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 I took a hike with Larry yesterday for eight miles over off the road to nowhere up in the Great Smokey Mountain Nat park. Overall the ups and downs we only went up 34 feet. It does not sound like much but actually the over all gain was 3440 feet up and 3406 feet down. We did this hike to plan on a longer one later in March so we had fully packed backpacks to add weight and help those legs get tighter. I as a rule fall behind since Larry is a good bit smaller than I and hikes like a mountain goat. This hike he had been cutting wood for two days and was sore. I had a good time picking on him from time to time about keeping up with him all day. He was a little slower than me on the uphill but was much faster on the down hills. I used to hate up hill like a bad case of ugly and relished down hill. Its starting to get the opposite now. 

 Today other than the magnifying glass hair on fire episode began real unexpected. For me to be as much as an upbeat about life I was not yet ready for the scale goddess to grant me weight way below my expectations. I should have been prepared because I hit my age 21 weight a week or so ago and it was bound to happen that my figure would be getting thinner. To say my eyes bugged out would be the mildest reaction I could have made when I got on the scales and they began to sing something like "bust a move" when they hit 218. I know I said Whoa under my breath and it probably sounded like Tommy Chong after smoking some serious pot or something. So my day started like this and well the sun came out and baked my head and my brain is now a little more crispier so Ill grow a few more wrinkles and watch my hair fall out. I just love being so active these days lol. 

 Larry and I left out yesterday in spite of the crappy weather for a place on the Appalachian Trail called Wesser Shelter. The trail we took I had attempted only four times and every time when I was huge it kicked my but. Wesser Creek Trail is a foot path that is about two feet at the widest point and many times you just have to invent where it needs to go in order to get up it. One Long Long 3.6 mile 2500 plus foot climb that rarely gets flat long enough to give you a break. On previous adventures prior to surgery I made it up almost to the top huffing and puffing with a tiny 5 pound pack. I would limp around for days afterwards with muscle aches and such, Larry one day decided to hike wesser creek and then turn north and go to the Nantahala Outdoor center about 6 or so miles north. He had told me this trail was one the devil himself devised. I pretty much believed him then too. That was about eight months ago. We took our time getting up to the shelter mainly because I was toting a heavy pack and progress was not at a break neck speed. Sometimes I think it is a miracle I can even walk uphill but to carry more weight is the work out of the year. So its January and Im sweating yes SWEATING like a roasting pig. By the time we reached the shelter it was just starting to rain but the wet clothes I had on were due to sweat. If there had been a spit and some sauce I would have cooked up nice as something Paula Dean would do. However being wet in January at 4000 feet can be dangerous so I did have extra clothes and proceeded to shed the wet stuff and put on some dry things. I wont wear anything cotton anymore due to its poor wicking value. Polyester may have looked good on John Travolta but the stuff they make with it now is so warming even when its wet. Anyway we set up camp and I decided to throw up a tent and party on the ground under the roof since some other hikers showed up and were about as wore out as we were. After a tasty meal of Chicken.. ( the blessed meat of WLS lol) and noodles with cream sauce I settled in for the night. Larry had some martinis and had been soaking the olives in the vodka. I dont drink very much at all but I did eat a few of the olives and mainly tested the pouch for future reference. This shelter had a Privy. Now if any of you seriously go out in the woods and camp like we do a privy is better than two blondes in a holiday inn room. I was so proud of that little shack because I usually get picked on now and then for organic material such as moss and tree bark sticking to a certain area. 
The night was sort of fun since the two other hikers were what are called through Hikers on the AT. They had left Katadin Maine in June and were on their way to Springer Mountain Ga to the end of the AT. I got to ask alot of questions of them since I plan on one day going in the other direction to Maine on it. 
Well after lots of talking cutting up and tomfoolery I got a tad of sleep got up ate a new concoction of grits and lipton chicken noodle soup. I put too much water in my grits and had to add the soup to it to thicken it up some. It actually was not too bad either. Larry got up and ate and we repacked the packs and headed out for the NOC. For the first mile or so it was a devine walk. Gentle rises on a ridge with gentle slopes going down.. then things changed..  The rises started getting dang steep and long then the slopes began to get steep. If you can picture hiking pretty much a straight line for a mile and having to go up a couple a hundred feet in a couple a hundred feet thats sorta how it was. Then we came to the Jump Up. It is a rocky crag that people going south on the At literally have to crawl or jump up in order to get on their way.. Of course we were jumping down. Down is literally like stunt work with forty pounds on the back. I finally just sat my big butt down and slipped to the next slippery rock and finally got to wet leaves that were alot safer. This began a long long down hill run..I use Leki poles for treking and I highly recommend something like this when in the mountains. I had figured I only had about an hour or so of walking left.. Push was really in stupid mode with that thought.. The trail went on and on then about an hour later even my eyebrows were shaky and cramping up.. I finally took a little break. Larry has since gone on ahead which is his MO since I am somewhat slower than his jack rabbit butt. To give you a mental view of this trail think about sharp rocks poking out at regular intervals. When the rocks are not poking out the tree roots are competing for the same space. Its not fast going for this ol fat boy. I was getting my wind back when I spied what appeared to be a shelter. On my map there was a shelter on the way to the NOC and it was only short distance after I passed it. What I did not know was this was the old shelter. They had built a new one and left this one to the elements. So I called my wife to come eat at the diner there at the end of the trail and figured hell I would be there in about forty five minutes. 
Then I met up with a guy walking the other way. I asked him how far away I was and he said four miles. My cell phone got busy again calling up DW and recinding my offer for lunch.. Hell I was thinking will I get out before dark. I went on for about a mile and came to this tree that the ground was undercut and rocks appeared to be like the worst steps known to man to get down. I planted one boot and as I lifted my foot to get the next foot hold you guessed it I went down like a sack of potatoes. I was lucky though. I grabbed an exposed root and landed more or less on my right side. I sort of stressed out just a little figuring out how to get back up the mountain which was only a few feet but muddy and slippery. I had been climbing over blown down trees all day the day before with out incident. After a short time I managed to get my big rear and pack up on the trail and started again. I was just ok with the fact nothing was busted not even my Ipod which I landed on. I slowed down a bit after that and the trail made me do that. It was one of those never ending trail days when you think you are near the end and it just keeps on moving down further. Anyway I wound up wore out like a bald tire and shuffling to the car which thank goodness was only a short walk from the end of the trail. And I still want to do 2175 miles of this trail one day.. I suppose I am a Darwin Award nominee.. 

I guess its time I got on the soapbox and ranted about how much I really dont like having little variety in my meat choices. I am so sick of chicken I started plucking feathers last night from under my shoulders. My teeth are forming into a beak. I want to peck people.. Its to the point that I hope I can go a week without chicken. Chicken is like Diet Coke. If you go out to eat and want a soda they got all sorts of sugared drinks but only one diet one.. Its almost the same if your not wanting seafood and steak tastes like its going to return to the top at any second.. What is a poor boy to do.. EAT DAMN CHICKEN.. My kids bought me stock in Chick fil a. All the cows on my road are painting themselves black and white and holding up signs saying Eat more Chicken.. And what the heck to they do with all the dark meat on a chicken. I would not mind settling for a leg now and then rather than poking a breast in my mouth that is no where close to the sort of thing I do find rather nice. White Chicken meat is just about the most digestible stuff in the world but I am sick of eating it.. Ok I have ranted the coop down the street is breathing easier and the hens are laying again.. I am going to be looking hard at those cows down the road.. A bar be que would be just about right in the dead of winter..

 I just spend the last weekend in Asheville going to a concert for the Habitat for Humanity organization. It was a two day event and I had a blast. So did about every other person there. I have yet to test the waters with alcohol and WLS so I stayed sober for the event. Unlike so many there who helped pay the next months salaries for Budwieser it got a little rowdy on the floor the first night but by night two I stayed in the bleachers as the sea of human heads bobbled and weaved around like some undulating suckers on an octopus' arm. As for the line up of performers is was a middle aged music listeners paradise with performances of blues, rock, bluegrass, and a dab of country. I will go back next year for sure. My son wants to come up and go with me. 

Anyway back to the bariatric things. I dropped another pound and Im so close to having a bmi loss of ten points I can smell it just around the corner. I had hoped to get down to 235 by christmas but I did it a little early this year when I got off the scales. My other thing which was one of my goals was to be able to wear some thirty eight waist jeans.. My wife had picked me up some that were on sale in hopes that later on down the line I could wear them.. There was no later on down the line the line just dissappeared when I got them on and she wolf whistled me doing the old folks boogie.. I really was amazed that I could wear them this soon and have not been in any in so damn long its scary. 

 Yall its been cold as a well diggers butt in the winter in Calgary. We had a good snow and it will probably be around on the mountains for a while. I had thought about going camping up in the snow just for the effect but I am demented that way. 

I started working on a new hobby this week making fly rods out of graphite. I had bought several over the past few months and really got tired of shelling out the sort of money it takes to get decent fly rods. I have been fly fishing for a couple of years now and finally realized that Walmart did not have exactly what I really wanted in the way of fishing. My friend Larry had made rods in the past so he helped me get rolling on my first one. I bought a kit from Cabelas for about a third what they charge to sell the finished product and now I see why. My first rod looked like someone from the little rascals used it for a fly swatter instead of a rod. I suppose I was looking for perfection and just got a picture of the centerfold. Anyway I am going to take it out and try it tomorrow afternoon since it is still drying out from the last coat of finish. I started a second one yesterday and began winding the eyelets onto the pole with this thread that would make Jerry Garcia come out of the grave with a smile on his face. It looks alot like tye dyed thread and honestly if I can keep the patterns pretty close the wraps as they are called may turn out pretty nice. I learned that finishing the pole is the hard part. I figured getting the handle together would be the worst but that was not bad at all. At least this keeps my hands busy in the cold weather and since the locals have not broken any guitars or banjos lately the work bench has been a little barren. I dedicate alot of my time to fixing broken wooden instruments that need a little TLC to get them back to normal again. I will try to post up some pictures of the new rods as they get finished and if they look worth a wooden nickel. Now I guess I may have to sell a couple to get some more. Ahh such is life.. 

 I got up this morning and the scales had given up another pound. It may not seem like a whole lot but at barely three months out I realized I was four pounds away from my first goal, wearing smaller clothing, feeling like I was not carrying the weight of the world on my back or front for that matter and just overall doing dang well. So I got up this morning to add my single pound to the weight loss tracker and took a minute to just check it out. I started out with 300 wonderfully unhealthy pounds that took many pizzas and spagetti dinners and cake and stuff that should be only consumed with a degree in Village Idiotcy. My scales told me I was now approaching the first goal of 230 something and I had only five pounds to be officially into it. I had set that goal for Christmas and maybe if all goes well I will see it a little earlier. No one asked me to play Santa this year either.. What really got me stoked was my BMI. I am only two points away from being half way to my goal BMI.. For this ol country boy raised in the city was some good news indeed. I figure somewhere down the line I can honestly call myself overweight.. and not morbidly obese. My sleep doctor is saving my data on sleep apnea because she says Im one of the few people she has had to decrease the air flow on and she seems to have taken a keen interest in how the weight relates to two things. First just the fact that I am getting the right amount of Oxygen and the other is a study people are working on for diabetics that as sleep apnea worsens their ability to maintain blood sugar levels increases. So anyway I hope I will have some pictures in a week or so to post of a more skinner frame.

 yes it reminds me of a little feat song. I am now pretty much indoors for the week and maybe next week walking at the gym.. At least they have an indoor track at cherokee and its not to busy early in the morning. I did a couple of miles over there saturday but tommorrow plan on several more miles even though it is flat walking. I never thought I would ever get used to hiking hills and valleys but for the life of me its not as bad as it used to be. I was at one time the eternal mouth of pain and misery going up steep climbs and then having to stumble bump down the other side. I am glad someone invented hiking poles. I have worn out one set of them and had to replace them with some decent ones. I went fishing last week in this creek in Pisgah near the Hatchery that was so full of fish you about could walk across on the fins. I went to retrieve a tangled fly and when that was done approached this huge trout from behind and was within inches of hand catching him when my waders made some noise and he left the scene. I had seen it done one time before when I was a kid but I figured what the heck it was worth t shot. I just would have thrown it back in since that is the rule there. I am a little bummed that no big hike is in the works. Larry my friend went out to Alarka falls yesterday and told me the hike was one of the worst ones he had done in a long time. This is coming from a guy that was hiking in the summer and stepped on a rattlesnake and lived to tell about it. I still want to attempt the hike out there since I like to photograph such places and well the trail we took from the other side was not pretty either. With all this cold coming in and wet stuff behind it I am ready for a few clear days or maybe a snow day to tramp off in the woods and sleep in a hammock so I wont get too wet if the tent leaks. 

 Well I went out hiking again. If I keep this up I will be able to turn sideways and be called a zipper if I stick my tongue out. Larry and I left Saturday morning at the Deep Creek Parking lot for a date with some tough hills and a basically six mile hike up to campsite 59. I am so glad I did not agree to go to number 57 about two more miles up the road. The first leg of this hike (i cant remember if it was my left or right) was just two miles up to the end of the commonly used Deep Creek roadbed trail. We had hiked it numerous times and it only took maybe fifty minutes. The next leg over to campsite 60 involved only one pretty good hill and a creek crossing or two and maybe one mile. When I got to campsite 60 my blood pressure decided to get really low mainly because I still take those daily pills and talk about seeing stars. I thought I had gone to the Oscars in the woods. For about thirty minutes or so every time I got up I got wobbly. Finally I decided to push on up the next leg which would be the worst mainly because it went up and down for three miles and when it went up it went way up and of course the down was just as bad. Hiking down is easy on the lungs and hell on the knees and feet. We assaulted Bumgarner hill which is the first of several uphill battles and is the worst then we figured cool we must be close.. NO. We kept going and going till all I could see was the energizer bunny dancing around my head. I made a mental note to go see the doc asap to get the meds checked and then stumbled around some till we finally colapsed at the campsite 59 which had all the prime spot covered with other people. (my luck) We opted for a site further up the trail and remote to the point of there was not an entry trail to get there. I set up my stuff and got the tent up and the pad on the ground and then curled up inside and just went poop. Larry went fishing and about an hour later I finally drug myself out and joined him at the creek. Scenery wise it is absolutely beautiful up there. There are trees well over a hundred years old there and it is like a rain forest. We settled in for the evening and I figured I would get some sleep.(not). Not so much as a wink I guess I still have some sleep issues to get settled. Larry just snored along with the night. Next day Larry left early cause I was goofing around getting breakfast which was chicken noodle soup with chicken in it. Larry headed to a section of the creek about an hour away he had spied the day before to fish. I puttered around and finally got my lard butt on the path back and met him where he had started fishing. I was not much in the mood for getting wet so I decided to take some pictures. I went small and looked for tiny stuff to photograph and it took the better part of the time Larry needed to catch several fish. I left early as he needed to tidy up a bit before getting back on the trail so I braved the path back over Bumgarner Ridge. It is a deceptive climb in that as you get to the top it appears to be at the top till you go around the bend and whoops it keeps on going up some more. I was blowing like a steam engine but making great time when the downhill run began.. Ahh its what we call active resting.. (who am I kidding) I did like the downhill a great deal till I got to camp 60. Larry was right behind me since he is part billy goat and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. I needed a break so we got water and ate a little trail lunch of crackers and peanuts and jerky. The rest of the trip was uneventful except I hiked it faster than the first four miles and actually passed some people up.. (a first with a big pack on) When I got home and soaked in the tub for a while I was doing pretty good instead of OMG worn to a frazzle. I lost four pounds for all my efforts which had me now four pounds from my first fifty... Gee I had no idea I would shrink like this. they could make a steven King movie out of it or Disney one or the other.. Then I could get rich lol. 

 Today I finished up a two day hike out to Forney Creek which was seven plus miles with forty pounds of stuff on my back in pack. The hike out was mostly down hill so the return today was taxing. Elevation wise its a bit like going up a hundred story building just not at one time. I have done a hike like that  and doing all the elevation at once wore me down quick. I did get pretty darn tired on the trip back and had to stop a few times to find oxygen in my lungs and realize that I was packing the about the same weight as last year and it felt about the same except I did not have on a pack last year. So I got home all worn out and took a hot shower which was heavenly since I had about a pound of dust and muck on me. Then I could not resist the scales.. I had a pretty carby meal last night and noodles and chicken might have had some effect on my scales. Anyway I got shocked as all get out. I had lost another four pounds and went into the over forty pounds lost club. This is my eighth week and I am liking my new body quite well since it responds well to the things I really enjoy doing.