Calling it a Day, Early
Apr. 19th, 2026 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOhio Waterfalls Travelog #10
Circleville · Fri, 17 Apr 2026. 8pm
We decided to call it a day, early. We're back at the hotel now, after stopping by a supermarket to buy some dinner to eat in the room. I just ate some totally "Meh" sushi while Hawk microwaved some pizza rolls. We're sharing a raspberry danish for dessert. That's all we wanted after leave the park today. I mean, really I wanted better food that supermarket sushi. I just didn't want to go out for dinner.
To recap what we did today: We had a great hike in Old Man's Gorge. After the first stretch of it I was feeling pretty optimistic about how much hiking I could do today. Even though I was tired after the second half of the gorge I was feeling like, "Huh, with a bit of rest before the next hike, and these long April days, I could do maybe four hikes today. We could be done with this park in a day and a half instead of four days!" Then we hiked Whispering Cave and I was less gung-ho about doing four hikes. Maybe one more, I figured. Maybe.
Hawk was already done by that point, but I wheedled her into agreeing we could at least drive to the next trail, Cedar Falls, and see how we feel. I got out of the car at trailhead, walked around a bit, and realized, "Nope. I'm done for the day." I mean, I'm sure I could have forced myself to do it, but I would've been miserable the whole way. And overdoing it today would only subtract from what I can do tomorrow.
Yes, our energy levels waxed and waned today. What's going on behind the scenes is that we're both dealing with being out of shape and figuring out what our current limits are. Hawk is recovering from surgery on both feet, in September and again in January. This is our first major hiking trip since then. Neither of us have done any serious hiking since August. Hawk has done a lot of walking inside to regain her strength but I've been a couch potato.
And for me, beyond just not having hiked more than a mile or two at a time in 8 months, I'm figuring out what the impacts of being on Ozempic are. Would the stomach cramps it tends to give a person limit my ability to hike? Friends had made it sound like when you're on a GLP-1 you need to be next to a toilet, constantly. Like, if it's not coming out one end it's sure to come out the other. 🤢
Thankfully I have not been cramping from Ozempic. My 2/3rds approach to eating, plus eating sensibly (prioritizing protein and fiber over carbohydrates), have allowed me to stay reasonably active. The only thing that's slowing me down is being out of shape from these 8 months of not really hiking. And that's why, despite feeling really optimistic about how much I could hike around midday today, I felt pooped out after Whispering Cave.
But hey, we have four days to do all the hikes here. That'll be plenty. We planned it that way.
Circleville · Fri, 17 Apr 2026. 8pm
We decided to call it a day, early. We're back at the hotel now, after stopping by a supermarket to buy some dinner to eat in the room. I just ate some totally "Meh" sushi while Hawk microwaved some pizza rolls. We're sharing a raspberry danish for dessert. That's all we wanted after leave the park today. I mean, really I wanted better food that supermarket sushi. I just didn't want to go out for dinner.
To recap what we did today: We had a great hike in Old Man's Gorge. After the first stretch of it I was feeling pretty optimistic about how much hiking I could do today. Even though I was tired after the second half of the gorge I was feeling like, "Huh, with a bit of rest before the next hike, and these long April days, I could do maybe four hikes today. We could be done with this park in a day and a half instead of four days!" Then we hiked Whispering Cave and I was less gung-ho about doing four hikes. Maybe one more, I figured. Maybe.
Hawk was already done by that point, but I wheedled her into agreeing we could at least drive to the next trail, Cedar Falls, and see how we feel. I got out of the car at trailhead, walked around a bit, and realized, "Nope. I'm done for the day." I mean, I'm sure I could have forced myself to do it, but I would've been miserable the whole way. And overdoing it today would only subtract from what I can do tomorrow.
Yes, our energy levels waxed and waned today. What's going on behind the scenes is that we're both dealing with being out of shape and figuring out what our current limits are. Hawk is recovering from surgery on both feet, in September and again in January. This is our first major hiking trip since then. Neither of us have done any serious hiking since August. Hawk has done a lot of walking inside to regain her strength but I've been a couch potato.
And for me, beyond just not having hiked more than a mile or two at a time in 8 months, I'm figuring out what the impacts of being on Ozempic are. Would the stomach cramps it tends to give a person limit my ability to hike? Friends had made it sound like when you're on a GLP-1 you need to be next to a toilet, constantly. Like, if it's not coming out one end it's sure to come out the other. 🤢
Thankfully I have not been cramping from Ozempic. My 2/3rds approach to eating, plus eating sensibly (prioritizing protein and fiber over carbohydrates), have allowed me to stay reasonably active. The only thing that's slowing me down is being out of shape from these 8 months of not really hiking. And that's why, despite feeling really optimistic about how much I could hike around midday today, I felt pooped out after Whispering Cave.
But hey, we have four days to do all the hikes here. That'll be plenty. We planned it that way.
