Hiking: Ready to do my third 10-miler

Seven days ago I reported that I'd begun to suffer from plantar fasciitis. I took the problem seriously, seeking advice from a nurse practitioner, and I began icing my foot regularly and doing more stretching before and after activity. Despite last weekend's near perfect weather, I took two days off to treat my foot. Then, I began hiking again, limiting myself to about three or four miles each day in nearby Cat Rock Park. The foot's feeling a lot better, though I'm not at 100 percent. Still, I feel I'm ready to set out tomorrow on my third 10-mile hike.

For the most part, I will follow the trip plan outlined in a November 21 post titled "Hiking: Third 10-mile trip plan - Middlesex Fells, Skyline Trail with sections of Cross Fells and Rock Circuit". I will, however, make a few changes. The original plan includes a .08-mile spur to Bear Hill Tower. I will cut this part out and limit my hike to a fairly exact 10 miles. I will start out at the same parking lot mentioned in the original post, but I may head south from the Skyline Trail head instead of north so I can do the more challenging parts of the trail early on in the hike rather than saving them for the end.

I'm really looking forward to accomplishing this third 10-miler. Tomorrow's weather will be cold with "feels-like" temperatures in the high 30s, but fairly sunny (mostly cloudy until around noon and partly cloudy in the afternoon). I will set out on the trail at 9:30 a.m., which gives me about 6.5 hours to accomplish my 10-mile goal. If for some reason I'm running later than expected, I have planned out alternate routes where I can exit the reservation and continue hiking on lit streets, but I don't expect time to be an issue.

I plan on doing one more of these long hikes  here in Massachusetts before we move to Albuquerque at the end of the year. Then, I'll just have one more 10-miler and a 20-miler to do in order to satisfy the active portions of the BSA hiking merit badge requirements. I am fulfilling the other parts of the requirements - which is where a scout would normally discuss aspects of the requirements with a scoutmaster - in a thread, called Hiking 101. This thread will cover hiking safety, first aid, Leave No Trace hiking and hiking etiquette.