Long Hike: 10 miles at Umstead State Park

A friendly hiker stopped to take this picture for me.

As part of my training for the Ultimate Hike I will be doing one long hike each week with increasing mileage week to week.  I'll try to share pictures and details from each long hike so you can tell how things are going with my training.  And since this will be a once a week post I'll also share a summary of all my training activities since the previous long hike, like a weekly training log that you can follow.

Last weekend's long hike was 9 miles in Umstead State Park.  This week I hiked those same trails with an added mile.  I started today's hike just after 9am.  Rain was forecast for after lunch time and I wanted to enjoy the dry weather as long as possible.  It was around 50°F when I started, cool and pleasant with partial sun.  I was warm and comfortable in my thermal jacket.  The ground was cool on my feet but it did not chill me.

The temperature warmed throughout the morning and peeked just below 60°F.  I stuffed the thermal in the backpack and continued along the path enjoying the beautiful scenery in the park.  With only about 2 miles to go in my hike the weather front moved through, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.  I pulled out the rain gear and ended up hiking the last mile in the rain.  By the time I was done with the hike the temperature had dropped to the high 40s and the ground was wet and cold.  

Here are a few pictures from the hike.

Starting out from the trail head.

The morning sun on Crabtree Creek.

I love how the sun dances on the moving water.

The day is starting to warm up.

Large smooth stones like these are actually comfortable to walk on in bare feet.

No problem.

But small gravel like this will slow me down.

Tree roots - nature's foot massage!  Seriously, tree roots are my favorite part of the trail.

Walking barefoot on a blanket of well worn pine needles is like walking on a pillow.

The fine screened gravel on this section of bridle trail feels gritty but not uncomfortable.

One more picture as the trail follows along the creek.

Wet muddy feet in the rain, sitting in the parking lot at the end of the 10 mile hike.

I know someone reading this is wondering, "What do the bottom of her feet look like after a 10 mile hike?"  The answer is really dirty.  That's just debris from the wet parking lot along the edge of my foot.  I probably should have brushed it off before taking the picture.

The soles of my feet all clean from my shower after the hike.  Just normal feet.

Here's my training log for the last week:

Saturday 3/ 15: 9 mile hike
Sunday 3/16: REST
Monday 3/17: 2 mile walk
Tuesday 3/18: Upper body strength workout
Wednesday 3/19: 2 mile walk
Thursday 3/20: workout with my personal trainer
Friday 3/21: 8 mile bike ride with my daughter
Saturday 3/22: kayak/play at the lake
Sunday 3/23: 10 mile hike

Peace,
Karen