Semi-Strange Encounters

In Smith's on Sunday, a man recognized me based on my hat.  I didn't know him but he had seen me on FR181 and remembered the color and make of the car I used to own. 

It was only today that I remembered having met him once, maybe one Christmas Day after I finished my walk on FR181.  I had asked him then if he knew why the two police vehicles had driven in on the road.  He said they were going to pick up a hypothermic hiker.

Then, on Monday, outside the library, I saw a man walking toward me who seemed to be looking at me so I said hello.  He said he remembered running into me on Cerro Toledo 10-15 years ago.  That couldn't be correct because I was never on Cerro Toledo in that time-frame.  I asked if he meant Cerro Grande and he said yes, he meant that.  The puzzle is, though, that Cerro Grande has only been open to the public since 2005.  This seems to be a case of mistaken identity. I had no recognition of him.

Foot Woes Update

I haven't made any more attempts at barefoot walking even though the barefoot experiment on FR181 didn't harm me. 

I saw a podiatrist in Albuquerque.  He ordered weight-bearing plain x-rays of my feet and an MRI.  He made an adjustment on my right orthotic to better support my posterior tibial tendon.  So far, the adjustment is comfortable enough.  I'll see him again in January.

I'm going to return my Atlas snowshoes.  My foot is not strong enough to break trail in snowshoes so I may as well just use my faithful, old MSR's and confine myself to already-broken snowshoe trails.

I'm trying to strengthen my feet with toe squinches (from running book by Jeff Galloway), calf raises from 3 different angles and circular rotations on the wobbleboard.

Camp May Road Yesterday and FR181 Today

As I walked up the first two miles of Camp May Road yesterday, I was surprised at how little snow had fallen or remained (because maybe some of it melted - its already melted off our roof).  I haven't been walking much uphill in an attempt to baby my right foot so it was good to do the uphill on Camp May Road.

Today, not daring to walk uphill two days in a row, I walked on FR181.  There was more snow up there but vehicles have driven in so the walking was easy - not too muddy or too snowy.  I saw no one and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  Blue skies and sunshine were overhead when I started although I could see gray clouds hanging above Pajarito Mountain.  By the end of my walk, the overcast had come my way.

Saw Part of Lunar Eclipse Last Night

I wasn't planning on seeing the lunar eclipse last night but when I went out to check its progress and saw it was already half devoured by the earth's shadow, I was hooked enough that I went out again at 12:30 am, past my bedtime.  By that time, only a crescent moon remained, surrounded by stars brightly shining.  The constellation Orion was visible near the moon.  Husband had gone to bed around 11 pm but I was tempted to wake him up so he could see the eerie wonder of the lunar eclipse - I should have.  Daughter woke her 9 year old son up to see it - good for her!