Hike Distance: 6.3 miles      Yearly Hike Distance: 335.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 929 feet      Yearly Elevation Gain: 37383 feet

This is my second day of using a 4mm insert in my hiking boot, and the pain in my back is still fairly bad.  Also, it now feels like I’m stepping on a piece of wood with every step of my right foot.  It seems like the back issue has switched sides.  I guess this must mean that the insert is working, but it just seems like too much pain in my lower back.  My next hike I’ll dial back to using a 3mm insert to see if that helps reduce the pain?

On this hike I took it very slowly, and did a large loop around the park.  I spent a huge amount of time cutting the ivy around the base of trees.  It’s surprising how large some of the feeder roots can be, and I included a photo!  I’m really enjoying removing the ivy and feel like I’m making a contribution.  I’ve been using a small sickle but feel there must be a better tool to speed up cutting the creeping vines.  There’s also a photo of a tree that fell over, possibly caused by the ivy?