Today was a milestone day - the first day that I didn't have an elastic bandage on. No wrapped knees, shins or ankles. Other than a few taped up blisters I'm pretty good.
I'm doing great on the gentle sections. But it turns out there are steep parts too.
For ascents there is a really cool technique called a Rest Step. When you step forward you quickly get completely over your foot and straighten it up. It gets to rest while the next leg steps forward. Works great at least on moderate slopes.
But my muscles are conditioned for flat land. In southern Georgia a big hill was 50 feet high.
I step up on steeper slopes and the thigh muscles strain to lift me up. Instead of chiseled legs, I have the muscle definition of a Bassett Hound. Apparently the maximus gluteus is also supposed to join in, but my Buns of Butter abstain.
I push hard and the thigh lifts me. I take another step and the heat singes the hair off leg. I let up before I melt my nylon hiking shorts.
I have invented a new step, the Resting Shuffle. First you hunch way forward so that your face looks straight down. Then you lean onto your hiking poles and shuffle one foot forward. The Rest comes from putting your entire weight onto the poles, at least until they collapse.
I imagine the conversation when the first hiker sees my new step. "Does your family know you are out here? Should I call someone?" If I tell them I hiked 22 miles today, "Yikes dementia too! He's even older than he looks." So far the Resting Shuffle is my little secret.
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