Neil, I'm out in Utah this week. I've thought of you as I've been hiking every morning. I even took a bike ride. I'm not a hiker or a biker, and have done nothing of the sort, pretty much forever, so this is a big deal for me! Let me just say, hiking is easier than biking! I'm impressed with what you consider meager mileage! You've really accomplished a lot! I've been posting photos over on my thread.
Bilateral TKR The Historian - recovery diary
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TheHistorian
post-grad
United StatesCASA ride in WV next weekend. I'm riding the 25 mile course, as a concession to my current condition. I was going to do the ride last year but I scrubbed it at the last minute. But now I'm a year out of surgery instead of two months....
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Exciting weekend last week. I took Friday off prior to the CASA ride in WV. I stopped a number of places during the drive, including Samuel S. Lewis State Park and Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland. Friday I got in three miles of hiking, and had only moderate swelling at the end of the day.
My back was bothering me Saturday, and I still had sore knees, but I rode 26.5 miles through moderately hilly West Virginia. I had to walk some climbs, and my time was awful, but still I did it. My lack of stamina is hurting me more than sore knees do.
After the ride, and the post ride lunch, I did a little walking in Harpers Ferry and at Antietam National Battlefield before driving home.
Sunday I traveled to the Poconos and Hickory Run State Park for hikes with my friend Mike, who was here from Texas for a couple days and hadn't been to a PA state park. We managed between three and four miles at various places in the park, including the trail to Hawk Falls, seen in the photo above. I sacrificed dry feet by going into the plunge pool above my boot tops. Next time I'll have a pair of dry socks in the car - I had to stop at Walmart after the hike so I didn't have to spend two hours with wet feet.
My back was bothering me Saturday, and I still had sore knees, but I rode 26.5 miles through moderately hilly West Virginia. I had to walk some climbs, and my time was awful, but still I did it. My lack of stamina is hurting me more than sore knees do.
After the ride, and the post ride lunch, I did a little walking in Harpers Ferry and at Antietam National Battlefield before driving home.
Sunday I traveled to the Poconos and Hickory Run State Park for hikes with my friend Mike, who was here from Texas for a couple days and hadn't been to a PA state park. We managed between three and four miles at various places in the park, including the trail to Hawk Falls, seen in the photo above. I sacrificed dry feet by going into the plunge pool above my boot tops. Next time I'll have a pair of dry socks in the car - I had to stop at Walmart after the hike so I didn't have to spend two hours with wet feet.
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Not just rocks, but a stream too. Its a cell phone photo, but I think a good one. The trail to Hawk Falls was a bit less than three miles, and not too rocky. The stream bed is another story. Here's another photo.
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Speaking of rocks, Boulder Field.....
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Hawk Falls from the edge of the plunge pool. I couldn't get closer unless I wanted to venture into water up to my hips.
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Look, my knees bend!
DelawareGirl57
junior member
I'm in pain just looking at those pics of you walking on those rocks! 
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Boulder Field IS a glacial moraine field, deposited during the end of the last ice age. It was recognized as a National Natural Landmark in 1969. According to Wikipedia, the field covers 16.5 acres.
The approach to the field is low-key but dramatic. You walk through the woods or from the parking lot with little hint of what's beyond the trees. Then your jaw drops.....
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Antietam National Battlefield is is the site of the battle with the highest casualty count in American history. The Battle of Antietam (sometimes called the Battle of Sharpsburg, for the town next to the battlefield) stopped Robert E. Lee's army's advance through Maryland. Lincoln used what was a minor victory - Lee was driven back but his forces were intact - as a justification for going ahead with plans to issue a proclamation declaring an end to slavery in territories in rebellion. (This isn't the place for a detailed analysis of the Emancipation Proclamation and the circumstances of its issuance, but if you are interested there are any number of places online to read up on it.)
Anyway, Antietam is far better in my opinion for sightseeing or cycling than Gettysburg, which is about an hour's drive to the north. Its smaller, it gets less traffic, its less commercial, Sharpsburg is a small town and Gettysburg has always been a city, and Antietam has the greatest monument ever to grace a battlefield. The 90th Pennsylvania Regiment contributed their tribute to the common soldier, a pot held above the fire by three muskets. The inscription gives the dates of the battle and name of the regiment, and adds the description "A hot place."
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TheHistorian
post-grad
I'm in pain just looking at those pics of you walking on those rocks!
The trail to the falls wasn't bad.... a mix of stone and dirt. Pity Mike didn't get me when I stood in the plunge pool.
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Another view of Hawk Falls.
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TheHistorian
post-grad
Mike and Roscoe at Boulder Field. Mike is a long-distance truck driver, and he said he'd hike across the field if he didn't have to stay intact to drive his 125K truck. I said I'd hike across the field except I didn't want to risk damage to my 125k of knee replacement surgery.
zjrog
post-grad
Chances are, I'd take the challenge across the rocks. Yes, even after my back injury. Yea, another obscure thing for my bucket list!
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TheHistorian
post-grad
More rocks. I hiked up Pole Steeple on Sunday. I started at the lake in the distance...
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