Our first meeting

Mr. White set up a meeting with Mr. Latimer who shared his wealth of knowledge with us. He brought the equipment, maps, pictures of his trek(s) and went over the main items with us. We talked about equipment needs and the items that are most important to have (like boots) and when.

Mr. Mullins who will be our "training coach" was also there and talked about all of the choices we had in the area for hikes and backpacking trips. Beginning Feb 2nd, we will have 30 minutes sessions before our troop meetings to discuss topics that we will need on our trek. The first meeting will be to identify when and what our shakedown hikes. We will work towards both the hiking and backpacking merit badges in preparation for Philmont.

The Philmont Advisor Guide

I received the Philmont Advisor's Guide on Wednesday. It was just in time for me to take and read on my business trip. It is 118 pages and well worth the $10 I paid.

It looks like I got this just in time. I outlines a 6 month fitness program to prepare for the trip. I will really need to get going to get fit and in shape to not have issues on the trail.

I can't wait until we really begin to start the crew building activities. We will have our first meeting tomorrow.

Another 5+ Miles on my boots

This weekend the troop went camping at Camp James Ray. The new youth troop leaders received training and others in the troop learned to make fire, and took a short hike to the lake. Our campsite was close to the Fry center and a heated bathroom, so I took advantage of that instead of the in camp latrine. I wore a pedometer that is ok in accuracy (usually shows too much) and I logged 5+ miles on Saturday. My left boot gave me pain on my left leg, at the top of where the boot hit. My right boot caused me no problems. This is different than my first 5 mile hike. I didn't wear my orthodics and I am sure this had something to do with it. I will have to continue to work to refine the set up.

Another great weekend to be outdoors. It was a bit chilly Friday night (a bit below freezing), but was in the 60s on Saturday, and just above the freezing point). It was a great time.

Preparing for Philmont

I have been doing some reading about Philmont. We have not had our crew meeting yet, and have not really even received any information at all, so I have done my own hunting. Using Google, I found a website of the BAC (Baltimore Area Council). They have great information and I even found that I could order a Philmont Advisors Guide Book with information from other advisors that had gone. I ordered the guidebook.

Mr. White who is the one arranging all of this has called for our first Philmont preparation meeting for 1/24.

5 miles on my new boots

The boys and I were planning on taking a 6 mile hike today at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve. We had a nice hike planned out. However, we really didn't have the time for it today. There were a number of chores around the house that needed doing, and Alex had a bit of homework remaining. We decided that in the future we would do better planning to make sure we could take our hikes.

So, after the chores I decided I wanted to take a walk/hike just in the area to see how my new boots work. I could not get either of my two boys to walk with me. Oliver wanted to stay home to finish reading "The Outsiders", he was at a good part in the story. Reading for pleasure is something new for him, so I didn't mind. Alex would have gone with me, but he had to help Ingemar fix the leaf sucker. So, I set out on my own.

During this walk I decided to try out a gps tracking app on my iPhone. I had read that these sort of apps ran down the battery, or were not accurate. As a comparison, I also used my SonyEricsson phone that has GPS and a built in tracking system.

I set out in the neighborhood and had a nice walk along the creek. Most of the time I was walking on a sidewalk, but this is still ok for the boot break in process. I was a bit concerned with my boots, because the right side of my foot started aching after the first mile. I stopped to retie, and even removed my orthopedic device. After a bit more walking, I found that if I slightly rotated my foot toward the arch side, that the pain went away. The only consequence is that I had a slight rubbing on my big toe. I do think with an insert and some more breaking in I will be set.

I was comparing the iPhone and the SonyEricsson during the walk, and found as time went on, the difference in the distances the two measures became larger. The iPhone had me at 5 miles after 1:18 minutes. I know this is not true, since it takes me at least 20 minutes to walk a mile. The SonyEricsson was much more accurate. Unfortunately, I only had 1/4 battery when I started, and so after 4.8 miles it turned off. That is too bad, because it made a nice path to show where I walked, and I think I would have had an opportunity to save it. Oh well, next time I will take only the SonyEricsson, and I will have it fully charged.

I figure I walked at least the 5 miles that I wanted.

I now have boots!!

I called REI today and asked if they had their new shipment of boots in. When I was there a week ago, they didn't have very much selection. Unfortunately they have not. They will get the new shippments in another week.

When I was at the REI shop in Plano they did have a pair of the REI brand full leather boots in womens size 9 that did fit well. I sort of kicked myself for not buying them then since they fit well, and they were on sale for $109 (regularly $199). I asked the salesperson on the phone, and the boots were still there and he would put them at the front for me.

My son and I went to REI after running some other errands and I had no problems to return the boots I purchased on line and purchase the REI ones (this is why I love REI). The best thing about it is that REI refunded the difference $130 to my credit card.

I got the boots home and put them on. They fit as well as I remembered in the store. I have been wearing them for the past 3 hours around the house, and I took a walking trip to CVS down the road for a test "drive". I think these will do well for me. They will need some breaking in because the front of my legs above the ankles hurt from the stiff top of the boot. They are also quite warm, and my feet did begin to swell, but they are still comfortable. We are planning a hike again tomorrow, so I will know for sure, but I think I found a winner.

My boots arrived

I ordered a pair of Asolo boots a week ago from REI. I took a chance because I was never able to try any on in my size. I wasn't worried, because I knew that I could return them with no problems. I really wanted to try these boots, because that got great reviews online, and they looked really good in the store.

My boots arrived this evening. They were delayed a bit because of the show storms in the northwest (were coming from Washington state). I was so excited until I put them on. They don't fit my feet :-( My heels slide up and down, and will cause alot of blisters. So, I will have to exchange them. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Our first hike - Trinity Trail (7 mi)

We know that we must get in shape for the 10-day backpacking trip to Philmont. We must also break in our boots. So we have decided to start by taking some hiking trips. Last year I purchsed the book "60 Hikes within 60 Miles" of the Dallas Fort Worth area. It is nice because it is arranged in a number of different ways - location, duration, difficulty, etc. I took a look and found a moderate hike of 3.1 miles at Lake Lavon. It is called the Trinity Trail.

The Trinity Trail is an Equestrian and Hiking Trail that goes from Brockdale park on the north to East Fork Park on the south. The total trail is 9 miles. The "60 Hikes" book shows a 3.1 mile loop from Brockdale park that uses the trail out then a path along the lake back. Here is info on it a trails.com http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XMR018-035

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Saturday we woke up early and headed out to the trail head. The GPS in the car was good in getting us to Brockdale park. We arrived in the parking lot at about 8:50 am. There was a horse trailer with 2 horses being unloaded. Otherwise the parking lot was empty.

We set out on our hike at 9 am. The boys posed next to the entry sign. We had our boots, camelbacks and protective gear.

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The sky was overcast and the temperature was in the high 60s. The hike was just as described in the book. Alot of grassland and some trees, and a view of the lake every so often. The terrain was varied, so it wasn't so boring (at least for me). The boys talked most of the time, but did complain they were bored.

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I enjoyed what we saw on the trail. There were birds that we mostly saw, but didn't hear. There wasn't many types of trees, mostly Juniper and Bois'darc. We also saw quite a bit of skat with rabbit fur. Reminds us this is wilderness. I was able to take some nice photos that I have uploaded in my picassa web, so check them out http://picasaweb.google.com/KarenPlanoPics/Jan3TrinityTrail?authkey=EQaTAEJ3Moc&feat=directlink

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The loop trail was 3.1 miles, but I wanted us to hike 5 miles. So, I gave the boys a choice to hike out 2.5 miles and then back over the same trail, or to add on a mile out and back and take the loop. They didn't want to make a decision, and so I decided to add the mile out and back to the loop. The mile that was added to the loop was mostly a flat equestrian trail. We met two sets of horse riders. Boy did we feel small walking past them.

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We got back to where the loop should have taken us near the water's edge. It was hard to tell since the lake had receded a bit. It was neat to see the clam shells and the growth that used to be under the lake. We never did find the proper trail outlined in the book, so ended up walking back on the trail that we came on. All in all, we hiked 7 miles.

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We got back to the car and were all starved so we stopped at Sonic in Whylie on the way home.

Oliver and I were whiped, but was mostly due to allergies. Alex had a pain in the bottom of his foot. He is flat footed, and so I will plan to get him some arch inserts. Oliver had no foot problems. My boots which I will not be wearing to Philmont caused me ankle problems. I can't wait to get my new boots.

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Not bad for our first outing. We are already planning our next trip.

Step 1 - Purchase Boots

We will be backpacking in the rugged terrain at Philmont, therefore we all need some good sturdy boots. After reading alot about what to look for, etc. we took a trip to our local REI shop. What I like about REI is their satisfaction guranteed committment. There are two REI shops in our area, one in Plano and one in Dallas. http://www.rei.com/FindStores

Alex and I decided to go to the one in Dallas since it is larger and we thought would have more selection. It did have a good selection on the display wall, however, since it was just after the holidays and the bit REI sales, they didn't have very much selection in the back. However, Alex did find a pair of boots by ss that he did like and so we had one down. I tried on a few pairs, but really didn't find anything I liked. I did find out the size that I needed, and got alot of good advice and information from the sales person.

Oliver and I tried out the Plano location. We thought that perhaps they might have a few more selections left, since it was a bit out of the way for some in the metroplex. Oliver found a really nice pair of all leather boots that he liked. He tried on several sizes and found out that we hoped would last him for more than the 6 months until the trip. It is hard since he needs time to break them in, but his feet are still growing.

I verified the size I needed by trying on a couple of boots. They had a nice REI brand that were on sale for a fantastic price, but they didn't have the Asolos in my size. The Asolo had great reviews on line while some of the others complained about wearing out soles and coming apart boots. I am expecting the boots I buy to last me several years, since my feet are not growing ;-)
I went ahead and purchased a pair on line - through REI of course so I can return if they don't fit or I don't like.

So, now we can begin the break in process