Another CF Hike Conquered!

I am going to be sore for awhile. This past weekend was our big Cystic Fibrosis Hike and it was the longest one yet! Depending on who's GPS you used, we hiked somewhere between 24-27 miles on Saturday and boy am I feeling it this week! This was Timmy and I's third year hiking in the Xtreme Hike for Cystic Fibrosis and once again we are feeling so accomplished for finishing the hike and raising money for CF!

3rd Annual Beer Olympics

This weekend we hosted the 3rd Annual (kinda) Beer Olympics at our house! I say kinda because we took a break last year on Beer Olympics for Cystic Fibrosis, but we did it again this year for the third time! See our past years here ( 2015 & 2014).

Some of the Best Decisions I've Ever Made

Awhile back I was doing my daily blog reading and saw that Chelsea wrote about some of her  best decisions she had ever made and I thought it was such a neat post! I agree with Chelsea, it can be very hard to get caught up in the negative things about yourself or your life, but we have to choose to be positive and focus on the good things in our lives. We can't dwell on past decisions that may not have been the best decisions we have made, but without them our lives could have ended up differently. All of our decisions shape who we are, good or bad. We have to learn to accept them and focus on the good decisions we made along the way.

22 Miles Conquered Again!

Last year was the first time I completed the Xtreme Hike for Cystic Fibrosis and I completed it again. This year the CFF changed the route a little and it was definitely harder is some parts and easier in other, but this route was definitely better than last years!! Like last year this was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I didn't train nearly as much as I did last year and it showed in some areas. But my family and I hiked for my cousin Wells, who has Cystic Fibrosis. 

A few Friday nights ago we all met at the Green Heron to have dinner and go over all the safety information and the hike route. We had tons of carbs to load up on and give us some fuel for our early morning. We headed back to the beautiful Singletree Gun & Plough Lodge and packed our bags for the hike and hit the sack...4am was going to come very early.

4am came very early, but surprisingly I was able to get right up and get in the shower. We all got ready and went downstairs for some breakfast before leaving the lodge at 5:45am to head to Hanging Rock State Park. Once we got to the park, we got our head lamps on and started on the first trail..the trail up to Hanging Rock. It is a good 1.3 miles with a lot of incline and a lot of steps (which I thought was going to be the hardest part but I was mistaken later on in the hike). We got up to the rock about 30 minutes before sunrise and took it all in. Once the sun rose we were back on our way down the trail and headed to the next trail.

We started on the next trail with our group and then of course I had to take a squat behind a rock and go to the ladies room, and then we got left. It was just Timothy and I. We finally caught up to some of the group which ended up getting us lost and going on a wrong trail but ultimately leading us back to where we needed to go but about 20 minutes behind our Hiking for Wells team. So after our first stop on our aid station Timmy and I decided we were going to make up some time and try and catch up to my family. We did Moores Wall trail which consisted of going up about 600 steps constantly! But the view was totally worth it!!

And then back down the other side of the trail which was so hard on our knees. We ended up at what we thought was aid station #2, but it was actually aid station #3 and we had gone down the completely wrong trail. So we were lost for the second time. Since we had done extra mileage when we got lost the first time and did about the same mileage going down the wrong trail, we decided to hop in the car and get driven to the correct aid station #2 where we finally met up with our team and family. We looked at our FitBit and were at about the same mileage so we knew we hadn't messed up too much by driving up there. Then we hit the Tory's Den trail, which was straight up hill for about 1.5 miles and it was so hard!! But we were over halfway done and the rest was going to be fairly easy.

The rest of the trails were fairly flat and with just a few miles left all we were all talking about were the beers we were going to get at the bar where the finish line was! Yep...this year we decided to finish at the Green Heron instead of inside the park because well we were illegally drinking in the park last year and it just made more sense for our crew! We finished the hike at 3:30, so it took us 9 hours to hike the 22 miles!

After we had some beers at the bar, we all headed back to the lodge to get some much needed hot showers and put on some comfortable shoes. Dinner was at the lodge that night and BBQ and all the fixings were brought in to refuel us! There was a fire and we had our awards ceremony! After everything was done I was in bed and asleep by 9:30, and I slept like a rock! 

Sunday morning we got up and packed everything and had breakfast at the lodge one more time. But not before we got some beautiful photos of the amazing view! (The big rock/mountain in the back, we hiked that yesterday!)

As of October 28th Timmy and I have raised $3,920 for CF, just $1,080 away from our goal! We can continue to raise money until December! Please help the CF cause if you can!! You can donate here!

As a team, Hiking for Wells, has raised $15,680! And overall all 24 hikes have raised around $38,560! This event is huge for the CF foundation and will help fund more research for those living with CF!

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Hike Prep

So you all know I am going to be hiking with some family in this weekend for Cystic Fibrosis for the 2nd year [read about last years hike here]. 20 miles is a lot and I have to mentally and physically prepare myself for this hike. I am not quite as worried as I was last year but I am still nervous.

I have been "training" if you say for this hike pretty much all summer. Timothy will be doing the hike with me and we have gone on some hikes to prepare..but none like the one we will complete on Saturday. But training is not all you need to do in order to prepare for a hike...you need to have the right essentials as well!

Hiking Boots// First you will need some good shoes. They don't have to be hiking boots but those are probably going to be the best for long distances. Last year I even saw someone wearing those toe shoes..I am not sure how he made it 20+ miles. Not only do the shoes need to be comfortable but make sure they are in GOOD CONDITION. 

*STORY TIME: Timothy made the mistake of wearing some of my dads old hiking boots (he didn't want to spend $100 on shoes) and within the first 1/2 mile one of the soles of his shoes came off. He was pretty much walking barefoot..since he was walking somewhat lopsided he decided to take the other sole off to make it even. Our first first aid stop was not for 7 miles...thankfully Timothy had packed an extra pair of shoes in the bag they took to each first aid stop...but he did have to walk soleless for 7 miles.

Hydration Packs// These things are a life savior. They are the backpacks with the water packet with the tube you can suck out of inside. You are going to need a backpack anyways so why not get one that will carry your water as well. I really enjoyed it because when I was so tired I didn't have to fumble around in my backpack looking for my water or hold it while I was walking, the tube just laid down my shoulder and when I was thirsty I would just suck out of the tube.

Snacks// Always pack more snacks than you think you will need! And pack snacks that will give you energy; you will eat a lot!

*STORY TIME: During our hike my go to snack were the Scooby Doo gummies! I had bought a box for Timothy and I to share (I think they came with 6 packets) and split them up in our backpacks and by the end of it I think I had eaten all mine and majority of Timothy's.

Extra Clothes// Always make sure you bring a pair of extra clothes and at least 2 pairs of extra socks! The weather could change on you or you could just sweat that much. Hiking in wet socks or clothes is one of the worst things ever.

TP // Don't forget the toilet paper!! You will have to pee outside in the woods and you want to be prepared. Last year I did not bring TP but luckily my aunt did.

First Aid// Hopefully nothing will happen to you while you are hiking, but always bring the standard first aid kit - bandaids, neosporin, ace bandage, poppable ice packets, advil, sting medicine, etc.

This should cover the basics of what you may need to go hiking...obviously you will need more items but these are the necessities that I found extremely important.

Also, don't forget about the promotion going on! Timothy and I have challenged ourselves to raise $5,000 for CF. Anyone who donates to our cause will receive ad spots equaling up to their donation amount OR will receive a free pair of STUDS from my Chloe + Isabel Boutique!! Please help us raise money for this awful disease!

DONATE HERE.

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Fundraising Update

Back in February I put together some fundraising goals for the upcoming Cystic Fibrosis hike in October. Since then we have come a long way and we are a little over a month away from the BIG HIKE! As of today Timothy and I have raised $2,845 out of our $5,000 goal. We are so close to reaching our goal, help us reach our goal and donate below!

DONATE HERE

-Partner with 1 restaurant for 1 night to get a % of earnings to go towards goal amount

In July, we had CF night at the Busy Bee where a percentage of sales from that night was donated to our team!

-Do an Ad promo

If you donate to Timmy and I's team you will in return receive an ad spot or spots on Girl Talk (depending on donation amount) to equal your donation. 

-Send out letter/flyer to all houses in neighborhood

-Host another CF Beer Olympics

-Send out Direct Mailers (They hit mailboxes Friday!)

-Get 2 company sponsors - half completed...We have 1 :)

Along with the Ad Promotion I am now offering a free pair of birthstone studs from my Chloe and Isabel boutique. If you donate to Timmy and I's cause you can either receive a free pair of birthstone studs ($24 value) OR ad promotion for your blog equaling to the amount of your donation. 

Please consider helping us reach our fundraising goal and spread the word about Cystic Fibrosis!

DONATE HERE.

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