Bare Knuckles

I quit wearing gloves.

On one level, I quit wearing bicycle gloves, removed the speedometer/computer and tossed the heart rate monitor. I ride my heavy fat-tire bike... the carbon has been hanging from the ceiling for years. When I hike my usual solo 7-mile trails, I change to boots but wear whatever I have on (dress shirt and pants)... I do not carry water nor food but I do carry a phone. Bare knuckled.

On another level, I do not use an electric toothbrush either. At my shower you'll find a bar of soap and a razor... no shampoo nor bottles of any kind. At my sink is a toothbrush, Water Pic, baby oil and hairbrush. Pretty simple, eh?

There's only beer and popsicles in my fridge. I own no iron, no mixer, nor blender. I seldom use the heat or air conditioning at home, and I open my window at work. Do I live like a monk?

I do not use mosquito spray and I do not wave a stick in front of me to break the spiderwebs on-trail. Spider bites are an acceptable hazard.

Given a choice, I do it the hard way. I do not use work gloves at the farm. I use a hand saw, I use sandpaper in a block, I cut up small trees with a bow saw, and I usually drive a screw with a screwdriver. I have better control this way rather than with motorized tools, and it toughens my hands and joints. Bloody knuckles heal.

The world is fragile.

I do have to be careful, because I'm too strong. I have twisted doorknobs off, destroyed vacuum cleaners, and hurt with a handshake or hug.

Why?

Why do I do things the hard way? Not only do I like the accomplishment, but doing things the hard way is training. I will be able to do these things when I get old... while my buddies can't already. Use it or lose it!

Storms took the power down and a neighbor with a generator invited me to watch TV, but I thanked him and said that a candle and my iPhone will suffice. I do it because I like simplicity.

Although I'm a rocket scientist, I like no frills. The more complex something is, the higher the risk of failure and the lower the reliability. In my old cars, I've cut off many unneeded gadgets, and the cars are aging rather well. I like low risk.

Sooo... why live bare knuckled? Because it improves both my body and my character. A lot of people talk tough, but I live it.


-copyright 2014 by Willy

Something Special and Motivational

The above picture is the GPS screen reading of my hiking GPS at the top of Mount Shivano near Salidas, Colorado, a few weeks ago. Note its elevation reading is 14,233 feet.

Shivano is a class-2 fourteener, and I hiked a mile up in five miles forward, in thin air. This one took me six hours to climb where my other successful fourteener, a class-1, took me four hours, so either my training is lacking or I've got to shed some pounds, or both. That gives me a goal for the next year... to train extra hard at my home elevation of 1,000 feet.

Besides backpacking, I'm now "peak-bagging." Colorado has 52 mountains that are 14,000 feet high or higher. I have accomplished two in five attempts. The unsuccessful attempts were either storm problems and/or not starting early enough and not having enough time (Grey's), or being pooped out (Long's and Pike's). No, I do not get sick at this altitude but I do walk slower and pant more.

I have to do Something Special and Motivational a few times a year. We all do.


-copyright 2014 by Willy.

We Built This City On...

Step class was peaking when that song played. "We built this city on rock and roll," went the harmony, on and on. Of course, it could have been rocket motors, breakfast cereal or sunshine. What is interesting is the possessive tense: We... with the cooperation of many.

I built this body, or is it that we build this body? Even as fiercely independent and proactive as I am, I have had lots of help from trainers, instructors, gyms, bicycles, shoes, God, McDonald's and Taco Bell... you name it. I spend far more time at gym, saddle and trail than waking time at home. I feel pretty needy sometimes. Whenever I need help with that last heavy press in the last set, I think of what my ex-wife did to me... and that takes the barbell home. So, even my ex helps me... if you call it that.  ;-)

- © 2013 by Willy

Secret Fitness Techniques

Wow, this year went by so fast that it was a blur!

I was looking over my notes and trying to determine how I did with my resolutions this year. On the positive side: I lost weight/fat and improved muscle tone, and vastly improved my hiking endurance. On the negative side: I did not bicycle enough, I had knee and shoulder injuries, and I did not consume enough protein.

My resolution for this next year is to continue hikes and lifting as is, but increase protein and bicycling, and be more careful about injuries.

I wanted my self-discipline and self-motivation to be stellar this year but it was a year full of stress. Stress may be the reasons for the injuries and for a very long "cold," or maybe it was over-training. So, let's try it again next year, and every year, and let's use the same secret techniques that have produced a good work career for me. To remind myself, what to do...

Set goals. What worked well last year was a target waist size and related weight loss, a defined "easy" hike mileage, and increased reps... when my weightlifting buddy wasn't looking. Begin with the end in mind. At work, it's been the number of technical reports published.

Be proactive. What worked well before was to madly cross-train, using all off-work time (no hanging around the house watching TV!). Just do it, the Nike ads say. At work, my interest takes over. Nobody has to tell me what to do, since I'm doing it. Do keep in mind that I have a desk job.

Do not overdo it. Think no over-training injuries. Allow both the mind and the body to win. Think win-win. At work, it has been distributing success credit to others.

Key is playing nice, smiling, sharing, mentoring, being courageous, keeping integrity, and demonstrating patience... with myself and others at the gym, trail, road, and work/lab. However, I do admit that I avoid some people to...

Be happy, and stay happy. "Do what you can with what you got," is my mantra... and...

Remember to rest. Nothing beats eliminating drama and reducing stress, and thus getting good sleep. The body has to heal itself after the carnage. Add regular massage, too.

Shhh... those are my secrets. Don't tell anybody.


- © 2012 by Willy

P.S., a happy new year to you.

Good Versus Evil

There's always a struggle. It ranges from that within us to worldwide. And it's usually a choice: It's good versus evil.

If there's a top, there's got to be a bottom. If there's a god, there has to be a devil. If there's good, there has to be evil.

This week, again, evil slaughtered innocence. It broke my heart. How could a teenager kill elementary school babies? I am thankful for my kids and grandkids... and want to keep them all.

And again, some are talking about more gun laws. As if criminals and crazies cared about laws. As if we blamed cars for drunk driving. It's not the car and it's not the gun... it's the crazy and evil people. It's a widespread but allowed mental health problem that started when Cain clubbed Able. I have myself experienced these people mess up others through intimidation and abuse... several times.

Is there a solution? Is there nut control? When I was a kid, armed robbery and shooting threats to local merchants were taken care of by the neighborhood. Customers would beat the crap out of robbers, in the act, and toss them outside to the street, bruised and battered. No 911 needed. Ditto for not accepting bullying and intimidation at school... they got theirs, eventually. Is that the solution?

To me, personally, it's about every decisions I make, from being helpful to others, to what I eat and what workout I do. My solution is to avoid crazy and evil, embrace good, and train hard to be tough and thus able to defend myself and others. Tomorrow, I will do what I do every day... what I CAN do... conquer my own self. And pack heat.


- © 2012 by Willy

P.S. God, please, deliver us from evil.

We Know What To Do

Yes, of course we all know what to do for health and fitness: Diet and exercise, through discipline and motivation. All the doctors agree. There's no secret and there's no magic. Specifically, what works is:

1. Don't smoke, and minimize alcohol, sugar and fat intake.

2. To lose weight, reduce the amount of what you eat.

3. To quit huffing and puffing, do more cardio.

3. To build muscle, lift weights.

4. To avoid back pain, do core/abs/yoga/stretch.

5. Hydrate well but drink water instead of sodas, teas, juice or whatever.

6. Reduce stress by keeping life simple.

To me, the key is discipline and motivation. Keep from eating that one cookie at work over Christmas because it would require an extra thirty minutes of cardio. And motivation is always best when I'm enjoying it... like doing cardio outside rather than inside, or lifting with a buddy rather than at home. All variations, like dieting group businesses, exist only due to lack of discipline and motivation.

It's simple; that's all there's to it. Just do it. It's discipline like a monk's. But be happy about it. I'm doing it.

- text © 2012 by Willy

Beautiful Weather

Mother nature's colors are drop dead gorgeous this Fall. It's been gorgeous weather for bicycling and hiking too. What a great time of year! The trick is not to overdo it... there's plenty of time ahead for adventure.

On the other hand, there's lots to do before the certainty of Winter and the possibility of bad weather arriving. Layers, headbands and gloves came out of the Winter box; plants are in; cars are waxed; external water shut off; but still need to bag leaves... after they all fall.

Being healthy and fit... and no longer being married to Satan... I can do whatever I want. It's time to make plans for Winter hiking in the Smokeys, Rockies, AT and elsewhere... I have virgin snowshoes to try out.

But first, a local, cold, early-morning bicycle ride tomorrow... and fun in the local wonderland.

- © 2012 by Willy

Hiking Resume

OK, so if somebody asks for a resume... and it's to compete for a hike spot... what should I say? Ability, of course, but also I realize that it's a group, that I'll need to mention mental and physical fortitude with people as well as contributions and leadership. How about something like...

"My achievements are many. Hi, I'm Willy and I'm an engineer group leader. I mentor college co-ops and interns to take over for me, and put out fires. I also taught 20 years of evening classes at the local college. And I even taught Faith in Sunday School to High School seniors. I can write well too... have published 200 documents, mostly technical reports, conference and journal papers, but also am a published poet. I am really good on my feet... not only having gone through the Toastmasters curriculum early on but having pushed my club to achieve Top Ten international recognition. I am an excellent people leader and communicator.

"I like the hiking adventure. I've hiked and backpacked my whole life, progressively getting better, so that at age 62, I'm darned good. This year, I hiked Colorado twice, the Smokeys (four times), plus a segment of the AT. Last year it was Yosemite and its High Sierra camps loop, and another segment of the AT with my daughter, and more CO... I'm bagging peaks of CO 14ers as well as AT segments. Have done the Grand Canyon three times (including a rim-to-rim), Mt Hood wilderness, Big Bend, Yellowstone, Everglades, and etc. I conveniently have a mountain trailhead right out my backyard and hike locally three times a week, crosstraining with bicycling, weights and elliptic. I was a certified personal trainer. I'm a no-nonsense ultralighter. I'm not good at snow, but own crampons, snowshoes and axe. I like mother nature and the outdoors but I love the view from the top (like from Vogelsang saddle). I'm slow but sure, and have the demonstrated desire to climb.

"Yes, I do Facebook but only have 60 'Friends,' which is typical of my generation.

"Why am I a perfect fit for this? Because I have the demonstrated desire to climb. I'm in shape... both physical and mental shape. I like hiking, backpacking and climbing... and do it all the time. I'm a mature, seasoned and aged adventurer, so I know a few things I can contribute. I have the good attitude and enthusiasm for it. I'm fluent in Spanish, my original language. I have real friends... the face-to-face kind I drink a beer with. So... best of all... I have people skills."

That should do it. That's about what I turned in. We'll see how an aged adventurer rates.

- © 2012 by Willy

Control

I know how to control a machine, but how do we control ourselves? How do we bridle back our actions and emotions? Throttle down? Control our anger? Invoke self-discipline? Govern ourselves properly? Stay on the straight and narrow? Meditate and pray? Diet and exercise? Not cross the line? Not ask for a phone number?

Good questions, but ones with no apparent answer... if we read the paper or examine ourselves for flaws and urges.

A lot has been said lately on this subject with the recent demise of Cosmo’s publisher, and comparisons to Playboy. Both of these magazines are the antithesis of self-control, with their prime axioms being seduction philosophy and lack of inhibition. Sex sells, but it also brought plenty of drama and misery in this battle of the sexes, and produced plenty of casualties.

I still get temptation... like yesterday... but put me down for diet and exercise and hold the drama.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, amen.

- © 2012 by Willy

On Silence

Yes, silence as in peace and quiet.

Yes, silence like mother nature... and silence like monks do too.

Silence makes me more conscious and mindful, so I'm paying closer attention and feel more connected to the world around me. When we stop talking and turn inward, we tap into vast reserves of energy that we’d otherwise be spewing into the world. I know where I can find the silence: where it’s always been, outside, on the trails. I listen to to the birds, feet hitting the ground. I notice the way the sunlight is filtering through pine needles, and drink it in. Silence is a blessing. Silence is addictive. Silence is a performance-enhancing drug... from working to hiking it makes me better at everything I do.

- © 2012 by Willy

The Best Sweat

There came a time during an elliptic gym workout when it did no good to towel my face dry of sweat... more was immediately generated. Then the same was true when climbing steep trails. Now, especially, in Hot Yoga class... I just leave the sweat.

There also came a time when sweaty people looked better... more accomplished maybe; tougher; or perhaps birds of similar feather. Sweaty faces are the best looking. As they say, the best kind of sweat is the kind dripping from your face.

Finally, my office temperature felt cold enough for me to open a window, since I do not control the wing's thermostat... nor do I want to... and my office neighbors said that I was creating tornados at my door. I noticed that I only use my home air conditioner to sleep... and the heater is seldom used, period.

Then I got my epiphany: it's not just the sweat. I realized that I'd rather accept most situations, and be happy. And admire others who do the same.

It dawned on me that I am not sweating life. That life is no sweat. Life has become easy. This is, by far, the best sweat.

- text © 2012 by Willy

Up To 14K Feet

[This was early June] From the Denver airport, and after visiting my daughter, I drove west on the interstate to Georgetown. There I checked into its Super8 motel, ate and went to recon the winding but excellent 12-mike fresh-paved road up to the trailhead to Mt Bierstadt, atop Guanella Pass.

I found the unlabelled trailhead at an unlabelled parking lot right after a sign indicating the top of the pass (at about 10K feet up, as expected). The unlabelled trail started left of the outhouse on the parking lot. Upon walking a hundred feet into the trail, I found a trail sign (which said 7 miles, as expected) and a Mt Evans Wilderness designation sign, and I was ready for the next day's excellent adventure... I identified and could see my 14K quest.

- © 2012 by Willy

Life is a Decision

Life!

That was an easy decision.

Many runners say that life is just putting one foot after the other. The trick, unlike running, is that a decision has to be made for every step. Life is complex. Plans are changed for us. Many decisions have to be made very quickly... about as quick as when running.

The trick is to be prepared for opportunity... and trained for obstacles.

Personally, I keep to a schedule... doing the same things at the same time in the same way... so that I can deal with the all-too-common perturbances that life throws at me... those I can't control... the "incoming."

This weekend, I was glad I cross-trained well to both hike and lift heavy weights, because I had to physically bring down an ailing hiker with vertigo who fell backwards, twice. I was worried that he was going to split his head open, so I side-hugged him, grasped his shirt, physically held him up straight and marched him down in lockstep. I gave him encouragement, even though I was scared. Afterwards, I was exhausted... it was squats-while-walking for six hours... my legs and right delt are still burning.

I have often mentioned that I made a decision to go solo... to do a simpler life with far less drama... which allows me to do what I want to do.

Life's about training and conditioning... in many ways.

I can't be young again but I decided for life... that I'm going to be a REALLY-tough old man. The old is easy, but the really-tough is... tough!

- © 2012 by Willy

It's Going Quick!

My Daffodils started blooming in mid-January, the Bluebells have peaked already and the Mayapple blooms are about gone. I've expected, monitored and enjoyed them all.

It's been perfect temps for hiking, and the winds are down for enjoyable bicycling. I've been doing a lot of both, but am not peaked yet training-wise. My annual July hiking trip with the daughter is this week (in full down and with stove at 10K-ft snow camp), and the usual December Florida family reunion (and hot bicycling) is next week. Good grief! Time has compressed... it's been a quick year, already. I may get thermal shock.

Thank goodness that my traditional Memorial Day weekend hike is staying put, then June will bring the 14ers in crampons and ice axe, bagging peaks in the Rockies. I have no idea what I'm doing after that, but have wanted to do the A.T. north of Fontana... a tough climb. This year I plan to wear myself out with twice the adventure.


- © 2012 by Willy

Recovered Back To Bicycling

The bane of my existence has been injuries. Yes, I admit it... even far worse than divorce, since divorce has happened far fewer times, and I've been rather klutzy. I'm an engineer, not a jock.

During the past couple of months, ever since I developed heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis during training, my regular cardio exercise has been swimming. There was no mp3 player and no scenery... I just followed the painted line in the pool, over and over again. Since I'm blind as a bat without glasses, I can't even delight in googling swimsuit beauties.

To me, my plantar fasciitis means a tendinitis tear between heel and arch, on the outside rather than the arch side. I am stressed and the foot tries to supinate. So, I have to think the feet to relax. The body tries to repair this tear/swelling using calcium and I get a heel spur. I've had this many times... my left foot being rather finicky. Walking and hiking on the swelling makes it worse and keeps the injury from healing. It will take months to heal.

The unloaded spin bike was OK, but did not elevate my heart rate like it should for conditioning. And bicycling outside hurt, specially uphills. Today I did a slow and flat one-hour ride, with minimal pain... and only at the end. I had a great ride. I was glad to be out, enjoying the sun, listening to the critters and dodging the cars. Today I had a delightful breakthrough. I will ride once a week and continue swimming so as to heal. I expect the elliptical on tiptoes is next, and will wait for healing before going hiking.

We heal slowly but surely... day by day.

In all aspects.


- © 2011 by Willy

Following The Poop

The mule poop, that is.

On doing the Yosemite High Sierras camp loop hike.

Summary: Last year, a group of us older adventurers put in for, and one won, the Park Service lottery to rights to get Yosemite park High Sierras camps loop hike reservations for the next season. Eight of us went. It was wonderful.

Getting to Yosemite from San Francisco airport uses a winding and slow road, which we drove at night. We spent that night at the Cedar Lodge just outside the park, and went to see crowded Yosemite Valley ("downtown") the next day to do the tourist thing. The second day we drove to Base Camp, spent the night and began to hike the loop. We completed the high-altitude, mountainous, five-camp, seven-day, fifty-five-mile loop... uneventfully and utterly amazed.


The High Sierra camps provide dinner, tents with cots, and breakfast. Lunch while hiking was granola bars or whatever we brought but a sandwich can be bought each morning. This means a light pack and luxury camping/backpacking, even though the loop is rugged, spartan and primitive. We hiked unguided but there is a ranger-guided option.

Views were amazing: balds, canyons and water. There was lots of water due to snow melt from twice the usual snow this past winter. It did not rain during our trip. Beautiful wildflowers lined our trail. Trail condition and signage was great. On-trail mule poop was everywhere (mules carry supplies to camps) and served as reassuring trail blazes or connect-the-dots.

Stats below are from my pants-pocket-carried Garmin 60CSx GPS. Besides miles and time, this GPS also computes up-only climb-feet, a great measurement of effort. Note that the group sometimes got strung out and different people came in at different times. Gary was fastest, then Diane, then me and the rest. Also note that GPS altitude does not often match a map's.

- On 13-15 Aug 2011, Gary, Diane, Suzanne and I did Yosemite Valley from Cedar Lodge, just outside the Park. I unfortunately had developed persistent heel spur plantar fasciitis tendinitis due to trying to break-in new boots, so I saved myself for the loop. I had originally trained to climb Half-Dome up to the cables.

- Day 0, the 16th: drove to and met Geanine, Ray, Carolyn and Skip at Base Camp for the High Sierras camp loop start at Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" (ja!), altitude 8720 feet. We ate burgers at The Grill, next door to the gas station. These three were the entire civilization at the Tuolumne area.

- Day 1, the 17th: hiked an easy 8.2 miles in 5 1/2 hrs with 1520 climb-feet to Glen Aulin camp, elev 7980', which had a water limit, due to sewer limits, due to being in the watershed to Hetch Hetchy reservoir, where Frisco gets 80% of their water. They served good food. We had a great campfire sing-along led by an 80-year-old lady guest. Glen Aulin camp had a beauuutiful waterfall.


- Day 2, the 18th: hiked moderate and beautiful-vista 8.8 miles in 7 hrs with 2820 climb-feet to gorgeous May Lake camp, elev 9360', with a beautiful reflection of mountain on lake. A family of husband, wife and daughter run the place very well (he's been there 10 years). Great food, very organized, showers and washtub with wringer, and the best camp by far. It would be definitely worthwhile to go there again, and it is an easy 1-mile hike from a side road.

- Day 3, the 19th: hiked 10.2 tough and painful climb miles in 7 hrs with 2650 climb-feet to Sunrise camp, at a huge alpine meadow, elev 9360', and stayed two nights. Sunrise camp season is only 3 weeks this year, was closed until our start due to snow melt flood and thus ineffective leach fields (we were formulating a Plan B). Had a million-dollar shower and toilets building but there were lots of mosquitoes and temperatures were freezing overnight.

- Day 4, the 20th: stayed at Sunrise for a rest day.

- Day 5, the 21st: hiked 10.4 moderate miles in 7 hours with 1350 climb-feet to Merced Lake camp, elev 7300'. On the way met a 15-person, four-generation group hiking to Sunrise with 75-year-old grandma and 80-year-old grandpa. Grandpa had fallen, was not doing well, and was getting helicoptered out when he got to Sunrise's meadow. Merced Lake camp is the furthest and least supplied, and of least altitude of all the camps, but still very cold at night, with lots of flies rather than mosquitoes. It had a drip for a shower and a sink for laundry but no washrag nor soap nor paper towels... and skimpy food. Too spartan, it was the worse camp but still appreciated.

- Day 6, the 22nd: hiked 9.2 miles in 8 1/2 hours with 4969 thin-air, high-altitude climb-feet through a river canyon, over a beautiful pass and through a gorgeous saddle meadow to Wogelsang camp, elev 10200'. Yes, here's where Suzanne said "And we've got to climb THAT?" There was no mule poop in this trail. It was a very tough hike (steep, cold and windy, with snow on top) but the views, especially from the south side of the pass, made it worth it. It was a moderately cold camp, laid out on rock, with lots of mosquitoes. Good food. No shower or opportunity to wash. Still, this one also would be definitely worthwhile to again hike (a 7-miler) there just for the view from the pass, and for the saddle meadow, or to backpack and camp at the meadow instead of at the camp.

Wogelsang (and other) camp food can be reserved without reserving the tent, still using the lottery.

- Day 7, the 23rd: hiked out a glacial canyon, a very painful (due to my heel plantar fasciitis) 7.6 downhill miles in 4 1/2 hours with 580 climb-feet back to Tuolumne Meadows camp "lodge" Base Camp to pick up cars, drink beer, and drive partly out the park to White Wolf camp, to shower, dine and spend the night (still in tents!). On this hike from Wogelsang to Tuolumne, we passed a bunch of oncoming hikers and two mule resupply teams, so it was the busiest trail, probably due to Wolensang pass beauty. The White Wolf camp restaurant was very disorganized, the dinner was disappointing and the mosquitoes were the worse, but we were back in civilization, and we were tired.


- On the 24th, we drove down or south to classy Wawona Hotel lodge to gawk at the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees. On the way there my three traveling companions hiked several waterfalls. I had had enough heel pain already and so stayed in the car to finish an Arthur C. Clark book I picked up at Sunrise. Wawona is a grand, old, historic hotel lodge that reminded me of my grandmother's beach house due to its big wooden porch. We met the other four there. It was a beautiful hotel, and dinner was great.

- On the 25th (today), we all drove back to Frisco and are spending the night in a motel, ready to get home on our early morning return flight tomorrow to clean up and and wind down.

- Conclusion: The loop was six camps in seven days for about 55 miles and 14,000 climb-feet, in luxury. And we had pre- and post-loop activities.

That was our adventure. We followed the mule poop.



This report was tapped into an iPhone on-trail.


- © 2011 by Willy

"You Look Terrible!"

I was sweating enough to create a puddle on the floor, ending the second of three hours of cardio at the gym when somebody hit me. I open my eyes on the stationary bike to see Emily laughing. "You look terrible!" she said. I took the complement, got off the bike, wiped the sweat, chit-chatted, and got on the treadmill for an relatively easy last hour. She looks terrific, I told her, since she also exercises constantly. I actually do strive to LOOK terrible, since that keeps women off my back, but I can out-press anybody at the gym at 61 years of age (100-pound dumbbell sets, anyone?), plus out-hike most people except true endurance athletes. I am all about function over form. I drive a junker truck and live a low-key but adventuresome life. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

I'm training for a two-week hike in Yosemite, and 3 hours of cardio a day is the minimum. I've been doing 6-hour 14-mile 2500-climb-feet hikes on the mountain on weekends. This weekend was a hot one, reaching 110 degrees, so I went to the gym today. Two weeks of vacation hiking is a long time for daily foot abuse, so I've gotten Nike Air hiking boots to cushion my heels, although they are VERY purple and gaudy, just the way Nike likes them. It's function over form here too.

Yes, life is good.

- © 2011 by Willy

Yet Another Adventure

Life has been busy, with no time for blogs. I continue my fantasy that I'm indispensable at work, I've been trying to clean up home after some tornado damage, and been training hard for my multiple summer hike adventures.


I nicely completed two back-to-back hikes. The first in The Smokeys followed by an A.T. hike in northern Virginia and West Virginia... going up LeConte with old folks, followed by multiple rollers in VA-WV with my daughter, and a home mountain hike my last vacation day. I was proud of myself, having done 8, 8, 17, 16, 5, 0 and 10 miles of hilly terrain in a week. Not bad for an old man, and good training effectiveness ("train like you play"), even though we did violate our established rules.

I continue training for an upcoming two-week Yosemite trip... up Half-Dome, then a circuit in the High Sierras.

- © 2011 by Willy

Dallas Waxing Eloquently

OK, so I've weightlifted with my buddy Dallas for twenty years now. He's usually quiet but every now and then the Holy Spirit comes out and he gets philosophical. That happened tonight.

I mentioned that I did not want to hurt this massage therapist's feelings and Dallas responded with "Did you miss your first day of Codependents Anonymous? Where you stood up and said 'Hi, I'm Willy, and I am not responsible for anybody else's feelings.'" "Oh!" I said, "Let me write that down... that's good," as I reached for my cell phone while he did some reps.

That wound him up and he hardly paused, continuing, "I remember Doctor Smith telling me the three different types of dependency:"

Lord, I trust you to take care of me, and not some other things or people. - Prayer of the dependent.

Lord I trust you to take care of me, and not me take care of me. - Prayer of the overly independent.

Lord I trust you to take care of the people that you bring into my life, and not me take care of them (don't be quick to take care of them). - Prayer of the Codependent.

"Unconditional love is a fantasy. People can't do it. Can only get it from God. God desires to fill my vacuum. People try to fill it with drugs, sex, money, muscles and etc." Amen to that, brother.

Goals Vs. Resolutions

I don't know all the answers but goal setting seems better than new year's resolutions. Goals force the discipline that enables the journey.

Also, goals like big hikes... instead of a resolution to stay fit... inspire and motivate me.

This year I'll be doing a two-week High Sierras hike besides the traditionally tough one-week hike with my daughter.

Last year I noticed that I'm going for quality of life. That is, I chose to avoid slow suicide due to overweight-related old-age problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. And in order to do so I must stay fit through diet and exercise. This would give me independence in old age.

Besides, I enjoy nature, so I enjoy my long hikes... and being able to do them is a goal too. Circular logic, isn't it?

And having discipline with this helps me with "that." Lots of "that's."

I'll be using meditation and solitude with my discipline for training, but with a lot of community help.


- © 2010 by Willy