Adventures in Hiking

The weight loss journey is going well. I've consistently lost a little each week since I started. I'm down about 12 pounds in 6 weeks. Slow and steady wins the race! Right now I'm mostly doing the Points Plus program through Weight Watchers, but I'm beginning to add in some exercise. I walked a couple of days last week, as well as an intense hike. If you want to follow the Weekly Weigh Ins on Mondays, the link is here: http://lovinglosingliving.blogspot.com/p/weight-loss.html

So, about that hike.... If you know my husband well, you know he is an outdoors man. He enjoys camping, biking, and hiking. He's been hiking the Appalachian Trail once a month with a group of friends from church. They're over halfway through the Georgia portion. He really wants us to hike as a family, so we thought it would be a great idea to go Saturday. The four of us hiked Blood Mountain, the highest point of the AT in GA. It was a beautiful day! The hike was really nice, but it totally kicked my hiney! I had to stop a couple of times because it was so steep. I was definitely out of my comfort zone! The girls did awesome!! They had their little backpacks on and never once asked to go back. They were both very excited to make it to the top.

Although the hike went really well, the day was not without "adventure". My wonderful husband grossly underestimated how long the hike would take us - especially with such little legs trying to keep up! We got a late start anyway because the girls and I had cheer practice that morning. Derek *may* have thought the hike was just over a mile up. Um, the hike was more like 2.5 miles up. Big difference when you're walking straight up mountain rocks! So, what I thought was going to be a leisurely 2 hour hike turned into an intense 4 1/2 hour hike! What we didn't bank on was losing sunlight before we made it to the end. The last 30 minutes or so was rough as we completely lost sight. But, when we got to water's edge, I think we both got a little worried. We lost the trail and had come to water - with no flashlight. No fear - God was totally looking out for us! In the nearby woods we could see a campfire going. Derek went over and got help. We were led by flashlight to the parking area. We were saved! I don't doubt that we would have made it there eventually; I'm just not sure how long it would have taken us to find our way. I'm very grateful there were campers so close, especially since they were the only people we had seen in a long time.

Once we got to the van, took off our boots, got a snack, and tucked the girls in their seats - another adventure started. The trail is about an hour and twenty minute drive from our house - forty of which are winding down and around a mountain. I truly enjoy my husband's adventurous spirit and scenic routes he likes to take, but my body apparently does not. Add my exhaustion with some motion sickness and you have the perfect makings of a panic attack. I did not anticipate that happening. I haven't had anything like that in 12+ years. But, it is the only explanation I have for what happened on the ride home. I was struggling to breath. I lost feeling in my face and lips. My hands drew up and went numb. And, my stomach tightened up. We pulled over about 4 times for me to catch my breath and not get sick. It was a very frightening experience to say the least.

Despite the mishaps, I say it was a great day! I look forward to the next time. Until then, enjoy some pics: