Wednesday, taking it a little easier

After Tuesday's crazy hike we decided to take it a little easier yesterday and explore town a little, do our laundry, and go on a short, flat hike. After doing laundry at the Wishy Washy, we poked around the town's 5 shops and picked up a couple of souvenirs. We then decided to do the base trail hike to the nature reserve's visitor center. The map warned us that the summit trail was steep and rugged, but it failed to mention that the base trail went up the first half of the mountain. In retrospect, I guess I should have known that is what base trail meant. Anyway, it was a pretty hike through the southern end of Maine's 100 Miles of Wilderness, a huge section of forest that has never been logged. It is a wildlife sanctuary but the only wildlife we saw was two snakes, squirrels, and lots of chipmunks. We also chased about 5 wild turkeys across the bridge on our way to the hike. The way up was arduous enough that we decided to skip the rather long looking path to the scenic overlook. At the visitor center (an unmanned outpost where you register before taking the summit trail) there was a beautiful mountain pond called sunrise pond.

We walked around that a bit and enjoyed our snack. We decided to take the access road back to our car which was a longer distance but more evenly graded. We were glad we did because the access road passed a lot closer to the scenic overlook and we didn't skip it on the way down. It was by far the most majestic panoramic view of the region's mountains, valleys, and lakes that we have seen yet. Stunning view!!!

All in all, the little hike took a couple of hours, 90 minutes up and about a half hour down. Not too shabby for a day off.

We were originally planning on staying one more day and doing one more big hike today, but I've developed a pretty good blister on the big toe of my right foot. I have a bunion on that foot and the blister is on the spot were my big toe bends in and rubs the second toe, as a result of the bunion. I'm pretty bummed because I don't want that bunion to be a chronic problem as I hike into my old age. The blister feels better today, it's a little less tender, but we have 700 miles to drive to get to Buffalo and we want to get there Friday night. So after weighing the pros and cons of further aggravating my blister/bunion and country road vs. interstate driving, we've decided to break camp today and head on out.

With regard to the bunion, plan 1 is to do a lot more hiking at home and to try to toughen up my feet a bit. Plan 2 (in conjunction with plan 1) is to wait until I am in excellent shape and than have the bunion removed, probably January of 2014. By then I should be so used to exercising every single day that the surgery won't derail me. If anyone has any experience with bunions and has other ideas, please let me know. So far, it hasn't been bothering me when I run, cycle, or lift weights. I think it was the two long hikes in boots that did it. I also might look for boots with a bigger toe box. I'm already wearing a man's boot for the width. I'd take suggestions regarding boots, too, if you have them.

Yesterday I ate 1950 calories with over half of those calories coming from a protein packed breakfast. I think I was still making up for the calorie deficits on the two previous days! After eating about 1000 calories for breakfast, I ate lightly for the rest of the day. With our 2 hour hike I still netted just slightly over 1200 calories for the day.

It has been a wonderful few days here at Lily Bay State Park. Moosehead Lake is easily one of the most beautiful lakes in the country and this is an amazing, unspoiled part of the world. It's worth the drive if you love the outdoors. I'm glad we spent this time here. It has been good for me! Jack's had fun, too!

I am enjoying the book, Aging Well. It's too tedious to type on my phone to talk much about it, but I will definitely blog about it when I get home. My recommendation is to read it, though. If you can stomach the thought of reading about getting old when you're 40, I'd read it about a decade before you turn 50. Unfortunately, most of us are too wrapped up in beginning to be middle aged to even think about being aged, so it may be a stretch for a 40 year old to read the book. But it's a great book for anyone, no matter how old, to read if you are interested in taking an active role in how well and happy you'll be in your 70s, 80s, and beyond. The book is full of fascinating stories and statistics. The most encouraging thing about the book is the fact that the six biggest predictors (at age 50) that indicate how well/happy we'll be at 80 are things that are completely under our control. I found that so liberating! Factors like ancestral longevity and whether or not you were loved by your mother as a child have no statistical relevance to your health, happiness, and well being as an old person. It's worth the read, I recommend it. I'll tell you more about it once I'm on my PC at home.

Now it's time to finish my final campsite coffee and break camp. Have a lovely day! I know we will!



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