Training day

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I went up tomStone Mountain State Park today for a training hike. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny. The loop trail is 4.3 miles, so I planned on doing it twice. It had been several years since had hiked there and several trail improvements had been made. Starting out I had the trail to myself, but as I reached the back side near the falls I finally started seeing others. There is a new parking lot on the upper side that allows access to the summit and falls without having to do the whole loop. most of the casual hikers are on that side.

I moved along quickly the first time around since I wanted to see if it's possible to come up here on a school day and have time to get home before the boys get off the bus. On the downhill trek I slipped on an acorn and went down to one knee. In my pack I have a down jacket, gallon of water (for weight) and my camelback. When I went down to my knees my pack shifted and pushed me down, my face heading to the ground, luckily I got my hand down first and it cushioned my head sort of. I have a bruise on my hand, my forehead and my knee was bleeding. Grace is NOT my nickname! Luckily just my pride was hurt and that's never stopped me before. I kept walking and soon started my second loop.

The second loop passed quickly with more people out and about. Once I topped out I rested a bit, ate some lunch and poured out my water jug for the last downhill. My feet felt great, my knees were strong and my heart was pumping, so all was good! 3:59 was my time, so it can be done on a school day. Now, I just have to find someone to hike with me. Anyone?

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