DUST MARCH 2008!

Wonder how many calories dust has? ‘Cause I ate a lot of it yesterday.  Dust from sand, dust from pine needles. Call it Dust March 2008.

Yesterday, Eric and I returned to Bastrop State Park, home of over 5000 acres of  beautiful pine forest crisscrossed with lovely hiking trails, including the 8.5 mile Piney Woods Trail I fondly refer to as the Death March. The last time we did the Death March was on my birthday in 2005, and I had planned to celebrate my first 100 pound loss with another such march this June, but was foiled by a broken wrist.

Here was the scene back in 2005:

And yesterday:

We would have liked to do the Death March, and were considering it. It was a fine day, not very hot, and most of the trails are heavily shaded. We had plenty of water and snacks and were prepared ... or so we thought.

But what would any hike be without adventure? And ours happened early on. Like many adventures of the unfortunate variety, this one was entirely preventable because it was caused by stupidity. And the stupidity was this: I was thrilled to discover that my purple hiking boots fit again now that my feet aren't so fat. I did try them on, and I did wear them around the house and in the car. And I did bring a pair of sneakers downstairs to place in the car as a backup, just in case. But I failed to actually place them in the car. I also failed to consider that those beloved purple hiking boots are older than my college-aged nephew. Do we see the disastrous possibilities looming?

Not ten minutes into the hike, adventure struck:

Yes, that would be the ENTIRE SOLE of my geriatric left boot coming off. After some dithering and considering turning back to see if we had electrical tape in the car, I came up with this elegant and finely crafted solution, using a nylon string attached to one of the backpacks:

Believe it or not, it worked pretty well. We had to stop several times to adjust it or retie it, but it held through approximately three hours and over five miles of hiking. Good thing, too, as there was no electrical tape in the car.

Bastrop State Park was as dry as a tinderbox, and the air tasted peculiarly of dust. Although the soil is good red clay, the trails in places have been reinforced with fine white sand (an odd choice --- why not crushed granite?) and of course, the thick carpet of pine needles is ground to a powder by the boots of passing hikers. By the end of the day, we both felt dry and gritty!

The hikes are beautiful, though,  and the woods are very peaceful. We saw a few other people but mostly it was just the crunch of our boots and the chittering of squirrels and cawing of ravens.

 

This is a significant bench along part of the Death March trail ... it's where, in 2005, I accused Eric of trying to kill me by hauling me on this grueling hike and also where, when I stood up, my gigantic behind left a sweat stain the size of New Hampshire.  I vividly remember having been embarrassed by the size of that stain.

Being fat never stopped me from enjoying hiking, but I must say that this excursion was SO much easier than any in recent memory. The hills that slew me before were mere workouts for the butt and thighs --- I felt it, but I wasn't huffing and puffing at the top. Nothing felt particularly strenuous. It was just enjoyable, and left me wanting more.

As for food, we packed along vacuum-packed tuna, some slices of whole wheat bread, trail mix (I made it of toasted pecans, walnuts, unsweetened coconut, dried cranberries, and some dark chocolate chips), protein bars, and fruit --- all excellent choices for travel snacks as well. We finished the day with dinner at Mother's Cafe (healthy, yummy vegetarian cuisine with desserts you'd never believe were vegan).

Now I'm eager to get out there and try something more challenging! I often try to incorporate hiking into away-from-home gigs, but the next couple are not going to be conducive. Minnesota probably has some amazing hiking, but not in February; and I won't be in Indianapolis long enough to get much in (though Jeannette Fulda over at PastaQueen says there are some good urban bike trails --- I'll have to check those out).

I'm craving a trip to the gorgeous Lost Maples (alas, just a little too far from us to be a good day trip), as well as to places I've never seen. I'd also love to go back to upstate New York, the northern California coast, Oregon, and Arizona and redo some of the hikes we've done there before --- they'd be even more fun now!

In the meantime, I'll be checking out the Barton Creek Greenbelt, Wild Basin, and Pedernales State Park for local and close-by hiking goodies. See you on the trail!

Comments

[100lbs]

A good friend of mine, Robin, and I used to do a lot of hiking back in the day. We joked about forming a plus-sized women's adventure tour group called Fat Women Can't Hike.

Being fat never stopped me from being active, but it really is MUCH more enjoyable now. It just feels better not to constantly be out of breath, or for it to be SOOOO much work to make it up a hill.

And yes on the feet --- it's really odd, but some of my shoes are too big now!

[kelley]

Oops, I meant FEET lose weight too! Hehe.

[kelley]

When looking at your 'before' picture I can't help but think how much easier and more fun it must be for you to hike nowadays. I'm looking forward to that feeling of ease in my body where walking is easier.

Also, I forgot that feel lose weight too. Awesome!