Well, what better way to kick off the New Year than to do a one day presidential traverse! Ryan, Rob, Larisa and myself started out at Appalachia on icy trails. We sported our microspikes from the beginning and took my favorite trail, Watson Path, to the summit of Madison. I fell in love with that trail when an old friend Katie took me up it for my first ever one day presi traverse a few summers ago. I was certainly out of shape from taking off so much time from the elevation and felt really bad about holding everyone up but was thrilled to have company.
The day could not have been more beautiful! The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the temperatures felt more like April than January. We summitted Madison and took some pictures before walking down to Madison Hut. We hiked up Adams where I enjoyed a yummy whoopie pie at the summit. After some photographs of Larisas sign we moved on to Jefferson. We were moving along nicely and there was very little snow up there! It was so crazy!
After our summit of Jefferson we walked up and over Clay and then stood on top of Mount Washington where there were a lot of people. The conditions were now becoming undercast and we had a spectacular view of the tops of the clouds! After a few summit pictures and some snacking we headed down into the windy, Southern pressies.
As we came up and over Monroe it was getting colder, cloudier, and windier! We took some more pictures and did the slog over to Eisenhower where we were blasted with wind, now it was starting to feel like winter! There was a bit more snow there as well and we walked over to Pierce where I was glad to be on the last summit. I was feeling tired as this was the most mileage I had done in several months. We marched on down and Rob and Larisa got to the car first and got it nice and warm for us. Ryan kept me company on the way down and we finished in exactly 10 hours! Not bad for being out of shape! I was thrilled and the best part was that it was my first one day winter presi traverse!!!
As I start to heal up I am starting to run again on the treadmill and am doing a lot of physical therapy. I am trying really hard to take it slow and do this right. It is not easy but I did make myself a promise to behave this year. As a treat for myself I bought a new running skirt that is reflective and very comfortable!
It has an inner short that has nice leg elastics to keep the undershort in place. The skirt moves very well and does not feel restrictive. The reflective stars are extremely cute and I love the fit! Plan on ordering true to size. The only thing I would change with this skirt is the crotch area. It has a very rough seam and you must be willing to wear underwear with it or you will not be a happy runner. Check out the website at http://www.relaxreflect.com/ and in the comments box tell them “Dangergirl” referred you to their site! They are super fast with processing and shipping and you will love the product! Happy New Year! 
Check out the website at http://www.relaxreflect.com/ and in
the comments box tell them “Dangergirl” referred you to their
site!
