Equipment

     The people at REI were very helpful in helping me decide on what equipment to purchase.  Tent was on sale, Big Agnes Copper Spur 2.  Adds a little more weight than a 1 person tent, but with my size the single person tent was just too claustrophobic for me.  This will at least give me some room to roll over and spread some things out to dry if needed.   Pack:  Osprey Atmos 65.  Depending on how I pack things it should be plenty large enough for what I need to take.  I will plan to use it next week on a 2 night camp/hike.  Sleeping bag is Big Agnes Encampment +15 deg, with a +55 deg travel bag/liner, 3.5 inch pad.  Even if the temperature rating is not correct, I should be warm enough in cold weather.  Other equipment I purchased was a water filter, hydration pack, headlight, and one or two other items that I probably could have done without.  I need to decide on clothing and of course food.  I hope to pack only 3 to 5 days of food and expect to carry only a minimal amount of clothing.  Still haven't decided on a stove either.
     I have continued to walk about 5 miles a day.  I purchased a new pair of Merrell hiking shoes and had intended to start breaking them in.  The ones I  bought were a little heavier than the ones I wanted, but by the end of February I will need another pair.  My son-in-law, Scott and I did almost 10 miles this past Sunday as we hiked around the Manassas Battlefield trails.  Of course I had no idea that we would hike that far so I was wearing the new shoes and left my water in the car.  I survived, but I could feel every rock through those shoes.  I will need better socks and maybe a liner to keep my feet from hurting.  I have worn these shoes on other 5 mile walks this week around their neighborhood following walking/biking paths, and I seem to be doing better with these shoes.  Also, not lacing them tight has helped tremendously.  That's all for today, more will follow later.

Visiting in VA

I am visiting with my other daughter Katy, husband Scott, and grandkids Kinsley and Cooper in VA.  I have a name for my nerve ailment, Meralgia Paresthetica, probably caused from having a beer belly and a tight belt.  Solution - lose weight.  Duh, that is what I was trying to do by walking.  Ok, so I will just continue walking 5 miles a day and in a month or two I will increase the distance.  Will go to a new REI store that opens tomorrow.  Scott and I plan to be one of the first 200 customers in the store and get a free water bottle.  Also, they have a fall sale that begins tomorrow.  I can save money on the tent I intend to get, as well as other items I intend to buy.  That is it for now, more to come.

Little Problem

I am continuing to walk 5 miles per day.  I can no longer do it continuously without stopping to sit for a while.  It seems that I have a nerve condition that causes numbness in my upper left calf muscle.  After 2 to 3 miles it becomes painful.  Resting a few minutes gets the feeling back in my leg so I can continue walking.  I intend to see a doctor about it soon.  In the meantime I will go back to REI next week to purchase my pack and other equipment.

Walking More

Okay, I am walking 5 miles a day in the hottest part of the day.  But instead of losing any weight I am gaining it.  Oh well it has only been one week.  One of my friends, Julian Newman, brought a book for me to read.   The book is Blind Courage, by Bill Irwin.  The author is the first blind man to thru hike the AT with his Seeing Eye dog, Orient.  He was also Julian's college room mate.  The book is really interesting.  I would highly recommend it.  Tomorrow I will get a new pair of Merrell hiking shoes and go to Alabama Outdoors to check out more equipment.  More to come later.

Eventfull week

This week was one for accomplishments.  On Wed. mom and I went to Woodstock to see my brother Lewis and his wife Deon and son Taylor.  Had a great visit with them.  They live very close to an REI store.  After spending time in the store I have decided to get an Osprey Atmos 65 pack, and a Big Agnes Copper Spur tent.  I almost decided to get a Big Agnes Encampment sleeping bag, but after looking at the online reviews I am not sure that is the one I need.  On Friday I continued with my daily walk.  Time passes very fast while walking and the course for the day was nearly 4.5 miles.  Now if only I can see pounds dropping that would be fantastic.  More later.

Training Started

No more work or should I say no more work that I will be paid for.  I have started my exercise routine.  Yesterday walked 4.2 miles, then downloaded an app called Map My Walk.  Used it to measure my walk today on a different route and did another 4.2 miles.  Yesterday's walk was along a busy street with no sidewalk.  I decided that was not really safe enough with all the traffic.  Today I followed sidewalks, but I did not intend to walk as far as I did.  I thought it would be a shorter route, but I was wrong.  I have decided to walk Monday - Friday and rest up on the weekends.  Route includes up hills and down.  Average time is 18 minutes/mile.  Looking forward to visiting the REI store in Atlanta to check out equipment like pack, tent, and other gear.

It has been a little while since my last post.  Work officially is winding down only 4 days left.  I should begin working with my replacement today.  Spent last week at the beach with most of my family.  A lot of fun.  Traffic was so bad going down to the beach that Scott and I decided to take a shortcut, using his gps on his phone.  Ended up slipping and sliding once the pavement ended, and basically went mud-riding though not intentional.  Only spun out one time when the car went sideways.  When we finally got to pavement again we past what seemed to be a deserted air force base.  When we got back to the highway we had saved about 30 minutes of stop and go traffic.  Even though I thought we would get stuck in the mud, the shortcut was well worth it.  Craig brought me a pot so, I now have a cooking utensil for the trail.  I will begin purchasing other equipment in August.  I plan to begin training for the AT as soon as my last work day.  I have a 4 to 5 mile hike planned for a daily routine.  I hope to drop about 30 pounds before the journey begins.  I am considering running a half marathon in January with Jason, Craig, and Emily. But for now I will just have to wait to see how the training goes.  More to follow later.