I'm surprised that this blog hasn't been terminated due to lack of activity. I can't believe that it's been over a year since my last post on here. Since then, I have started a new job that requires me to travel extensively throughout the week. Most days I spend about 2 1/2 hours commuting in my car to various locations across Northeast Georgia. The only positive thing about this is that I get to travel through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Southeastern U.S. Although, my brakes and tires have suffered since last July, burdening me with a couple of extra expenses in replacements for both.
I think about moving back to the south side of the Blue Ridge to lessen the time spent driving, but every time I cross over the gaps at Neel's, Hogpen, Davis, or Unicoi, I roll down my windows just to stick my arm out and feel the air temperature drop in relation to the rise in elevation; let my eyes soak in the lush, green grass, hardwoods mixed with rhododendron and laurel; gaze upon the clear flowing rocky streams and wonder at the trout, river otter, and hellbenders that live there; and I am glad to be back and hope to always have a home in the mountains.
I walk my dogs a few times/week and continue to take them on our approximately three-mile loop hike on the Miller Trek Trail behind Brasstown Valley Resort. Barely enough to keep the rust at bay, but not enough to keep them, or me happy. I could list all the excuses and all the pains in the world as to why I haven't added to my list of peaks bagged in a couple of years, but in the end, for me, there are no good excuses. I let the prime peak bagging season of winter pass by without taking the summit of some mountain on a list.
In the meantime, my eating habits haven't changed much, and anyone that has a lick of sense knows what happens when you cut back on your rate of physical activity while eating the same amount of calories. I call it ballooning. I entered a vicious cycle of knee pain, less activity, weight gain, more knee pain...etc. This past winter, I found myself actually afraid of bushwhacking to a summit, mostly due to the unsteady footing that lies beneath the layer of leaves that drops every fall; afraid that I will misstep and hyperextend my knee, somewhere with steep terrain a mile from the nearest trail, somewhere that would take a gargantuan effort on behalf of myself, or a rescue squad to haul my ass out of the woods. The only thing that is going to cure this is a great amount of weight loss.
In 2006, I was proud of myself for being able to hike up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Pinkham Notch up to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire...at 301 lbs. Add another 50 to that over the last 7 years and that's what I'm dealing with. Yes, I'm tall and at 6'4" most people don't believe that I weigh that much, but I can assure you that my bones know it to be true.
So, with my 47th birthday a week behind me, I am going to turn up the heat on my effort to lose some lbs, start feeling more comfortable with going off-trail, and start adding to my lists. It scares me to think that if I don't change my lifestyle, physically I may never be able to get deep into the hills again.
Alright, enough of that. The past year has brought some new birds to my list, including most recently a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the wonderfully hooded Bufflehead, as well as the Painted Bunting. I am not out looking for birds nearly as much as I'd like either...as you can tell with only three new sightings in a year.
My goals for the next year will include attaining the summit of five new peaks, and adding 10 birds to my list, while dropping below 300lbs. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
