Ultimate Coffee Date - January 2018

Hello readers and welcome to 2018!   Blogging really got away from me last year - both due to the business of my year and the fact that I wasn't truly feeling motivated.  This year is a new year though, and I've got some big things in store.  Let's catch up this morning.  Grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in for our ultimate coffee date. 

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: that I am currently at Disney World! In fact, since you're reading this on Saturday morning I have probably just completed the half marathon!  I'm running the Goofy Challenge this year, running the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday.  I figured it would be great training for my next little tidbit...

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: I'm running a 100-miler in March!  I'm super, SUPER nervous because I know I can finish 100 miles, but I just want to do it in a respectable amount of time and before the 30-hour cut off. Ha!  I'll be adding a few more races along the way during the winter, but being in the thick of training right now I'm not sure when I'll decide to do that. 

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: I recently completed a 40.5-mile, 12-hour ultra marathon!  This was my first ever trail ultra and I ended up being 4th place female, finishing only a few minutes behind finisher number three.  This event was HUGE for me, mentally and physically.  I only have a few blisters and one really bad black toenail as a souvenir, but I'm officially hooked.  I'm thinking I'll be transitioning into more ultra events and fewer short races.  

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: you may have missed the fact that I'll be tackling the Mountains to Sea Trail in the spring!  Over a period of 7 weeks I'll be hiking and biking 1175 miles across North Carolina.  You can find the details about that hike over here. 

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: that over the winter months i'll be working on more original content for the blog, and possibly a few sponsored posts as well.  I've already been lucky enough to be accepted back onto the Altra Red Team for 2018 and I couldn't be more excited to represent this amazing company for a third year!  This year I'm hoping that I'll have more recipes for the backcountry to share with you all.  

That's about all I've got from the last month.  How about you? What's new in your world? Do you have any big plans for 2018? I'd love to hear about them! Leave me a comment below. 

Add to the bottom of every post: This post is a link-up with Coco @ Got 2 Run 4 Me, Lynda @ Fitness Mom Wine Country, & Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner!

Beating the Summer Heat on a Hike

Even though we're looking at Back-to-School times here in the south, it seems the relentless summer heat just won't give us a break!  The Dog Days of summer started here back in early June and are continuing well into mid-August.  You know the heat has been terrible when the weather reports we are getting a "break" from the heat when the heat index is below 100 (but still above 90!)  Other than for work, I've been trying to stay indoors as much as I can this summer, but when I'm out for a run or hiking at low elevation I still need a way to keep cool.  Here are my favorite ways to beat the heat during summer time. 

Stay at High Elevations

Where I live, the high elevation hiking runs consistently 10-12 degrees cooler than it does in the nearest town with a weather forecast.  Is it going to be 95 in the valley today? Chances are it will barely hit 75 up high with the gentle breeze!  A bonus for me is the fact that high elevation in the Smokies also means hiking on the Appalachian Trail and that means views for miles and miles on clear, sunny days.  It also means hiking in the overcast fog on not-so-clear days.  Either way, both options are beautiful and MUCH cooler. 

Where I live, high elevations mean boreal forest, fog, and sunshine breaking through!

Reduce Your Mileage

Can't get away from the heat no matter how high up you go?  Reduce your miles!  Just because you CAN hike 22 miles at a time doesn't mean you HAVE TO!  Starting a hike in the morning and doing shorter miles to get done before the peak of the summer heat helps you stay a little cooler - not to mention beat the crowds at whatever your destination may be.  

Get Up Earlier

If you've ever looked at sunrise hiking photos on Instagram with envy this is your chance to emulate what you've been coveting - start super early in the morning (in the dark by headlamp or flashlight!) and hike up to a vista or waterfall for a sunrise viewing!  Not only will you really beat the heat, you'll be finished before most people are even arriving at the trailhead.  You'll have done more before noon than most people do all day long on hot summer days!

Get Wet

Waterfall hikes are always popular in summer months, but you don't have to hike to a waterfall to get wet on trail.  Taking a hike with several stream crossings or river fords will give you an opportunity to jump in and cool off.  Bonus points if you get your hair/hat wet or drape a wet bandana around your neck for the next mile or so.  Keeping cool has never been easier

Looks like a great spot for a swim break to me!

HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE!

Dehydration in the summertime - the most common trail injury I see as a guide.  Not only can the direct sunlight dehydrate you, so can the humidity.  In the Smokies, a temperate rain forest, dehydration can set in VERY quickly.  As a guide, I usually have 3-4 electrolyte options on me at all times, including salt tablets, Nuun hydration, Honey Stinger Chews, Fuel 100 Electrobites (code SPRINKLES will save you 25% at checkout!), and Enduropacks electrolyte spray in my backpack most, if not every, of the time I hit the trails.  If you're out on a hot day it is super important to check in with your hydration status.  Feeling thirsty?  You're already well on your way to dehydration!  With 75% of Americans in a constant state of dehydration it's hard to convince people to drink water.  Make sure you're carrying at least 32 ounces of water on a half-day of hiking and 64 ounces for a full day.  It also never hurts to pick up a cheap and reliable water filter (I recommend and use the Sawyer Mini).  

There you have it - my favorite ways to beat the summer heat on a hike.  What would you add? How do you stay cool in the Dog Days of summer?

This post is a Friday Five link-up with Courtney at EatPrayRunDC,  Cynthia at You Signed Up for What and Mar at Mar on the Run. 

Ultimate Coffee Date - What I've Been Doing Lately

Well guys, July flew by and it's already August!  Somehow summer has gotten away from me and the blog has kind of taken a backseat to all the other happenings in my life right now.  I promise that once late fall and winter get here I'll have more photos and posts for you guys.  Working as a backpacking guide my days and weeks kind of all lump together and getting time to sit down and write like I did back over the winter is tough.  I've decided to jump into the Ultimate Coffee Date link-up to give my readers a chance to see what's been going on over behind the scenes here at Sprinkles Hikes.  I hope you enjoy it!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: I was in a car accident on July 2nd and it's kind of left me mentally screwed up.  Thankfully it was a one-vehicle wreck and no one was hurt!  I was on a back road that wasn't designed for big vehicles and the road gave out from underneath the car I was driving.  The vehicle was totaled and no one was injured,  but the insurance company was much less than helpful and it was a mess for everyone else who was involved.  It took more than 20 days for them to even deal with it!  Now I'm pretty stressed about driving ANYWHERE, especially on gravel roads.  I know it will go away in time, but I'm still kind of nervous.  

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: I've been working a LOT recently.  When I'm not working I'm actually out hiking to have fun!  I've been doing a ton of hiking and seeing lots of trails here in the Smokies which is a really great thing.  

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: Since I have been working a lot, all my days are running together!  I feel like I'm just a parrot of myself at this point, reciting the same facts over and over and over and sometimes I forget if I already said the things I said only 10 minutes ago!  I also pretty much never have any idea what day it is, but that's never a bad thing in my book!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: Despite all the work, I've actually had time to get in a  little bit of fun!  We took our annual Guide Getaway the third week of July.  Our company shut down for three days and everyone got together to go camping down at Tsali Campground in the Nantahala National Forest.  We spent three days swimming in Fontana Lake, boating, tubing, water skiing, trail running, and attempting to mountain bike on some of the famous trails down there.  It was a great time to get away and I think we all needed the vacation!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: That while I was on that getaway NoKey and I went hiking down at the infamous Road to Nowhere.  We also got stung by yellow jackets on this hike - me getting stung in the FACE before screaming "RUNNNNNN!"  Yellow jackets are nasty stingers - they lay a pheromone on you to let other yellow jackets know you're a bad guy and repeatedly sting you.  I also got stung in the biceps and the calf while NoKey got stung five times just under his shoulder blade.  We spend the last mile and a half of our hike kind of jogging, me with lots of snot running down my face from being stung in the septum, back to the car and freaking out any time we saw anything flying around!

If we were having coffee… I’d tell you: NoKey is making me so proud with his half marathon training!  We are training to run the Millinocket Half Marathon and I just recently signed up for the Pistol Ultra 55K race on New Years Eve (my first ever ultra!)  He and I have been out running in some gnarly hot and humid conditions, but I'm so proud of him for sticking with it.  I bet he runs faster than I will on race day!

So guys, that was my July in a nutshell!  While it sounds kind of sad while I'm reading this post back, it was a great month regardless.  What have you been up to lately?  I'd love to hear how your July went.  Leave me a comment!

This post is a link-up with Coco @ Got 2 Run 4 Me, Lynda @ Fitness Mom Wine Country, & Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner!