Hiking the Shenandoah

With my surgery looming, I planned several events to take my mind off the upcoming pain and immobility. One thing I was dead set on was spending a weekend out hiking. I should partially credit the idea to the Appalachian Ridgeback for her blog and great hiking photos. So, for a challenging weekend backpacking trip I figured I would go hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail located in the Shenandoah National Park. With Cyprus off at a dog show, the Shaman and I packed up and headed west to Front Royal, VA, the northern tip of the park.

Onward!

Early on the Saturday before the surgery we arrived at the park and after a few minutes of loading up our packs we started hiking. Having never been here before, I only had a vague idea where to get started. While walking into the wilderness without any real plan may not sit well with everyone, I liked the idea of not being bound by any particular itinerary and figured we would just have a good time at our own pace. We would hike south and camp in the backcountry when it got dark and in the morning we head back. So it began.

My pack mule.

In my pack I had a tent, a liter of water, a jacket and pants, and several bags of almonds and beef jerky. I recently bought a dehydrator and have been experimenting with various jerky recipes. In Shaman's pack, he carried his leash, collar, water bowl and approximately 2 liters of water. At each break we drank from his water first, so his pack weight dropped drastically as we went along. As the weekend went on I made a mental list of things I should get before I go out for another adventure like this. Luckily the weather was nice and we were only going to be out one night, so we were going to survive event without the gear we carried.

The portion of the trail we hiked, while having some challenging areas, offered few outlooks to enjoy the views. Still, we took a few side trails that gave us a decent view every now and then. We would go for long stretches without seeing any other people so I kept Shaman off-leash and let him do his own thing. All wildlife in the park is protected, and dogs are to remain leashed, however Shaman will not chase anything unless I give the okay and when he wears his pack he is less inclined to run around.

A perfect day to be out hiking.

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

Shaman has a fascination with ledges.

We hiked approximately 15 miles and camped near a shelter. Having regained most of my mobility after my first surgery, I felt we covered decent ground. When we did encounter others, usually they commented on Shaman's Ruff Wear pack or the fact I was hiking in my Vibram FiveFinger Treks. We encountered several thru-hikers and had some great conversations regarding long-term hiking, camping, and discussed their nutrition. I intend to discuss some of this in a future post.

With the intent of being as active as possible before my surgery I must say I was quite satisfied with this small adventure. I intend to go back and spend a longer time in Shenandoah when time and my knee permits it.

Resolutions for 2011

I never set New Year’s Resolutions anymore. I do, however, set goals this time of year. Several years ago I decided that there should not be just one time of the year to decide to set a goal(s). I like looking at things over weekly, monthly, and seasonally. I also like keeping goals and resolutions dynamic. If I find I am being way too ambitious or things are going way too easy I can make changes that will allow me to still achieve results without ever feeling downright defeated. This keeps the ball rolling and the momentum building. All that being said, here are some of the goals I am setting for 2011 that apply to this site:

Militancy
One thing I plan to work on is how I act and react to both myself and others. I've found, for example when coworkers are discussing health/nutrition/obesity/etc., that I add more than my two cents worth. Especially with those who are attempting to get healthier I've been pointing out how their ‘low fat’ processed meal is not going to do the trick. I need to back off. My goal is to stay out of it unless my opinion is asked and when I speak I will do so in a ‘mightier than thou’ tone. However, with myself, I intend to work harder and hold myself to a higher standard than before… so generally moving from 80/20 to closer to 95/5. In summary I plan to focus less on others and more on myself. This goal sounds selfish, but it is no use trying to help someone if they are not ready to help themselves first.

Have a Garden
I've fooled around with gardening before, but this year I plan to grow as much food as possible. Partially for the extra exercise, sun and food I will get, but also I hope to have enough to share with friends and family. I still plan to have a CSA share, but I plan to focus on the vegetables that I love to eat and that are not always guaranteed in the CSA share. This goal will help me become more self-sufficient which is always a step in the right direction in my book.

Get More Sun, Get More Sleep
This goal is straight forward. Last year I tried to get 15 to 20 minutes of sun each day and tried to go to sleep as the sun sets. After reading Lights Out I have greatly improved my sleep quality. This year I plan to prioritize both sun and sleep and should benefit greatly.

3 Week Backcountry Hike w/ Dogs
After I have my second knee surgery and when I am able to physically handle it I want to go hiking. I plan to hike the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, all 100+ miles of the Appalachian Trail that runs through it and as many of the side trails as I can. I want to spend 3 full weeks out camping and hiking with the dogs, carrying all of our food and water on our backs. I want to do it staying fully paleo, so I plan on working on making my own jerky and pemmican.  

I think this will be a good starting point.

Snowy Hike

Saturday after doing CrossFit with my older brother and eating a power breakfast, we met up with one of our younger brothers and went for a hike. My older brother lives in a gorgeous area with a trail not far from his house which leads to Gambrill State Park in the Catoctin Mountain Range. As if the CrossFit workout was not tough enough, my dogs and I ended up hiking over 4 hours.

My brothers and two of their dogs

Cyprus and Dakota took the lead

Monkey cooling down in a creek

With that last photo, my older brother turned back with his two dogs. The trail from there started to increase in elevation as we approached the Gambrill trails. We could see a few foot and paw prints and at least one mountain bike tire track along the trail. Cyprus generally stuck with us, but often sprinted off-trail, following one scent after another. Shaman did well in the Palisades Pack, and with it being his first time wearing it I did not load it. Periodically I would come across rocks that seemed even in size and weight, so I would place them in each side of his pack. And other than periodically nearly taking out our knees as he ran by, he showed no signs of dislike of this burden. I decided to wear my KSO Treks with Injinji Socks and although my feet were cold, I did my best to keep them dry and that made a world of difference.

Shaman Sporting the Palisades Pack

Cold Toes

Shaman hanging by me

On the way back we took different trails and I have to admit we were lost for some time. However using the setting of the sun as a guide and eventually finding the distinct footprint of my Five Fingers, we made it back as the sun was setting. At some point my younger brother remembered he had GPS tracking on his phone. Once we used that I felt like we were cheating the system. Had we not had the GPS helping us, I was still glad my brother was there. Who else were the pups and I to eat later to survive?

Group Shot

Overlook

Cyprus taking in the view

Once we got back to my brother’s house and I had given each dog a quick post-adventure inspection for injuries I focused on bringing warmth and color back to my toes. Oh the burn! I think next time I will hesitate about wearing the KSO Treks in the snow for long time periods like that. In my pack I had picked up some additional rocks that I can use to slowly transition the weight capacity each dog can carry. Looking back I probably should have bought a Palisades pack for Cyprus, as I am not quite satisfied with the storage and water capacity of the Singletrak pack. The hike itself definitely finished off what CrossFit hadn't already beat out of my legs. We all slept well that night.

More Hiking Photos

Sunday following the Saturday Hike I took the dogs out to another park to hike. Here are a few pictures:

Shaman tends to stick by me.

I did not let Cyprus hold my cellphone this time.

Cyprus seeing if her vest is a flotation device.

Back on the dock.

Saturday Hike

Saturday, with the weather being a little chilly, I took the dogs for a hike at a local trail. Having just completed a month of physical therapy, I wanted to test out my knee. Also, having recently got a new pair of KSO Treks, I figured I would take those out of a test spin.

Cyprus and I were wearing packs, both mildly weighted. Cyprus wore Ruffwear's Singletrak Pack, both water bladders filled, and I let her carry my car keys and cell phone among other things I could fit into her pack. I have not yet bought a pack for Shaman for a few reasons. He is very adaptable and a great hiking partner, so I know other than getting him used to carrying a certain weight, he will have no problems. Cyprus, on the other hand, does not have the hiking or trail experience Shaman does, so I got her a pack first. Also, never having bought hiking packs for dogs before, I didn't want to buy two packs without trying them out first and I am confident my little lady will put it to the test.

We hiked for about an hour and a half. From one of my races earlier in the year I came across a large rock that fits perfectly in my hiking pack, weighing about 35lbs. Even with this weight my knee held up fine. For about 90% of the hike I was able to get both dogs to walk behind me, off leash, with no problems. Periodically Cyprus would sprint by us, but all I would have to do is whistle and she would come right back. I started making a game of this, giving her the okay to jet past me, typically saving it for uphill sections. She would sprint uphill with the weighted pack lightning fast. After several of these sprints she tired slightly and started behaving. I've found success in training by giving their misbehavior a command, and letting them do it periodically, such as chasing something or jumping up on a person, but only when I give the okay. So the dogs start waiting for me to give the okay before doing acting. They know it is coming and I can wait for a safe setting for them to be a dog.

In taking Leave No Trace to the next level, I walked with a plastic bag picking up trash along the way. Leave Less Trace I guess. I would get the dogs to stop and wait for me to pick up trash, either bending down or walking off trail to get something. By the end of the walk I had filled the bag completely, mostly with plastic bottles.

Anyway, here are some photos of our hike:

The hike got me thinking about this summer. Whereas I will not be doing any of the races I did last year and I will be recovering from a second surgery, I figured I would start planning a backpacking trip. I am considering 2 or 3 weeks of backcountry camping with the dogs, probably on the Appalachian Trail. While I am recovering from the surgery I will have plenty of time to plan and prep.