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Walking Trips and a 100 Day Walking Challenge

July 23, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Adventure Travel is listed as one of the top three life goals for those who are retired or near retired.  If you’re in that category or just love to travel, I invite you to take Walking The World’s 100 Day Walking Challenge – #2.

First, why walk?  Biomechanically, we’re made to walk.  Walking is easier for us physically than sitting down.  Actually, there are a thousand good reasons to walk, but mostly it’s fun, you’ll feel better the moment you take that first step, you get up close and personal with the world you live in and you’ll start to smile for no reason at all.

Second, if you want to enjoyably experience the rainforests of Costa Rica, the hidden slot canyons of Southeastern Utah, the fall colors of Maine or the hillside towns of Tuscany, you’ll need to be in good enough physical condition to enjoy all that those areas offer.

As an example, the food and wine in Italy are truly some of the best in the world.  You don’t want to join one of our trips to Tuscany and then have to refuse a glass of smooth, scrumptious red wine from Montalcino or a freshly baked croissant for breakfast simply because you weren’t prepared physically.  Participating in our 100 Day Walking Challenge will help you develop the endurance and strength to handle those decadently good Italian wines and desserts!

In October of 2011 we initiated our first 100 Day Walking Challenge and numerous readers have asked us to offer it again.  So, join us and let’s get started!

Taking a walking trip, walking tour or walking vacation, whatever your preferred name for a chance to explore on foot the magical destinations this world offers, requires that you be in reasonably good physical condition.  Our 100 Day Walking Challenge will prepare you for your coming walking vacations in several ways.  Walking each day for 100 Days will help build your stamina and endurance.  Completing a series of bodyweight exercises each day will help build upper body strength, leg strength and core strength.

In this year’s 100 Day Walking Challenge, we’re asking you to walk every day for 100 days.  We’re also inviting you to set a minimum daily goal that you’ll commit to.  As an example, you might set a goal of walking AT LEAST one mile each day for 100 Days.  If you prefer walking for time, you might do that, or you might enjoy walking for a minimum number of steps, possibly measuring your steps with a pedometer.

If you have a heart rate monitor with a GPS it will be easy to track your time, distance, calories burned and pace.  One nice aspect of having GPS is that you don’t have to worry about measuring distance on a set course and then walking that same course every day.  Having GPS allows you to walk wherever you choose while the GPS tracks your course and distance and records it all on your watch style receiver.

If you prefer to walk for time, I recommend walking a known distance, say one mile, and recording the number of minutes it takes.  Do this several times to get an average.  Once you have an average time to walk a mile, say 20 minutes, you can head out for a 20 minute walk and know generally that you’ve just done one mile.

Equipment and clothing you’ll need.  Walking is easy.  Almost anyone can do it.  You can do it anywhere and you don’t need a lot of clothing and equipment.  You will need a good pair of walking/running shoes, a good pair of sunglasses (they should block UVA and UVB rays and be Polarized), plenty of sunscreen – and don’t forget your lips when applying sun protection, a good hat and PLENTY OF WATER.

Water and walking trips.  Staying hydrated during your 100 Day Walking Challenge is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy and happy.  You should drink before your walk, during your walk and after your walk.  You must be adequately hydrated in order for your body, and mind, to function at optimal levels.  And yes, if you drink a lot of water, you’re going to have to pee more.  Just how it works!

Water bottles or a hydration system like Camelbak, Platypus, MSR or Geigerrig allow you to carry adequate water for your walks.  I invite you to check out the new Geigerrig at www.geigerrig.com to see how this innovative hydration system works.  Basically, the Geigerrig is a pressurized system that allows you to drink water, share water with friends or pets, or wash off wounds or dirt without needing to share your bite valve with others.  You simply squeeze the mouth piece and water flows freely to you, your pet, your friend or anywhere else you might need to supply life sustaining water.

Buddies are great for helping one stay committed to a 100 Day Walking Challenge.  So, find one, or more, of your friends or family members who will join you and you’ll both have more fun and gain some endurance and strength in the process.

Oh, and did I mention that after walking every day for 100 Days, you’ll also look better too?!  Depending on how fast and how far you walk and how much up and downs you include in your walks, you may or not lose a lot of weight.  You will though take off some inches, which can be just as positive as losing a few pounds.

So, again, I invite you to join us in our 100 Day Walking Challenge.  Let us know if you have any questions we can help with – AND – tell us how you’re doing.

Oh, and if you’d enjoy some practical information on how to prepare for your walking vacations, I invite you to download my FREE eBook, THE DAYHIKER’S GUIDE TO ADVENTURE TRAVEL.  I’ve put together more than 100 pages of information on clothing, equipment and trail techniques to help make sure your walking trips are safe and enjoyable.  Simply “Like” us on our Walking The World Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/WalkingTheWorld, and enter your email to immediately download your FREE copy.

So TAKE THE CHALLENGE and GET UP! GO WILD! GIVE BACK!

GOOD WALKING!

Ward Luthi and Marketa Jancar
Walking The World
www.walkingtheworld.com
info@walkingtheworld.com

 

 

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Hydration Systems, Walking The World, Walking Tours, walking trips, Walking Vacations Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NO MORE SUCKING WATER! HOW TO STAY HYDRATED ON THE TRAIL

February 10, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

 

Geigerrig!  Sounds like a rallying cry, like Blitzkreig or Tally Ho!

In reality it’s the name given to one of the most advanced and creative designs for a hydration system to hit the market.

Twice a year, winter and summer, nearly a thousand makers and suppliers of outdoor gear, clothing and related  products, meet to show their lines at the Outdoor Retailer Show.  Held in Salt Lake City, Utah, every January and August, it has to be one of the most interesting and anticipated events of the year for outdoor enthusiasts.

As chief blogger for Walking The World, I was roaming the aisles looking for interesting new products when I noticed a handsome gentlemen passionately talking about his new product, the Geigerrig Hydration Pack.  The gentleman happened to be Bob Geiger, VP of Operations for Geigerrig.

What mesmerized me at first was that Bob appeared to be inflating the hydration bladder, the plastic compartment that stores the water, with a hand pump much like what we’d use to inflate a blood pressure cuff.  (Actually, there’s a plastic sheet just under the bladder that inflates.)

Pumping air into the extra sheet of plastic pressurizes the bladder so, guess what, we no longer have to suck on a plastic tube to get a drink of water.  Simply apply a gentle pressure to the bite valve and water gushes forth.

Geigerrig Hydration System

Geigerrig Hydration System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People often ask if they can inflate the Geigerrig too much!  Actually, no.  In the above photo, you can see that even when wildly overinflated, the Geigerrig doesn’t burst.

From my perspective as a guide, it’s not only easier for me to get a drink but I can now share water with a friend, or friendly canine, without having to worry about what my friends or dog might have shared back with me on my bite valve.

Not only that but get this.  Say you run out of water on the trail and still have a long way to travel before getting back to the trailhead?  In this day and age, drinking from a stream or lake without a filter can lead to some unwanted visitors to your intestinal tract.  So what does one do?  With Geigerrig, you simply remove the tube from the bladder, insert a small (1 inch by 5.5 inch) in-line filter, scoop up some water and carry on down the trail.  The filter takes out 99.9% of any Cryptospordium and Giardia.  Pretty cool, huh?!

Are there more benefits?  Yep!  You can use the pressurized spray of a Geigerrig to spray down a fellow hiker who’s overheated, water a thirsty plant along the trail, fill up a water bottle, rinse dirt or food from your hands or anything a garden hose might do if you happened to have one along.

The Geigerrig won Best of Show at the Outdoor Winter Retailer this January, 2012, and rightly so.  It’s a big step forward in the world of hydration systems.

I’m including a link to a video of Bob Geiger demonstrating the Geigerrig.  He’s a natural at sharing all the benefits of owning a Geigerrig.

We’v all tried our best to find the perfect way to carry and drink water while engaged in our favorite outdoor sport.  The Geigerrig is setting the standard for now.

HAPPY TRAILS!

Ward Luthi
Walking The World
info@walkingtheworld.com

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Hydration Systems, Outdoor Gear, Product Testing, Uncategorized, Walking The World, Walking Tours, walking trips, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Walking on Water with Kahtoola’s MTN Snowshoes!

January 7, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Walking on Water with Kahtoola’s MTN Snowshoes!

When I stepped outside this morning, I could feel the warmth in the air.  Even though it’s January in Colorado, the temperatures were supposed to climb into the 60’s in my hometown of Ft. Collins, Colorado.  And with the forecast calling for relatively light winds, I figured it was a good day for an adventure in one of my favorite local destinations, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Of course, since it IS winter in Colorado, I’ll need to practice my techniques for walking on water – or as some call it – snowshoeing.  Now I know I’m taking a bit of liberty here with the definition of walking on water, but technically, since snow and ice are forms of water, I AM walking on water.  I suppose one could call my winter excursions “walking trips on water”.

Kahtoola, an innovative winter product company based in Flagstaff, Arizona, had earlier provided me with a pair of their MTN snowshoes to test.  You might also recognize some of Kahtoola’s other standout products:  MICROspikes, KTS crampons and the RNR Lightweight Running Snowshoe.

I figured this was a good day to see how the MTN Snowshoes performed on trails that were snow packed and in off-trail situations that were a mixture of windblown and loose snow.

And what a glorious day it was.  The temperature gage at the Bear Lake Ranger Station in RMNP showed 40 degrees.  With clear, sunny skies it was a great day to be cruising through the snow beneath stately pines.

Kahtoola's MTN Snowshoes

Kahtoola's MTN Snowshoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kahtoola’s MTN snowshoes are an ingenuous two part design that combines an 8-point crampon with a lightweight snowshoe.  As a system, I can now carry “one integrated piece” rather than a separate set of full crampons as well as snowshoes.  So I save weight and space in my pack.

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kahtoola’s MTN snowshoes have a patented width adjustment system that allows one pair of snowshoes to be worn comfortably by anyone from those with small feet, think a size six women’s running shoe, to a size14 insulated men’s boot.  As anyone who has worked with footwear can attest, developing a lightweight workable product that fits this wide a range of feet is remarkable in itself.

The Trail Crampon

The trail crampons are basically like the front-half of a full set of crampons, with 8 teeth that are longer and wider than the teeth found on Kahtoola’s MICROspikes but smaller than the spikes on most regular crampons.

The back two teeth of the trail crampon are serrated and the two teeth that lock into the spring system on the snowshoe are notched.

To step into the trail crampon with your boot, first adjust the width of the crampon to your boot.  The directions for doing this come with the MTN snowshoe and should be done at home rather than on the trail.  Because some of the parts needed to adjust the trail crampon are quite small and require a wee bit of dexterity, you should adjust the width at home.  Trying this on the trail in cold weather over loose snow is not a good option although it can be done.

Adjusting the strapping on the trail crampons is relatively easy to do and Kahtoola has provided a stretch band on the front of the crampon to lock down any excess strapping and a plastic clip on the back of the crampon for excess heel strapping.

The only part that is sometimes challenging on a cold day is making sure the rear strap that goes around your heel locks into the cleat on the metal buckle used to tighten the straps around your heel.

To click the trail crampon into the snowshoe deck, first make sure that the bars in the deck are visible.  If they are not, you won’t be able to click in.  This is simply a matter of remembering to reset the bars.  This can easily be done by pulling the “reset” tab.  Then it’s a simple matter of lining up the notched teeth in the trail crampon and clicking in to the snowshoe deck.  The first photo below shows no bars, the second photo shows the bars.

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

No bars showing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

Bars are showing here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To click your trail crampons out of the snowshoe deck, simply pull the “t-handle” and step out.  Voila!

In the photo below you can see the T-handle on the left, for releasing the trail crampon from the snowshoe deck.  The reset pull can be seen on the right of the photo just across from the T-handle.

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

T-handle and Reset pull

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts:

Having adjustable wings on the trail crampon allowed me to fairly precisely fit my boot into the trail crampon, making the crampon feel like it was built into my boots.  I liked the lightweight feel of the trail crampons and when clicked into the snowshoe deck, it was one of the most comfortable fits of any pair of snowshoes I’ve worn.

The lightweight and streamlined design of the snowshoes allowed me to walk quickly and easily on most surfaces, including the frozen lakes I crossed.

Clicking the trail crampons into the snowshoe deck was an easy process and made switching from trail crampon to snowshoe a breeze.

The MTN snowshoe does not include a heel lift bar for steep sections of trail or teeth along the bottom sides of the snowshoe for more secure travel on slopes.  However, overall the system worked well.  I had my ice axe so if I needed extra support on the slopes or going uphill I had it.

When using the Trail Crampon by itself, you’ll want to keep in mind that it’s basically only the front half of a regular crampon.  You’ll have no base and no teeth on the bottom back half of your boot.  Going downhill or traversing slopes will require more care than with a traditional crampon.  Overall, for most situations though, I felt secure.

I do a lot of walking whether it’s winter or not and I liked the ease of movement I had with the MSN Snowshoes.  Regardless of the terrain, I was able to move easily and quickly without feeling like my equipment was hindering me or without that “sluggish” feeling of some systems.

Being able to easily and quickly switch from trail crampon to snowshoe was a definite plus.

Conclusion:  An excellent system I would highly recommend.

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

Kahtoola MTN Snowshoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity.  Buy or rent a pair of snowshoes and hit the trail.  Head out on your own or with friends or join a guided walking tour that includes trying out a variety of snowshoe brands.  You’ll love the beauty of winter and the quiet of a snow covered landscape.

Go now, Go Often, Have Fun and Take a Walk on the Wild Side!

GOOD WALKING!

Ward Luthi
Walking The World
www.walkingtheworld.com

Kahtoola, Inc.
431 River Run Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Toll-free: 866.330.8030
info@kahtoola.com
www.kahtoola.com

 

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Outdoor Gear, Product Testing, Snowshoes, Uncategorized, Walking, Walking Tours, walking trips, Ward Luthi, Winter Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

WARD LUTHI’S 100-DAY WALKING CHALLENGE

October 31, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Walking The World is an outdoor adventure company offering guided walking tours for those over 50 years of age.  We invite any and all active travelers to join us on our walking trips. You do need to be in “reasonably” good physical condition at the time of your particular trip, be able to walk 5-9 miles a day at a comfortable pace, have an adventurous spirit and love the great outdoors.  Oh, and you must also love to sample some of the world’s best food and drink, love new experiences and be open to meeting some of the nicest people in the world – your fellow travelers!

Ward Luthi in Arches N.P., Utah

Ward Luthi in Arches N.P., Utah

How does one prepare for a walking tour?  Walking on a regular basis, ideally on a daily basis with some hill or stair work, is a great start.

The last few months for me have been extraordinarily busy and I’ve found myself putting off my daily walks or weight training simply because I didn’t feel I had the time or because I was “too tired”.  Now the reality is that I can find the time to get in my walk…if I choose to do so.  It really is that simple.  However, when I don’t have a specific goal I’m shooting for, I find it much easier to find an excuse to put my walk or weight training off for that “perfect” day.  To counteract my own tendency to procrastinate, I set a goal of walking at least one mile on one hundred consecutive days, rain or shine or snow!

Part of my madness also comes from a true desire to better understand why it is seemingly so easy for so many of us who are over 50 to put off doing the exercise that will keep us happy and healthy as we age.

How’s it going?  Well, so far, so good.  Oh, I also count all my hiking miles toward my daily mileage goal.  Although the miles may include some stops for water or lunch, etc., I still consider them good miles walked.  I would invite you too as well if you design your own walking challenge.

Below is a chart of the first 30 days of my 100-day walking challenge.

 

Ward’s 100 – Day Walking Challenge

Day      Date          Mileage             Time

1        Sept 29     2.8 miles          40 min

2        Sept 30     3.0 miles          45 min

3        Oct 1       2.2 miles          33:37 min

4        Oct 2       4.19 miles         60:25 min

5        Oct 3       2.2 miles          32:50 min

6        Oct 4       1.12 miles         16:36 min

7        Oct 5       4.0 miles

8        Oct 6       4.0 miles

9        Oct 7       6.5 miles

10       Oct 8       2.0 miles

11       Oct 9       6.5 miles

12       Oct 10      11 miles

13       Oct 11      1 miles

14       Oct 12      2.1 miles          31:00

15       Oct 13      2.2 miles          32:26

16       Oct 14      2.2 miles          33:33

17       Oct 15      2.15 miles         31:45

18       Oct 16      2.25 miles         32:56

19       Oct 17      2.0 miles          27:35

20       Oct 18      6.0 miles          187 min

21       Oct 19      2.2 miles          32:29

22       Oct 20      4.62 miles         1:12:41

23       Oct 21      2.19 miles         34:41

24       Oct 22      2.25 miles         36:58

25       Oct 23      2.21 miles         35:34

26       Oct 24      4.2 miles

27       Oct 25      1.0 miles          14.27

28       Oct 26      2.29 miles  35:02

29       Oct 27      1.0 miles  14:04

30       Oct 28      1.0 miles  15:14

(Please note that the days with more detail included, minutes and hours walked, were tracked with my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS and heart-rate monitor.)

I would love to hear if you’ve ever designed your own walking challenge.  And if you’d like to walk along with me, I would love that.  Please drop me an email at info@walkingtheworld.com to let me know you’re going to join me and when you’ll be starting.  I’d like to send you encouragement for lacing up those shoes or boots each day and heading out.

In Adventure and Great Walking!

 

Ward Luthi

Walking The World

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Walking Tours – El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

October 13, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

Walking tours to almost any place in the world are at the top of my list of things to do.  When people talk about adventure and travel and places they’ve been, they usually talk about those areas people are most familiar with.  Like the Grand Canyon, Tuscany or the Galapagos.  However, always keep in mind that some of the smaller, and possibly hard to get to, destinations often offer unique and wonderful experiences.

Take El Morro National Monument in northwest New Mexico for example.  While on a scouting trip to this magical part of the U.S., I had the opportunity to explore this outpost that sits seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  However, as is often the case, if one has something special to offer, people take notice.  El Morro has a commodity more precious than gold for travelers wandering long distances in this part of the world:  water.

Walking Tours with Walking The World - El Morro Ntl Mnt, New Mexico

Pool at El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not too far along a one-half mile introductory trail at El Morro, at the base of some strikingly beautiful sandstone bluffs, is a deep, cool pool of water, shaded by high multi-colored sandstone walls.  When I visited, cattails grew enticingly along water’s edge and I could imagine what a wonderful sight a cool pool of water must have been to man and animal alike.

This pool of life-giving water sits geographically along an ancient east-west trail that over centuries has seen Anasazi, Spanish and American Explorers and lone wanderers  search out its bounty.

Okay.  Are you ready for a wee bit of geology?  Well, if not, here it is anyway.  The El Morro formation is composed primarily of what is called Zuni sandstone.  What makes it so unique is that the sand grains are held together only by clay, making the sandstone easy to carve inscriptions in – which many travelers did and for which El Morro is somewhat famous.  Most sandstone is formed under pressure that cements the grains together forming a harder type of sandstone, like those sandstones found in Arches or Zion National Parks in Utah.

More geology?  Okay, okay.  Here it is.  El Morro sits at an elevation of about 7219 feet and the Zuni sandstone was deposited by wind rather than water.  Any guess as to the age of the Zuni?  Try 170 million years.  Not bad for a bunch of sand.

Okay, what about unique plant life at El Morro.  Yep!  Got that too!  It’s called Alligator juniper.  Any guesses as to why?  You’re right!  Because the bark of the Alligator juniper looks just like the scales on an alligator.

Alligator Juniper

Alligator Juniper

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking at El Morro.  The inscription trail is relatively flat and short and takes you to the pool and the historical inscriptions.  But if you want to experience the real magic of El Morro, continue on past the end of the short trail to the top of the mesa where you’ll see the excavated ruins of an ancient Puebloan ruin called ”Atsinna” that once had 1500 inhabitants in a structure that experts say had 875 rooms.  If you go, you’ll see that this was a remarkable feat because the Pueblo sits on a very small part of the mesa.

Atsinna Puebloan Ruin, El Morro Ntl Mon

Atsinna Puebloan Ruin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But don’t forget to look around if you do head to the top of the mesa because the views of the surrounding area, including the Zuni Mountains, are wonderful.  It’s just a peaceful, quiet, scenic spot to relax and enjoy your surroundings.  When I visited we were the only people there and that made it all that much more special.

Mesa Top Views at El Morro Ntl Mon, New Mexico

El Morro Ntl Mon, New Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting there:  El Morro is about 80 miles west of Albuquerque and about 40 miles south of Grants, New Mexico, off Interstate 40.

So – why don’t you head out on a walking tour to El Morro?!  In fact, any walking tour will do as long as you lace up those boots and take that first step.  Walking is good for you and adventure is the spice of life!

(Walking The World offers small group walking tours to more than 30 destinations worldwide and focuses on those active adults over 50 years of age.)

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , ,

WALKING, WALKING TOURS AND WALKING THE WORLD

October 2, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Hello Everybody!  Day number four of my 100-day walking challenge.  I had a bit more time in my schedule today so I was able to get in 4.19 miles on a warm and muggy evening in Colorado.  It’s not usually this humid, but we’ve had more moisture in the air for the past couple of days.

I felt quite strong on my walk tonight and I love it when my body feels strong and I can flow along the path.  It helped that it was a beautiful evening and I could see the moon and walk with the Poudre River on my right.  Farther upstream the Poudre is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Ward Luthin on the Island of Corsica off the coast of France

Ward Luthi of Walking The World in Corsica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve always loved to walk, although in my very early years I was a runner.  My love for walking was instrumental in my decision to start Walking The World, a walking company, rather than, for example, a company that used cycling as a way to explore this magical planet.  While I love riding as well, I love the freedom walking gives me of being able to ramble wherever I choose when I’m in the great outdoors.  All I need is a good pair of shoes, a small backpack, some rain gear, maybe a fleece for cooler weather, and some food and water and I’m off.  I can stay out all day or I can stay out for ten minutes.  But I have everything I need right there with me.  No worrying about a flat tire or being thrown from my bike.  If I see something in the forest or on the edge of the river I can go and investigate and then resume my walk.

I’m a wanderer by nature.

And a quote for today?  Here’s one that illustrates in a few words what I’ve been trying to say in this post:  “When I was young, and reckless too, and I craved the reckless life…”  Folk Song

In this quote I take the word “young” to mean any age because we can choose to be young of mind and young of heart any time we choose.  And that might be another reason why I love being outdoors.  There is no age barrier to walking or to enjoying all the beauty and peacefulness that walking through a forest or by a stream or in the desert can bring.  It doesn’t matter what you look like and it doesn’t matter how fast you can walk.  All that matters is the movement, of feeling alive, of experiencing each moment to the fullest.  Of being a part of everything around you.

Walking is good and good for you.  Why not head out for a short walk right now?!

Day 4          1 hour and 25 seconds         4.19 miles

Walking The World offers guided hiking trips and adventure vacations for those over 50.

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Uncategorized, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

FUN, FITNESS & ADVENTURE TRAVEL WITH WARD

October 1, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Did you walk today?  No matter what the weather was or whether you had enough time, etc.?

I did.  It wasn’t as far as I had hoped and I did feel a bit crunched for time.  However, because I set a goal I’m going to make it happen.  Like anything, if we set a goal, we’re more likely to follow through with our plans.  Admittedly, my goal is somewhat broad in that to meet my goal of walking each day for 100 consecutive days, I could walk one mile every day and still meet my goal.  So, let me set a minimum of walking one mile per day, at least for now.  I’ll walk a whole lot more than that but in my search for why we don’t walk as much as we can, I’m going to play around a bit with all sorts of ways of accomplishing this goal.

Is anyone going to join me in this quest?  Suzanne?  Christine?  Kumar?  Rebecca?  Patch?  Bill?  Gigi?  Kate? John?  Come on guys?  Challenge me!

My pace tonight was a bit slower than I would like because I chose to walk in downtown Ft. Collins following homecoming at Colorado State University.  The sidewalks were a bit crowded and not everyone was walking with steady legs.  So there was a lot of jostling going on.  And for October, at 9:30 pm, it was still quite warm outside.  Just like going on one of our hiking trips at Walking The World.  You never know what the weather’s going to be like and the terrain can be up and down or sideways.

Ward Luthi on the wall in New Mexico

Ward Luthi on the wall in New Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totals for today:

Time:  33:37

Distance:  2.20 miles

Walking The World leads guided walking tours to more than 30 destinations around the world for those over 50!

 

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Uncategorized, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Walking, Fitness and Adventure Travel

October 1, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Hey Everybody!  Ward Luthi, here, founder of Walking The World and Take a Walk on the Wild Side!

I’m sitting at my computer, with my black-and-white cat Moose in my lap thinking about doing a 100-day walking challenge.  Actually it’s a challenge primarily for myself, but I would love to have anyone out there who’s reading this join me.

Take a Walk on the Wild Side with BFB

I'm a Blue Footed Boobie in the Galapagos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what do I mean by a 100-day walking challenge?  I’m not sure exactly, except that I’m going to put in some time or miles each day for 100 consecutive days.  I’ll also add in some strength training exercises, some information about nutrition, do some testing of various pedometers and probably wax philosophical from time to time.  Oh, and I’ll add some great quotes on walking as well as some photos from my walks.

For the last several days I’ve been preparing for a Walking The World hiking tour of southeast Utah that I’ll be leading in a few days.  One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how to train for our trips.  I have a basic regimen I suggest to our walkers and it started me thinking about my own walking schedule.  Lately I’ve been doing a lot more biking and cross training so I thought I’d make a concerted effort to do more walking.  Plus, the latest statistics on obesity in America have been released AND things aren’t getting any better.

With the seemingly unlimited information available on diet, weight loss and exercise, why are we, particularly older adults, getting fatter and having more chronic diseases?  It’s not like we don’t know what we need to do and walking is an exercise that almost anyone can do in almost any area of the world.

One of my goals at Walking The World is to get as many people as I can into the great outdoors. Adventure travel for me is what life is about.  My theory is that we should all be sitting around a campfire at night with family and friends and actively exploring this magical planet during the day.  The outdoors is where we were born and grew up as a species.  It’s in our blood and in our DNA.  It’s where we do best – physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.  We’re more connected to ourselves, to our friends and family and to our natural environment when we’re outside.

If I’m going to make my goal of getting people into the outdoors a reality, I need to figure out how to help people reach and stay at a higher level of fitness.   Thus, my 100-day walking challenge.  It’s a way to help me better understand, on a daily basis, some of the reasons why people aren’t walking more.  And, of course, to give me one more excuse to get outside as much as possible. (If you join me in this challenge, it doesn’t matter where you walk, inside or out, but being outdoors has some added benefits you’ll never get inside.)

We’re physically designed to walk.  It’s our natural form of locomotion.  We’re good at it.  In fact, almost all of us have a PhD in walking. Maybe because it’s so natural for us that we forget that it’s what we were made to do and we take it for granted.

Walking by its very nature brings us into close contact with ourselves and our own physical strength, with the natural wildness that resides within all of us.  And walking, with every step we take, gets us up close and personal with our natural environment.   Walking allows us to feel the sun and the wind on our skin, to smell the fragrances of the earth, to touch the trees that line our trails, to feel the changing of the temperature and the humidity in the air, to be a part of our own environment.   These are the reasons I use walking as our vehicle for exploring this magical planet we live on.

I’m training a new guide on our upcoming trip to Utah so I brought out as many of our old trip journals as I could find, some dating back to 1995.  On every trip, at least for many years, we would produce a trip journal with daily entries about the trip accompanied by a lot of great photos of the trip participants and the scenery.  Reading back through the old journals made me chuckle.  We have some humorous folks who travel with us and every one of them has a special place in my heart.

Here’s where I start waxing philosophical a bit.  If you’ve never been on a walking tour with a group, try it sometime.  Spending time in the great outdoors, actively traveling through some of the most beautiful places on the planet with a group of other adventurous souls, has to be one of life’s greatest pleasures.  It is for me.  Even if you come on the trip not knowing a single person, by the time you’ve walked the last mile and given your feet a well deserved rest, you’ll have made some lifelong friends.  And you’ll know these friends better than most people you might have worked with in an office for 25 years.  There’s something about living and traveling in the natural world that produces a special and unique bond.

So, what’s all of that have to do with a walking challenge.  It just struck me today how much I like to walk – and to walk for no particular reason.  I’m glad that it helps keep me in shape but it also allows me, like today, to feel that soft warmth of the sun on my shoulders, to have some quiet time with the trees and the river and the sky and the birds overhead – and to appreciate how lucky we are to live in this United States.

I had also been talking to my fellow Utah guide about a Sierra Club book called ON THE LOOSE.  It’s a book of inspiring photos and even more inspiring quotes about the experiences two brothers had growing up wild and free in the Sierra Mountains in California.  And I remember saying to my friend that this book has always been one of my favorites.  It reminds me of who we are, of who I am, and that we were born to wander, to explore often and with unabashed excitement and joy.

And so I shut down my computer and went for a walk.  And I’m going to go tomorrow and the next day and the next and for at least 98 more consecutive days unless something utterly dastardly stands in my way.  I walked yesterday so I’m already getting ready for day number three tomorrow.

Walk with me every day if you will.  Send me your thoughts, your experiences, your stories.  Remember who you are as you amble down the path.  Your walks can be anyplace.  It doesn’t really matter as long as you walk.

Before I leave you for today, a quote from the book ON THE LOOSE by Terry and Renny Russell

“As for small difficulties and worryings, prospects of sudden disaster, peril of life and limb; all these, and death itself, seem to him only sly, good-natured hits, and jolly punches in the side bestowed by an unseen and unaccountable old joker…There is nothing like the perils of the wilderness to breed this free and easy sort of genial, desperado philosophy.”  Melville

Until tomorrow, GOOD WALKING!

Ward Luthi –  founder of Walking The World, an outdoor adventure company for those over 50.  We lead guided walking tours to more than 30 destinations worldwide.

Day 1          40 minutes          2.8 miles

Day 2          45 minutes          3.0 miles (worked out just perfectly!)

Day 3          Coming up!

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Uncategorized, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , ,

WALKING TOURS – CHACO CANYON, NEW MEXICO

September 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Mysterious, sublime, historical, ancient, stunning, beautiful, and captivating are only a few of the words that could be used to describe Chaco Culture National Historical Park. But to really get a feel for this must see destination, join one of our professionally guided walking tours and see for yourself.

Chaco Canyon, located in the Four Corners region of the U.S. – Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, will inspire and intrigue you, particularly if you’re interested in ancient cultures and how they lived.

IWalking Tours - Chaco Canyon, New Mexiconhabited from about 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco is remarkable in many ways: the size of the “urban” area, the advanced techniques used in irrigation, architecture, astronomy and landscaping and in the items found that had been traded with other cultures as far away as South America.

One of the more interesting trade items discovered was evidence that chocolate was present as a part of life in everyday Chacoan culture. The chocolate drink they enjoyed presumably could only have come from a few parts of what is Mexico or Central America, roughly about 1200 miles away, a long walk. Large containers of pottery have been found, that when tested, all contained traces of chocolate. It’s known that people of the Mayan culture drank chocolate from ceramic vessels, much like the ceramic vessels found, primarily in one room, at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco. Sounds like the Chaco people had the right idea about how to enjoy the finest of desserts in the desert!

If you visit Chaco, you’ll notice that the area around Chaco is fairly unremarkable in terms of landforms or much vegetation of any kind. And you’ll notice that you don’t see evidence of much wildlife either. Of course, when Chaco was thriving 700 and more years ago, conditions could have been significantly different.  What we do know is that Chaco was the center of significant trade, was highly advanced in the art of building, had an intricate irrigation system that can still be seen today, and had a highly sophisticated method for keeping track of the seasons. The people in Chaco were also interested in the people and the region around them and had a highly developed system of roads that connected them to over 150 other communities. It’s no wonder they were as successful as they were in communicating with a variety of other groups. Being able to trade with other groups, collect information and reach out to individuals of other societies also kept the gene pool in Chaco healthy.

When you visit Chaco Canyon, I highly recommend taking the Ranger guided walk. I did so with a friend on my recent scouting trip to Chaco and was highly pleased with the information and experience the Docent provided. While no additional sites are currently being excavated at Chaco, the amount of material and information already discovered is significant.

Please keep in mind that there are no real services at the visitor center beyond nice restrooms and a great bookstore at the Cultural Center. Bring your own food and water and be prepared to drive some distance to find overnight accommodations. Farmington, New Mexico, is a good sized town that offers a variety of lodging choices and some great local food.

(Walking The World offers small group walking tours to more than 30 destinations worldwide and focuses on those active adults over 50 years of age.)

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Uncategorized, Walking, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

WALKING VACATIONS IN NEW MEXICO

September 3, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment
Walking Vacation in Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Walking Vacation in Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Walking Vacations for the 50+ are our specialty at Walking The World, and this month we’re scouting NW New Mexico.  While European walking vacations and walking vacations New Zealand are very popular these days, there are few areas in the world quite like New Mexico.
(Walking The World, since 1987, has been designing and leading guided walking tours around the world, or hiking tours if you will, for those over 50.)
If adventure is your passion, head to the northwest part of New Mexico for one of your walking vacations.
I recently took a short scouting trip to the wilds of northwest New Mexico to develop a new Walking The World adventure tour for 2012. For several years we’ve operated a trip to New Mexico that focuses more on the areas around Santa Fe and Taos. Now I think you’ll love exploring new areas like El Malpais National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park , or Chaco Canyon as most people know it, El Morro National Monument, the Bisti Badlands Wilderness Area, and of course a visit to Santa Fe for some gourmet wining and dining.

From Ft. Collins, Colorado, where I live, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, my jumping off point to explore NW New Mexico, it’s a long but interesting drive. It was made more so by the traffic jams in both Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Ward scouting walking vacations in New Mexico

But I digress. My first stop was Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Now, just getting to Chaco can be an adventure in itself. From Albuquerque I actually headed back north on Interstate 25 to Hwy 550 at the Bernalillo exit. Once on Hwy 550 it’s about 65 miles to the town of Cuba – no relation to the Island – and then another 50 miles, all on well paved two-lane road, to the turnoff (South) to Chaco on San Juan County Road 7900.
There’s a sign marking the turnoff to Chaco, but it’s not large and it comes up pretty quickly, so watch your mileage and stay alert. From the turnoff on CR 7900 it’s about 21 miles to Chaco, much of the distance on dirt roads.  Developing new walking vacations is not always easy but it’s always fun and it’s alway an adventure!
I love driving on dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere with a sky so big it seems like it will go on forever. It’s a feeling of freedom and wildness for me, a feeling I find most often when I’m out in the wide open expanses of the western United States. On this day, the sky was blue, the air was clear, there was little or no traffic, again something I like because it’s like it’s my own little part of the planet that I get to explore without busloads of tourists, and the ruts in the road were manageable. Truly, there’s not much out in this part of New Mexico. There’s Sagebrush and
Walking Vacations and Rabbitbrush in New Mexico

Walking Vacations and Rabbitbrush in New Mexico

Rabbitbrush, some cactus and other low shrubs but very few trees and little wildlife. One thing there is a lot of is quiet. And stillness. I like to stop my car from time-to-time, get out and just let my body relax in a stillness found in few other places. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like my body relaxes in the quiet and stillness. My mind quits racing with so many thoughts and ideas. I can actually feel my body calm and settle in to just being a part of where I am. No worries, no time constraints, no anything except a slow smile creeping across my face because I feel so doggone good.

Walking Vacations in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Okay, back to Chaco. As you get close to Chaco you’ll start to notice the landscape becoming a bit hillier and before long you’ll spot the first ruin at Chaco, an incredible feeling and sight. The questions start to come. How did they find their way here? What was so appealing about this place way out in the middle of nowhere? How many people lived here? What happened to them? What did they eat? And many, many more questions. Which I’ll address in the next post. For now, here are a few photos of a wild, mysterious and magical destination – Chaco Culture Historical Park.
Walking Vacations in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Walking Vacations in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Until later – GOOD WALKING!
Ward Luthi
Walking The World – Take a Walk on the Wild Side!
Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Uncategorized, Walking The World, Walking Tours, Walking Vacations, Ward Luthi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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