Training Log: Fanatic

Hike with Colette on Chipman Hill, just east of Middlebury. Some of the trails are part of TAM--Trail Around Middlebury.

A nice wooded area with maintained trails and modest climbs. We saw one runner and a fawn.

Alas, the views were rather meh due to the haze.

Hike with Colette from Putnam Pond Campground in Ticonderoga, N.Y. We did a clockwise loop aroung Putnam Pond, Clear Pond and Rock Pond. Clear Pond and Rock Pond require a lot of hiking to get to, while Putnam Pond has a boatramp and short trails to get close. Both Clear Pond and Rock Pond were beautiful, albeit with some rocky trails to traverse, along with the occasional wet area.

The bugs were a bit of a problem, from blackflies, to gnats, to FDFs, but manageable.

Definitely a nice hike overall. On the way back, we saw three Bald Eagles.

Walk with Colette in Middlebury, Vermont, partly on the college campus and some on streets in town. We were sort of looking for a place to eat, but nothing appealed, so we went to Hannford's and grabbed some sushi and other goodies.

Hike on the bike trails to the south of Reservoir Road. Shorter than normal as I'm still in recovery mode.

Saw one guy hiking with his dog; the guy was aobut 6; 4" tall and his dog about 10" tall. The dog was huffing and puffing loudly, the poor thing.

Woke up with some slight soreness in my right hamstring, so I thought that an easy walk on the condo grounds after breakfast would be wise as my first exercise of the day. Turned out that the hamstring was fine with the walk.

Hike in Kennedy Park. Rather nice in the woods today, much cooler that I was expecting.

Hamstring was OK with this pace and effort, although it didn't like the really steep downhills. No further damage done, but noted.

After-dinner walk with Colette out to the black cows and back.

Hike on the Taconic Crest Trail, starting close to Route 43 in Hancock, actually at the parking area (all of two to three cars) on Madden Road. The weather forecast was just perfect for trying this 16-mile section that has neither road crossings nor water, so I was on the trail just before 7 a.m., when the temperature was 48°F.

It stayed cool and mostly sunny for the duration of the hike, and the bugs didn't show up until the last mile.

Perhaps it's me, or maybe these are difficult trails, but I certainly found myself going very slowly up the long, steep hills. My goal of doing the entire Taconic Crest Trail in one outing this year may need some adjustment--either expect to go slower, possibly taking some rest breaks, or shorten the hike by starting in Pittsfield State Forest. That is the usual starting point for the run/hike that the Taconic Crest Hiking Club puts on each year; the distance for that is 30 miles, about five miles fewer than from Route 20 to Route 246.

Colette hiked in from the northern end and met me on Berlin Mountain, so that was a pleasant diversion as we ended on Route 2 and drove back to the parking lot in Hancock.