Hiking Confession

I have a confession to make. Two weeks I posted on Facebook that I had bagged Mount Frissell, Connecticut's highest point. When my husband and daughter got up to where we thought was the summit, we ate snacks, snapped photos and headed home.

That night, when Chris was reading more about the mountain, he discovered we made a mistake that many do -- stopping on the top of Round Mountain, instead of continuing on to the south slope of Mount Frissell. Oops.

We had unfinished high pointing business in Connecticut.

So when we had to cancel our Mount Hunger Mountain hike due to snow up there, we decided to head back to Salsbury, CT to reach the true high point -- and then some.

Chris found an 11-mile trail that would take us to Bear Mountain, the highest peak in the state, back up to Round Mountain and on to the south slope of Mount Frissell. Because really, why do one mountain when you can do three.

We left our house at 6:30 a.m. to meet Chris's cousin Stacey (and fellow Kili hiker http://www.climbing4health.com/) and her friend Shannon at the Under Mountain trail head.

The first trek up Bear Mountain felt easy. We reached the top within two hours... the harder part was heading down the steep sections of the mountain. We had to be patient and scoot down a number of the more treacherous rocks.

Then on to Round Mountain (again!) where we had lunch to celebrate being five miles into the journey. I didn't bother to snap photos there...

From there, Chris thought it would take another hour and a half to the high point at Mount Frissell and then back down again. Tired legs and leaf-covered slope made this part of the journey even more difficult but I soldiered on -- because I really ddin't want to have to come back yet another time!

I was glad I did because I found the marker on the southern slope next to a large cairn. It was a bit anticlimatic as far as markers go -- but I was so grateful to see it because that meant I could head back.

We did soon as Chris signed the log book: "We came, we saw, we conquered three mountains and a high point."

We didn't make it down until 3:30 p.m. The sun was sinking so we had to hurry through our last three miles of the hike back to our vehicles. Thankfully, after heading up and down three mountains, the last part was pretty flat. That allowed us to zoom through the last bit. We actually had to switch on our headlamps for the last little bit.

It was a long day on the trail, but it really was a high point in my hiking history.

Fat Woman on the Mountain is available on www.fatwomanonthemountain.com and Amazon.com.

Not conquering Mount Hunger... yet.

I have decided to postpone my journey up Mount Hunger... Vermont had some early snowfall last week and I am worried about hiking conditions up there. (Mount Mansfield had 3-foot drifts on top!) To quote my dear friend Robin Simon: I may be crazy but I'm not stupid.

So instead, I will hike in Massachussetts... joined by Stacey (http://climbing4health.com) , Chris' cousin and fellow Kili hiker. We have our sandwiches (and gloves!) made for the six-hour hike.

Great Day on the Way

It's windy outside but I am heading out to Watchung Reservation for a quick jaunt in the woods. I have a big hike to prepare for next weekend -- Mount Hunger, Vt. -- so I want to make sure that I keep my legs moving but don't overtax them.

That, plus I did a killer Spinning class plus workout with Heather Worthy (www.worthyfitness.com) yesterday. Yowzah!

Then I'm heading to Readington Buffalo Farm to go pumpkin picking. This is a real patch where we get to trip over the vines and tug our favorite pumpkin off the plant.

Biggest Losers Ed and Heba talk about joining me up Mount Kilimanjaro!

Here's a look at Biggest Losers Heba and Ed talking about joining me up Mount Kilimanjaro. They are incredible people and I am so grateful to have them along on the journey!

Ed and Heba Co-Host My Carolina Today My Carolina Today

Don't forget to meet up with me at an upcoming book signing or hike:

Please join me 7 p.m. tonight (10/12)at REI, 280 Route 10, East Hanover, NJ for an inspirational talk and book signing.

Other book events:
7 p.m. Nov. 9 Bridgewater Library, 1 Vogt Drive, Bridgewater
6:30 p.m. Nov. 17, MediaBistro Book Club, location TBD, NYC
7 p.m. Dec. 8, REI, Norwalk, CT
Upcoming hikes:
10 a.m. Oct. 16, Watchung Res., NJ
11 a.m. Oct. 23, Mount Hunger, VT
10 a.m. Oct. 31, Jockey Hollow, NJ
(Halloween Hike fund raiser w/healthy lunch to follow. Bring ghost stories if you dare!)
Please email me or call me at 973-452-7620 if you would like to join me!
If I have to cancel, I will post it here on my blog, www.fatwomanonthemountain.blogspot.com

Fat Woman on the Mountain - NJN News Healthwatch Report

Noticing Nature

One of the things I love most about hiking is that every step, every turn brings a whole new scene. There are so many things to admire out in the woods.

Some of of my colleagues (past and present) also have taken notice of nature and captured it. I wanted to share their amazing projects with you.

The first is Courier News Managing Editor/Digital Editor Loren Fisher's What's Good Blog. He started this project because:

"There is plenty of coverage of what's wrong with the world. I'm glad others are keeping an eye on things that could be better, but I want to show what is good around me."

So what's good? A cat in the arch of the courthouse. A bear in his neighborhood. A storm rolling in after sunset. And so much more. Check it out at: What's Good Blog

Second, we have Courier News photographer Andrew Miller. Here is an amazing piece of music he composed himself. Andrew then made a video using photos he took from his cell phone. Awesome. Brilliant. Creative. See for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxosKtLNouw

You should also check out his amazing Hit the Trail images on Full Frame.

Finally, we have Star-Ledger Deputy Managing Editor Steve Liebman. His amazing photos inspired me to go down the Grand Canyon (and back up again). I still carry his hiking tips (such as cut your toenails short or you will lose them) with me on the trail!

Here's a look at his Flickr Stream: http://www.flickr.com/people/sliebman/

So get out there and notice nature on your own adventures. Happy trails!

p.s. The book, Fat Woman on the Mountain, comes out next week! Keep an eye on my website, http://www.fatwomanonthemountain.com/, for more information!
















He also has some great stuff on the Courier News photo blog.

Cleaning My Plate

I have been trying to trim down for third trek up Mount Kilimanjaro. My workouts have been on track, but, as always, I was struggling with food. I could come home from the grocery store with the same old stuff -- quick, but not exactly quality. I hadn't been paying attention to portions.

Even though I had stepped up my workouts, the scale wasn't moving down.

While I was visiting my mother, she handed me The Eating Well Diet Cookbook. She used it to help get her and my step-father on a healthy track. She also issued me a challenge: If I drop 60 more pounds (which is my goal) she will donate $200 to Global Alliance for Africa on behalf of my trek.

I got home and got right to work on, well, Eating Well. So far, so good. The pounds have been peeling off as I have been following (more or less) the 28-day plan in the book.

Most of the recipes are simple and beautiful healthy concoctions. Sometimes my kitchen is like some scenes in Julie & Julia -- with me cursing through a recipe that is taking me too long to prepare (ehem, Chicken Divan!).

Cooking more has helped me be more mindful about what I am eating. For example, the egg recipes for breakfast sustain me longer than the Blueberry-Coconut Macadamia Nut Muffins (though they are damn good). I am not rushing through a super-sized bowl of cereal anymore.

I am happy to report I have dropped 20 pounds since that July Vermont visit just by cleaning up my plate.

Fat Woman on the Mountain, the story of my 120-pound weight loss and quest to hike Kilimanjaro, will be available Sept. 14 on my website, http://www.fatwomanonthemountain.com/.