Happy New Year!

Posted by Kara

Very cold weather and busy holidays have kept me indoors for over a month now, it seems, which I am really ashamed of. I had sworn that I would try to keep this up in the winter months, but have slacked off. One of my New Year's resolutions will be to continue to keep up hiking all year round, for both pleasure and health. I can't wait to continue exploring new hikes around Missouri, as well as revisiting old ones, especially in the spring. I'm even currently convincing my father to take a trip with me this summer to Arkansas to hike Mt. Magazine! Hopefully I'll start getting out there again soon now that all the holiday bustle is over with, even if it means braving a bit of cold to do so.

I got this book, Hiking St. Louis by Evie P. Harris from my sister  for Christmas! It is very short and sweet, with hand-drawn maps (which I'm a little unsure of). I'm really excited because it has new hikes in it that aren't in the 60 Hikes in 60 Miles book. I am also excited because my sister and I haven't had a chance to hike together yet, so I'm looking forward to that.

A relative of mine lent me these really fantastically awesome hiking poles to try out next time I go hiking. While over at the house for Christmas Eve dinner, I got into a conversation with him about hiking, finding that he shares my interest, and I was really excited when he told me I should give these a try. They even adjust to fit my height! I remember seeing people in Austria use these while hiking, but have never tried them myself. It's also exciting to find someone new to discuss hiking with, and he gave me some neat ideas of trails to try in the area.

My relative also lent me this book, Everyday Wisdom: 1001 Expert Tips for Hikers by Karen Berger, during the same visit. I haven't had a chance to explore it much yet, but it seems to have everything from basic survival tips to more expert backpacking tips-- one day I would really love to be able to be experienced enough to go on a backpacking trip (though not alone, since my directional and map-reading skills are severely lacking).