Last month I wrote a post here about hiking shoes. I was talking about how difficult it was for me to find hiking shoes. I actually ended up getting two pairs a few weeks ago but I haven’t had a chance to test them out yet. I’ll have to come back and let you know more about them when I do test them out. I’m hoping to get out on the trails this weekend but there are no plans set in stone for that yet.

In any case, in the original article I mentioned a company that makes hiking shoes - Webtogs. At the time, I was looking at their Berghaus brand of shoes. They recently sent me a link to a video that pointed out something else that I might need - a lightweight jacket.

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like wearing layers. I originally come from the Arizona desert where the idea of wearing layers was just plain foreign to me. My main goal was to take off as many layers as possible! I lived in tank tops and light denim jeans. Now I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and that means that I have to wear layers. I’ve adjusted but I still don’t like it.

That’s why my attention was caught by this particular product. Supposedly the jacket (called the Marmot Mica Jacket) is so lightweight that it barely even feels like a jacket. I own several jackets but none of them are particularly lightweight. And I don’t own one that’s good for hiking. According to the video (which you can watch below) the jacket is made with a unique material that is waterproof and breathable while still being lightweight. Looks interesting.

I’m probably never going to be someone who goes to the gym regularly. I just don’t enjoy hanging out on exercise machines even if it might be good for me. I’m the kind of person who has to enjoy my exercise or I’m not going to be able to do it.

Luckily, over the years, I’ve found several types of exercise that I actually enjoy. Last fall I discovered yoga (and more recently pilates) which I go to a few times a week. The combination of spirituality and exercise seems to really work for me there. I also like getting out into nature and enjoy hiking. I’ve done indoor rock climbing in the past and would love to try outdoor rock climbing one day. I think if you find exercises that you like such as these then you’ll naturally just stay in shape because you’ll enjoy working out.

In addition to learning to enjoy exercise, I’ve learned to enjoy reading and writing about exercise. I read a few fitness blogs and yoga magazines. Three recent articles that I wrote about exercise were:

• 10 Trampoline Exercises. Working out on a trampoline is so much fun. I wish I could get one but it’s not feasible in my apartment at this time.
• Foot Gymnastics. There are lots of workouts for the feet and toes. These are particularly good for anyone who has a problem with flat feet.
• How to Burn Calories. Did you know that you don’t even have to exercise to burn calories? There are other things you can do as well.

Those were all fun articles to research and write about. Hopefully they’ll be fun for you to read as well.