Let your legs be your doctor; Hike your way to health!

Here is the copy of the inspirational talk I presented recently to public speaking students at Brown Mackie College and to members of the Lobo Toastmasters club at the University of New Mexico. If you are interested in booking me as a motivational speaker at an event, please contact me, Brian Schwarz, at lifecurvescoaching@yahoo.com. Also, follow Life Coach Brian on Twitter @MyFitLife2Day, and check out my other blog, which charts my journey of overcoming super obesity, at MyFitLife2Day.

“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” This quote by British Historian G.M. Trevelyan sums up the primary reason I took up hiking. I used to weigh 420 pounds. Considered pre-diabetic, I was unable to get health insurance because I was considered too high a risk. Scared that my sedentary lifestyle was killing me, I made a plan to improve my diet and increase my level of physical activity. First, I started walking. It was work to move that super obese body; and honestly, I found it boring, tedious. But as I dropped weight and my health improved, I discovered and fell in love with hiking. Today, I’m going to talk to you about the three primary health benefits of hiking – these being aerobic, anaerobic and psycho-spiritual. And I’m also going share a bit of my own story of how my love for this amazing physical activity quite literally saved my life. I hope, too, to inspire you to try hiking for yourself.

On a granite slab, part of a ring dike in Pawtuckaway, NH

Hiking is an extraordinary aerobic activity. Aerobic activity, also called endurance or cardio activity, is an essential component of human physical fitness. Knowing this, I still resisted doing any cardio whatsoever because I found it to be so incredibly boring. I never understood those people who could drone away for an hour on a treadmill or elliptical machine. But after reading the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the US Department of Health and Human Services, I realized I could no longer ignore the strong evidence that aerobic activity, such as hiking, benefits us in a number of significant ways. It aids weight loss and prevents weight gain. It lowers risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, reduces the instance of high blood pressure, positively effects cholesterol levels, and lowers risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer and breast cancer. In short, engaging in regular aerobic activity lowers your risk of early death.

This evidence is hard to ignore. So I tried harder to find an aerobic activity that wouldn’t bore me to tears. Living in Miami, I struggled to find a cardio activity that engaged me. But after moving to Boston last year, I found several trail heads within minutes from my doorstep, and I was struck.

A doctor told me that by taking on hiking as my primary form of aerobic activity, I was able to reverse a potential diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, a condition the National Library of Medicine describes as a group of risk factors that occur together and increase the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. I really dodged a bullet.

Bouldering, Sandia Foothills, ABQ, NM

But hiking, I would find, is much more than an aerobic activity. It is also anaerobic, which basically means it brings muscles to the point of exhaustion and builds them up stronger. In fact, it makes the whole body stronger, also improving bone density.

According to Livestrong.com, hiking is an excellent workout for the muscles of your lower body and core. The primary muscles worked include the quadriceps and hamstrings, the coordinating muscles of your upper leg; your calves, which push blood from your lower extremities back up to your heart; your glutes and hips; and your abs. If you carry a pack, your shoulders will build muscle over time as well, as you further strengthen your core.

An added benefit of building a strong core for me has been reduced pressure on my spine. As a result I gained an inch back on to my frame, an inch I’d lost because of my obesity. I’m stronger than ever before, and I feel like I got back 15 years of my life – I feel 25, not 40!

Beyond these amazing benefits to cardiovascular and muscular health, the US Department of Health and Human Services also recognizes that increased physical activity, such as hiking, reduces depression and leads to better cognitive function. Hiking may even improve the quality of your sleep.

It may be as simple as the chemical reaction of endorphins being released into your blood stream during physical exercise that causes a sense of wellbeing while hiking. But it is also something outside the body, too, that sparks an inner peace while out on the trail. Finding yourself in nature heals the soul. Vistas clear the mind and provide much-needed perspective when the stress of day-to-day living sets in. And each component of nature – the smells, the sights and the sounds – calm and soothe rattled nerves.

Looking into Earth's eye; Thoreau's Walden Pond

For transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau it was his beloved lake Walden. He wrote: “A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” For me, it is the summit of any hill or mountain. I tend to tell people, perhaps less eloquently than Thoreau, that I hike for the payoff. It is the views, and the feelings that come from pushing my body to new limits in the cathedral of nature, that bring about small bursts of lasting moments of rapture.

Imagine, feelings of rapture, and all you have to do is strap on a sturdy pair of shoes, grab a bottle of water and some trail mix, and make tracks to the nearest trail head. Regardless of your current fitness level, you can find a trail nearby where you can immediately start receiving the benefits of hiking. So I challenge you. Sometime in the next week, get out there and try for yourself and see if what I’m telling you is true. I promise that soon you, too, will notice the aerobic, anaerobic and psycho-spiritual benefits of hiking as you hike your way to health!

Hiking: back into the wilderness today

No, blog, I have not forgotten about you. The move to Albuquerque and getting settled here has not given me as much time as I would like to focus on accomplishing the goals outlined here, but I assure you I am still focused on my mission of living as a man of merit. I'm hitting the trails in the Sandia Mountain wilderness today and am preparing for my final two 10-mile hikes. Then I have one 20-mile hike to do before I can check off the hiking merit badge from my to-do list. Then I will shift gears just in time for summer and focus on the swimming merit badge (I think). More on this to come.

Hiking: Fourth 10-mile trip plan REVISED

Sunrise on the Embudito Trail

It's time to plan for my fourth 10-miler - again. Last weekend, I planned to hike 5.25 miles along the Embudito Trail, into Sandia Wilderness, to reach the South Peak close to where it runs into the Crest Trail. Due to lingering ice about halfway up, I was turned back and hiked only five miles or so.

I was bummed, and I've been wracking my brain all week to come up with an interesting hike - one with pay off - that I could do before the mountains' final thaw. Also, I'm being mindful of spending money and wasting gas, which is why I haven't opted for some of the nice peaks south of Albuquerque or closer to Arizona. I just can't afford it.

So with that in mind, I've come up with a modified trip plan, one that incorporates what I did this past weekend with a 100 percent reliance on public transportation. Since I have a bus pass from work, this trip won't cost me a dime!

The only problem is that the merit badge guidelines call for a hike over 10 contiguous miles. For this trip plan, though, I'm making an exception. How can an hour-long bus ride after the first two miles of hiking be considered any different than sitting under a shade tree enjoying lunch on a "contiguous" hike? It couldn't...and if it could, oh well. I'm doing this for me, remember!

So here's the plan. I will set out from my front door at around 8 a.m. and walk two miles on slightly hilly street terrain along Girard Street to its intersection at Lomas Boulavard. There I will wait for the 8:21 a.m. Route 5 bus (ABQ Ride) to arrive at the Montgomery/Tramway Park and Ride by 9:08. (I'll read up on wilderness survival and Leave No Trace principles along the way).

From there, I may grab a coffee at the Starbucks there and begin the mile walk up hill through the Glenwood Hills neighborhood to the Embudito Trail Head. So before even stepping onto the trail I will have hiked a good three miles.

I'll do the same hike as this past weekend, which I wrote about here, and from the trail head home I'll just retrace the steps outlined above. I'll catch the 2:03 p.m. to arrive at Lomas and Girard by 2:53 p.m. and walk the last two miles home. This makes the hike a total of 11 miles, and I'll be home by 3:30 or 4 p.m. at the latest, just in time to cook a nice dinner and relax with my boys.

NOTE: Considering that I walk my dogs a minimum of one mile each morning and each evening, I will be walking a total 13 miles on Saturday. So I will definitely plan on chilling on Sunday!

Hiking: Ice turns me back at the halfway point

Making my way through Embudito Canyon

Well, Saturday's hike on the Embudito Trail in the southern Sandias didn't turn out to be my fourth 10-miler after all. I suspected I might encounter some leftover snow and ice at the higher altitudes, but I was hoping it wouldn't turn me back from reaching the crest. In any case, I made it all the way through the gorgeous canyon to approximately the halfway point at the beginning of the first onset of thick Douglas Fir forest that is apparently what makes this hike spectacular.

At the two-mile point there was a clearing with an amazing view toward the east of pure Sandia wilderness. I felt like John Denver, and as I started to sing Rocky Mountain High at full volume, I realized I wasn't alone. Just then, a man in his sixties, and with him a man in his mid- to late-20s who appeared to be his grandson, crested the hill from the other direction.

The two were kind, and both wore bearded smiles. The older one came up the hill first. He was trucking along at a good clip, decked out in hard core surplus gear, a pair of ice spikes dangling on a piece of rawhide from his neck. The younger one was shirtless, well defined, and smoking a pipe. They seemed amused when I stopped singing abruptly and quickly engaged me in conversation about the beautiful weather.

Embudito got icy around 2.5 miles along

I commented on the ice spikes and asked if I'd be able to make it to the crest without them. They warned me of the slick conditions I'd hit once I made it down into thick pine forest about a half mile on. They said I still had a half mile or so to go before it became impassable without special gear. And they encouraged me to check it out, so I continued on, counting my steps to estimate the distance (and the old man was pretty spot on).

After being turned back by the ice as predicted, I arrived again at the clearing and found the two mountain men lunching on a big boulder nearby. They waved me over, and as I ate my PBJs the old man shared mountain lore while his grandson puffed on his pipe and smiled.

I left them there after a few moments, and as I was making my way back down the along the northern wall of the canyon, I got a bit ahead of myself and winded up slipping on a steep and gravely slope. I reached out on either side as my feet slipped from under me, grabbing a prickly cactus on one side and a sharp granite boulder on the other. Besides getting the wind knocked out of me and a quarter-inch long slice along my left thumb (which bled a surprising amount), I came out fairly unscathed.

Looking back, Embudito Canyon, returning to the trail head

At the end of the hike I had tons of energy and wanted to go another five miles, but I was bummed that I wasn't going to reach the crest as planned. So instead of meandering along the foothills, I went home and chilled with my pups, Remington and Diego.

I'm looking into a different plan for my next 10-miler since the one I posted on Friday night will likely have to wait a few weeks until the spring has had more time to work it's magic on the upper reaches of the mountain. But I WILL get a 10-mile hike in soon, preferably this coming weekend.

On a side note, I have wanted to buy ice spikes ever since I arrived here in January, but they cost about $60, and this move has kicked my budget's butt! I just got my 2011 dividend from REI, so I'm planning to check them out this weekend for a possible late season sale on winter equipment. That way I'll be prepared for next year!

Hiking: Fourth 10-miler will be my biggest hike yet! (SEE POSTSCRIPT)

Finally, the time has come for me to set out on my fourth of five ten-milers as I make my way toward completing the requirements for the Boy Scouts merit badge for hiking. For anyone who's catching this blog for the first time, I'm not a Boy Scout now, though I once was. I'm doing this as a sort of mid-life project. I've gotten a second lease on life, having lost more than 150 pounds in the past few years, and I'm celebrating by getting out there and living like I've never lived before!

So that brings me to where I am now. I'm sitting in the Starbucks in the Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque on the eve before my first attempt at making it from the Sandia Foothills up to the Crest Trail. Tomorrow morning, sometime around 8:30 I'm thinking, I'll head to the trail head at the end of Montgomery Boulevard off of Glenwood Hills Drive.

The trail I'm looking for is Embudito. This trail goes up through a canyon from the desert area below through a lush pine forest. It's about 5.25 miles from the trail head to the peak, and I'll take the same trail back down, which means I'll be hiking a total of 10.5 miles round trip.

The trail up is relentless from what I've read in all of the trail guides. It may take about five hours to make it to the top and then about two or three to make it back down, so I'm packing plenty of trail rations and extra water - about three liters in all.

At the four mile point, Oso Pass, I may decide to turn back if there's still snow and ice at the top. But I'm hoping I'll be able to make it the entire way so I can check this fourth hike off my list and plan for my final ten miler. Then I'll be able to start seriously thinking about my 20 mile capstone hike. What an accomplishment that will be!

I wish I had someone to hike with tomorrow, but I've asked around and no one seems to be up for such an intense excursion. I'll be careful, though, and I'll tell my aunt where I'm heading and make plans to check in with her when I'm back down the mountain. If she doesn't hear from me by 5 p.m. she'll know I'm in trouble and be able to contact the necessary folks to come looking for me.

Yikes, that makes me nervous just mentioning that part. But it's part of being prepared, so there you have it. I'm taking extra socks, some warm clothing to account for climate changes as I make it up the more than 3,000 foot elevation change from the foothills to the crest. (Double yikes!)

POSTSCRIPT - See what happened on this hike in my next blog post. Spoiler alert: I was turned back by ice halfway up the mountain!

Hiking: Update on what's been going on

I've been going through some personal hardship these past few weeks, and unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with this blog - nor have I been doing much hiking. This weekend, however, I hope to change all that. I'm back to work full time after nearly two months off (counting the move from Boston to Albuquerque and the initial job search and waiting game) and another five months of working only part time before that. So I'm starting to regain some of the sense of confidence I had before quitting the job I had in Miami last July. It's time to hit the trail!

I need to get back on track with these hiking merit badge requirements. I still need to plan and execute two 10-mile hikes as well as a 20 miler. The weather is still fairly cold here in Albuquerque, so routes for some of the longer loops are still snow covered and difficult to navigate without special equipment. Still, I'm thinking one hike that could be done sooner rather than later might include a 10-mile stretch of the Sandia Foothills.

This weekend, though, I have some work around the house that needs tending to, so I'll only get one day out on the trail, which will likely be a hike up to Rincon Ridge via the Piedra Lisa Trail or, if my friend Kristen is able to join me, the Three Gun Spring Trail heading up toward (but not all the way to) the southern peak.

I'll post more on this later, but I wanted to get this post in now so I don't leave this blog unattended for too long of a stretch. I'm still just as committed as ever to this project!

Hiking: Setting new goals

I've been hiking up a storm here in Albuquerque and have finally adjusted to the altitude. After about four hikes, each with a 1,200-foot elevation gain, today I tried a hike with a gain of 1,800 feet, and I felt like I could have kept going once I'd reached the summit. Long story short: I'm ready to get back to work on completing the final requirements of the BSA Hiking Merit Badge. This means I'll be planning three final hikes - two 10-mile hikes and one 20 miler.

I'm not sure yet what I'll do for the 20-mile hike, but I have a few 10-mile hike options picked out for when the snow along South Sandia Crest has had a chance to thaw. Here they are:

1. Three Gun Spring Trail north from the trail head in Carnuel, to Embudito Trail heading east to Sandia Crest Trail Junction, then back, 11 miles.
2. Trail 135 (from the trail head near Tijeras) and the CCC Trail to the summit, then back to the trail head along the South Crest Trail, 10 miles.
3. Pino Trail east to the summit, then South Crest Trail to the upper tram terminal, taking the tram to the lower terminal and continue the hike via Foothills Trails back to the Elena Gallegos parking area, 10 miles.

Since I'll probably want to get a start on finishing this up before the spring thaw, I will most likely hike a 10-mile network of Foothills Trails, starting and finishing at the Copper Trail Head, sometime within the next two weeks.

For the 20 mile hike I'm thinking I may do the entire Crest Trail, from Placitas to Tijeras, which would actually be more like 26 miles. I think this would be an amazing capstone to this project. What do you think?