Finally registered...

[arlohike]

Hello,

I've been using this site for a while to find and prepare for new hikes in the area -- the field guide and the trip reports are both super-useful -- but have finally taken a moment to register for the forums.

Although my main sport is road biking, I've always enjoyed hiking in the limited sense of "walking in the woods," and usually retreat to the Forest Park trails when the weather is too yucky for the bike. Then somehow I stumbled across the idea of the Wildwood Trail through-hike and got hooked on the idea. I did it last summer, 30.25 miles in 11 hours, and was practically on my hands and knees by the end. But I immediately started planning to do it again with better preparation.

Since then I've gotten better-fitting boots, a lighter pack and have been experimenting with different socks and sock liners, and have been seeking out different hikes around Portland and the Gorge both for conditioning and testing out my setup. I still consider myself a hiking newbie, but I've extended my mileage range, learned to prevent blisters and have had a really wonderful time going beyond the well-known Gorge destinations to less-travelled areas.

As a side note, I'm a software developer by trade and I've developed an iOS app called Elevation Tracker with a Pebble watch interface so I can check my time, distance and elevation with a glance at my wrist. Last month I added support for heart rate monitors, so lately I've been hiking with an HRM to test for bugs. It feels a bit incongruous to bring technology like that out into the forest, but on the other hand a long hike gives me a lot of unpressured time to mull over my projects and come up with ideas for improvement.

Anyway, I'm planning to do the Wildwood through-hike again at the end of May, and then I'll shift my focus back to biking for the summer, but I've definitely developed a deeper interest in hiking this year and will be back for more next winter and beyond.

Cheers,
-Arlo

[Born2BBrad]

Welcome Arlo

Sounds like you're ready to join the Loony Hikers Club. Maybe you can tag along with Sean the next time he does the 60 mile double Wildwood. My feet ache just thinking about that.

Hike on,

Brad

[Peder]

Welcome Arlo! Have fun what ever you do; we all have fun doing what we like. So when you choose to bike or hike is all up to you... I prefer the latter.