Holy Hills!

 

Holy Hills!

Richard T. Anderson Park

Eden Prairie, MN

9/29/12

2 hours, 5 miles

98 days to Africa

 

It was a beautiful Saturday morning for a hike.  The temperature was in the 70s and the sun was shining down.  The day's training hike took us to Richard T. Anderson Park in Eden Prairie, MN.  The park is southwest of Minneapolis and about a 40 minute drive from our home.  It is located in the Minnesota river valley and provided something that many of our previous training hikes have been missing....hills!. 

 

The park's trail system primarily consisted of three loops.  Each loop took approximately 15-20 minutes to hike.  This fact made for a great deal of repetition in the hike, but also allowed us ample opportunity to test our quads, hamstrings, hearts and endurance.  We aren't foolish enough to believe that the hills remotely resemble the landscape of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but they did offer a chance for us to work on our vertical strength and endurance. 

 



 

The hike also provided a chance for Greg and Deb to test out some new equipment.  While Deb was away last weekend (see A Tale of Two Cities), Greg went to REI and picked up a couple of pre-selected day packs that will be making their way with us to Africa.  As part of the training hike, Deb and Greg each carried a 10 pound weight wrapped in a towel in the main compartment of their packs.  Realistically, the weight may actually be closer to 15-20 pounds while we are in Africa, but we felt that it would be best to start out with 10 pounds and see how it felt.  The result?  Not too bad.  After the initial adjustment of having the packs on and feeling the added weight, the rest of the hike seemed to proceed much like any of other other training hikes in terms of physical comfort on the back and shoulders.  By the end of the hike, one of Deb's shoulders was a little sore.  Unfortunately, she did not learn until the hike was completed that she had been hiking with the weight in her pack unevenly distributed.  Aside from Deb realizing she needed to better adjust her pack next time, the new bags seemed to be a success.

 

 

 

The new day packs also presented an opportunity for a lively discussion about weight redistribution in relationship to the water we carry with us when we hike.  As we hiked, we discussed the weight we had in our packs.  Deb asserted that really she had 12-13 pounds in her pack as, in addition to the weighted towel, she also had a full 100 ounce camelback water bladder in her bag.  Deb also stated that she felt her bag was getting lighter as she hiked because she had drank much of her water.  Greg agreed that the pack was lighter with the consumption of the water, but wondered if it could really be said that the weight of the water was less as it was now inside our bodies instead of our bags.  The ultimate conclusion was there was likely some decrease in water weight, but that it did not disappear entirely.  We thought it depended on how much water was lost through perspiration.  

 

 

 

When we weren't busy debating the important issues of water and weight distribution, we had a great chance to talk about about our efforts to raise funds and collect supplies for the community we are visiting.  Our efforts are really beginning to ramp up as is the level of participation of several other members of our group.  Greg had a chance to get a better sense for what he hopes to accomplish through the Tin Man event.  Deb and Greg also talked about Deb's vision for the Kilimanjaro challenge, and our commitment to global service for the empowerment of others.  We are learning as we go that there are multiple ways in which others can share the vision of the challenge, and that by working collectively our efforts can be multiplied.

 

 

 

Richard T. Anderson Park was a great experience.  The challenge was a fitting one and, although we did not hike as long or as far as we had on some previous hikes, it offered a fresh challenge in the form of multiple elevation changes.  The fall colors were in full swing, and we could not have been happier to have been on the trail training together.