Thank you!

https://hikelikeawoman.net/2017/12/thank-you-from-lucy/

Fall Magazine

My second edition as magazine editor!  I'm getting better at this :)

https://hikelikeawoman.net/magazinegear/

Hike Like A Woman Podcast-My Story

https://hikelikeawoman.net/2017/08/wandering-wonder-woman/

I'm the editor for Hike Like A Woman Magazine!!! And this is my first edition of the magazine....

Hike Like A Woman Magazine

Hiking In The Dark

My latest article for Hike Like A Woman....

https://hikelikeawoman.net/2017/07/hiking-in-the-dark/

Hiking In the Dark

Why would anyone want to hike in the dark?  That’s just crazy right?!  Well actually, it's my favorite way to hike!

It all started when I started hiking up in the dark in order to see the sunrise from the top of the mountains.  Then I hiked in the dark in order to see a “moonbow”.  I fell in love with it and now prefer it.

I wouldn’t recommend hiking alone in the dark, only because you are more likely to trip and slip when you can’t see where you are stepping.

But man, oh man, it’s amazing!  Why?  Talk about using all your senses at one time plus extra senses you never even realized you had.

Your eyes adjust to the darkness much quicker than you would think.  But because you can’t see as well your other senses go into overdrive.

You hear every little noise.  Most you would never hear during the day.  You hear the silence, I mean really hear it!  You hear the leaves and stems crunching underfoot.  You hear the owls wings as they fly over you.  You hear the crickets, the frogs and howling of wolves.  You hear the creek and the waterfall as you get closer and closer to it.  You hear it all like you have never heard it before.

You are forced to use your touch to get around.  You hold onto trees to help you get down the hills.  You reach down to see where the boulders are.  The boulders are cold to the touch, smooth and moist with the night air.  You put your foot where your hand just was because you know that spot is safe to step on.  You feel everything under your feet.  You are more grounded and close to the earth than you have ever imagined.

You feel the night air.  It’s cool, light and moist.  Refreshing to the lungs.  Feels so cleansing on your face and in your soul.  You feel the mist coming off the waterfall.

You normally wouldn’t notice all these things (that all tend to happen when you day hike as well) because you are too busy looking ahead to see how much further you have to go, looking for the view, taking photos or chatting with your friends.

Light up your senses, take a hike in the dark!!!

The Man Behind Wonder Woman

The Man Behind Wonder Woman

First of all, thank you Jill for your wonderful idea of letting everyone know about the men behind the Hike Like A Woman Ambassadors.  You can read her full blog post here on her Lollygaggers blog.

The man behind Wonder Woman....

Where do I even begin??? Tim has carried me mentally, physically and emotionally through one of the most difficult and challenging parts of my life. He has helped me to work my way from the wheelchair up to 6 miles of hiking (and he hates hiking!).

He carries me to bed when I am in too much pain to walk. I ask him constantly why he would want to be with a broken girl when there are so many healthy girls out there. He still sees me as Wonder Woman even when I am sobbing from the frustration of not being able to be the me I used to be, from the pain and from countless doctors visits with no answers.

He has made all my dreams come true while carrying me. He took me and my dogs to see the ocean, which was my final wish before I passed away. He got me my dream farm to live on, which brings me so much peace and joy.

He loves me through the good times and the bad (which have been many). I don't know how he does it with the patience and kindness of a saint. I never imagined anyone would love me the way he does, or see me the way he does or stand by me through it all.

I am truly blessed to be loved by this man!

I wouldn't be the strong woman I am today without my Beast giving his strength to me.

A Force to Be Reckoned With

I'm in Hike Like A Woman's Magazine!!!!!

The Magazine Link

The Website Link (Click on the magazine)

Product Review- Animosa's Go With Your Flow Pack

My Review- Click to go to my review on Hike Like A Woman's Blog

Animosa Go With Your Flow Pack

I signed up to review the Animosa Go With Your Flow Pack because I literally hike every Saturday and every holiday and because I AM A WOMAN, lol!  I was able to take the pack on one hike prior to being attacked by blood clots in my lungs and legs.  So, I am not allowed to hike for the next 3-6 months.  

The good news for Animosa (not so much for me) is that while in the hospital they took away my birth control and put me on a very high dose of blood thinners.  NOT a good combination when it comes to your “flow”.  So I now literally carry the Animosa pack with me everywhere I go.  The pack is large enough that I can stuff it full of all sizes of feminine products.  Which is great because I never know what the day/ “flow” will throw at me from day to day.

The pack comes with:

-Light weight clutch for the outer case (see pic above), which buttons and zippers closed.

-Reusable poly-coated vinyl disposal pouch (which is where you store your waste until you find a trash can)

-10 wipes to keep you feeling clean and fresh (which is really something needed when hiking as a woman, even without your “flow”)

-10 baggies (for your waste, you place it in this bag then inside the reusable vinyl pouch)

-Instruction card (which really helps for the first use)

-Field notebook (for those who need to write their thoughts down before they forget them)

-Animosa Sticker (everybody knows I love stickers!)

You definitely get your money's worth out of the pack!

You supply your preferred feminine products.  The clutch has one large divider and two small pockets for the wipes and baggies.  I put my feminine products on one side of the clutch and the disposal pouch on the other side.  While not hiking I remove the disposal pouch since there is usually a trash can nearby and it is pretty heavy weight.

I love this product!  And like I said I carry it with me everywhere I go now.  I loved it so much that when they started their kickstarter campaign I donated without a second thought!

Suggestions:  I would like to see more color options/patterns for the clutch, possibly Wonder Woman!  Or at least pink and purple.  The wipes are great!  The baggies I felt would be easier to use if shaped more like a glove, so you could use your fingers more easily.  I would also add in a small hand sanitizer to the pack.  The zippers can be a little stubborn but I have always been able to get them zipped and unzipped.  

Overall, I would recommend the product to all my ladies!  Thank you Animosa for making it easier to be a woman in the outdoors!

What has hiking done for me???

What has hiking done for me???  Saved my life, that's what!!!

I've overcome multiple bilateral pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, crohns disease, asthma, 3 heart conditions, depression, suicidal thinking, injuries from a wreck that should have kept me from ever walking again and knee problems to name a few.

I wouldn't be alive today if I hadn't fallen in love with hiking.

I hope all of you will join me on the trail when I am able to get back out there...maybe it will change your life as well  :)

A Different Kind of Wonder Woman.....

For the past month or so I haven't felt well.  My legs were covered in bruises and I couldn't breathe. I knew something was going on but I wasn't quite sure what it was so I had made an appointment with my family doctor and was making a list of my symptoms.  I was worried that the bruises could either be my anemia or leukemia (which they have tested me for previously).  The not being able to breathe, I thought, was my asthma because of the wildfires going on all around me.  I went to my asthma specialist on a incredibly hard to breathe day.  She looked at me and could tell something was wrong, she started a breathing treatment immediately but it didn't stop the pain.  The pain was weird.  Normally with asthma you only have pressure in your lungs, not the extreme pain I was feeling.  She said my chest sounded tight but it didn't seem to be an asthma attack so she scheduled me for some testing in January.

Then, on Tuesday December 13 I started having extreme pain in my left leg but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I had done because for once, I hadn't fallen on the hike that past weekend.  Tuesday night I started feeling dizzy.  Then by Wednesday night I couldn't put weight on my leg at all.  Thursday morning I got my crutches out so I could get to work.  But as the day wore on I knew I wasn't going to make it to the end of the day.  Still thinking I had hurt my knee I went to the orthopedic after hours walk in clinic.  The doctor started pushing on my leg and when he got to the back of my leg I jumped up off the table and the tears started flowing (I never cry, I am wonder woman, remember?).  This alarmed the doctor and he said that he was worried that I had a blood clot.  He sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound.  As the tech was performing the ultrasound I could tell by the look on his face that he had found something, even though I specifically told him not to.  I said "you found a clot, didn't you?".  He apologized but confirmed.  He wheeled me down to the ER where the doctor asked me if I had had any chest tightness lately.  I looked down and then told him about my "asthma" lately.  So he sent me for a CT scan of my lungs.  After the CT scan they rolled me back to the ER.  About an hour later the doctor came and and pulled the chair up next to my bed.  I knew I was about to be hit with another dose of bad news.  He said both my lungs are full of clots as well and that I wouldn't be leaving the hospital anytime soon.

They admitted me, began high doses of blood thinners and scheduled me for an ultrasound of my heart to check for clots there as well.  Luckily that was the one test that came back with good results.

The past few days I have gone through every emotion.  I am scared going through this alone.  I am angry that this happened to me.  I am depressed that they have taken away the one thing that would make me feel better....hiking.  I have cried pretty much every day.  For several days I wished that the clots had just killed me. I don't want to be on blood thinners for 6 months.  I don't want to wear a compression sleeve.  I don't want to be "careful" all the time.  Haven't I been through enough.  This is not fair.  This sucks.  Why do these things keep happening to me?  I have worked so hard the past three years to get healthy!!!!   I'm pissed and guess what.... it's okay to be pissed, sad, angry, depressed and lonely.  Sometimes life sucks, that's just how it is.  Some people get more of the sucky part than others and I am one of those people.

So what will I do with this?  What will I do with this challenge?  What will I do with these emotions?

I will continue to be wonder woman, that's what!!!  

Wonder Woman will just look different for now.  For now I will wake up each morning, pull on my compression sleeve, take my blood thinners, go to work, barely make it through the day, then collapse on the couch or bed when I get home and take more blood thinners.  I will be in pain 24/7 for who knows how long.  I will have to ask friends for help shopping, cleaning, walking the dogs, cooking and just living life.  

Yes, this is another mountain wonder woman must climb but I don't want to, I'm not happy about it and I will be upset.  And that's okay. I don't have to be strong all the time.  I don't have to smile all the time.  I'm human and I have feelings.

Will I hit the trail again?  Yes.  Will this set me back?  Yes.  Will it stop me?  HECK NO!

Thank you for all those who have supported me, let me be mad, let me express my feelings, been by my side, loved me even when I was mean and thank you to those who will be by my side when I am able to slowly hit the trails again.

Old Settlers Trail

Old Settlers Trail
November 26, 2016
13.4 Miles Total
6.7 New Miles
849.66 Total Smoky Miles to Date (Since November 2013)
250.69 Total Miles in 2016

I didn't have a second car to do a car drop so I only did half the trail from Greenbrier Cove to Campsite #33.  I intend on finishing the other half as soon as I can.  I didn't find the trail to be all that difficult.  It was fairly flat, the river crossings were adventurous and you kinda had to look for the best way to cross.  I could see it being easy to get lost on this trail as there are no signs telling you which way to go at significant places.  There was a lot of history to see.