Jenny and Erin

Erin and I throw ourselves at your mercy - well kind of. We are humbly requesting your opinion to help decide what to do next in regards to our walking dare.

A reminder of what we agreed to:

• Walk 15 of Minnesota’s 19 state trails, totaling 554 miles/892 kilometers;
• Complete the trails by the end of November 2007; and
• Walk every single inch of every trail we have chosen, including all offshoots and additional loops.

Where we are at:

• To date, we have walked 164 miles/264 kilometers;
• Two of the longest trails we have yet to complete are over 100 miles away and require several days of walking. Both times we have tried to complete these trails we have had to leave early due to injuries and poor weather. Our schedules do not allow making these overnight trips again;
• With the limited time to make overnight trips, it is unlikely we will finish the trails unless something dramatic happens; and
• We are 150 miles behind our original schedule (blah!).

Where you come in:
I spoke with my friend who started this dare about our current situation. She thought it would be especially amusing to put the decision of what we do next in the hands of our readers (yeah, I am surrounded by comedians). So Erin and I literally are at your mercy…

• Substitute one of the further away trails for a different, non “state” trail of the same length. This local trail does not require hours of driving or overnight stays;
• Keep pushing forward doing our best, regardless of whether or not finishing by the end of November is truly possible;
• Extend the date of the when we should have the walking dare complete, likely into next summer because we get a lot of snow and ice here starting in November; or
• Quit.

Can we substitute a trail outside of the original dare parameters so we can finish? Should we just keep on pushing through on the original challenge, even though finishing would be unlikely? Keep on working on it next summer? Should we quit? (Neither Erin nor I are keen on, but it is an option…) What do you think?

Jenny and I have completed a quarter of our walking dare, having walked nearly 170 miles of trails since May. Looking back, I realize most of our posts about our hikes have been about the lessons we have learned on the trails, rather than about the trails themselves. So, per the request Liara, one of our readers, here is a bit about the trails and the other side of the experience.

Most of the state trails Jenny and I are walking are part of a program in Minnesota to convert old railroad tracks into recreation trails. Seeing reminders that the trail used to be a railway is one of my absolute favorite parts of the walks. On the Gateway trail an old railroad intersection is still intact, with all of the rusted gears and levers standing amongst tall grasses. As Jenny stood waiting on the trail (she did not want to get bit by wood ticks after all) I waded through the grass to the intersection, grasped the levers and envisioned an old train barreling towards me. It was quite a feeling. We have passed several old train platforms as well. I love to imagine what these areas might have been like in the height of rail transportation, with young teachers waiting anxiously for the train to bring them to their next school or families excitedly waiting for their soldiers to return. It intrigues me how a once bustlingly area can transform into just a memory in the middle of a forest.

The only trail we have walked so far that is not an old railroad is the Gitchi Gami trail. This trail cuts through forests, over cascading waterfalls and past breathtaking views of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Jenny described stepping onto the Gitchi Gami trail akin to being transported into the pages of a magical storybook, stark white birch trees towered above us, butterflies were our constant companions and Jenny even claimed to see a few wood fairies, this was the point I stopped to question her sanity. At the bottom of a steep cliff we found the contorted remains of a deer that must have been run off the cliff by a predator. Although gruesome, it was fascinating to be so close to the natural world of predator and prey and the tragedies it contains.

The plants have been fun too. If you have not figured it out by now, Jenny is not much of a nature buff. I have done my very best to impart some knowledge on her. Although she pretends utter boredom as I point out plants, it appears she may actually pay attention. On one trail Jenny challenged me to guess her favorite wildflower. “What?” I thought, “How can she have a favorite, when she doesn’t know any.” I was wrong. Not only could she find the flower, she was able to identify it by name!
She never ceases to amaze me.

We have eaten well along the trail. Although we carry camelbacks filled with water and food, this has not been our only form of nourishment. The many unexpected treats along the way have included wild raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and apples. We also tried garlic mustard, which tasted fine but left our breath very stinky. However, it would be delightful heated with a little olive oil and some chili peppers next to a nicely cooked steak. We have made big plans to go back and harvest some of the wild asparagus and wild onion whose homes we are keeping secret.

What we have not seen on the trails, the real rare and elusive find, are people. When we first started walking we thought this was because we were too early in the season. As summer came and we still were not seeing people we figured our timing must just be off. However, after walking every day of the week at every imaginable hour, we have simply concluded that people just do not use this resource. On a 20 mile trail day we may pass an occasional biker, but once we are more than 2 miles outside of a town we are usually the lone people on the trail.

We have had some lovely company, and would like to extend an invitation to anyone interested in joining us. If you are feeling up to the challenge, send us an email and we can see what we can arrange. So, as we continue our walks I am sure we will encounter more stories, share more laughs and overcome more barriers. However, regardless of what happens tomorrow, this has all been worth it for today.

To read more about our walks visit Boots are Made for Walkin’

Times have been hard for Jenny and my walking dare. Due to some ongoing problems she was having with blisters our walks have been cut short, not only in distance, but also in repetitive days of walking. We are fighting back and are finally back on track.

Jenny and my last walk was nearly a month ago. It did not end too well. Her continual battle with blisters got worse on the trail and her push through the pain brought misery to both of us. She spent the last 2 miles in tears from pain, and she is not a woman who cries easily. However, there was not much we could do, we were in isolated territory and the only way out was forward, literally one step at a time.

Later that evening, as Jenny and I tried to ignore how serious things had become, we began calculating how far she could walk the next morning. A family member, taking in the conversation and hot red lines that had begun to move up her legs, suggested that it may be time to “we seriously question our sanity…”

Ouch. Although these words were said out of love, they hurt. However, they also freed us from the belief that success meant pushing through no matter what. Jenny and my refusal to give up has carried us through many roadblocks in the past, but this time the rules had changed. Pushing through was not working, instead we were pushing ourselves into a slow, long failure.

We decided the family member was right and slowed down. Jenny went to the hospital the next morning and was prescribed 10 days of antibiotics for blisters that were so raw they had become infected. Looking back, I do question what we were thinking.

After this, Jenny took time off from walking. She skipped our morning trainings and we canceled plans to walk trails. I saw the direction this was going and offered to walk without her so that we still had a chance to finish our dare on time (as did above mentioned family member, thanks!). This has been challenging for me, and I have had to work hard on my patience. I have kept on reminding myself that our friendship is more important than a dare, regardless of how much I want to complete it. This is where I am growing. So, I am sorry Jenny if I have been impatient, I know you were hurt.

Well, I did not walk alone, no one took Jenny’s place and this weekend after nearly a month we walked the trails again. We did not walk our typical 18 mile day, but instead walked 10 miles. We know this shorter mileage put us even further behind, but it was worth it. We walked the miles laughing, talking and for the first time in months with Jenny completely free of pain. The adventure is fun again and we are back on track. Jenny and I may be behind on our miles, but we have learned more lessons which make this dare worthwhile. No one said this would be easy.

So, we are back and are going to start knocking off more trails. And I can almost guarantee, you will hear our laughter in the distance long before you see our feet walking down the trail…

There are many mysteries to life - many we experience in our everyday life. In fact, Jenny and I have come across some unexpected ones on the trail this week. Such as:

Erin and I are changing! Our acceptance of the crazy walking dare has turned into a good thing. Yes, change still is uncomfortable and I stand my ground when it comes to just how much becoming a better person sucks, but we are pushing through and seeing the benefits.

When Erin and I first started walking just getting out of bed before sunrise was an accomplishment. Every morning we spent the first 5 minutes of our walk congratulating ourselves for being there. Now, the morning runs like clockwork. That is unless, Erin’s been out late the night before. Then she’s a little late and a wee bit grumpy, but give her five minutes and she’ll tell some excellent stories! We have doubled our daily mileage. Honestly, other than more time to chat, more people to watch and more time for Erin to “instruct” me on “elusive” and “rare” wildflowers, birds and weeds, we have barely noticed a difference.

This isn’t the only thing that has changed. Apparently walking is a great workout. We are in better shape, our heart rates our dropping and our legs are more toned. But surprisingly, we are seeing the benefits elsewhere too. It really is an overall body workout. For example, during our first 10 mile days my abdominal muscles would be sore. Imagine abdominal muscle pain equivalent to many, many sit-ups. Erin expressed her doubts, until it started happening to her. Yep, from walking. Who knew???

When walking up big hills I used to have to decide whether to walk or talk. Last month while we were walking up a particularly long, steep hill on the Gitchi Gami Trail I realized midway up a hill that I wasn’t just cruising up it, but I was chatting away.

In addition to the physical changes other things are shifting. For example, Erin and I agreed from day one to ban complaining. Why spend nearly 600 miles complaining? However, after toeing the proverbial line a few times during our first walks we have learned how to reign it in. Interestingly, this attitude has seeped into our non-walking lives as well. The decision to push forward and walk these trails despite the occasional poor planning, overwhelming time commitment and occasional argument has been a good one.

We leave this week on our most ambitious journey yet. Rather than tempt the gods, Murphy or whoever seems to keep laughing at our well laid plans, I’ll leave the details for our return. We’ll be walking over the next week regardless of the weather, as we no longer have any wiggle room if we want to uphold our word and complete all 15 trails by late October. Posts will still go up but I’m not sure how much time we will have for much else.

Take care, we’ve gone walkin’!

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we plan. In fact, when it comes to walking it very rarely turns out the way Jenny and I imagine. So one must wonder, why am I always so surprised when things go haywire?

This past week Jenny and I dedicated the week to finishing at least two state trails. Well, we finished two; they just were not the ones originally planned. Things started well enough with the completion of the Gitchi Gami Trail. It was during the second trail, the Willard Munger Trail, which we stumbled. The first day of this 70 mile/113 km trail the plan was to walk 15-miles/24 km. This was aggressive considering this was the fourth straight day of long walking, but we were determined. However when the trail wasn’t going as quickly as expected, a quick look at the map exposed my miscalculations (whoops!), and instead we were walking 18 miles/29 km. An additional 3 miles/5 km may not seem like much, but with aching feet, it is a huge difference. We didn’t have the option to stop early because the car was waiting at the trail end and where we were there are no taxis or friends to call to come pick us up.

At the end of the day the first section of the trail was finished on hurting, swollen feet and with muscles so stiff neither of us could touch our toes. However, we were still determined to stick with the plan (because it was the plan after all…) and walk another 16 miles/26 km the following day. Well, sometimes determination just isn’t enough. Or maybe, sometimes blind determination requires outside forces to slow you down. That’s what happened in this case.

The next day I woke up in time to watch Jenny oh-so-gingerly climb out of her tent while uncharacteristically muttering things that could make the proverbial sailor blush. While lacing up our walking shoes a man approached us. He had the look of someone who was going to warn us that the sky was falling, and I can’t imagine my expression when he did. Okay, maybe that is extreme, but he did tell us golf-ball sized hail and 60 mph winds were on the way. Being trapped midway on a trail pelted by hail was not an adventure either Jenny or I were interested in making memories of. While I quickly packed up camp Jenny sweet-talked the state park ranger into giving us our money back for the unused days of camping.

The skies were dark and cloudy, the winds high and a light rain followed the cars as we drove home. The radio continued to forecast horrible storms; storm warnings sounded in small towns, tornadoes were spotted for the next three days. Funny enough, the next three days were beautiful - the sky was blue, the temperature pleasant and there was a nice steady breeze. Storm? Nope. Perfect walking weather? Of course. But we were waiting it out…

Finally tired of waiting for the sky to fall we finished up the Sakatah Trail. This was the trail that has given us so many troubles in the past. This time though we finished the last 18 miles/29 km like champs thanks to well rested muscles and clear heads. The sheer determination to finish the Willard Munger Trail could have spelled disaster, even with perfect weather. We were tired, had open blisters and our muscles were in pain. The three days of rest while we waited the threatening storms out were crucial. However, our determination would not have let us see this. So a lesson to remember, determination is important, but one must always be willing to make concessions. There will always be another day.