300!  And I’m not talking about the movie.  Today I finally hit 300 miles hiking since I got back on the trail June 6th.  It probably would have been more; but October had me traveling for the “day” job and November was a vacation on the beach, then Thanksgiving and well, let’s just say I wasn’t doing as good of a job as I should have in keeping up with my workouts!

All that changes now!

The one thing I’ve learned is that if you “fall off the wagon” the easiest way to get back on is to “just do it”.  Seriously…today is a perfect day to start back at it.  You don’t have to do anything huge….take a walk around your neighborhood, change one meal to be healthy.  Pick just one thing.  Start small again and grow again.

Today’s travels took me to the Cedar Ridge Preserve.  This is located in south Dallas and well worth the trip!  The area is covered in cedars and is probably the northern edge of the beginning of the Texas Hill Country.  Evidenced by all the limestone rock and cliffs that cover the area.  While the hike today was only 4 miles, there was a ton of elevation changes.  I think this will be my hike spot for the next couple of weeks while I continue to work on building up strength in my legs!

While I saw signs of wildlife (and by signs I mean “poop” on the trail), I didn’t see much other than birds.  The day is overcast and drizzly.  Probably about 48° F but with windchill it was 44°.  I started out with my Columbia Titanium shell; but a mile into the hike I was overheating.  That came off, got stuffed into the backpack, and off I went.  I would have been better served by leaving that shell at home and using my lighter weight Columbia I’ve started carrying in my pack.  I also should have worn my wool cap instead of my baseball cap.  I forgot how easily my ears get cold in this type of weather.

It’s all about learning what works and what doesn’t work.  Better to find out what works when I’m close to home, vs. being up at 10,000 feet, thousands of miles from home and discovering something doesn’t work.