Last week/weekend Scott had a work engagement at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort and he invited me to go along.
Because this was considered a work trip, I was on my own for one of the mornings/afternoons. I didn't mind though because there were lots of activities to do. The day we checked in, I found a Fitness Trail and was eager to check it out.
When I go on trips I always pack snacks and usually pack granola bars, snack bars, yogurt pouches, etc. But this time I had forgot. I did think I needed to get something for breakfast before I headed out on the trail though.
I remembered seeing the cutest little bakery when we were exploring the resort the day before so I headed down there to see if I could get a muffin or something. Turns out the bakery was not open, nor was the coffee shop, nor any of the shops. The only thing open was the fancier of the restaurants. I knew I had to eat something so that was my only option.
Yup, just a table for one. I don't think I actually ever ate at a sit down restaurant by myself before, a fast food place yes, but not a restaurant like this.
It was a breakfast buffet but I knew there was no way I was in the mood for a buffet meal so I just ordered al la cart off the menu.After an in depth discussion on how the potatoes were prepared, I settled on the breakfast potatoes, fruit, and a hazelnut hot chocolate. ( Scott calls me Meg Ryan ( from
When Harry met Sally) because I always ask questions about the food.
This was my view at breakfast. This place is a ski resort during the winter.
After breakfast it was trail time.
This wasn't what I expected but it was actually fun. I've never spent this much time in the woods alone before but I figured it was safe since it was a marked trail and it was at a resort.
Every few feet there was a sign that asked you to do a certain exercise. These signs continued up the mountain and it was a pretty steep mountain. I guess they don't call it a mountain resort for nothing.
Because of the uneven terrain, there were some activities that I didn't feel comfortable doing.
My Pink Altra's were not the best shoes to be wearing on this trail but I didn't know about this trail when I packed my outfits and all I was thinking about was matching my shoes to my clothes ( typical girl). In retrospect I should have brought my Purple Altra's that were meant for the trail
(This shoe picture was actually an accident, but it works with my post anyway..lol)
I had to pass on this activity as well. There was no way I was putting my hands on this rock!
Once at the top of the mountain there was some equipment to do the exercises on.
Because my upper body strength is lacking, the hand walk was challenging for me ( I plan on working on that this summer though)
Of course I liked the balance beam. I was tempted to try a flip or jump from my gymnastic days but then I remembered I wasn't 16 anymore!
After a few more activities there was a clearing in the woods and I came upon this contraption.
I was relieved to find out this wasn't a part of the fitness trail. This was some sort of team building activity ( at least that is what the sign said).
Then I was back in the woods for a little bit for more activities.
For the High Jump I was able to reach the first blue rung on the second set of blue ones. Considering I'm only 5 foot 2 and currently have a bum leg and a sore hip, I didn't think that was so bad!
And I just had to take a picture of these mushrooms because I don't think I have ever seen mushrooms like this in real life. I thought they only existed in story books!
Also while I was at the top of the mountain I came across one of the places where they perform weddings at the resort. I had seen this location on the resort television the night before but I had no idea it was on the top of this mountain.
Of course it looked better when I saw it on the resort tv because it was decorated for a wedding. I guess it could be a nice place though if you like the outdoorsy rustic kind of look.
Okay, so I made it through all the activities at the top of the mountain. Even though I didn't post pictures of all of them, there were 22 stations in all. I was looking for a sign or something that directed me back down the mountain. There was none. So I just turned around and walked back down.
This was actually a challenge and I can tell you I was a bit nervous. The mountain was steep and it was harder to go down it than it was to hike up it. Again I wish I would have had my purple trail Altras on and not the pink ones that have virtually no traction. I almost slipped twice but I caught myself.
I don't think either of these pictures really shows just how steep and uneven the terrain was, but I'm sure you get the idea. I was closer to the bottom half of this trail than I was to the top half when I took the picture. This was just the first part before it started curving and I couldn't get a good picture.
I didn't even bother starting my Garmin when I got to the trail that morning because after one look at it I knew I wouldn't be running it but when I got myself back to the bottom of the trail I wish I would have started it just to see how far it was. So what did I do? I started my Garmin and did the whole trail over again. This time I did not stop to do any of the activities and when I reached the top of the mountain where it was flat, I ran where I could and then walked cautiously back down the mountain. I was a little disappointed that it was just shy of a mile. But, I did it twice so I did get almost a 2 mile walk in ( with a bit of a run at the top of the mountain) and definitely got a lot of stretching and cardio activities in as well. Not a bad way to spend the morning. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool relaxing.
So tell me, have you ever done a fitness trail like this one before?
Do you have different running shoes for different terrain?
~M
