Hittin the trail - again

In the pursuit of getting into shape I headed back down to the Greenbrier River Trail today with my training partner (Hector) and got in 4 weighted miles of hiking and a nice swim in the river.


I really should try and come down here more often.


Now I just need to make myself do a little more in a day so that I can be in better shape by the end of the month even if I know that my training partner is far ahead of me.

Training on the Trail

I am currently looking ahead to the end of this month when I plan on heading to the Appalachian Trail to meet up with Bob and Russell for some hiking. In the spirit of being bored and out of shape I have decided to train a bit here locally on the River Trail.


I took a training partner with me to keep me going. This is Hector.

We only put in 4 or 5 miles but I did load down my pack to 25 lbs and will build up the distance and weight over the course of the month to get myself a little bit more prepared.

It is easy to train where I live because this is the average scenery.


I am hoping to do most of the state of Virginia when I meet up with the duo of Tumbleweed and Fisherman's Friend (Trail Names) so every step I take preparing will have to buy me an extra day out on the trail.

Hiking in the Scottish Highland

To make sure I saw the countryside we set off to the Northwest to see the highlands in Scotland and do some hiking.

The sign says it all

Well at least this one does

We traversed trails that weren't too far from what we might see in good ol WV


At the end we got to see a waterfall and celebrate.... great success...

Just in case you missed it.... here is the waterfall.

Volcano... not a problem

The Pacaya Volcano rests an hour from Antigua, Guatemala (my current location) Needless to say I had to hike it.

Here is a view of the active volcano. I had already hiked about 30 mins to get here.

The ascent toward the top was almost stupid due to the sheer lack of safety equipment so I loved it. Too many waivers in the US. Granted the guy that broke his ankle might think otherwise.
At the top I melted my shoes a bit while standing on recently hardened lava, but did get to roast a marshmallow. Of course by then it was getting dark and I had to make the descent in the dark sliding down a very loose and steep slope once again without a cable.


I did bring my iPOD and thought that Nirvana's Lake of Fire fit the occasion. Now to look toward Mexico to finish my month-long journey.