Get me outside — in the fresh air and sunshine. There’s just no better medicine for what ails me.
Day Hike
Barefootin In Style
I’ll admit, I’ve worn my VFFs to the office on a more than a few occasions. My displeasure with conventional footwear started way before my entry into the world of minimalist footwear. Since my injury of 2006, I’ve had an ongoing struggle to find shoes that I could wear an entire day without having to pull them off mid-day. I battled with my feet’s preference to be without shoes as I’d been told to NEVER go barefoot due to my tendency towards plantar fasciitis. Now, years later, barefootin’ and minimalist-type footwear is all that feels natural.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to not draw attention to yourself when you wear VFFs to work — even with the dark leather of the Treks. On the other hand, walking around in socks (as I often do) isn’t exactly profession now, is it?
My prayers may have answered. Check out Donald’s recent post on VIVOBAREFOOT’s minimalist dress shoes. There’s even a giveaway.
acceptance
We all want to be accepted. I can think back to childhood, when two of the girls I often played with did not want me along for their day of play. Through life, there were many other times when I was not accepted into the group. Believe it! It’s true.
Today, however, I am one of the chosen ones. Today, I received an email from the BAA stating that they have accepted my application (and money) to run in the 115th running of the Boston Marathon.
It sure is nice to be accepted.
Bumpass Hell
I’m not sure how they came up with the name of this trail. Personally, I’d call it Bad Ass Trail.
Go Climb A Rock
Finally, the story regarding my Half Dome climb…
A few years ago, after seeing the Bucket List, I started populating my own list of things I’d like to see and do before I “kick the bucket.” Rather than wait until death was eminent, I set out to start crossing things off of the list. After all, it seems I’m always finding new things to add to the list anyway. My list has doubled since I first created it.
Climbing Half Dome was one of the more physically demanding things on my list. Certainly it makes sense to try to achieve this goal while I am healthy, strong, and most able to appreciate it. There was a man we saw heading out towards the dome that we guessed, based on the equipment on his back, was possibly hitting his bucket list toward the end of his life. The aura about him and his traveling partner seemed to suggest the same. That’s not how I wanted to do it. I’d rather the live-like-you-are-dying approach – then live a long, long time.
After breakfast, we loaded up our day packs and began our trek towards the dome. It was early (0630) and quite chilly. We quickly warmed up and began shedding the various layers of clothing. We traveled through varied views and terrain: winding, rocky, steep, stair-step, dense trees, and open panoramic views. We had it all.
And the people? They were great. Everyone seemed to be upbeat and friendly. You know how I like friendly people. In fact, we chatted up two really cool guys while we were refueling for the final stretch. We ended up getting invited to camp out with them in Tuolumne after we backpacked into the valley. It’s true. But that’s a whole other story.