Saturday, April 12, 2008

Getting Ready for the Big Hike

In less than three months, Kathie, Joan, and I will hike, along with Kathie's buddy Hisako and her hubby, the Hadrian's Wall National Trail end to end. I've wanted for years to walk across England so I am just as excited as I can be!

This particular trek is 84 miles from Newcastle on Tyne at the east end to Bowness on Solway on the west. We're planning to cover it in 7 days, which means I've gotta be able to walk twelve miles a day. (I've maybe covered eight miles in one day, and that was on the Inca Trail in October of 2000. I remember slipping and sliding around on the muddy rocks and wondering if maybe Kathie - usually at least 100 steps ahead of me - wasn't really my twin but descended instead from mountain goats.)

My hip joints aren't nearly as happy hiking as they used to be, so I've been doing laps at Citadel Mall to try to get myself ready. How humiliating is that? I'm officially an old fart, Kelly says. Then again, maybe she just says that to get out of walking with me - she may be only 21, but I doubt she could do eight miles if her life depended on it!

To keep myself from getting incredibly bored, I read a magazine or listen to Harry Potter books on CD or talk to Kathie on the phone while I walk. This week, I did 21 miles. Somehow, I have to quadruple that. So much for having a life.

Stay tuned.

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