BIGEarl
Well-known member
Last August, my friends at CMC in Manchester performed a triple cardiac artery bypass and installed a mechanical valve to replace the one I had which was beyond repair. Roughly a week later, when the CMC staff invited me to leave, they said to start walking and don’t stop. I was given some detailed instructions on easing into the activity. At the four-week mark after surgery I was up to four miles per day in an hour. At the six-week mark I was at seven miles per day in roughly 1.5 hours. At the eight-week mark I was at ten miles in two hours. I decided this was probably enough but occasionally tossed in a twelve to fifteen mile day. This continued until winter came. I was cautioned against outdoor activities in the winter and purchased a treadmill. Soon, my normal routine was 12 percent grade at 3.5 to 4.5 MPH for two to three hours - nonstop. My heart rate monitor always limited the overall intensity.
During my March check-up, my doctor suggested I consider becoming involved in hiking. He knew I enjoyed the outdoors and said it would be a good activity for me. With my doctor’s recommendation, I made plans to hike. Because of my “condition” I needed a hiking partner. I decided my nephew Steven would be ideal if he was interested. I called and on May 1, Steven and I, and Steven’s mother Danielle were climbing Mount Monadnock. The day went well.
I had the idea of hiking the 4000 Footers in my head all along. In fact, I had already sorted the mountains into a logical hike sequence that would essentially be a training/conditioning string leading up to two or three big final hikes. Not knowing if it was possible I needed to comfortably get through one climb and then discuss the possibility. After finishing Monadnock I mentioned climbing the 4000 Footers to Steven. His eyes lit up. Evidently, he liked the idea. I told him of the 4000 Footer Club and a couple added conditions that I wanted to follow in the effort. First, I wanted all day hikes. Second, I wanted to be completed by August 3, 2005 (the one-year anniversary of heart surgery). All he asked was, “when do we start?”
On May 14, 2005 we hiked our first 4000 Footer, Mt. Tecumseh, From that date we were hiking most weekends, but we did miss one or two. We hiked back-to-back days on regular weekends and back-to-back-to-back hiking days on Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. Many days included multiple 4000 Footers. We also included mountains on the New England Hundred Highest list where possible.
Yesterday, July 23 we completed a Presidential Traverse, which also included the final eight mountains of the 4000 Footers. It was a long but very satisfying day. We started at 5:00am from Appalachia and finished at 9:00pm, with headlights, at the Webster-Jackson trailhead on Route 302, just south of the Highland Center. We even managed a relaxing lunch at the summit of Mt. Washington (tough to do considering the crowd).
I realize completing the 48 in ten weeks isn’t a record, but it’s not bad – all things considered.
Next, the NE 4000 Footers and Hundred Highest. And, some hut-based hikes that will allow us to really appreciate the White Mountain experience.
Thanks to everybody for their posted trail reports and hike reports. The information included was extremely helpful in our efforts. I’ll try to make it less of a one-way flow of information in the future.
During my March check-up, my doctor suggested I consider becoming involved in hiking. He knew I enjoyed the outdoors and said it would be a good activity for me. With my doctor’s recommendation, I made plans to hike. Because of my “condition” I needed a hiking partner. I decided my nephew Steven would be ideal if he was interested. I called and on May 1, Steven and I, and Steven’s mother Danielle were climbing Mount Monadnock. The day went well.
I had the idea of hiking the 4000 Footers in my head all along. In fact, I had already sorted the mountains into a logical hike sequence that would essentially be a training/conditioning string leading up to two or three big final hikes. Not knowing if it was possible I needed to comfortably get through one climb and then discuss the possibility. After finishing Monadnock I mentioned climbing the 4000 Footers to Steven. His eyes lit up. Evidently, he liked the idea. I told him of the 4000 Footer Club and a couple added conditions that I wanted to follow in the effort. First, I wanted all day hikes. Second, I wanted to be completed by August 3, 2005 (the one-year anniversary of heart surgery). All he asked was, “when do we start?”
On May 14, 2005 we hiked our first 4000 Footer, Mt. Tecumseh, From that date we were hiking most weekends, but we did miss one or two. We hiked back-to-back days on regular weekends and back-to-back-to-back hiking days on Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. Many days included multiple 4000 Footers. We also included mountains on the New England Hundred Highest list where possible.
Yesterday, July 23 we completed a Presidential Traverse, which also included the final eight mountains of the 4000 Footers. It was a long but very satisfying day. We started at 5:00am from Appalachia and finished at 9:00pm, with headlights, at the Webster-Jackson trailhead on Route 302, just south of the Highland Center. We even managed a relaxing lunch at the summit of Mt. Washington (tough to do considering the crowd).
I realize completing the 48 in ten weeks isn’t a record, but it’s not bad – all things considered.
Next, the NE 4000 Footers and Hundred Highest. And, some hut-based hikes that will allow us to really appreciate the White Mountain experience.
Thanks to everybody for their posted trail reports and hike reports. The information included was extremely helpful in our efforts. I’ll try to make it less of a one-way flow of information in the future.
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