Observations From Hadleyville: BODILY EXERCISE PROFITETH LITTLE

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

BODILY EXERCISE PROFITETH LITTLE

While I enjoy hiking, getting there is nine tenths of the battle. Once my feet hit the trail I am focused on the hike. I push up hills, I enjoy the views, I try to find new trails to follow. Its the whole get up-get dressed-get moving thing that usually kills my hike aborning.

Not today. Well, that's putting it in a positive light. I still fought the urge to go back to bed. Today I overcame my genetic predisposition to sloth and got out of the house and into the car for the climb up the hill. In the photo you can see a bridge crossing the California Aqueduct. The white dot to the left of the bridge is my car. My house is in the line of trees visible in the lowlands to the middle-upper right of the shot.

Sometimes I walk or ride my bike from my house to the aqueduct. Other times, like today, I drive to the bridge then hike the hills above, from whence the photo was taken. I know it looks horribly end-of-season-dead in the photos. Up close and in person the reality isn't that parched.

I like to hike the Joshua Ranch Trail. There are miles of tracks I still haven't taken. Yet the whole hilly site is contained in a six-square-mile spot bounded by roads. Easy to get to. Challenging to hike. Easy to get out of in case of emergency; like running out of trail mix.

Joshua Ranch is "scheduled for termination" as they say in the Death Star detention chambers. Several years ago developers began building roads and clearing lots for high end domiciles. The housing bust of 2008 stopped that. The roads and lots are slowly returning to nature, like ancient Mayan ruins.

Have no fear though. As soon as the economy is back on track I have no doubt that this arid park-land will soon become another conquest of nature. I don't mean to sound cynical. Well... Yes I do. I like hiking there and will be sad to see it go.

Today I hiked for two hours. I figure I did a total of five miles. One of my favorite spots is a shade shelter near the highest point. You can see most of the Antelope Valley from there. If you happen to get there at noon (I never seem to) you might even find shade under the shelter.

The point of the post's Title: "Bodily Exercise Profiteth Little" is that though I exercise and work to lose weight, its really a losing battle. At my age I'm not really improving my body, merely staving off the eventual decay. I don't really feel young again. But I do feel like moving. And that's a good thing.

1 comment:

Eric said...: Beautiful. Haven't been up there since the fire. Glad you were able to get out.; November 1, 2011 at 5:17 PM

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”