A Walk in the Woods

This post receives this title for a couple of reasons. The first, I just finished reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. The second reason stems from my desire to actually walk in the woods once the weather improves.

I'll start with the book. My insurance company has a health rewards system based on a virtual Appalachian Trail. I wear my pedometer and log my daily steps. The site then adds up my daily mileage and adds it to my total. I have now gone something like 300 miles on the virtual AT. They have pictures that pop up along the virtual hike when you get to a shelter or state line.

Next, I somehow got involved with a book club at work, where we read a book pulled at random and then discuss it. I had no real interest in the club until they decided to read Bill Bryson's book, which is about his experiences on the Appalachian Trail, which led me to read the book because of the virtual AT. Bryson is a writer by trade, and was completely ill prepared for the trail. But the stories he related about Bear attacks, getting lost in the woods and incurable diseases killed any desire that I had to do the real AT. As I was reading the book, I had some grandiose idea that I would someday hike at least the Maine leg of the AT. After reading A Walk in the Woods, all desire to do this is gone (maybe not all, but most of it).

But, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to actually start hiking. I got myself some decent day hikers and a backpack/hydration system, so I figure this is the year to get outside and see God's creation.

Another impetus for the outdoor activity is that I have diabetes. On March 16, 2005, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, more commonly known as adult onset Diabetes. I was very overweight and was a 9 on the blood glucose scale (which is considered the "dangerous" level). Since then I have dropped 45 pounds and am at a 6.5, which is the "Extreme Control" category. I have about 15 pounds to go to reach my goal and figured hiking would be a great way to get outside and get these last few pounds off. My wife and I already walk three times a week. On the off walking days, I do some weightlifting. Hiking seems like a great way to add an enjoyable element to my current workout routine.

Plus, we have a lot of beautiful wilderness here in Maine (actually the state is mostly wilderness). Acadia National Park has the best of both worlds, wilderness and seacoast with Cadillac Mountain right smack in the middle. Even our own little metropolis of Bangor has a city forest with plenty of trails and sights.

Now the tough part is 1.) waiting for spring and warmer temperatures and 2.) breaking away from Halo 2 and Xbox Live…