Dinner with Kim and Chef Will

Friday night dinner was deeee-licious. It was a middle East meet Italy evening as Will dished up big, steaming platefuls of eggplant pasta served with artisian bread and an Olive Garden salad. I certainly put away more than enough pasta to fuel my Saturday morning run!

On the agenda with dinner, some discussions about our travel plans for 2008. While plans are still in the works, we are looking at some weekend backpacks to Savage Gulf and Shennandoah National Park and possibly a trip to Egypt (if not this year, definitely next). Stay tuned, more to come.

Will took several photos Friday night and I have included them below. We are a fine looking group....

Kim in her fabulous red dress, wearing Will's yellow Rubbermaids. He is very lucky to have such attractive, able kitchen help!

Me watching Will cook!

John and me. I need to loose the reading glasses around the neck. I look like someone's great aunt Effie!

Another great picture of Kim

Will, who is becoming quite a chef in his retirement. We are always happy recipients of his efforts.

Thanks for the evening Will and Kim!

A Brick....of sorts

John and I agree that I am a better bicycler than runner (read: stronger, faster). The problem is, I prefer to run and haven't been paying much attention to the bike recently so I was feeling particularly whimpy when we went to ride laps on Cherokee Blvd today.

My hill skills are weak and the loop we rode included the first large hill on the Blvd. While riding at a decent pace on the flats and small hills, my gears maxed out as we began the big climb. Ouch! I have some work to do! We knocked off a slow 11.6-miles in 50 minutes and I jumped off the bike to run while John continued riding...at a much faster pace.

John and his very new (yesterday) bicycle. This is the replacement for the bike that was destroyed in his September accident.

I am told that running after bicycling is called a "brick." The reason for this is that when you try to run after bicycling, your legs feel like bricks. Amen!! Several weeks ago I tried to run after my ride and got through a very painful 1/2-mile. Today I planned to run 2-miles after the ride and I was determined to be successful.

The run started out awkard and shakey, my legs just wouldn't respond to my efforts. I am sure I looked as funny as my legs felt cause the motion was that of a waddle. Somewhere after the first mile things began to feel better and finally around the 1.75 mile marker, I got my running legs back. It did feel good to hit 2.0-miles and stop!

Ugh! That's some helmet, running hair!

On another note, we went to see "Bucket List" last night. While I boo-hoo'd at the end, the film was good and the international scenery great. With Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, it is a must see film. Wow, 2 films in 1 week, that is big for us.

Winter Running

Today's running schedule said 7 miles so I laced up pair A running shoes and headed out to Cherokee Blvd to give it my best go. With a 38 F temperature and a "feels like" 32 F, my biggest concern was what to wear. Haven't done much winter running in say, well, the last 10 years but I made some very good clothing choices and.... some bad ones.

Lacking in official running gear, I dug into my camping clothes and pulled out a long underwear top, fleece vest and fleece tights. Award for "Best Item" goes to a pair of Smart Wool running socks. With breezy vents on top of running shoes, these socks kept my tootsies nice and cozy. "Worst Item" ....my long underwear top. I am a hot runner and by mile 5, I felt like a furnace. The tights were great and the vest worked okay (lots of pockets to tuck phone, emergency

number, gloves, fleece headband and such, causing me to look an extra 10-15 pounds heavier).

Aside from clothing lessons, I also learned another lesson....remember to check your gear before you go out the door. My sun glasses broke while trying to straighten them in the car and I could not get my watch set to time my run. This last issue was a good thing. Being a slow chick, I probably didn't need to know how slow I was running, might have been a bit discouraging.

As for the run, miles 1-6 went great, mile 7, complete but not so pretty. I was happy to hear "We Are the Champions" on my iPod about 6.5, the song put a little kick in my step and got me home. I wonder, am I becoming an iPod addict?

Spirit of the Marathon

Tonight John, Will, Kim and I went see "Spirit of the Marathon." The film was scheduled in a limited number of cities for a one night showing, 01-24-08. Knoxville, like many cities across the country, sold out before the day of the show.

The film features 6 runners- 2 elite, 2 repeat marathoners and 2 new marathoners. The story line, through the voices of the athletes, tells how each came to the point of running the 2005 Chicago Marathon and follows their training and running the marathon. It is a story of dedication, pain, injury and success, and is very motivational. Eight thumbs up from the 4 of us!

Back to the Gym

Determined not to go more than 3 consecutive days without a run (Saturday's 1.5-mile doesn't really count), I slinked into the gym this evening to put a few more miles on my new Asics 2130's. Actually I wore pair A, a Christmas gift from John, while pair B, a Christmas gift from-to me, remained in the closet for tomorrow's effort.

The gym this time of the year is quite crowded. People are on their 3rd week of that popular "get in shape" New Year's resolution and are still pretty dedicated so I had a short wait for an open treadmill. When one became available, I turned on my iPod, cranked up the treadmill speed and suffered through a couple of painful miles. Somewhere around mile 2, a women climbed on the treadmill next to me, put on her iPod, picked up her phone and started a loud conversation about car issues....so loud that I could hear the conversation over Pink's "Get the Party Started" blasting in my ear. Irritation was my first reaction, then I got mad. When I get mad, I run harder and the run gets easier.

So I guess I should thank her. I completed 4 miles at a moderately fast pace and felt great after the run. Not bad for a girl still suffering from the effects of the weekend backpack, suffering so much that after the run I had to cling to the bannister to get down 10 steps to the first floor of the gym.

On another note, with the inclement weather, the bird feeders in my yard stayed pretty busy. At one point I counted 14 cardinals stationed around the green feeder, waiting to swoop in for a sunflower seed snack. Sometime late in the afternoon, I looked up from my computer and saw no birds. Then I spied a magnifiacent hawk perched in the ash tree near my window, looking for a snack of his own. He stayed around for a few minutes but it took about 30 for the smaller birds to return to feeding. Below are a few pictures from today:

Post Backpack Recovery

I have been moving slow for the past 48 hours, the proverbial "licking my wounds". Wicked downhills on Frozen Head's Chimney Top Trail kicked my butt, or at least bested my calves and quads. While today's running schedule puts me back on the treadmill for a 5-mile run, the dismal icy weather conditions have provided an excellent excuse to put the run off for another 24 hours, or at least until after work.

Frozen Head Backpack

Every year we look forward to the Sierra Club annual winter backpack. Some years the weather is warm, but this year did not disappoint, the trip provided as much cold weather as we could stand.

Hike leader Ron Shrieves had scheduled the bp for Frozen Head State Park in the Cumberland Mountains. His original plan was to leave Oak Ridge at 8:30 AM for a 30 minute drive and six mile hike to Tubb Springs campsite. John and I were concerned about his shoulder; he had not carried a backpack since his bicycle accident in mid-September. We also though that 8:30 was a very early departure for a six mile hike, especially with the anticipated frigid conditions. We conferred with Will Skelton and all decided to leave Knoxville at 12:30 PM, hike the 3.5-mile North Old Mac Trail and meet the group at the campsite.

Ron's group plans changed to a later departure and changed again when signing in at the Visitor's Center where he learned that the campsite was full. The group was assigned to the Mart Fields campsite via the Spicewood Trail and Ron notified us of the changes by cell. We left Knoxville as planned and started hiking at 2:18 PM (we got lost on the way to the trailhead but don't ask).

Will on the corridor trail that eventually turned into the Spicewood Trail

The Spicewood Trail was a gradual incline that stretched over 3.9 miles. I should say the trail was billed as "gradual", in reality it climbed almost 500' per mile. It was a pleasant hike. We figured the temperature was below freezing but the climbing kept us warm.

John on the Spicewood Trail, stopping for a snack and to zip up against the light wind

John's shoulder did just fine. The hike took a little longer than expected but we could smell the campfire before we could see the campsite so the anticipation helped push us through the final uphill climb. We arrived about 5:00 PM and were pleased to discover a large flat site on the top of the mountain with incredible views on both sides. Ron and group (Steve Harvey, Linda Morrison, Marti Hands and Terri Cox) had their tents set up and were sitting around a roaring campfire. We were surprised to learn that they had arrived only 30 minutes or so before us.

A sunset worth braving the cold

We had a simple but delicious dinner: pine nut couscous with grilled chicken and fresh spinach. It was filling and didn't make much mess. By the time we settled down to dinner, the temps were in the mid to low 20's and a slight breeze blew swirling the campfire smoke around the campsite. By this time, I was wearing long underwear, a fleece vest, fleece jacket, down jacket, 2 sets of gloves, 2 pair of socks, fleece pants, Will's old down booties, a wool hat and the hood from my down jacket to block the gusts of wind. It was cold!

Ron sitting around the campfire. Terri Cox in the back with the blue jacket

The campfire with John's crocs and Will's new booties. Face behind the smoke are Steve (standing) and Linda (sitting).

The group called it a night around 9:00 PM. Even with the fire, it was cold and we were ready to crawl in our warm sleeping bags. Most of our cameras were acting temperamental in the cold.

Chimney Top ridge trail

Morning arrived too soon and it was time to climb out of my nice, warm sleeping bag. John had crawled out of his sleeping bag a few minutes earlier and started heating hot water for drinks and breakfast. Yeah John! It snowed lightly overnight and we were informed that the temp had dropped to 5 F, probably 0 F with windchill. My feet and hands suffered greatly, a not so gentle reminder that I need to come up with a better cold weather system for both.

We hiked out on the Chimney Top trail. It is a 4.9 mile killer trail. I found this description of the trail on a website describing the 7 significant trails in Frozen Head.

"The Frozen Head trail map describes Chimney Top trail as difficult with 3,460' of elevation gain/loss. They got that part correct: It is very difficult and includes two major climbs and descents (more than 1,000' elev. change each) plus several more minor ones. Some grades are in excess of 20%. Better eat your Wheaties and leave that heavy pack at home. Take plenty of water and energy snacks."

Well, we had to carry our heavy packs. It was very cold and we never really warmed up. The visitors center came into sight long after we expected, almost 4 hours after we left the campsite. We were very happy to be off the trail and in a the warm car driving home.

The Chimney Top trail is named for some incredible rock formations along the way. This is just one of many. Additional pictures of the rocks and other pictures from the trip are located at this link ( click on Outdoors and Frozen Head) http://smithposts.smugmug.com/

A very cold me along the Chimney Trail, and yes, we had just climbed straight up the ridge in the back of the picture, no switchbacks here!

Ice on one of the rock formations.

Getting Ready for Backpack #64

Based on my actions this evening, one would think I have never been on a backpack. But here I am getting ready for my 64th backpack and I can't remember what I need. Blame it on my "advanced" age, the missing backpack list or the stresses involved with moving my mother from assisted living to a nursing home, but things are just not coming together for me.

The simple solution is to take everything I own, but this is surely a slap to the face of the ultra lighters who preach "weight, weight, weight." Hmmm, the weather channel is predicting a low of 15 F with the "feels like" down to 7 F. Ultra lighters consider yourselves slapped! In the pack goes the bulky down jacket, fleece jacket, fleece vest, fleece pants, fleece sleeping bag liner, rain pants, jacket and gaiters, glove liners, gloves, hat, fleece neck gaiter....."warm, warm, warm."

Back to Mayberry

I slipped in and out of Mt A this week, after an absence of over 2 months. I enjoyed being back in an office atmosphere and catching up with people I haven't seen in a while. My favorite thing about Mt A is that it changes very little. I can count on seeing the same friendly faces in my favorite places and being greeted by name like I was there last week.

Food and Friends

After a year of little participation in Sierra Club board meetings and activities, I attended yesterday's annual planning retreat as a regular "member". This is the first year since 1998, that I have not served on the board but work related travel has resulted in many misses of board obligations. I enjoyed the meeting, chatting with people I haven't seen in a while and of course the potluck dinner, which was delish. Too bad for the people who wimped out early and went home directly after the meeting.

Below are a few pictures from the dinner:

Kim and Barbara....Barbara is sporting a hat to cover what she calls, a very short hair cut, we think she looks cute!

One of many great food choices...this is lima beans, olives, pepper and spices

John and me

Will and Kim with Bob in the background

Priscilla, John and Kim

David and Barbara

New Year's Day 5K

Today I ran my first 5k in over 6 years. Though slow, the effort was remarkable to me. Over the past years, I have drifted away from dedicated running. Long (and for me, slow) distances, take much time and effort. With a lot of encouragement from John, I put my running shoes back on in late October and hit the hills in my neighborhood and the treadmill at the gym. The running went well, so late in December I decided to sign up for the New Year's Day 5K.

"Timed running" or racing, for me, means high anxiety and this morning was no exception. John drove me to the race so I couldn't back out and it was a good thing! Once the gun went off, I relaxed and enjoyed the experience. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the Knoxville Marathon 5K in March!

Red Sky in the Morning

Photo from my deck, and yes, it rained all day

Merry Christmas, We Are Back!

We are back! It has been a heck of a December. Mother fell out of her wheelchair in early December. After surgery to insert rods and screws to repair a broken hip and too short a recovery time in the hospital, she was released to a skilled care facility. We expect she will be there several more months.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Daddy came down with pneumonia and Carol with bronchitis. Both illnesses lingered for a couple of weeks so Leslie and I rotated visiting Mother and were careful to avoid Daddy and Carol. Everyone is healthy now...except Mother who is working hard to get back "on her feet."

December was otherwise low key for us. John and I enjoyed dinner with friends scattered though the month, including a memorable meal at Linderhof, where we indulged in a 4 hour food fest of assorted schnitzels, German cabbage, potato salad and lots of talk and laughter. Early in December, the doctor cleared John for all physical activity (remember the collar bone surgery) so we got out on our bikes. Now we are looking forward to January and our first backpack since August.

And somehow, among the fun and family issues, we managed to get ready for Christmas. Below are some pictures of Christmas Day including festivities at the skilled care facility and dinner at Leslie and Mike's house.

In the activities room of the skilled care facility (John is taking photos)

Cranberry glass necklace and earrings, a beautiful gift from Daddy

Wow! An iPod...just what I wanted!!

Carol wearing her new necklace from Daddy

Carol opening something

" Another shirt?" Daddy seems to be saying....

Leslie with a new Christmas ball compliments of Carol's talents

Mother and me

"Another blouse?" Mother seems to be saying....

Leslie and Mike's house, decked out for the holidays

Christmas dinner-lamb, potatoes, salad and squash, yummy!

Mike and Leslie

Two very tired people!

House Mountain Day Hike

John and I hiked House Mountain this morning. We took the Mountain Trail then picked up the Crest Trail to the east overlook (2100') where we could see forever...well, Clinch Mountain and the Smokies anyway. It was a crisp, clear morning, perfect for photos but I forgot my camera so we have no photos.

House Mountain is owned by the state and maintained by Knox County, with a lot of help from local Boy Scout troops. Located only 20 minutes from Knoxville, it is a great place to take a quick hike. A link to the state's website regarding House Mountain is below.

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/na/natareas/housemtn/

Happy Thanksgiving from the Smith Family

The turkey feast is consumed and the pumpkin pie partially eaten. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving; we hope you did too!

Gregory Bald Day Hike

This was the final weekend before Parson Branch Road closed for the season, so John suggested we hike the Gregory Bald Trail (trailhead on Parson Branch). The trail, 9.0-miles round-trip with a 2250' elevation gain and loss, provided a good opportunity to stretch our legs, which, along with the rest of us, are out of shape after being sidelined this summer and fall on account of broken bones.

To get to the trailhead, we had to drive halfway around the Cades Cove Loop Road to the Parson Branch turnoff. It has been a few years since either of us were in the Cove and we had forgotten just how beautiful it is in the morning. There were a number of walkers and bicyclists on the Cove Road but we were early enough that traffic was not a big problem.

The hike was great and the fall colors quite spectacular. All in all a very good day!

Cades Cove in the morning

A misty, beautiful morning in The Cove

Hmmm, I am having more fun than the grimace might indicate

The colors were still spectacular, even this late in the season

Photo by John

"Artsy" photo by John.

The colors are vibrant this year, though they arrived late in the season

Checking the map at a gap along the trail

An unnamed scrubby bush, back lit by the sun.

Beautiful!
John enjoying one more gaze from The Bald before we head back to the car