CONTRASTS

The last hike I told you about, the temperature just barely got above freezing. It's amazing what a difference a week makes. This hike I'm telling you about the temperature shot up to 70 degrees setting a record in Louisville. I even pulled out the shorts for this one and it was just a really good day.

Something else I decided to do for the hike was push things a little bit more. I just wanted to see how quick I could do this particular 12 miles in Perry County, Indiana. Yep, the same trail that was voted the number one dayhike trail in Indiana by Backpacker Magazine. The week before I had done it in 5 hours, 3 minutes but I felt like I could do better. With the weather being the way it was I felt like it was very possible.

It was in the upper 30's when I started but in the first mile I had to get rid of the jacket I was wearing. The first big hill was easy as was the first stream crossing (where the week before I had photographed those chunks of ice hanging off the tree). The second stream crossing wasn't bad. I took my boots off for it again and the water wasn't quite as cold since the ice had melted. I got a quick slurp of water and went after the next big hill. I kept a pretty good pace for the next few miles then got to my favorite place on the whole trail (where you see me downing a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwiche in the picture at the top). Took another few gulps of water and was on my way again.

I made one more stop along the way for water before hitting the last big hill. The last mile and a half began to take a toll on me but I kept pushing. When I got back to my truck I found I had done the 12 miles in 4 hours, 32 minutes. That was 29 minutes off the week before. Not bad for an old guy of 54 years and for somebody who's not a runner. I don't plan on trying to do it any quicker though because it took a pretty good toll on me. Besides, I don't really need to now that I saw what I could do. It also cut my miles down to 30 left to go for 400 for the year. In my next post I'll cut it down to 20 and finding some construction along the way.