go hike a mountain

Sorry, this post is long over due. We’ve been back from our road trip for a month and a half now and Jesse and I have finally gotten all of the figures from our trip together to share with you.

We were gone for 60 days and covered 10,800 miles of highway, byway, city streets and country roads. We spent 1300 dollars in gas. We drove through 24 states (8 state capitals) and within those states we hiked or drove to 14 new high points. We visited 34 people and 23 dogs. We made our way to 4 national parks and crossed the Mississippi River 6 times. We attended 3 NBA Basketball games and 1 Arena Football game. We saw the only 3 whale sharks in the United States. Jesse drank +/- 40 iced coffees. We used the camp stove to make a meal once and didn’t used the tent at all. We did, however, sleep in the car for 15 nights, and got our best sleep there. We shot 300 minutes of video and 3467 pictures. Most of all, when you add these figures up they equal 1 unforgettable trip.

I also wanted to let everyone know about our next feat. We will be hiking the North South Trail in Rhode Island on Memorial Day Weekend. The trail is 77 miles long and is the length of Rhode Island, basically following the western border with Connecticut. We will have to cover about 32 miles the first day to make it to our first campsite, and then 22 miles a day for the next two days to finish.

We’ve been preparing for this trip by taking long walks (10-15 miles) on weekends and also walking/running 5 miles each morning around the park before work. Jesse has noticeably lost weight with all this exercise but I haven’t…just grown some stronger calf muscles. And he’s not fond of waking up at 5am, but I’ve found getting up early and exercising makes me feel more awake throughout the day.

We’ve been checking the weather the last couple of weeks and it looks like we’ll have partly cloudy skies on the trip (but no rain!). We’ll be carrying a tarp for ground cover and another for overhead cover but no tent to conserve weight. I will be wearing one pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and shirt for all 77 miles. I’m planning to take long johns in case the mornings are chilly and a moisture-wicking long sleeved shirt along with a rain jacket/windbreaker. Besides the shelter and clothing, we have food and some basic necessities like a first-aid kit, matches, and a knife. The heaviest thing in our packs will be water.

If you check back around this time next week, I should have some photos up from this new trip. Wish us luck and good weather!