The Journey in June

“He began to say to himself: ‘Perhaps I shall cross the river myself one day.’
To which the other half of his mind always replied: ‘Not yet.’”
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

After I made my vow to start this project, I wanted to get started right away, near the middle of June. However, I had a plan to travel and see family in at the end of the month, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to start intensely hiking and training.

Thus, I dubbed this period of my challenge “Shire Time,” which I decided was my time to start walking in moderate amounts and get a bit of conditioning going so the “journey to Rivendell” didn’t absolutely kill me. Given that I’d been spending the last few months of the rainy Seattle spring shockingly sedentary, a slow start I thought was probably a good idea.

This is me, feeling much readier for this challenge than I likely am.

My very first day, I walked mainly around town, up hills, through a park, and to meet my friend for dinner. At one point, with my legs straining after a hill and my blood pumping, I thought “Wow, I must have traveled a good distance today!” I pulled out my pedometer and… I had walked 2.2 miles. Total. All day. Okay, this challenge was going to be a bit harder than I thought—I realize that, once July hits, I am going to have to average about 10 miles a day. It was in this moment that I realized I’ll have to gain strength and pick up the pace considerably if I want to come even close to reaching my goal at the end of August. Thankfully, on that first day, I steeled myself, put on some music that made me think of the Shire, and finished 4.97 miles by the end of the day.

After a bit of walking around my neighborhood, exploring local parks, gardens, and side-streets, I decided I wanted to have an official “kick-off” to my journey. In Washington state, there are actually a few Hobbit-holes within driving distance of my home. I traveled to one in Port Orchard, at The Brothers Greenhouses, to mark my official start to my Hobbit-ish walking journey.

"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit..."

After a brief exploration there, I went to nearby Banner Forest Heritage Park and explored forest trails for a few hours. By the end of the day, I walked a little over six miles, and I felt tired but satisfied that I had at least started my journey.

Banner Forest Park

"Stick to the forest track, keep your spirits up, hope for the best..."

- J.R.R. Tolkien,The Hobbit

Throughout June, I finished 77 miles of walking, with an average of 3.5 miles a day. I completed over six miles on my heaviest walking days, such as my Port Orchard trip, but many other days fell short.
 

I traveled “by eagle” (in other words, I flew) to California for a ten-day trip, and I tried to get in at least a little bit of walking by the American River in California. However, it was as hot as Mount Doom while I was there (it hit triple digits for four days in a row), so I didn’t make quite as much progress as I’d like.

Still, I have made it beyond the boundaries of the Shire… only 320 miles left to go.

Miles walked so far: 77 miles

Music to set the mood: “The Shire (Concerning Hobbits)” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, “Mother Nature” by Natalie MacMaster, “The Tempenny Bit (Jig)” by The Boys of Lough

Favorite moment of this chapter of the journey: I loved walking in California because I did so with family, but I think that Banner Forest Park was my favorite walking experience. The forest was rich with life, and at one point a rather huge wild hare dashed out in front of me. I was able to explore a number of interesting forest paths, my favorite being a path named Raven’s Call, which was a twisty-turny labyrinth through the tall trees. It really made me feel like I was “on my way.”

Current mood in this chapter of the journey: Hopeful. Very, very hopeful.