Normally I just pour 1/3 cup of dry steel cut oats into my squat, 1 liter titanium cooking mug, after coating it with some peanut oil. I then add 1 cup of water, put the cover on. add another cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, set the mug inside, close up the instant pot, and set it to cook for 10minutes at high pressure. let cool naturally for 15-20 minutes.
I was in a rush, so I vented after 5 minutes. Oats were cooked but venting is violent, and it popped the lid off the cooking titanium mug inside and oats splattered all over the instant pot's insides. it made for a messier cleanup after breakfast, lesson learned. If I waited another 15 minutes the water in the bottom of the instant pot stays clean, and it's useful for doing dishes after breakfast.
I dumped the cooked oats into my yeti insulated bowl then added a heaping scoop of peanut butter flavored orgain protein powder and a heaping scoop of pb fit powder to the bowl. it made it way too dry, so I added some soymilk while mixing to get the texture right, poured in a little peanut butter too. diced some dried dates added to the oatmeal. filled me up, and super yummy. My gas tank (belly) was now full for my hike.
Then off to hike up Mt Wakely. Like i've said before. it's 3 miles up, 3miles back, but the first 2 miles are easy, the last mile sucks. when I was heavier, the last mile took me 2x longer than it took me to walk the first 2 miles.
The rain from the day before and a shift in wind patterns took care of all the air particles in the air from the fires up in Canada. Air was pretty clear.
Today though. it was 50 minutes for the first 2 miles and 45 minutes for the last mile. AND!!!! that last mile didn't suck like before. I didn't feel like I was gasping for air like when I was >275, and my legs were fine. No muscle burn. I powered right on up, no problem. being around 215 is awesome for mt hiking. With the hiking poles I can protect my knees too. I shorten them going up, lengthen coming down. Using my arms to help cushion any strain on my knees.
here's a screenshot of my outing and some photos from up on the fire tower. the phone app always messes up the portrait shots, i'll have to fix them when i get home.
after getting back to camp, i ate a big lunch of my black bean, chipotle, cabbage, onion mix in a wrap, and ate some snacks too. I made the mex bean mix at home the day before I left, as well as some classic baked beans with bacon. During my hike, i was careful to eat a cliff bar every hour, and to drink lots of water.
after resting for an hour, I went on a long bike ride with Jeff. Just shy of 3 hours. He has an ebike with fat bike tires, good for the hidden rocks on the road.
We biked from Wakely Dam into the woods to the T junction. Left goes to Otter Brook, Right goes to Inlet. 13.3 miles from camp. we doubled back from the T. Overall, 1850ft of climbing on top of the hike i did in the morning, so I'd say I'm pretty darn fit right now.
Last but not least, I went for a swim again in the evening, but I didn't kick much. I wasn't pulling hard via my arms either. A slow and steady, very lazy freestyle. I swam more to wash off the grime and to loosen up. I have induction headphones with pre-loaded music, so it was fun to swim and relax listening to 70's & 80's music. I'm officially old and listening to music for nostalgia now.
Did another campfire session with Jeff, turned in around 10p.m.
Earlier that day the ranger had mentioned there's a running race along Northville Placid Saturday that ends where we're camping. Can't imagine doing an ultramarathon in cold rain, but ultramarathoners are hard core.
Sat morning around 5:45a.m. Some runners were dropping off their cars and they were quite noisy. They walked between my truck and jeff's van to use the restroom which is fine (when you gotta go, you gotta go), but they were yapping as they walked through our campsite. aholes. One of them broke off the screwed down bit of wood on the door, so the door was left wide open when I went to use it later that morning. I think they shut the door too hard, locked themselves in and had to bust themselves out. I pulled out my tool box and fixed it later. If I remember I'll take a photo of the wooden latch mechanism. Very old school.
I think they were just leaving some cars for after the race. They drove off and things got quiet again around 6:15a.m. But I was up at that point, so I laid in bed until 7am. made a morning protein smoothie and started blogging sitting inside the mini camper listening to the rain outside.
After a couple hours, the rain subsided so I went and knocked on jeff's van. So currently I'm in his van. will leave around lunch and then nap in my mini camper this afternoon. Thunderstorms and heavier rain are coming. it will taper off later, but maybe not in time for an evening campfire. Today is a rest day.
Sunday I plan on biking from here down to the Stewart's in INdian lake for lunch, and then bike back to camp. Solo. Jeff hates any road biking, freaks him out, so he'll go do something else tomorrow. But I want to see what the climb is like from Indian Lake to get back to the camp at Wakely Dam. I think I'm light/fit enough to enjoy it.
Monday, I want to bike all the way down to the T junction again and then onward to Otterbrook. I'll do a quick soak in the plunge pool in the brook, and then bike back to camp. Jeff will join me (not the cold plunge part), but he'll bring his 2nd battery along on his ebike. We'll be repeating a lot of our ride yesterday, but his bike is super heavy and we didn't want to risk him running out of juice for the climb over Cellar mt. He'd have had to walk the bike up the hill to get back to camp if the battery ran out on the climb.
Tuesday is forecast to be a rainy day, so driving home then. Then I have to prep for going to Boothbay that Saturday.
I feel like I'm fully in Summer mode. Feels great. Enjoying life especially now that I'm way lighter than last Summer. Starting to relax a little and worry less. I'd promised myself retiring at 50 made more financial sense because I'd have time to get my weight down and get healthy, but I didn't do much the first couple years. I got down to up 260's and right back up to upper 290/low 300's over Winter. Touch wood, that's solved now. I'm light enough to cross country ski during the Winter now too.
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