Backpacking the Appalachian Trail: This past weekend I co-led a very small group, there were only 4 participants, on an overnight backpacking trip.   I had an amazing time!  The fact that it was a small group made it so much better.  We really seemed to bond over the two days we spent together.

• Departed for the trail at 7 am on Saturday morning.  It had snowed 1-3 inches the night before and there was a light drizzle of rain as we started to hike.  At one point we lost the trail because the trail blazes were white and there was snow everywhere which didn’t really help, but we found it again and continued toward our campsite.
   
• My pack was really heavy.  I had to carry a 2 person tent on top of my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, med kit, water, and extra clothing.  I was nervous that my legs would still be really sore from last weekend or that my cold would come back full force and make hiking hard … but neither of those things happened.
   
• Usually when I lead trips, they’re full of people that are either in better shape than me, or about the same shape as me.  This trip had one participate who really needed encouragement to keep going.  I loved being her cheerleader at the back of the pack.  I could relate so much to her frustration, I had definitely been there before, and it felt good to help her through it. 
   
• After setting up camp, we hiked about 2 more miles without our packs to the summit where we lucked out with a BEAUTIFUL view!   After hanging out up there for a bit we headed back to camp to make dinner.  It got really really cold.  It was around freezing all that night and the next morning.  I had planned on it being about 10 degrees warmer.  I guess the forecast changed.   Luckily, I was prepared.
   
• We woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed up to hike back to the van.  We stopped for some delicious pizza on the way home.

Overall it was an amazing weekend!  :D

Today I conquered Mt. Washington!!  6,288 feet and over 8 miles!

I can confidently say that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  I did not train as much as I had planned to, and coming down with a cold the day before certainly didn’t make climbing it any easier.  

Also, the conditions were NOT ideal.  The mountain was breaking records all week for high temperatures, so most of the snow had become really slushy or had melted completely and left the rocks exposed.  Snow cover actually makes climbing the mountain easier … because there’s less scrambling … plus slippery rocks are pretty dangerous.  There was also a pretty steady rain/mist so I was completely saturated before I even reached the top.  At one point I had to borrow a pair of mittens from the guide because mine got so soaked through that my hands started to get really really cold.  

Reaching the summit was extremely difficult.  I wanted to quit so many times.  I was afraid that I was going to wear myself out and have nothing left to make the descent.  After all, once you reach the summit you’re only halfway there.   I stayed in the back of the pack for most (all) of the hike with one of my coworkers.  The guide that was with us toward the end was really motivational, telling us to turn on the gas and find a path through the rocks.  At first I thought he was crazy and going to get us killed … but I think he knew how close we were and didn’t want us to give up. 

So I did it guys!  I am so so so sore and I have a feeling that i’m going to have a lot of trouble walking tomorrow.   

I definitely want to do it again in “better” weather so that I can get some awesome summit views.

CHECKING this off my bucket list!

Alternative Spring Break:  Destination Appalachia

I just had one of the most amazing weeks of my life.   I’ve made some amazing new friendships, have improved my self confidence, and changed some lives.

Friday: Departed CT for VA

Saturday:  Arrived in the afternoon and did some group bonding activities/got settled in

Sunday:  Group outing to a national park for some hiking and group bonding

Monday: Stayed in the small town and helped fix up the volunteer building. We repainted the entire outside of the building. We also helped to organize a storage closet by disassembling paint shelves and replacing them with new ones

Tuesday: We helped to fix up a low income house close to the volunteer center. We sanded down her porches and repainted them, put caulk around windows and on the porch, and repainted her laundry room

Wednesday: Went to a really isolated part of the region (literally on top of a mountain) to install siding on a house that really needed it. We also sealed the metal roof with some aluminum.

Thursday: We helped to renovate apartments that serve the function of providing housing assistance to those who need it.

Friday: Back to the house from Tuesday to do touchups on all previous work. My team had a real heart to heart with the person that lived there.  The things that this person had to go through wasn’t fair … and it felt amazing to help her and to know that she really appreciated all of our work.  We headed back to CT that night.

Saturday: Arrived back in CT early this morning

I LOVE ALT BREAKS!!

I’m running a 5k tomorrow! I need some sleep … I did not get any on the bus last night.

This is a fun one!  :D  LOVE this picture! 

Today I swam 200 yards, biked 5.5 miles and ran 1.5 miles.   I am an iron dawg triathlete!! 

I definitely want to do this again next year … but without having hiked 6 miles in slushy snow the day before …

So I started to get really nervous before the race because after looking around I noticed that everyone there was in wicked good shape.  But after talking with a couple of the girls in my heat, my nerves were calmed a little.

When we had our race briefing … I got some HORRIBLE news.  They weren’t going to allow people to listen to music this year.  Um …. what?  I’ve almost never run without music … so I wasn’t happy and was kind of freaking out after getting this news.  I also had wanted the music for biking… I had my playlists set and everything.

I ran really well for me … I averaged a 9 minute 45 second mile.  Swimming was pretty horrendous.  Because I was the last to finish running and in the first group to go swimming, I didn’t get much of a rest during the transition as some of the other people did.   I also had a goggle malfunction which resulted in me just taking them off.  Not going to lie … there was some doggie paddling during that swim.  whoops.   The biking also wasn’t my personal best … my legs were done by this point.  So I had fun with it, talked with my coworkers and just finished.

I came in SECOND to last.  I really thought I was going to come in dead last so this is pretty cool.  And considering it was a super small event (only 35 people) with a bunch of super athletic peeps.  I’m proud of myself.

I had fun.  I feel great.  I am a triathlete.  

next stop …  summiting Mt. Washington.  3/25/12

Hiked Mt. Alander today!

We probably ended up missing the summit view by like an hour.  It was too foggy when we reached the top, but it ended up being a really nice day as we made our descent. I love summit views so I was really disappointed that our group didn’t get to see it because they definitely deserved a nice view!   I am SO SO glad it didn’t rain today!

although … I must say that hiking in wet slippery snow is kinda like walking on sand … it engages every single muscle in your leg.  ouch.

TRIATHLON TOMORROW! so tired.  so sore.  need sleep. 

I think i’m wearing my “i may not be the strongest” shirt tomorrow … to make a statement.  :D

Yesterday I played in a kayak water polo tournament.  It was so incredibly fun!

We lost our first game (to the team that ended up winning the whole thing) and we won our second game (by quite a lot).  

I was an awesome goalie when I was in “net”.  I made so many paddle saves!  What can I say? I have good stick skills from hockey.  I also scored a few points when I played forward which was awesome.