Hiking in Highbanks Metropark...

Saturday, October 27, 2012

“The Polaris Mall is awesome.  We can do some shopping for clothes and I need some boots and then we can get our eyebrows done,” Savannah said.

Holly was excited.  I wanted to cry.  We’d just finished our continental breakfast where I’d made and eaten two waffles.  I was stuffed and thinking how walking around a mall with two women who like to shop would be something less than an ideal situation.  “How about I drop you guys at the Mall and I return to Highbanks Park for some more hiking,” I said.  No one seemed to object.

I’d noticed that I’d missed the Overlook Trail when running the previous evening.  It was described on line and said that it offered views of the Olentangy River from cliffs 110 feet high.  With my camera in tow, I knew this had to be better than Polaris Mall.  I started off on the crushed gravel trail and spent the next two hours hiking to the overlook, checking out Indian burial mounds and earthen defensive works, stately oaks that reminded me of a scene in ‘Shawshank Redemption’ in the middle of an open meadow and a deer or two focusing on my progress.

I returned to the Mall to find that the purchases of fingernail polish were incomplete.  We made our way to Anne Ann’s Pretzels where I succumbed to aromas and ordered a hot dog and a cinnamon pretzel.  I was only half way home in my eating disasters for the day.  We drove Savannah back to Ohio State and then headed home.  My next door neighbor, Pat, was hosting a mini-event.  He’s a Penn State graduate and relishes the Ohio State – Penn State matchup and had me and Mike, another neighbor and an Ohio State grad, over to watch.  Naturally, there were fattening snacks and during halftime, we proceeded to Mike’s place for chili dogs, of which I ate two.  By day’s end, I’d consumed more fatty, crappy calories than I would normally in a month. 

I felt bloated and overweight as I made my way home after the Ohio State victory.  I went to work making it worse by collapsing onto the sofa to watch the World Series.  I say worse because I could have chosen to ride the trainer, but my heart wasn’t in it.  There’s always tomorrow, though with Hurricane Sandy on the horizon, I’m thinking there will be very little outdoor activity.

Hike Duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 450.