The preparation continues

For those who read French, there is a nice write-up of the French Pilgrim forum written up here.

 And here I am in a frame of a short video they made of the conference.

Now that I'm back in the US (after returning from Paris/Burkina Faso)  I have been occasionally walking with local walking and hiking groups to stay in shape.  

Sometimes I have walked with various dog-walking groups.  Here I am at Riley's Lock walking along the C&O Canal in Poolesville.

And here I am in Greenbelt Park, walking with the the Mid-Atlantic 
Hiking Group.

Hikes on weekdays during the day usually ensure that most people will be retired and in my age bracket. It also usually means that they will likely walk at a pace closer to my own.

                                           

 

  

 

Spring walks are always lovely because the wildflowers are in bloom and the trees are beginning to leaf. 

I am concerned about my hip (I had partial hip surgery in 2012) and an arthritic knee which act up from time to time.  I occasionally have unexplained shin-splints so I have bought some compression sleeves for my legs. I'm testing these out, using them on my walks to see if they seem to have any benefit.

I can't let a few arthritic joints hold me back, though, because I know that if I stop exercising, they will only continue to degenerate. Below are some additional photos of a walk with a few members of the Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group at the Rachel Carsen Conservation Park in Brookeville, MD.  I try to take advantage of any hikes they have during the week that are held in the morning--which are rare.  Usually they cater to working people with evening or weekend walks which I try to avoid.  I miss the disappearance of the Silver Spring Outdoors Meetup Group that I used to frequent in previous years, but I guess nobody wanted to take responsibility for running it because it was a lot of work researching and planning regular activities.

So ultreïa!*


* The word Ultreïa stems from a mixture of Latin and Old French meaning "beyond." It used to be shouted between pilgrims during the Middle Ages as a wish of an unfailing courage.