This is a continuation of a thread that I began on the Millinocket, Maine thread over in Places I Have Lived. I am not going to move those posts over here because a secondary part of it was to post photos from different places around Millinocket. However, unlike some people who don't mind walking the same course every morning for exercise, it's easier for me to motivate myself to walk if I can walk in different places. This doesn't necessarily have to be in places that I've never gone before but at least not a path that I just walked yesterday or the day before. If the weather suggests that it might be a sensible thing to do, I am going to attempt a hike on a trail that I haven't been on before, although it is marked on the maps. It begins at one side of the Millinocket town limits and comes out elsewhere within the town, but the only part that involves streets is getting to it and getting home after I've finished it. Probably, I'll ask Michelle to drive me to where it begins but I'll walk home from there. The marked trail dead-ends in the woods, for some reason, but I can see trails continuing from there that lead to different places in town. When I say that it is a marked trail, I don't think that means that the trail itself is marked, only that it's on a map and has a name. I am fairly confident that I won't become hopelessly lost because as long as I don't make any right turns, I'll come out to something that I recognize at any point that I decide to walk in a straight line. Besides, an aerial view shows trails leading from where the marked trail ends. The problem with following trails in the woods is that they are often created by animals who aren't going to the same place I want to get to. Probably, people are supposed to walk to the end of the marked trail and then walk back, but the walking back part will bore me. On the other hand, I might find that there's still too much snow in the woods, or that it's too wet. If so, I have a couple of alternatives in mind. I am losing a lot of weight and feeling better, so I don't want to lose the initiative.
I just got back from a nice walk. I don't know how far because a part of it was through the woods. My wife dropped me off at the road to Jerry Pond which, because they turned it into a park a few years ago, is now closed. But I hit a trail that went into the woods, around a portion of Millinocket's "new development" (built in the 1960s), coming out on another part of it. It was kind of wet, but not too bad. I lost my shoe in the mud once and had to dig it out, and both my feet went into the water another time when a rotted log that I stepped on broke. But it was a reasonably nice day today (in the low 50s), so it wasn't too bad walking in wet, muddy shoes. I was on a trail, part of it a walking trail, but most of it was a snowmobile trail and is probably used for ATVs once things dry out a bit more. This wasn't exactly the path I had intended to take, because some of the trails were too badly flooded. In a couple of days, I think I'll take another trail that swings a wider loop, to the north of this one, and comes out along Millinocket Stream. The total distance probably won't be a lot more, but more of it will be in the woods. If I'm feeling particularly energetic, I'll see if there's a path around Jerry Pond first, and then hit the trail from there. I'll post some photos in a little bit.
I bought a Treadmill about 33 years ago when I turned 50. At first I used it for 30 minutes, then at shorter times after that, until I was down to 5 minutes. Then I raised the incline to maximum to simulate walking up a hill, and found I could reach good Cardio breathing in only 3 minutes! Doing any exercise for more than a few minutes is a real bore! When I use my weight bench, I usually spend less than one minute each doing Presses, Butterflies, and Curls. Hal, age almost 84
I have one exercise machine. It takes up a fair amount of space, but it can be used for a wide variety of exercises, depending on which direction I stand on it, how I position my body, and so on. Mostly though, it serves as a coat rack because the space around it is filled with stuff that my wife hopes to sell on eBay. I would like to free it up one day because, when I could get to it, I used it a few times a day, particularly in the winter when other types of exercise are difficult. I've never had a treadmill, though. I don't have room for any more machines and I have enough coat racks.
I didn't go out today, although it's a beautiful day, because I have been cutting down some scrub trees that are infringing on my backyard, and I had to cut up a couple of large branches that broke off from some other trees during our last wet, heavy snowstorm. Operating a chainsaw probably can't be used as an exercise program, though.
Nice pictures, Ken. I'd say you went exploring instead of a walk. The squirrel was an interesting note.
I thought so. I tried to get one of a woodpecker because I could hear them at work all over the woods, but I couldn't get close enough to get a picture.
Today, it was raining. Tomorrow, if the weather is friendlier, I will be taking another walk in the woods, roughly paralleling my last hike, only further to the north and extending to the west. As planned, it will be a 2.3-mile hike in the woods, then another 1.72-miles on town streets home, for a total of 4.02 miles. However, if it seems like the sensible thing to do at the time, I will make a digression from the path to hike around Jerry Pond, which will add maybe a mile to the hike if I can go all the way around. But, from the map, it looks swampy on the north side of the pond so I might have to backtrack the way I came, which would add another 0.75-miles to the trip. Of course, I'll do whatever I can to avoid having to backtrack, even if it means making my own trail for a short distance. The chances are good that I'll have to make some detours because some of the paths were flooded last time, and it's rained all day today. I don't mind getting wet but I don't enjoy walking long distances in the mud. If you look at the map from my last hike, what I plan to do is to begin on the same path as far as Jerry Pond. Then, I will hike around the pond to join another trail that parallels the one I took last time, but further to the north. Rather than moving east to connect with the town streets, however, I will be continuing west almost to Millinocket Stream. They’re not labeled but you can probably see the Middle/High School just to the east of the stream. That is where I will be coming out, if all goes well.
I just got back from a long hike, on snowmobile trails, old roads, railroad tracks, and animal trails. I have climbed hills, waded through a marsh, and really enjoyed myself. I am in the back yard with Ella right now, giving her some outdoor time, but I will map it out later and report back.