If you read my last CrossFit Article ("CrossFit Is My Church"), you already know I am a fairly recent convert to the cult of CrossFit. At the time of this writing I'm about Six months in the box. In addition to the athletic performance increases, I am down a couple waist sizes, and have even... Continue Reading →
I love soup. It is by far my favorite meal. I love making soup. Dicing the vegetables, browning the meat, sweating the mirepoix, adding delicious stock, playing with seasonings until its just right, bringing everything to a boil, and dropping it down to a simmer. I love it all. I love the smell it fills... Continue Reading →
The mountains are calling and I must go. - John Muir This hike was my introduction to the drug that is the 48, and to mountain climbing in general. I am of course referring to the Forty-Eight, 4,000+ Foot Peaks in my home state of New Hampshire that were carved from the granite bones of... Continue Reading →
If you've read my "You Can't Run From A Bad Diet" post you know that when I wrote it, I was fairly anti coaching. You'll also no doubt realize that the diet I was on then is marginally different from the diet I'm on now. This is to be expected. I wrote the last article... Continue Reading →
Alltrails.com describes the trail as a 3.1 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Lincoln, NH that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Lonesome Lake is located in the Franconia Notch State Park, which is in the very heart of the White Mountains National Forest. The trail head is located in the Lafayette Place Campground, and parking is limited so getting there either early in the day, late in the afternoon, or on a weekday is most advisable. At the top of the trail you'll find the Lonesome Lake Hut, operated by the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club). Reservations for overnight stays range from $74 per night for a member child aged 3-12 to $167 per night for a non member adult. Your stay includes a fantastic home cooked breakfast and dinner. The trail is fairly well marked with yellow blazes, and includes both a white, and blue blaze section of the Appalachian Trail.
I LOVE GEAR. I love hobbies that involve gear, gear and books. For me, cool toys are part of living a life worth living. Gear is required for adventure and exploration. With that in mind, if you read my initial post you'll know that I barely have two coins to rub together. Both my wife and I live frugally and have jobs with very high emotional rewards, but relatively low financial ones. I am a teacher, and she is a social worker. We help people for a living. We make the world a better place with our work, and that is unlikely to change. Still though, I REALLY like gear. This means I need to either save up to get the things I want, or want things that are comparatively inexpensive. Other posts will cover how to get your finances into a healthy place, but for now lets talk toys.
Here's what I know. If you are an American, and you are reading this post odds are that you have a terrible diet. If you are from some other country, odds are that you have a better diet. If you are a time traveler coming from a time several hundred years in the past, you probably have a pretty good diet. As your diet is bad, you are likely overweight. I know I'm overweight, I know that I spent most of my life eating the Standard American Diet, and as I began to move past my 20's (when your body can gain nutrition from just about anything) I began to....swell.. I also began to get less sleep, work longer hours, spend less time being active and generally speaking got sick.
Welcome to my blog. Why are you here? Well, really only you can answer that question effectively, but I may have some guidance for you. This is the personal internet home of Michael Thompson. My alter ego is The Ranger of Darkhollow, and I am on a journey of self-improvement.
The Ranger of Darkhollow 