On Hold...Bummer

Well....my training has to be on hold for the next couple of months....booooooo!! Here's why:

So much school work to be done before graduation. All well. At least after August first I will be free to pick up where I left off.

Even though I am not able to take any extended hiking trips, I am able to do some other preparations ;) A friend of mine recommended a book to me that his friend wrote about pilgrimages. It was a little hard to track down for a reasonable price since it is out of print and I don't like reading from an e-reader.

On a side note, I was pretty excited to see that Calvin Miller wrote the forward to the book! George Christian tells about all the different pilgrimages he has taken over the years, and what they have done for him to have a deeper relationship with the Lord. Every trip gives him a new perspective about himself and his relationship with God. It's very interesting and challenging. It gives me something to think about. Also, this book helps me to become excited about what God will show me along the way. What I will learn about  myself, what kinds of things need to left on the pilgrimage, and how my love of the Lord can become even greater. I'm super excited about it. I have become more focused in my prayer when it comes to my pilgrimage. The time will come before I know it to hop on the plan heading for Paris and trains to Saint Jean Pied de Port for my journey to begin.

Okay, confession. While I was going to Amazon to find the picture for The Sacred Travels, I found another book that I would LOVE to read specifically about the Camino

It's on my Amazon wish list, just in case anyone is wondering ;)

Woodland Adventures

Well, it was another hiking day for Candy and I. We had a plan to walk 10 miles on Saturday which turned into 11.5 miles. We wanted to get an early start in order to make sure that we were back in time for some amazing BBQ that would be ready upon our return.

Since I already knew that I could do 10 miles with a light pack, I decided to up the weight a little bit. The "little bit" turned out to be a "whole lot". After putting a few books, my lunch, and 2 bottles of water, I quickly went to weigh my pack. It weighed 14.8 pounds!! I couldn't believe it! The 14.8 pound pack went with my on my hike anyway.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My body was uncomfortable from the weight. This lets me know that even if my pack is a little heavier than 13 pounds, I can manage.

As we were hiking in the woods, we saw various woodland creatures. We some toads, love bugs, and birds. Snakes were spotted. I even stepped on one...in my defense, I didn't see it and thankfully it was only a baby one. Candy did reassure me that it wasn't poisonous either. We saw that biggest lizard I have ever seen. I did try to get a picture, but it moved just as I was about to snap a picture. Lizards must not be very photogenic. There was TONS of poison oak around too...at least it was wide trail so we could avoid it fairly easy.

There are two things that we realized during this adventure....
1--We should start the "red trail" at the other end. This would mean that we would trek the hardest part early on. There were SO MANY steep hills to climb on the way back to the car! Our bodies were not too happy either. It's one thing to be hiking about 16 miles a day with a goal ahead, but having to turn around to head back to a car doesn't make things too pleasant. All I can think about is "I HAVE to hike back to the car...aaaawwww man!! Can't someone just come and pick me up?"

2--check the schedule for any races. There was a huge bike event (seriously....there had to be at least 150 bikers from across the country) that was about to start on the trail that we were on. There was a nice biker that told us about a "nice" trail that would dump us right where the race starts to use a different trail. Well, this "nice" trail was full of rocks and VERY narrow. Once we got home and took our socks off, there was evidence that this trail gave us a present to take home....a rash from something that we rubbed up against while on this "nice" devil of a trail. Thank you mister biker man!

Maybe I should count all of these things extra training tools. I've been reading that the Pyrenees Mountain is R-O-U-G-H!

We did make it home alive. Very tired, but alive.

I have been wondering if these boots will make it through the Camino with all of this hiking. I hope so...I really don't want to have to buy new boots close to the trip.

Candy did confess to me that she will not be able to start the pilgrimage with me, but will have to met me somewhere along the way. I don't mind starting by myself, I just want to make it through all plane and train rides in France in one piece. I don't speak a lick of French.....Jesus will just have to help me. At least I won't be doing the WHOLE thing by myself. Well, lets hope. I might have to make some travel adjustments in order to make it easier....