Interviews with Five Barefoot Hikers

Over at MightyGoods (they sell various travel gear), they have an article up in which they interviewed five different barefoot hikers.

I thought I’d answer the questions myself.

Read Full Post »

The Shin Bone’s Connected to the . . .

It’s now been 18 weeks since I had the surgery to try to put my Achilles tendon back together again. And yesterday I had my last physical therapy session (because that’s all insurance will pay for—to hell with what the patient needs).

But I am still improving, albeit slowly.

Read Full Post »

Toe Tendons ≠ Achilles Tendon

“Are you OK?”

I was hiking/walking yesterday at the nearby Pickerington Ponds park, working on rebuilding my soles (and doing general Gymnopodal Therapy) after my official Physical Therapy session. As I hit the bridge on my return trip, I was met by a couple going the other direction who saw me and were really, really concerned: “Are you OK?”

Read Full Post »

Gymnopodal Therapy Redux

It’s now been 12 weeks from the surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles tendon. Boy do these things take a long time to heal (and often they never do get back to normal).

Read Full Post »

Gymnopodal Therapy

It’s now been 10 weeks since the surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles tendon. Maybe it’s time for an update.

Read Full Post »

To Keeley and Back

Let me return writing about to my trip Out West last spring. (I’ll finish doing so eventually—hopefully before my next trip.)

After leaving the Grand Canyon, I returned to Hovenweep and the Canyons of the Ancients.

There was more barefoot exploring to do.

Read Full Post »

Bright Angel Resthouses

Let me blog again about my trip Out West last June. I’ve been quite derelict on finishing that up.

While I was at the Grand Canyon I ended up doing less strenuous hikes than I planned. Most of that was because it was hot (and I’m aware of the dangers with heat in the Grand Canyon).

But I did make sure I had fun with whatever hikes I did.

Read Full Post »

To Heron Back

I’m continuing to write about my trip to southern Illinois to see the eclipse. I was somewhat undecided whether to make the nearly 500 mile drive there, but what tipped the balance was that I knew there was a bald cypress swamp there.

So here I’ll describe my second visit to the Cache River State Natural Area.

Read Full Post »

The Pre-Eclipse Garden of the Gods

Let me continue writing about my trip to the Shawnee National Forest to see the eclipse. One of the nicer geologic features at Shawnee is The Garden of the Gods, a sandstone rock formation.

I went there the day before the eclipse and they shut down the place around me.

Read Full Post »

See Da Cedar Ridge

Continuing writing about my recent trip out west, on June 5 I was still at the Grand Canyon. On all of my previous trips I’d backpacked to the bottom, but my knees (going down) and my hips (coming back up) are appreciating that extra weight less and less as I’m getting older, so this visit I decided to take it easy and just do day hikes.

Fortunately, the Grand Canyon offers plenty of opportunities.

Read Full Post »

Agave Up

On my 2017 trip Out West, I’m now up to blogging June 3. (I’m also back home now and have the ability to edit pictures and stuff much more easily.) I had arrived at the Grand Canyon on the previous afternoon.

On the 3rd I descended the Tanner Trail (one you probably haven’t heard of). I had great intentions of going a long ways down and then back up, but discretion is the better part of valor.

Read Full Post »

Ventana High Way

When I visited El Malpais last year I visited La Ventana. What I didn’t manage to do that I kind of wanted to do was to go to the top of it.

On this trip I managed to do so.

Read Full Post »

Old Woman. No Shoe.

My last post was of just the campground at El Malpais. I got there at about 10 in the morning, which left me plenty of time to do an exploration that was on my to-do list. I wanted to visit La Vieja.

Read Full Post »

Hope and Change

I had a chance to get out to Lake Hope State Park/Zaleski State Forest yesterday. Since I’m planning another trip Out West, and since I’ve also been doing a lousy job of training for it, I wanted to do a long hike, just to see how my body was doing.

I managed about 12 miles.

Read Full Post »

The Real McLean

We’ve now progressed in my trip Out West to the second hike on my last day, August 31, 2016. I’d camped at Hovenweep and planned on trying to visit a site at the Canyons of the Ancients.

It’s nice to leave the best for last.

Read Full Post »