Sunday, June 12, 2011

Recent Hiking Exploits

We got to enjoy a few days of really hot weather last week (mid-90's). While most of our families are used to much hotter weather, this was the hottest it's been in northern Illinois for 5 years! I've often wished the summers here were hotter, so I tried to enjoy the heat while it lasted.

Thus, last weekend I went for a hike at the nearby Moraine Hills State Park during the hottest part of the day. It felt great to bake in the sun's rays. I had plans to do an epic 6-7 mile hike around the perimeter of the park, which I've never done before. But after a couple of miles I was drenched in sweat, and realized I had no water or sunscreen. My visions of grandeur were crushed. So I turned around and headed back to the car.

I did bring along my trusty Android phone, and using the My Tracks app I recorded my hike. When I got back to the car, it said I'd hiked 3.7 miles in 1 hour, and I had this handy map:


Wendy is not a fan of hot weather like I am, so she declined to accompany me on the hike. In fact, when I got home, I managed to gross her out with how sweaty I was.

A few days later the heat wave ended. The 90-degree highs turned into 50-degree highs with lots of clouds and rain.

But, this morning the clouds parted and the sunny weather returned. It wasn't 90, but it was 65 and felt warmer in the sun. So I headed back to Moraine Hills. I did a longer, but still not-quite-epic hike:


According to My Tracks, it was 4.5 miles in 1 hour 11 minutes, for an average speed of 3.8 mph. The hike took me through sections I hadn't been in for a few years; I'd forgotten how gorgeous it can be.


Finally, when I got home, I ate a quick snack and went back outside to mow the lawn. Just for fun, I brought my phone along to track my mowing:


As you can see, there is some margin of error. I did not, in fact, mow our living room or dining room or the road. Still, according to the app, I walked 1.6 miles while mowing, in 41 minutes.  My average speed was 2.3mph.

That's enough walking for now.