A Quick Update for My Blog...

Boy, it has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote a post for my blog.

I've been rather busy with work and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Hiking Updates

Back on Saturday, November 5, 2022, I went on an impromptu hike along the Waterfront Promenade at the Inner Harbor here in Baltimore, MD. As a result of that hike, there is a small list of items that I need to accomplish:

• I NEED to upload the photos from hikes from my cell phone onto my computer.
• I NEED to write a trail review over at the Alltrails.com website for the recent hikes I went on at Leakin Park-Gywnns Falls and the second hike I undertook at the Waterfront Promenade.
• I NEED to either re-write and/or expand my trail reviews for the recent hikes at Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls and at the Waterfront Promenade hikes to my blog here at Blogger.
• I NEED to add some additional photos from all of my completed hikes to my blog.
• Another idea that occurred to me was to look for a way display all of my photos either on my blog here at Blogger or use a website such as Flickr.
• I just accomplished making screenshots of the trail routes for my second and third hikes at Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls as well as my second hike at the Waterfront Promenade, so I need to add those to their respective pages.

Other Posts for My Blog

I also need to get cracking on all of the additonal subjects that I would like to publish to my blog.

• For example, I need to work on my post about the movies that I saw at the Cine Core Theater in Seoul, South Korea.
• That post will require A LOT more planning and work to get the post just how I want it.
• Rewrite the post using the mind map that I created as a guide.
• Get any additional photos for the movies that I saw at the Cine Core Movie Theater.
• Get the URLs from You Tube for the videos that I want to include in the post, such trailers and music videos.
• Another topic for my blog will be about Wendell Odom's series of blogposts about career planning for CCNA.
• I have watched several other South Korean movies since returning to watching them after an absence of several years. I've seen some really good South Korean films as well as a couple of duds. I have quite a few ideas on how to approach the subject of movie reviews. Simply, I want to write more than just movie reviews.
• I'm still playing Go. Using a 13x13 grid board and a two stone handicap, I managed to get as high as a 21kyu rank on The Many Faces of Go computer game on my computer.

I have high expectations for my blog. Given my knowledge about HTML, my expectations for my blog might be too high.

However, I am going to keep trying.

Eventually, I will get my blog to where I want it to be.

Hiking Updates...

Since I have other things to do, I will try to keep this post short. Really short.

Yeah, right.

Over the past several years, I have developed mild to moderate osteoarthritis in both knees. It's really horrible.

I still remember the day that I damaged the cartilege in both of my knees. During the summer of 2010, I decided to go jogging after work. It was a typical sunny day in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The temperature was in the upper 80s/lower 90s with zero humidity. The monochromatic blue sky did not have any clouds. After doing some leg stretches, I left my apartment and started to run. I was feeling really good, so I decided to pick up the pace. About halfway through my pre-planned route, I suddenly started to run slower and slower until I could no longer run. It took me over an hour to walk back to my apartment. Once I got back, I put ice packs on both of my knees. That was pretty painful. However, I thought that everything would be OK in the morning. Boy, was I wrong. In the morning, I could barely get out of bed. For whatever reason, I went to work instead of seeing my doctor. I could just barely walk from my car in the parking lot to the entrance of the building. At the time, I worked as an instructor for the United States Army at Fort Huachuca. Typically, most of my day was spent on my feet. That day, I could barely stand for any length of time. Eventually, I couldn't take the pain anymore, so I called my doctor, who gave me an inflammatory medication. Shortly thereafter, I went in for x-rays, thinking that I had a meniscus tear, runner's knee, or a torn ACL in both knees. Instead, I found out that I had torn the cartlidge in both of my knees. My doctor also said that the tear in each knee would just get worse and worse as time went on.

When I moved to Reston, VA, I could run decently as long as I didn't step on a crack in the jogging path. However, I just couldn't run as fast as I used to.

Eventually, I bought a Trek hybrid bicycle from the bike shop at Reston Town Center, which was a lot easier than running. However, I quickly discovered that if I pushed down hard on the bike pedals to go up hill, for example, both knees would start to hurt.

Since I can no longer run anymore and that my bicycle is at my mother's house, I have rediscovered my love of hiking.

A good reason for my rediscovery of hiking was that, back in February of this year, I went to the VA Hospital in downtown Baltimore and made an appointment for both of my knees. I just couldn't take it anymore. Predictably, the steroid shots that I received for both knees wore off after a couple of weeks. More importantly, I received a pair of really nice Breg knee braces from the VA Prosthetics Lab. I was miserable the first day that I wore those knee braces. I was in a lot of pain. Over time, it got easier for me to wear both knee braces for an extended period of time.

When the summer arrived, I started to walk around the parking lot of a nearby elementary school for 45 minutes non-stop. After doing that a few times, I started walking around my city block. While wearing both knee braces, I could make three circuits around my city block in about 75 minutes. Of course, I would be hot and sweaty.

Now that that's out of the way...

Over the past few weeks, I have made some additional visits over to Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls.

I didn't take as many photos as I did like the first time I went hiking at Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls.

Anyhow, I'm planning on making some more posts about hiking in the Baltimore area.

I have also visited the AllTrails website several times, looking for new places to go hiking.

However, with the change in seasons, I will have to start getting up earlier on a Saturday, so I have a good amount of time to hike. Unfortunately, my Breg knee braces have to be worn right on the skin. These particular knee braces weren't designed to be worn over clothing.

On my most recent hike, I was starting to have the impression that I should consider buying a new pair of hiking boots. The Salomon hiking boots that I bought on sale at the REI in Fairfax, VA when I returned back from Afghanistan in 2011 might need to be replaced. As good as the Salomon hiking boots are, I still miss my pair of Lowa Renegade GTX hiking boots that I wore in Afghanistan. In fact, here is the exact pair of Lowa hiking boots that I wore in Afghanistan. Those were really good hiking boots. Way better than any of the Merrell hiking boots I used to wear prior to going to Afghanistan. Coincidentally, I also bought that pair of Lowa hiking boots from the same REI store in Fairfax, VA.

In addition to updating my blog here on Blogger, I need to write a new review at AllTrails about my recent visits to Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls.

Another thing that I need to do is to learn all of the features for taking photos on my LG Stylo 6 cell phone. There are things that using the camera on my cell phone can do really good, such as portability. I also like the panoramatic feature. I recently discovered that I can open or close the camera's aperture among other features that I did't know about. For now, the photos are good enough for my purposes. Another thing I would like to do is learn how to use Gimp, so I can adjust the contrast or brightness of a photo. I downloaded Gimp onto my computer a couple of years ago, but I have yet to really play around with it.

Returning to Leakin Park and Gwynns Falls...

Yesterday, I made a return visit to Leakin Park and Gwynns Falls here in Baltimore. I enjoyed my first hike at Leakin Park and Gwynns Falls, so I decided to go back two weeks later.

Instead of parking my car at the parking lot located at Windsor Mills Road and Eagle Drive, like I did last time, I parked my car over at Trailhead #1, which is located next to the Park & Ride at the beginning/ending of Interstate 70 (I-70).

From there, I followed the trail along the off-ramp to Security Blvd. before turning right onto Franklintown Road.

After that turn, I followed the trail through the small Franklintown neighborhood located right outside the park. Since I work at SSA, I have driven by the sign for Bulwinkle's Saloon countless times. It was interesting to finally see where it is located. The place looks like a dive bar with its numerous Baltimore Ravens and Oriels signs and stickers on the exterior. There was also a Harley-Davidson flag that had been raised.

 

After walking past a couple of small businesses and several houses, the asphalt trail eventually leads you into the park. In some sections, the trail can be difficult to identify. Keep a look out for green Gwynns Falls Trail signs that have been painted on the asphalt. Also, cars can speed right through Franklintwon Road despite the speed limit being posted as 25 MPH.

Suddenly, you are inside Leakin Park. The trail parallels Franklintown Road. After walking through a couple of straightaways then down through a series of switchbacks and then hiking over a bridge or two, I returned to Winan's Meadow. I could tell that I was approaching the Cardin Pavillion as I heard a DJ playing hip-hop music and the smell of meat being cooked. After walking down a couple more switchbacks, I saw that there was a large gathering of people at the Cardin Pavillion, such as a company or church group picnic.

Once I hiked to the location of Trailhead #2 near the parking lot, I had a decison to make. Was I going to cross the bridge over Dead Run onto the Stream Trail or was I going to keep following the Gwynns Park Trail?

For this occasion, I walked past the bridge for the Spring Trail and went on ahead, following the Gwynns Park Trail.

Like my previous visit Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls two weeks ago, there weren't very many people on the trail. There were long stretches of time where I was the only person on the trail, a part from a couple of deer that were looking for food to eat.

Once I crossed over the Dead Run, I kept following the Gwynns Falls Trail northward. There were a couple of deer in the bushes looking for food to eat. I could see Gwynns Falls, a small stream, on my right. As I walked north, there were a couple of bicyclists that passed me. Eventually, I reached a point where the Hutton Trail branches off to the left. The Hutton Trail eventually leads to the Carrie Murray Nature Center located in the center of Leakin Park.

Eventually, I made it to where the Gwynns Falls Trail intersects with Windsor Mill Road. At that location, I had to make a decision. Was I going to get on the Wetland Trail, which leads back into Leakin Park? Was I going to continue hiking north across Windsor Mill Road, where the trail then becomes the Dickeyvill Trail? Was I going to turn right and pass over the pedestrian bridge spanning Gwynns Falls? This week, I decided to walk across the bridge.

 

Once across the bridge, I eventually made it to another trailhead. At this trailhead, you could then explore all of the trails on the east side of Gwynns Falls. From the trail on the east side of Gwynns Falls, it is possible to follow the trail down into downtown Baltimore. Not only that, there are several other hiking trails that connect to the Gwynss Falls Trail. According to the trail map located at Winan's Meadow, the Gwynns Falls Trail has a length of 15 miles.

When I decided to take a break, drink some water, and eat a protein bar, I decided to head back to my car. According to Google Earth, I had only traveled just a little more than three miles to reach my turning around point. The hike seemed a lot longer than it really was. At various times on the hike, my left knee brace kept sliding down into my left shin, making it painful to walk at times. Knowing that I wasn't going to see everything on one trip, I headed back to the car.

I was surprised at how fast the return hike back to my car was. I must have had hiker's high. Everything was just a blur. Eventually, I just gave up on re-adjusting the velcro straps on both of my knee braces ever 100 yards or so. As I got closer to Trailhead #1, I thought about stopping by Bullwinkle's Saloon for a well-earned beer. Eventually, I gave up on that idea and continued back up the Gwynns Falls Trail to my car.

Once I made it back to Trailhead #1, I was really tired. I went right to benches at the trailhead and collapsed. I discarded any notion that I had about going over to Union Brewing or having dinner at a restaurant. Unfortunately, not this time.

When I returned back to my apartment, I realized just how out of shape that I am. Yes, I was covered in sweat. Yes, every muscle in both of my legs were sore and the soles of my feet started to hurt. I also had sore muscles in my lower and upper back. Just then I realized that this is the exact kind of workout that my lower body needs on a regular basis.  When I got back to my apartment, I should have used my foam roller, especially on my calves and quadriceps.  

 Once I got back to my car, I took a look at the statistics for my hike on my Samsung watch.  I walked 17,541 steps in 192 minutes.  I also burned 993 calories. Not too bad. Since I cannot run anymore, this is exactly the type of cardio workout that I need. 

Later on that night, one thought I had was that perhaps it's time to consider getting a new pair of hiking boots. [To be honest, I still miss the Lowa hiking boots that I wore in Afghanistan.] The Salomon hiking boots that I bought several years ago at the REI in Fairfax, VA, have been good pretty good hiking boots. For now, I will keep the Salomons.

Hiking the Trails Over at Leakin Park...

     Like I wrote in my previous post, on Friday, August 19, 2022, I went hiking over at Leakin Park in western Baltimore. 

 

    Apparently, Leakin Park has a bad reputation with people that I have met who claimed to be familiar with the park.  Yes, I have listened to all episodes for Season One of the Serial Podcast from NPR.  For those who do not know, the first season of the Serial Podcast analyzes the murder of local high school student Hae Min Lee.  High school student Adnan Syed was convicted for the murder of Hae Min Lee.  After she was killed, Adnan Syed and an accomplice buried her corpse near a trail along the southern edge of Leakin Park near Franklintown Road (see trail map). The murder of Hae Min Lee shocked people who live in the Baltimore suburban communities of Catonsville, Woodlawn, and Windsor Mill.  I FINALLY got around to listening to the Serial podcast a couple of years ago.  It was a good listen.  Is Adnan Syed the murderer or is he innocent of the charges?  That's a conclusion the listener will have to determine on their own after listening to all 11 episodes of the podcast.  Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.  I should probably give the podcast another listen. 

    Now that is out of the way, I had a good time hiking a good portion of the trails over at Leakin Park.  Admittedly, I got off to a bad start.  Since I took the day off from work, I woke up really late.  I got caught up in drinking several cups of coffee and getting lost on the internet.  Plus, when I started to get ready to leave my apartment, my body started to fight against me.  Too bad.  I didn't reach the parking lot at Eagle Road and Windsor Mill Road until around, say, 3:30 PM.  It was a partly cloudy day. The temperature was in the low 90s with humidity over 80%. 

    In addition to dusting off my old pair of Salomon hiking boots that I bought at the REI down in Fairfax, VA,  I made sure to bring a wide-brimmed sun hat and a Camelbak full of water.  Next time, I will also bring some snacks. 

    After a couple of minutes on the trail, I started sweating from every pore in my body. I lost track of the blue square trail markers on the first trail that I was on.  The free map provided at the trailhead annotated only the major trails.  I tried using Google Maps on my cell phone, but Google Maps would not show any of the trails inside Leakin Park.  After retracing my steps, I eventually made it to Winan's Meadow.  There, I ran in a member of park staff.  When we went to the trail map near the parking lot, he went over some of the other trails at Leakin Park and how some of the trails connected to the hiking trails over at Gwynns Falls.  Next time I go hiking over at Leakin Park, I'm definitely going to explore the trails over at Gwynns Falls.  

     Surprisingly, I found the trail to be quite a challenge.  Then again, I'm borderline obese (I am desperately trying to lose weight.) and I have osteoarthritis in both knees.  The Breg knee braces that I wore worked spectacularly. The only downside to wearing the Breg knee braces is that one has to occasionally stop and readjust the Velcro straps for a snug fit.  According to my Samsung 4 watch, I ended up walking 12,304 steps and burned 985 calories. Like I wrote, it was a really good workout. 

    I am planning to go hiking again this weekend.  For now, I am planning to check out the trails in the Gwynns Falls area.