In terms of walking distance, I had a personal best today. I walked twenty miles. It took me six hours of walking, not including a twenty minute break, to walk that distance on the local rails to trails path from Morgantown to Fairmont, WV. Breaking that down, I see I walked at a rate of about a whopping 3.25 miles per hour. I carried a fifteen pound backpack and most of the weight was either water or iced tea. I carried some unnecessary items which I will remove from the pack on subsequent trips. More on my observations regarding equipment later. I started at 0540 this morning when my wife dropped me off at the trailhead. I had the trail to myself for the first two and a half hours in terms of human users of the trail. Prior to the unwelcome break in solitude by some joggers and subsequent bicyclists, the only other trail companions were about four deer, a mother cat and her kittens, and a gazillion rabbits. There were birds in the trees but none came down to the trail. I guess the early birds already got their worms. The walk was a sensory cornucopia, especially during the first three hours. The air was cool to the skin and I was glad I had decided to wear a long sleeve shirt for the first part of the morning. There was some moisture in the air but it was not unpleasant. There was a clean smell to the air. There was not much sound save the rhythmic clicking of my pedometer and creaking of my boots and pack until later in the day when boaters rushed by in their speedboats and Seadoos. The trail parallels the river and one could occasionally glimpse a fisherman trying his luck in the local waters. The fishermen seemed unhappy with the speedboats as well. Although their desire for quiet was most likely not the same as mine, we were kindred spirits in that respect. The colors! The colors were vivid and vibrant. The sunrise was a salmon pink and azure blue. The mist rising from the river was grayish and ghostly. The river was brownish. There were yellow flowers a good portion of the way and an abundance of them were in a meadow I passed. The yellow was so bright it almost hurts one’s eyes. Those flowers were on stalks as tall as me and so I found these strikingly bright colored flowers clamoring for my attention for miles at a time. I didn't think to take a photo of them until I wrote this but the brilliant colors would probably have blown out my camera anyhow--they were that bright. Although I like solitude, a walk like that is something to be shared with special people in your life. Because I walked during the morning, the heat of day was not a problem. Most of the time, the trail seems to be in shade anyhow. Although I traveled to a destination south of my starting point, most of the way was westward and slowly going west southwest. So I didn’t have the sun in my eyes to compete for the things Mother Nature was revealing to me. As to the logistics and mechanics of the walk, I have learned a few lessons. First, good equipment i.e. walking shoes and pack with a hip belt make all the difference in the world. Another good piece of equipment is something called a “Recon Wrap” which is a tube made of special cloth that wicks sweat away from the head but at the same time can keep the head warm. It made a lot of difference in terms of comfort and keeping sweat from stinging my eyes. I wore it under my hat which is an evaporative cooling hat in its own right. A Camelbak hydration system makes keeping hydrated a snap and there is no need to slow down to get out a water bottle. I do need to put in some kind of gel heel inserts into my boots. Despite all my best efforts to avoid blisters such as using a sock liner with hiking socks and a good pair of boots, I managed to get pressure blisters on my heels. I had determined at one point during the walk that I could probably walk an additional twenty miles back to my starting point since my back was not hurting and I did not have a lot of leg pain or foot pain not associated with blisters. I really, really wanted bragging rights to say I had walked forty miles in one day. However, I finally decided it would be better to walk another day instead of courting with the risk of losing a foot to some form of gangrene started by a blister because of my diabetes. I made that decision following a rest, lunch, blister care, and walking a few steps. I could feel the blisters boldly introducing themselves to my heels. I had forgotten to put some foot powder on my feet this morning in my hurry to get the adventure started but it usually helps with blisters on just my toes anyhow. The powder would have been good to put on my inner thighs as well. True to my training in the jungle in the Philippines, I don’t wear underwear when walking for any length of time (some call that "going commando"). Doing so reduces fungus due to sweating and reduces chafing. It also keeps the family jewels nice and cool. I’d much rather do as Colin Fletcher suggests in Complete Walker and walk without clothing (only socks, boots, and hat) but local rules of engagement prohibit same so one does what one can within parameters to make the walk a little easier. Plus his method has potential for some embarrassment depending on one’s size and who knows what would happen should an attractive member of the opposite sex generate more than cursory attention. I still had some chafing due to the distance involved and the powder would have reduced it I’m sure. I took plenty liquid and it accounted for about nine or ten pounds of pack weight. The pack weighs two pounds. I had lots of food and I ate as I walked keeping as true as I could to the diet I use to control my diabetes. I ate in one carbohydrate choice units. Breakfast took three hours and consisted of breakfast bars totaling five "carbs choices." I had two one carb choice snacks consisting of trail mix. I brought along my lunch and it was a total of five carbs and included a rare treat for me: a nectarine. I rationalized I could have it as I was burning up a lot of sugar on the walk given the quick pace I had set for myself. The last hour before arriving at the end of the trail located at Prickett’s Fort was the most demanding. My feet were hurting, specifically the heels, and I just knew blisters were forming. There was nothing I could do about that though. The back of my legs were also hurting. I assume it was because of a build-up of lactic acid since I only took a twenty minute break at the mid-way point in the six hour (and twenty minute) walk. The pain did get my attention, I assure you. Oh, and since there were bicyclists using the trail and they come up on one rapidly, and given there were toilets only at the beginning and ending of my walk, I had to “hold it” until I could pee once I got to Pricketts’ Fort. During my early morning walk, I confess to watering the local vegetation at least once after furtively checking for any other soul on the trail. The closer I got to my destination, the more a phrase I have heard somewhere (I don’t recall where) came bubbling up into my mind: “c’mon feets, do yo’ thang.” The bridge leading to the fort parking area was a welcome sight. I quickened my pace but the last few hundred yards did hurt quite a bit with feet and legs letting me know in no uncertain terms I was pushing the envelope. The trailhead I used at the fort is weird. One has to go down a rocky path to get to the parking lot. I fell backwards as I went down the path. Fortunately my pack absorbed most of the shock but I did take some of the shock with my right wrist which I work hard to protect from banging around (I have a painful bone island in the right wrist—a strong enough shock to it will put my hand out of commission for a couple weeks). The longest yards on the trek were the ones to the men’s room. But I made it and added my yellowish contribution to be treated and released back to Mother Nature. After lunch and blister treatment, and following my determination I should err on the side of caution regarding my intended walk back, I called my wife to pick me up and take my wimpy butt back to Morgantown. I suggested we meet at the Viola church parking lot nearby and walked there to meet her. While there I noticed the stream behind the church. Such a placid scene! Water slowly moving over smoothed rocks. Minnows darting in and out but easily spotted through the clear water flowing over the rocks. Cicadas making their rhythmic song with changes in volume. One thing I noticed while looking down caused me to ponder my situation in life and especially this walk. A small ant was dragging a grasshopper about five times its size toward what I assume was its home ant hill. I didn’t see the ant hill. But I did observe the ant encountering obstacles, negotiating them (sometimes by moving back and then around), and continuing towards its goal. Could this have been a metaphor for my trek today? I had some setbacks (those blasted blisters!) but I have made progress given my physical conditioning before this summer. The ant is merely fulfilling its destiny and the dictates of Mother Nature. I think I have more choice than the ant but perhaps not. Is Mother Nature trying to teach me something and I am simply too dense to understand it right now? Guess I’ll just have to take another walk to find out.
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