Monday, October 26, 2009

Old Rag Mountain Hike


On a beautiful fall day in Charlottesville some classmates and I decided to forget about interview prep and case studies to hike one of the most famous hikes in the Shenandoah National Park at Old Rag Mountain. The 8 mile hike climbs more than 2,500 feet and has some of the most breathtaking views I have ever witnessed. Whether skiing or hiking there is just something about staring out from the top of a mountain that puts life in perspective.

For blood sugar management, I turned my pump down to a 75% basal rate and had more than enough Clif Bars with me for the hike. When we started the hike my blood sugar was actually above 300 from the Pumpkin Muffin I had for breakfast screwed that up a bit so I adjusted with a 1 unit bolus. After climbing for about a mile my blood sugar was down to 71 so I gobbled up my black and white lumpy scone (it's the offseason I can't be healthy all the time!) About an hour later I had a clif mojo bar and then had a clif protein bar about a mile from the top.

Now for the fun stuff – pictures:











Sitting on a ledge with a view like the one above reminds me that high blood sugar or low, tough workout or off season there can be something magical about everything that we do.  There can be beauty in everything that we see, triumph in everything that we overcome and joy in everything that we encounter.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth
find reserves of strength
that will endure as long as life lasts." 
~ Rachel Carson

4 comments:

Mary Eggers said...

omg these are so beautiful!!!

Naomi said...

Gorgeous photos!

Anonymous said...

well it's been a year since my granddaughter got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. the honeymoon is over and we are trying to get control as her numbers jump about. she gets a pre breakfast and pre dinner shot of a mixture of humalog and humalin. we have been through swine flu which was real scary last spring ( tamiflu works wonders, do not hesitate to use it fast ) and she is entering puberty which will make things even more difficult in terms of control. her mom and i discuss a pump and other alternatives but the two shots works well for how her life goes right now so we are gonna try to get control with the current regime. last week they did a 1ac which was 7.5 which is not great but not awful. i find the detail you give on your efforts to maintain control with your active life style very informative and helpful in building realistic expectations and strategies. the kid is very compliant and we count carbs and glycemic values intensely.
the kid does african dance and cheerleading and pogo sticks around and so there is lots of blood testing which while the cause of freak outs when we first got this reality handed to us now is no big deal.
any advice you can offer is welcome but know that just by writing the careful notes that you do about your "ringing the bell" is greatly appreciated and very helpful....gramps

Alison said...

Absolutely stunning photos, Ed!