[at-l] Gone hiking...

[ATnavi@aol.com (ATnavi@aol.com)]

...and switching to digest mode because I don't want to miss a thing, but 
can't cope with wading through 500+ individual messages each time I get back 
to civilization!

Monday was my first day out on the trail without a hiking partner. As soon as 
I got out of the car, it started pouring. I thought...oh geez, here we 
go...But thanks to list recommendations about the Precip jacket, mine had 
just shown up in Saturday's mail and I must say it's a beaut. Just as 
lightweight as my useless Columbia but it kept me dry (and not overheated) 
for the 20 minutes or so of downpour that followed. Since I'm trying to keep 
a digital camera, GPS, and mini tape recorder dry, besides myself, it did a 
fabulous job.

I took on a 10.4 mile coastal hike in a new preserve along the Mantanzas 
River, south of St. Augustine, and surprised myself by completing it in 4 
hours, even though I was pushing a measuring wheel and stopping to take 
photos. It was an out and back, and although the first couple miles weren't 
too interesting (following firebreaks and power lines), it was worth it to 
get out on this peninsula into the salt marshes, wonderful salt breezes, 
coastal hammocks with high tree canopy, and two lovely campsites out near the 
end of the trail. 

After returning to my car, my feet said "hey, not bad!" (which is rare), so I 
pressed on, doing two more hikes at two more coastal parks for a total of 
14.7 miles for the day. And my feet still didn't hurt....

Hey, my new job is fun! ;-)
Cheers, Navigator