…ten miles of walking
nine holes of fishing
eight nights of camping,
seven hours of sleeping,
six months of burning,
five pounds of bass,
four kids all fishing,
three weeks of winter,
two Northerner boots,
and one transistor radio.

A rundown of some of the 2018 walk arounds at the good old strip mines

We’re staying in the same locale as yesterday’s “nine holes of fishing” and just like walking a golf course, the walk-in strip mines will give you a little exercise as you pursue your hobby. A look at a couple of the local links shows the walking distance around the neatly manicured courses at right around 6,000 yards. A little conversion work translates that yardage into about 3.4 miles. A nice little workout if you’re walking the course along the well-trimmed fairways, paved cart paths and maybe adding a few more yards to the total as you wander the rough in search wayward shots.

In contrast, there is nothing that resembles manicured when you venture out into strip mine habitat to get to the “good spots.” Granted there are a few interior roads that connect the peripheral parking areas but once you stray from those one lane pathways, it all qualifies as rough. And we’re not talking “first cut” type rough to borrow a golfing term. Nope, we’re talking flat out “uncut.”

Note: In the above video I am about a half mile walk from my truck through this same sort of jungle

But it can sure be worth the effort and that’s why I am once again committed to giving it another go in 2019 and racking up a few more miles. Whether the ten miles are registered all at once remains to be seen. However, I am considering a handful of what I have referred to as “stupid stunts” that have been racing around in my brain for more than a few years so time will tell.

Of course, it’s easy to talk tough while pecking away on a keyboard and lurking behind a monitor in the comfort of home on a December night. It’s a whole different ballgame when you decide to walk the walk, stepping off the beaten path into Mother Nature’s version of fescue on steroids. And don’t forget that just like golf, once you walk “out”, you’ve got to walk back “in.”

Time to hit the treadmill.

Talk to you later. Troy