Great day, great week!

Today marks my best week of training yet. I topped 32 miles with today's 12.5 miler in McDonald College Forest. We tackled a long loop beginning at FR 700 gate. (I'll try to map it in Gmap Ped for you later.) Long climbs, great views, perfect weather made this walk a great end to a super week of hard training.

Other good news: Fundraising topped $1,000 this week! Thanks to several generous people, I'm just shy of 50% of my goal. Please help by donating if you can--all this hard training goes for naught if I can't make the $2300 goal. That's right: if I can't raise the money, I can't be in the event. So please, please help! Five, $10, $20 goes a long way! Click here to make a contribution.

Mileage update

My week's total was only 21.4 miles; today's hike fell well short of my intended 12 miler. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a challenging 7.3 mile with lots of climbing, sun breaks, and occasional showers.

We started at Oak Creek Biological Lab--a popular jumping off point for many hikers in McDonald College Forest. There were only a 3 cars at the lot when we left and 24 when we returned. Despite the popularity of this area, we saw only a couple of people after we left Homestead Trail; most people walk only a short distance from the trailhead. Our route covered Homestead Trail (which parallels FR600). We continued more or less due north on Extendo Trail, a popular mountain biking route that is somewhat aerobically challenging with roughly 500 feet of elevation gain in less than a mile. From the end of Extendo, we followed FR680 to FR770 which loops back through a nice old growth stand before descending back to Homestead Trail to close the loop. You can see a rough approximation map of the route here (my hiking mileage was measured by GPS, not the map here). From the elevation grid, you can see that nearly two-thirds of the hike was uphill, covering 1,243 feet elevation gain.

The dogs enjoyed the hike as much (or perhaps more) than we did. There were streams to soak in, deer, chipmunks, and squirrels to chase, and an occasional dog to greet, sniff, and play with.

Next week's plans include 2 5-milers and a 12-14 mile longer hike for a goal total of 28 miles. I'll keep ya posted.

Making progress!

It's been a while since I posted a progress report so here goes. I've been logging miles each week. This week has been especially good: I've done 14 miles so far and am aiming for a 12 miler this weekend. The weather has been cool and cloudy which the big dog really appreciates. All in all, I'm making good progress toward my goal.

On the fund-raising side, I'm just short of 50% of my goal. I'm really stepping it up now and making more direct requests. I pray that I'm blessed with more generous folks like the ones who have already lent a hand.

I'll post another update after this weekend's long hike.