Back from Mt. Mitchell Continued

More on the West Virginia State Hiking Program, which I discussed in my last post. I have found a state forest, Coopers Rock State Forest, near Morgantown, which is the same distance plus or minus a few miles as Tomlinson Run. They also have a small campground. This is the next place I plan to check out for a hike in order to log some miles for the hiking program. This state forest is on the Cheat River. The Cheat River eventually flows into the Monongahela River, which is the major river where I live. The Monongahela gets a lot of its water from the Cheat River. It gets quite a bit more water from the Youghiogheny. A good percentage of my walking and hiking is done on the Youghiogheny Trail. The Yough flows into the Mon at McKeesport, a city near where I live. This is what gives the Mon River its large volume to join with the Allegheny at Pittsburgh and form the Ohio. Of course the Ohio flows into the Mississippi. So this traces where some of the water originally comes from to make the Mississippi such a mighty river.

But back to everything that has happened since I returned. Friday night, I attended the Dean's List Reception for CCAC. It was a huge event and took place in a large ballroom at the convention center. Apparently some 50 students from the program I used to work for made the Dean's List. A small percentage of them attended, given that it's summer, people are away or working, etc. I had never been to a Dean's List reception before, and I had a wonderful time. I sat with Jamar and Ron and his partner, two of the students from programs I'd worked for at CCAC. I saw some of the other students from the programs, including Felicia. I set up an appointment to see Felicia for my math tutoring. When they called my name to receive my award, I got to shake hands with the new college president, Alex Johnson. He had formerly been the president of the New Orleans community college system and had seen them through Hurricane Katrina. I received a CCAC Dean's List pin and a pen and pencil holder.

After the program, there was a delicious snack, although not everyone agreed. They had prepared tables of all kinds of veggies, dips, and salsa. I really pigged out. I had a lot of raw veggies, then I had several servings of chips with tomato basil and Mexican salsa fresca. I heard many comments from people who don't eat vegetables, only eat meat, and went straight to the dessert table. Well, I guess my work is cut out for me as a future exercise physiologist and health psychologist! I'm going into fields that are greatly needed in this country!

I decided to wander around the convention center and check it out. It was very impressive. I ended up out on the balcony and watched the sunset over the Allegheny River, PNC Park (during a ballgame), and the trails across the river. I also saw some boats and trains, including one of the Gateway Clipper boats. It was a very beautiful, peaceful scene. After that, I checked out the bottom level of the convention center. There is a long, winding sidewalk down to the river underneath the convention center with pools of water on each side. You then come down to a platform right on the Allegheny River. There was a very strange and wild party going on. The party consisted entirely of men wearing various red dresses and their children. The children were also dressed entirely in red. I never figured out what group this was!

Well, anyway, I have much more to tell since I've been back, so I will have to continue for several more posts!

Back from Mt. Mitchell Continued

I still have a lot to write about to catch up since I've been back from Mt. Mitchell, NC, and the climb to the summit of Mt. Craig, just next to it.

When we got back, I had received my materials from the West Virginia State Hiking Program. I found a pamphlet and application for it at the camp store after my first 4.5 mile hike at Tomlinson Run State Park. I sent in to join it and received a wonderful letter, a portfolio full of maps for any trail in West Virginia that can be used in the program, and a log. I put the 4.5 mile hike on my log. I have also been at Tomlinson Run the past two days, and I logged an additional .5 miles yesterday with Kimberly and Angel. I have it on my log and now have 5 miles. You get the first award after 25 miles. My next few miles will probably also be at Tomlinson Run, since I like their trails and still have a few of them I want to hike soon. We also may go camping there, so I could walk some of the trails from the campground. This is the closest state park or trail to me in West Virginia that I know of. There may be something closer, but this park is only about 60 miles away. I'll have to find out if I can get to something closer using Route 70, but the ones on 79 are farther away than Tomlinson Run.

The day after I returned from Mt. Mitchell, I went to the Dean's List Reception for CCAC students at the convention center. More on that in my next post.

Back from Mt. Mitchell

So much has happened that I will have to space it out among several posts. I have been back from Mt. Mitchell since the middle of the night between Thursday and Friday. We drove down last Wednesday night. Kimberly had done research to find the perfect time for the weather, and in order to arrive at that time and get the best view, we had to leave late Wednesday night.

The trip was very taxing on us and on Angel, and it was a huge project to get to the summit. I thought it was a chore to get to Mt. Davis, PA, but it was child's play compared to Mt. Mitchell. Mt. Davis itself is a whole different ballgame from Mt. Mitchell. The two mountains we visited, Mt. Mitchell and Mt. Craig, are over twice the height of Mt. Davis. We arrived in North Carolina in mid-morning and got a view of where we were going from the North Carolina Welcome Center. It was a real chore, however, to get around the various roads to take us up to Mt. Mitchell. Once we arrived in Burnsville, we had to find Route 80 and then get to the Blueridge Parkway. It is only open up to the entrance to Mt. Mitchell. It is a beautiful climb. Once you get to the road up to Mt. Mitchell after climbing, climbing, and climbing, there's a steep ride up there. We drove all the way to the top and parked up near the summit. Right now you can't get all the way up to the summit at 6,684 feet, because they are renovating the observation deck. But the view was breathtaking from the parking lot! We were on a section of Mt. Mitchell which is 6,578 feet, and the view was spectacular from that point.

We took a two-mile hike to the summit of Mt. Craig, at 6,663 feet. It was a very difficult hike up and down and over rocks. We actually had to climb some rocks! We are physically fit, but we had to pant for oxygen. It seems very normal to pant up there. You feel that you can do it, but you have to pant for oxygen. It is unlike panting because you are out of shape. You do not get respiratory alkalosis from hyperventilating as you do at the altitude you're used to.

It was totally worth doing this hike, because it was beautiful, the views were beautiful, and the summit of Mt. Craig is just totally awesome. Kimberly definitely picked the right time to arrive, because it became hazier as the day wore on. Angel proved herself to be a wonderful mountain dog. The people up there are extremely nice. I think the reason is that they have traveled so far to get to the highest point east of the Mississippi and this is a dream they have realized. I also learned a lesson in motivation. I saw people doing the trail to Mt. Craig who would never attempt such a thing even up at Ligonier, where I usually go to hike. I saw very elderly people, disabled people, small children, and parents with infants riding on their back doing this extremely difficult hike at 6,600 feet and succeeding. It showed that if people are motivated, they can do things you'd never imagine they were able to do. Many people made a fuss over Angel and petted her. There were only two other dogs up there while we were there.

I hated to leave, it was so beautiful. We drove all day and then decided in Tennessee to take a detour to see the Bristol Motor Speedway. It is huge, and it was very interesting to see a NASCAR track where the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series are held.

The sun was setting as we made it to the Virginia Welcome Center. We hung out there for awhile and let Angel get out and walk. We weren't in Virginia long, and most of the night was spent with us sharing the driving through West Virginia. We were really tired when we got home.

It was very much worth it to go through a lot to see this beautiful place. I am very grateful to God for making it possible for us to see this manifestation of his/her creation and for protecting us along the way. I am forever changed from seeing this beautiful place.

A lot has happened since I returned, so I'll have to make several other posts in the next few days.

Going to North Carolina

Kimberly and I spent the weekend by the Youghiogheny River. Friday night we went for a long walk from Van Meter down past the railroad trestle. We took Angel and she had a wonderful time. On Saturday evening, when it was very hot, we went swimming at Smithton Beach. It was great! The Yough is shallow the entire way across, so you're never in over your head. The only problem is that you have to wear something on your feet, because it is too rocky. One thing people like to do at that beach is get a raft of some sort and just let the current take them for a ride. I want to get something specifically to put on my feet and get a raft.

Tomorrow night, we are leaving for Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina to see the highest point east of the Mississippi. We will drive there with Angel, spend a few hours, then come back. It is between 6600 and 6700 feet. I have determined that the highest up I've been is 8,640 feet on I-80 in Wyoming. I also walked around Mexico City at 7,400 feet. I didn't feel very good, so I imagine I will be a bit woozy at 6700 feet. I was a little queasy at 3,213 the first time I visited Mt. Davis, PA. I am used to hiking at a section of the Laurel Mountains whose highest point is 2,930 feet. Well, this will be nothing compared to the Tour de France today. They had to bike up to 9,193 feet on the highest road in Europe. It is no surprise the youngest guy in the Tour got up first, but he crashed on the way down! There was no vegetation at the top and apparently that road was closed by snow until the end of June! I'm still very excited about seeing Mt. Mitchell.

The only other news is that my psych class is almost over. I got 76 out of 80 on the last test I took and have one more exam on Saturday. Then I have about a month and a half off before I start my fall classes in phys ed. I am trying to get some math tutoring and will also be working toward getting my ACE certification as a personal trainer and eventually as a lifestyle and weight maintenance consultant. I continue to work on my own diet and exercise program. I am doing lots of heavy yard work in order to get used to the 90 minutes per day of moderate-level physical activity which is required to keep weight off long-term, as I learned in my phys ed classes. The diet companies conveniently don't tell you that fact when they sign you up because they wouldn't make any money. No one would ever diet if they knew the truth. TOPS is more likely to tell you the truth. But the real honest truth--I only got it in my exercise phys courses!

I'm still heavily leaning toward applying to Pitt to get a masters in Health and Physical Activity Chronic Disease Prevention Clinical Practitioner, but I am exploring alternate options if I'm unable to do that.

Back from West Virginia

Lots has been going on lately! Last Saturday, I took Kimberly on a fairly extensive tour of parks and hiking opportunities. It started out that Kimberly was just curious about seeing Uniontown. At first, I thought, "Why would someone want to see Uniontown?" I figured it was just because it was at the end of Route 51. But then, I got to thinking, it's surrounded by 3000 foot mountains. So then it seemed like a good idea. I was just going to take Kimberly to Uniontown and drive to the summit, which we did. On the way, we checked out Lick Hollow, which is part of the way up the summit. I want to go on a hike to the summit at that location because it goes up to 3,040 feet. Lick Hollow was really nice, so then we drove clear to the summit and looked out from the observation area. Then, Kimberly decided she'd like to see where Laurel Caverns are. So we went up Skyline Drive and drove to Laurel Caverns. The view was really pretty from there also. At that point, we were going home. I had picked up the latest pamphlet on the Quebec Run Wild Area at the Lick Hollow park office. So Kimberly decided she would be into checking out Quebec Run. Well, we drove down to the Skyline Drive parking lot for it. Then we started home, when Kimberly asked what else was in the area. I said Ohiopyle wasn't too far. It's a beautiful area with a big waterfall on the Youghiogheny River. So she said she'd go there with me. Well, we drove there and then she said that Mt. Davis really wasn't that far away! If we went to Confluence, she'd see where Lake Youghiogheny is, and then we could drive to Mt. Davis. Well, we went to Confluence. We didn't see Lake Youghiogheny, but we saw where the Youghiogheny River Trail starts. The end is very familiar to us, where the Yough River flows into the Monongahela at McKeesport. It was neat to see where it starts. We only had to drive about 5 miles up to Fort Hill to turn off to Mt. Davis. At Fort Hill, I found a parking area for the Allegheny Highlands Trail. Well, then we proceeded to Mt. Davis. I was so happy to get there twice in one week! Anyway, Kimberly and Angel saw the beautiful observation deck and its view, the picnic area, and High Point. I finally climbed clear to the top of the tower and am no longer afraid of it. The view is awesome from the top! On the way home from Mt. Davis, I took Kimberly to Laurel Hill State Park. I showed her the Pumphouse Trail I'd hiked on, the lake, the beach, the campground, and the picnic area. On the way back from there, I showed her Seven Springs and a parking area for the Roaring Run Natural Area.

Yesterday, it was really hot, so I decided to check out Tomlinson Run State Park in the northernmost corner of West Virginia. I figured I could find a place to hike there which was all forest, and I did. I was very impressed with the park. I hiked 4 1/2 miles, by the lake and up to the summit. I checked out the picnic area and campground, both of which are gorgeous! I also was able to pick up a whole bunch of pamphlets at the park store about all kinds of parks to visit and hike in in West Virginia.

A lot has gone on regarding my career direction. I have now decided I eventually want to be a health psychologist. So I'm debating in what order to do things. I still think I will probably get a masters in exercise physiology first and try to work awhile in that field. I feel that I need to work toward something I could do when I'm much older and not quite so mobile. I think it is important to have a career I could work at into my 80's and possibly 90's, so I feel this would be a good eventual career direction for me.

Back Below 3000 Feet

Yesterday I spent the day at Mt. Davis. It is the highest point in Pennsylvania and is at 3213 feet. It was a beautiful drive up there. It's really in the boondocks! I was able to climb about 3/4 the way up the observation tower, but I didn't make it to the top. The view was still good from where I was able to climb. I hiked to the picnic area, which is really nice. I hiked a bit of a couple other trails. The mountain laurel was in full bloom, so it was just gorgeous. It was a fairly nice day, cloudy at first, but then sunny. I didn't see any black bears, which apparently happens up there. I then hiked down a dirt road and found the observation deck. It was the greatest! There are benches and a picnic table, and you can look down into the valley at the lake, the farms, and the other mountains in the distance. I walked back and got the car and drove in there. I ate my snack there and hung out awhile. I also got to see the Casselman River yesterday, which is beautiful. It is very rocky and not quite as wide as the Youghiogheny. On the way up to Mt. Davis on the Turnpike, I passed the Bald Knob tower at 2930 feet which is the highest I usually hike. I was a bit queazy hiking up at 3200 feet. Today I feel a little queazy and my inner ears are screwed up from spending the day up at 3200 feet. I figure probably the highest I've been is 7400 when I walked around Mexico City. I am planning very soon to go to Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. It is close to 7000 feet.

Last Thursday, I visited Laurel Hill State Park. I hiked a really neat trail called the Pump House Trail. It went up to a beautiful dam on the Jones Mill Run creek. I also visited the lake and camp ground there. After that, I visited Seven Springs, which is a little higher than Bald Knob. I am very accustomed to hiking the Laurel Summit near Route 30. Those hikes range from 2700 feet to over 2900 at Bald Knob. So 3200 feet for most of the day was an adjustment for me.

Monday I took my third psychology test. I got 100% on both quizzes and the test. I'm signed up for a couple phys ed classes stating in mid-September. One of them, Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology, is really the last course I need to take to apply to go for my masters degree at Pitt. However, I want to do some math tutoring, because there is some math involved in being an exercise physiologist--equations, calculations, etc.

Right now, since it's summer, I'm focusing on losing more weight and getting in a lot of physical activity. Then I will start focusing on getting some certifications in personal training and lifestyle and weight management. I also will explore getting a Dr. Ornish license. You can get a free one, but I'm not sure I'll be eligible before I'm actually an exercise physiologist, so I'll have to find that out. But going off on all the hikes this summer has a lot to do with just getting in a lot of physical activity during the warm weather.