put on a pair was a weird feeling, in a way. Same deal with the hiking shirt, onto sock liners, lightweight Smartwool socks, then finally lacing up my hiking boots. Vaguely familiar yet... an odd feeling since it's been so, so long.

Three minutes or so out the door and I stepped onto the trail for the first time in forever, it seems. Itching itching itching to go meant there was no way I could take it at a slow pace, had to cruise just as swiftly as usual.

Fracture Status: pain twice, both times a very quick jolt lasting a mere split second. That was about it.

Frustration: blisters. Couple of hot spots that I hadn't counted on but it makes perfect sense since I haven't been in my boots for quite awhile. What's great is the blister pain was worse than pain from the so close to fully healed stress fracture in my tibia. Blister pain wasn't really bad, hardly distracted me at all. After a dozen hikes or so my skin will be all used to those spots rubbing and I'll be done with that problem. Once I started running in a couple weeks maybe, I'll have to get used to slightly different spots in my running shoes but no big whoop.

Bottomline: while there's still times of super-minor discomfort at the point of the fracture, the 80 minutes on the trail in hiking boots seemed to have done NO harm whatsoever! I hope.

Basically: I was so stoked to get back out there. Couple o' times I took the deepest breath of beautifully chilly Alaska air, almost completely blissed out by something so simple but something that's been missing... well, it's not like I haven't deeply breathed in Alaska air in the past almost 70 days but seemingly forever now it hasn't been done in hiking boots feeling free on a trail like I was earlier.

Tomorrow: a day of rest that will only be rest but I do believe that I'm done bein' injured. No more! I'm not exactly 100% healed yet but I think it's safe to have these short hikes... and if I'm wrong then LOL HAHA [nervous laugh] yeah, that'll be bad but we'll see.




Caedmon's Call

Long Line of Leavers

2000






Only One
Love Is Different
Prepare Ye The Way
Prove Me Wrong
Mistake Of My Life
Masquerade
What You Want
Valleys Fill First
Can't Lose You
Love Alone
Dance
Piece Of Glass
Dance
Ballad Of San Francisco

Nice album of music. First time I've ever Pressed Play on anything by these guys from Houston, Texas. This is their third major album but actually their ninth total release since about 1997, I think. Their sound is, uhh, for the most part kind of... not soft rock but folky-adult alternativey. A wide range of sounds is present from lots of horns to quiet to lots of bongos and percussion but never loud with any kind of edge to it. One song approaches that territory, in fact, is completely there... except they had an orchestra in the background. Without that it would've been stripped down and really sweet. There's definitely great writing throughout. And while there are plain and clear biblical references or talking to God in almost every song, the lyrics aren't overly preachy, at least not that I could hear during a first listen. A couple of tunes do not even touch the subject.

I'd certainly listen to this again, it's good stuff, and I'm gonna check out their other albums eventually, but unfortunately this isn't my favorite cup of tea by any means. Love the message in the songs but I only liked most of the music, not really loved it.

320 kbps dload over yonder --> this a way