Training Hike #1...No Hangover, No Picture, Great Hike

I decided to train closer to home this year as that will encourage me to go hiking more often. When day light savings comes in March there will even be enough sunlight to hike after work instead of the boring treadmill at the gym. Fortunately for us Portland residents there are miles and miles of trails within the city limits. Today I hiked up the Marquam hill. The trail takes you from 300 ft above sea level to 1125 ft in just 1.7 miles. This trail is almost completely up but there are a few breaks to get your heart rate down so the total elevation gain for the day was 860 feet. I came up with a lofty goal while I was hiking to climb the equivalent of Mt Everest (29,035) over the next 20 weeks. My Average HR was 157 for this hike and I got up and down in 1 hour and 23 minutes. Man I am out of shape but the journey to health and the Summits of Mt Hood, Middle & South Sister, Adams and Rainer begins today. Weight 287.5 with 89.5 lbs of fat. When I was a wrestler in college was weighed between 225 and 230, so my goal this year is to loose 60 lbs of fat and get back in shape! On the summit today I noticed that my digital camera was dead.....too many holiday pictures and not enough charging. I will be charged up and ready to go next week, and so will my camera.