Since my last post, I have went out on three occasions to do some day hiking in the Pine Creek Wilderness, and the Hauser Wilderness areas of the Cleveland National Forest. The first of the three outings was a short one, as I have been having feet and ankle issues. I went to the Japatul Fire Station road to the southern end of the Pine creek wilderness trail head parking. from there, I descended 1800 feet to Pine Creek, where I discovered a riparian habitat full of life! Having forgotten to get a map of this wilderness area, I lost the trail much to my dismay... so i turned back. Feet were aching anyway...

Second of the three this past week was to section A4 of section A of the PCT. sorry if it sounds like government acronyms, cause it is..lol  Anyway, I parked on Kitchen Creek Road, where the PCT crosses it and headed south towards Boulder Oaks Camp Ground 4 mile's hike away. A very pleasant hike indeed. although there were a lot of people out this day. Got to the campground and had a snack, drank a little water and headed back to the car, 4 miles hike north and all up hill! luckily, I'm in fantastic shape now, and didn't hardly notice the grade..

Sunday's hike was to the north end of the Pine Creek Wilderness, at the base of Stonewall Peak in Pine Valley. I took the Secret Canyon trail a couple of miles in the Pine Valley Bridge. Along the way I ran into a fellow hunting turkey, sporting a 12 gauge shot gun. Boy was he cute! Anyway, this was really a fun hike, going back there tomorrow to do a few more miles of it with my newfound friend Robin.

A little about my feet problems...I mentioned it to my doctor, he ordered x-ray images and referred me for arch support inserts for my shoes. He did mention that my shoes looked a little (ok a lot) suspect, so this afternoon I purchased a new pair of light hikers. I do have to say that they feel better on my feet than previously worn shoes. I guess I can't be cheap when it comes to footwear anymore...X-ray's came back normal. obviously I knew that would be the case, as soft tissue doesn't show up on that type of imaging. Tendon issues,  I'm fairly certain...Maybe the new shoes will help.