Despite living in Montana on and off for almost 20 years now, I've never been a fan of the snow and ice and freezing cold temperature. These sustained periods of below-freezing daytime temperatures, with nighttime lows down to 0 °F (-18 °C - yes, that's MINUS eighteen Celsius!) are no fun.
Given my dislike of the cold and snow, plus my general state of physical fitness (i.e. my lack thereof), I've never tried - nor can I currently imagine enjoying - Nordic or cross country skiing. So, my aim for the end of 2016 (when I'm much fitter, and after the summer [when there's more snow back on the ground]) is to try cross country skiing to see if I like it. By then, I will have completed my 100-mile Pacific Crest Trail section hike (at the end of May). I should also be a lot closer to weighing only 200 pounds (90 kg), and my strength and stamina will be such that I can actually ski for 10 miles or more within collapsing from exhaustion. Maybe, in those new circumstances, just maybe I'll actually enjoy the snow for a change.
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| 338 lbs (153.3 kg) this morning |
4 comments:
so proud of you! You inspire me.. I have so many of the same struggles and fears and dread that you do. I am hoping for a successful year to get to the gym and get going FAITHFULLY this time without fail. Its just that first step which is scariest, because if you take it and don't continue, you fail. I fear failure. Crazy but true.. Anyway keep up the excellent work Chris...
Mechele
Thanks Mechele. Good to hear from you. I'm glad that you're going to make a start too. Just earlier today I rediscovered a great quote: "The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something".
That was from a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University named Randy Pausch, who gave a famous lecture in 2007 called "Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". It was called Last Lecture because Randy had pancreatic cancer and he knew he was going to die soon. You can see the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo. Almost 18 million other people have watched it (have your Kleenex handy - it's emotional stuff).
Call me when you have a few moments. -- Chris
What section of the PCT are you doing? I've been sectioning it for a couple years now.
Hi Mary. Thanks for the comment. I have always wanted to see Crater Lake in southern Oregon. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) goes almost right by there. I can kill two birds with one stone. The terrain isn't too mountainous, the weather should be okay at the end of May (snow on the ground at very high elevations but none falling) and it's a well established scenic trail with lots of documented tips on what to see and how to survive walking in the wilderness there. My daughter and I will be arriving in Klamath Falls, then getting ourselves to Fish Lake/OR140 to join the trail. We'll walk north, take in Crater Lake, then head to Chemult to catch the train home a week later. You can read more details (always being updated) at http://www.ergoob.org/pct2016 , including a list of gear and a schedule.
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