Trail Mix

[dawn_felagund]

Aside from looking for a house and building the SWG archive and writing a novella and everything else, Bobby and I have been hiking a couple of trails per week. The weather has been beautiful here in Maryland; Spring was late in coming, but she's treated us well since. And I've needed to walk, both physically and mentally. Having spent the winter

Comments

[tarion_anarore]

Of course, endorphins don't hurt either, no pun intended.

Ouch. My soul. :P

Of course, there be no hiking in Central-East Texas...Plus, the mosquitoes are awful, and I have very tasty blood, apparently. I've been here, what, two days, and already have seven ginormous bites on my legs. >_<

Anyways, you still ought to come to the Rockies, i.e. real mountains. ;P (I don't feel the least guilty saying that, because my friend who grew up in D.C. and now lives in CO agrees!). Though I remember you saying that you're not overly fond of the bouldering, which is actually my favorite part.

[dawn_felagund]

Boooooo for mosquitoes. Out here, we have ticks. We pulled about twelve off of Alex the other day. Nasty bastards.

No moskeeters though. And I am not complaining.

(Incidentally, I do think that I recall reading once that a certain percentage of people are inherently more attractive to mosquitoes. So see, you're just special! :^D)

Also, the tired, ol' Appalachian mountains say that they don't appreciate being made fun of. They are the oldest mountain range in the world and would like to remind those whippersnapper Rockies that they were once taller than not just the Rockies but the Himalayas. They claim that they've earned their right to be unimpressive. :^D

(Eru, now I'm channeling mountain ranges. I've officially gone nutz!)

[tarion_anarore]

Yeah, I figured I was one of those "special" people with inherently delicious blood. O_o Ticks suck though too. We don't have many here, luckily, though I've found the occasional one on the dogs.

Well, see you should come lay the smack down on them young 'un Rockies in person. ;)

Eru, now I'm channeling mountain ranges. I've officially gone nutz!

Wow. And here I thought Feanorians were bad...:P

[telperion1]

I'm so glad you two are getting out and getting exercise. Those long walks can be really nice.

[dawn_felagund]

We love it! We started hiking the trails near where I grew up shortly after finishing high school and have been at it ever since. Though you may have noticed ... we both tend to be treehuggers. ;) I would hike all day, every day, if I could.

[dawn_felagund]

A belated thank you! All the good wishes everyone has been sending me worked, as you know. :)

The dog sounds beautiful; I'd definitely borrow her. ;) Meanwhile, Bobby and I are breaking the news to Alex that he'll be getting a little brother or sister soon: a kitten. He's terrified of my parents' cat Jack, who chases him, but I'm hoping that he'll adapt to a kitten. Well, if he does anything stupid, he'll meet the business end of a set of claws, and that'll learn him, if nothing else does. ;)

[pandemonium_213]

Hat's off to finding a form of exercise you can a) make time for and b) really enjoy. The MD trails, esp. Calvert Cliffs, sound great, and watch out for the icky ticks!

I used to take my long runs (8-12 miles on a Saturday or Sunday) on trails in the conservancy around Lincoln MA or in the Blue Hills Reservation south of Boston. I loved trail running, and it sure was easier on the old knees. Walking's more my speed these days, although I'd dearly love to run again, but the trails around here worry me because of the prevalence of Lyme disease. I read an article about the Sourland Mountain preserve which I thought sounded great for hiking until I read that for all practical purposes, one needed to don a biohazard suit to avoid the damn ticks. Sigh... Looks like I'll stick to the sidewalk in the 'hood.

the scattering of pandelirium that is my brain these days...

Heh. I can relate. :^)

[dawn_felagund]

First of all, I hope that you're able to read this and that the laser surgery went well. :) I've been wanting to email you, but you know how it goes with pandelirium ...

On ticks, Bobby and I got a rude awakening the other day when we stumbled off the trail by accident at Soldier's Delight. We looked down and each had about twenty ticks crawling up our legs. We spent the next few days bathing and plucking at poor Alex constantly. So we've given up on taking Alex with us for the rest of the hiking season. He's on two flea/tick preventative meds, plus we bathed him in flea & tick shampoo, and nothing killed them. Though Bobby found an interesting device designed for long-haired dogs that detects ticks. Not quite sure how it works, but that's the only alternative left to save Alex's hiking season.

I'm a conservationist through and through, and I really do try to see how even the unpleasant critters fit into the big picture of things, but damnitall, I have trouble finding a good reason for ticks.

[noliel]

That sounds great! Man, I love walking through nature. Was just out right now and enjoying the nice weather (finally). I think what you said about the brain putting itself into order when not troubled by things (like when watching tv, walking, etc.) is right. For me, things become more detached and less troublesome. (Wish that would happen more often! X_x) And Calvert Cliffs State Park sounds absolutely gorgeous! *wants pictures*

[dawn_felagund]

First of all, I adore your icon! That little red dude is so me! :^D

You'll get your wish on the pictures ... if I ever find a moment to drop the film off! Or upload/sort/post the pictures that Bobby took with the digital.

I'm glad someone relates to the brain reorganization that occurs during nature walks! :^D I've also learned that I need to read or watch a movie before bed, else I have weird dreams and sometimes insomnia. If I'm working on web design projects before bed, I spend the night dreaming about web design. The only up-side to this is that I occasionally solve problems in my sleep! The down-side ... well, dreaming about web design! :^P