The only cure is more cowbell

I have a sickness.  Thousands of others are suffering with me.  We all have it, and we all get it this time every year.

Springer Fever.

Thank goodness I had a camera in 2010 when I attempted to thruhike the Appalachian Trail.  I took lots of pictures, and now I can look through them and relive the trip.  I'm remembering my ups and downs, both literal and figurative.  (Much harder to do with my previous month long section hikes.  No pictures = very little reminiscing.)

It doesn't help the fever go away, but it's a lot of fun.

It's not like I could thruhike this year anyway.  Even if I miraculously were given the opportunity to take that much time off from work, I'm not in physical therapy right now because my spine is awesome and problem free.  I need to take care of it first.

Knowing that I am not in a position to thruhike does not do much to lessen the pull.

In a couple of weeks I'll go to the PA Ruck (we really ought to change its name, now that it's not in PA anymore) and hang out with past and future thruhikers.  That will help.  Or make it worse.  One or the other.

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I bundled up against the cold (Maryland version, i.e. in Minnesota they would have been wearing shorts) and went out to see Pluto.  To my relief, he's filled out a little.  Yay!  We finally reversed the tide!   Between different hay, more food, electrolyte pellets, and his blanket, I finally got more food and fluids into him than he burned off!

That hip bone is sticking out a wee bit less.  Non horse people, I realize this exactly the same to you as all the other pictures.  You'll have to take my word for it.

I'm including this because I wasn't paying attention to the shadows when I took my first picture.  I had to move him over a few feet to get a picture where he didn't have giraffe markings.  The effect amused me.

And now I have to go take a shower.  Because we are going to a French restaurant for tea tomorrow morning.  We have a date!  At a French restaurant!  Aren't we fancy?

I heart the Appalachian Trail flick

While I was on my daily walk today, I ran into some coworkers.  I waved, and was surprised to hear one say "We were just talking about you!"  Because we don't work *that* closely.. I run into him a few times a year.

He and his walking pal had just been talking about the National Geographic Appalachian Trail special.  I've heard great things about it.  I guess my name came up because they knew I was hiking last year.  At any rate, we got to talking about it, and I found out it's now available on Netflix!  So tonight JD and I interrupted our X-files marathon to watch the Appalachian Trail show. 

It was awesome!  Spellbinding, for me.  I don't know about JD.  I think he liked it too.  But for me, seeing all those places I've been was amazing.  JD had been to some of them too.  When they got to Harper's Ferry, he said "Hey, I've been there!" And then he instantly realized that not only had he been there, he'd been *right* where the picture was taken from (not from the AT, actually, but from the cliffs up over the town where we walked a couple of weeks ago.)  And that was pretty dang cool.  Not just that, but Laurie Potteiger was in the film, and we met her while we were walking up there!  I mean, JD met her.  I met her again.  I've run into her off and on for the last few years.  She works at the Appalachian Trail Conference office in Harper's Ferry so she shows up at a lot of local AT gatherings, as you might imagine.

I really loved the advance look at some of what I haven't done yet, including chunks of Katahdin.  I'm feeling more comfortable with the climb now.  I mean, it looks rocky, but doable.  Probably I'll be kinda sore the next day.  :)  I think I'll have to stop to look around a lot.  The views looked astounding.

Between the film and the incredibly delicious strawberries that JD picked up at the store today, this was a very, very good evening.

I don't think I've mentioned the gym much other than to say I probably shouldn't have started the hour before a yoga class.  I've been going twice a week, specifically not on yoga days.  So far I'm up to 17 girly push-ups and sixty sit-ups.  I've been varying my other exercises.  I have to be careful not to aggravate my neck bones so lat pull-downs and some of the tricep exercises are out.  But I've been using the assisted pull-up/dip machine and I am feeling very butch for doing pull-ups and dips, even though they're assisted.  It feels plenty difficult to me.  I'm doing big step-ups using a sturdy table, in preparation for climbing big rocks on the trail.  I'm also doing various lunges for same.  I'm doing leg extensions and leg curls to keep my knees and hamstrings strong.  I feel that along with yoga, this stuff is fairly basic maintenance.  Like flossing.  Going to the gym is like flossing.  So I can keep my original teeth and spine longer.  I hear getting either replaced kind of sucks.