For myself

I gave myself the gift of a hike on Friday when Shay came for her 4 hours of Respite. I could have chosen to go work out, get groceries, shop, run errands, and do all of those proper things.

But I decided to use my time doing my favorite sport. 

Hiking.

I chose this loop trail at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve because I've done it a few times and I know I can finish it and get back home in the time I've been allotted.

It was also a great way to try out the 'hydration' vest I'd gotten on sale last year. These are normally very very pricey but I nailed one at REI for only about $25. The vest fits like a vest and carries water bottles and essentials in several pockets.

Last year on my last distance hike, I wore a back pack with my supplies and towards the end of the 11+ miles, my shoulders and lower back ached like crazy. My son suggested one of these and I am so pleased to have it.

Anyway, here is a selfie of me wearing the pack while on the trail.

 [I used a little bendy tripod that wrapped around a sapling to take this shot.]

Everything I needed fit in the vest. Soft water bottles, snacks, wallet, phone, first aid kit, bug spray, emergency rain poncho, and my mini Joby tripod. Clipped to the vest was my emergency Bivvey Bag and my PLB [Personal Locator Beacon].

I didn't look exactly fashionable, but who cares? 

I was hiking on the Reserve enjoying the morning air and the sounds of birds.

I went up and down hills and walked above the river and then into the valley and along the river. My feet got wet from the rain and dew but I was never uncomfortable ... and the insects were not bad except in one area.

Most of the walk was done with periods of light rain. Perhaps that is why I had the place to myself. I don't mind the rain.

This old oak pictured below has always attracted my attention while hiking through. I think I finally got a decent portrait of this tree. I call it my Megan tree. My daughter in law likes neat trees and I think of her each time I pass by this one.

In my imagination, the tree is reaching out and letting me know that it approves of my activity. Hike and leave no trace.

The sun actually peeked out of the clouds as I was nearing the end of the hike.

I found fungi but not as much as I thought I might. Still, the bright colors caught my eye.

And this Jelly Fungi caught someone else's eye!

I was relaxed and chilled out by the time I got home. I had a good dose of 'forest bathing'. Well, a good dose of Me Time. I wasn't even tired or worn out.

I was happy. The vest worked out so well, by back and shoulders never even got angry with me. My feet trucked along as I enjoyed the surround sound of birds.

I used my Merlin Bird app to figure out what I was hearing deep in the forest. Ever hear of an Ovenbird???

Apparently there was a Veery an Eastern Wood - Peewee, and an Eastern Towhee within earshot. I heard them and saw only a flicker of movement. I had just been enjoying all of the birdsong and forest noises.

I had a very relaxing morning.

Me Time had worked out exceptionally well.

 

Forest Bathing

Well I've been back at the hiking trails with great enthusiasm. Of course my buddy Bill asked if we could hike together after he has taken a year off from hiking.
He needed to get some health issues taken care of that he had been trying to ignore. But one needs to breath in order to continue to exercise like he wishes to do. 

We hiked a nice easy trail called Big Valley. It goes from Highway 131 to Big Valley Road and is 2.5 miles long. The trail is pretty well maintained and has very gentle hills. It was warm and muggy when we started out with misty wet stuff coming down, but we went anyway.

We walked and talked. It was nice to catch up on things with Bill. We didn't solve the world's problems, but we just enjoyed the trail and the conversation.

The skies stayed gloomy and overcast and we actually hoped for some rainfall that didn't happen other than a light mist. The colors are changing and the grasses are drying up quickly in this drought.

We talked about the predictions for winter. Would we get a lot of snow and cold? I'd be okay with that.

At the end of the Big Valley Trail, we walked across the road to the trail head for Hoot Owl Trail and admired the rocks and amazing trees.

We stood for a bit and just admired the wonders of the area we live in.

This is the kind of activity that refreshes me and keeps me sane. 

Forest Bathing [National Geographic Article on it]or Shinrin-Yoku is a thing. Did you know that? I didn't. You can even book a session with someone to experience Forest Bathing or Forest Immersion Therapy.
A person can become a certified Forest Therapy Guide. Did you know that? Nope. I didn't either. 

Um.
Thank you, I'll just hike with a pal or Charlie.

I always feel calm and relaxed after a walk in the woods. 

Shinrin-yoku

 ....

I have a standing 'date' so to speak with a young mom who also works full time. We meet on Tuesdays and go for a walk. 

This time we went back to the Mason Land. I'm not sure why it is called that, perhaps because someone named Mason may have owned it. The land was passed down through family ties. Anyway, it is there and we went back to it today.

We just walk and brush bust and look for interesting things. We wander in the woods, collecting burrs on our clothes and ducking branches. 

We were searching for fungi after the rain we had yesterday. And we found some. Mostly it was either dried up stuff or tiny little fungi blooming in the moisture from the rain.

There was an old chair we found tipped upside down at the base of an old towering oak tree. I flipped it over and proclaimed it to be Olive's new Remote Work Office.

She gave me a look and then laughed and sat in the chair and posed like this:

I told her that I loved to find old chairs that hunters have left in the woods for selfies. Why not? 

[Years before those fancy fold up hunting chairs were invented, hunters brought out old metal chairs and set them in the woods. Heck, that may have even been before tree stands were invented! Tree Stands? I have my own opinion on them...but I won't write about it here. I wrote about THAT in 2010 A Hateful Woman or Stupid Man Invented Tree Stands.]

Here I am in my New Office:

Yeah, in case you are wondering, we don't wear our good clothes while rummaging through the wild woods. 

Good conversation and laughter are things we both need. She as a young mom and a hard worker, me? Well,... you know me.

We take this time once a week to goof off for about an hour or so. 

We explore. Laugh. Point out strange and odd things.

We found Yellow Fairy Cup Fungi:

Witch's butter:

Woods Ear or Amber Jelly Roll:

Shaggy Scaly Caps:

The little Lego dude says -- don't eat this!

We found lots of these mainly on Boxelder Trees.

Fungi we found that was neat but I couldn't ID it at all. 

Not Chicken of the Woods:

We did find Hen of the Woods.

I cannot believe I didn't photograph it, but I was distracted by the amazing scene and took photos of the oak that had Hen of the Woods at its base. Maybe because the fungi was old and dried up and...well, looked just nasty!

This rock formation looks like a granite pile of huge rocks. Almost like the earth below thrusted it up in the middle of the woods.

Olive and I want to come back and explore the rocks one day. 

Both of us have to admit that a little bit of outdoor play time or forest time is essential for a good state of mind.

A little shinrin-yoku goes a long way.

Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese saying for Forest Bathing or simply immersing yourself in nature for your health.