I love being outdoors, watching wildlife, and seeing historical sites. I haven't been able to do much hiking for a while because I've been plagued with plantar fasciitis off and on. My feet would hurt if I walked too far or too fast, so I slowed down and scaled back. Then my feet did better, but my balance and confidence deteriorated.
The plantar fasciitis has finally retreated, and I've gotten better at walking. Because I had to slow down for so long, I have to continually remind myself to walk a little faster - to "stop walking like an old lady." It's a hard habit to break!
Anyway, the past few weeks, I've started hiking again. It's crazy how drastically it has changed my attitude. I feel like the old me - or more accurately, I feel like a younger me!
For my first "official" hike, I went to Shades State Park one day and hiked to the Pine Hills Nature Preserve, one of my favorite spots in the state. To be honest, I didn't hike the entire trail and go down into the ravine because I was afraid - afraid I might fall, afraid I would have a terrible time getting back up out of the ravine. Just afraid. But I made it all the way to the end of Turkey Backbone, where the trail heads down about a zillion wooden steps to the bottom. I missed seeing the honeycombed sandstone bluffs, Indian and Clifty creeks, the warm water upwellings in the creeks, the old woolen mill site, and Devil's Backbone, but I made it as far as I thought I should for my first time out in the woods alone. And I reveled in it!
What hiking at Shades did was give me the confidence to hike someplace unfamiliar again.
Six days later, I drove to Berea, Kentucky, and attempted The Pinnacles in the Berea College Forest. The first part of the trail headed up and up and up. And up. And then up some more. It was relentless. When I reached the first trail crossing, I turned toward the East Pinnacle, and the trail leveled out at last! Easy walking for a good half mile, then a sharp little turn and a little uphill, a narrowing of the trail, and out of the shade of the trees into the baking sun. That's where I turned around. Back along the nice level portion, then down, down, down, down, down to the trailhead. I never made it to the East Pinnacle, but again, I reveled in making it as far as I did, especially that first uphill section. It convinced me that I could do even more!
Two days after that, I traveled farther south to Cumberland Gap National Park. I found the Iron Furnace trailhead and headed up the trail in intermittent rain showers. There were plenty of people on the trail to the furnace ruins, but once I left the furnace behind, I was completely alone. Again, the trail climbed relentlessly up and up, to the historic gap where the Wilderness Road crossed the Cumberland Mountains from Tennessee into Kentucky. As the trail approached the gap, it became steeper. When I reached the gap, I heard voices! A family hiking in the opposite direction took my picture. They were the only people I encountered.
And here's the proof I actually made it! I didn't turn around until I reached the actual historic Cumberland Gap. I walked the road blazed by Daniel Boone in 1775. What an experience!
So now I'm searching for interesting places to hike. Any suggestions? Leave a comment!
One good thing about hiking alone is that YOU get to set the pace. Hubby walks too stinking fast for me and doesn't understand that I simply can't keep up. Sounds like a great way to spend retirement. Sure beats the rocking chair, right?
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