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.

Hiking: My advanced weapon to overcome obesity

Hiking is the most amazing fat-burning I've found. At my current weight of 264, I burn more than 1,000 calories during an 80-minute cross-country hike (and I hike three times that amount at least twice a week). That's insane. Yes, I realize those who do cardio machines at the gym may already be aware of how intense this calorie-burning thing works, but I could just never get into machines. Hiking hills close to home is the only way I'm going to be able to overcome obesity once and for all. Thirty-seven pounds to go!

If you're interested in calculated the number of calories you can burn by hiking, according to your current weight, check out the hiking fitness calculator at Self Magazine.