Hike #3 - Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

Saturday was our first real hike, so we were pretty excited to see how we would do. To give you an idea of what we were up against, nothing was paved. There was elevation, bugs and Erin even had a tick on her. Thankfully I found it in time!!There were some ups and downs along the trail with a good amount of rain erosion in some spots. We were handed the map prior to setting off on the hike and as we looked at the marked route, it was hard not to notice that length of our hike was just a drop in the bucket when compared to the length of some of the other trails in the park.

The weather was nice...cool, but the sun and moving around kept you warm(if not sweating!). The group did well. We all got a chance to try out some hiking poles to see how they feel. Both Erin and I thought that the poles would be beneficial when things get steep, but it's hard to really know with these smaller ones. She and I both got to put some new equipment to use; new hiking boots and hydration bladders. The boots felt great and we both only drank half of our 2 Liter bladders, which is something we need to improve on. Erin received some nice compliments on her new Camelbak from some of the other women in the group. I think that she was extra happy with her purchase after that.

So, I took like a million pictures during the hike. Actually, just 171. You can see Erin's frustration in one of them! Taking the pictures was fun. Uploading them and deleting the bad ones however, is not. Well, not so fun for Erin because she was kind enough to take on the task. I was told that if I wanted to be so camera happy, uploading them would be mine too. So here are the pics that made the cut.



On the fundraising front, we are making progress. Thank you very much for the continued support. Erin is just over $1400 and I am up to $275. We need roughly 200 people donating $28 each to reach our goal. It's not so difficult when you think about it that way. Erin and I made up some business cards with the blog address on it and hope that by getting those out there, more people can find out about what we are doing and especially, what Team In Training is all about.

The next hike is.....I don't know yet. Let us get back to you on that one.

Hike #2

Saturday was Valentine's Day and hike # 2. Brent and I were up and out by 6:45 am to meet up with our hiking group. This was my first hike, with the group, so I was pretty excited and wasn't sure what to expect. We met the group in the Saddleback Church parking lot. At about 8 am, we started the hike. It had rained most of week, again, so all the hiking trails were closed. So this was going to be another "fitness" walk. You could just feel the positive energy from the group and throughout the walk we all shared stories about why we are doing TNT. The walk ended up being about 6 and a half miles!

Here are some photos of the hike, I added some captions.....


In terms of our fundraising goals:
Brent is at : $50 (only $3550 to go)
I am at: $1360 (only $2240 to go)

We are so thankful for all the support. Please feel free to pass this blog along to anyone who wants to support us in our Hike as well as anyone wanting to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Hike #1 - Quail Hill and Equestrian Trail

Hike #1 - Quail Hill and Equestrian Trail

Our first hike was pretty close to home...Irvine. Erin and I ventured out at 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon to Quail Hill Loop, the back-up hike to one the group was going to do in Laguna, but canceled due to rain. We didn't have too much time before sunset, so we decided to move(walk) as fast as we could. The loop wasn't bad, 1.8 miles, one slight hill and a clear, flat path. A trail continues across the street, adjacent to a development and on up through the higher hills. Erin and I walked it for a mile, hit the top and back to the car. Now, that hill can get your heart rate up if you keep a quick pace. The two pics with the houses are from the top.

We were able to do it an hour and a half with just a little daylight left to spare. Our next hike is supposed to be somewhere near Lake Forest(Whiting Ranch) but with the rain today, it seems we are going to do the back-up hike on the paved bike trail. Let's hope it isn't raining tomorrow morning.....