that was a great hike

rhus ridge parking to black mountain trail to hidden villa then back up to the top of black mountain and back down. 12.5 miles total, started at about 10:30 ended about 4. that's.. uh... 5.5 hours meaning uh... 2.27mph. ow, that's slow. is it? indeed it is. maybe because i was carrying 5 liters of fluids plus a little bit of gear and 20lbs of iron. i rested a lot. wunderground.com says the temps were only around 75F today, but that's bogosity for sure because my car said it was 80F when i finished at 4, so i rather suspect it was at least 90F up there in the sunny spots.

i think i've proved to myself i'm a tough guy, can i just go on hikes for fun now?

no! this one was fun. when i got back to the car. otherwise it sucked. the only thing worse than the uphills was the downhills, because the downhills are unpleasant on the knees, not to mention the hips, shoulders, calves, and the rest of the body parts i forgot.

ha ha! I kid! I kid because I love! really, i enjoy a tough hike with extra weight in my pack. FOR ME TO POOP ON.

i saw lots of people with big backpacks today. i wondered if they were all carrying as much weight as i was, and whether they were enjoying it as much as i was, and if they were as bushed as i was throughout, and if not, what their secret is. oh, they probably don't cross-train as unwisely as i do.

i have just one more tough-guy hike on my schedule and then it's fun from here on out. oh, until 203 comes back and then i gotta be a tough guy. i don't think it'd feel natural to be un-macho on a hike with her.

crikey! i didn't realize the hidden villa portion was so piddly compared to the black mountain part. that splains why i was so much more tired at the top of BM than at the top of the HV portion.

my dead-iraqi shirt seemed to reveal a little more gutosity than i'm used to. how'd i get outta shape? i swear i nearly saw abs yesterday post-lifting. what the dillyo? (i know what the dillyo, actually, and i'm not telling!) (okay, i'll tell: it's this bleeding cross training. poor old boddy-woddy can't figure out if it's sposed to lift, hike, or run, and how to reconfigure itself accordingly.)