A walk through nature is a good way to start the day

The daily treadmill walk has yielded to an outdoor stroll that’s twice as long in distance, time and much more enjoyable, especially when walking with my wife, Nancy, early in the morning just as the sun comes up in the east and the humidity is low enough with the warming temperatures but high enough to develop sweat to drench my shirt. We try to start each day by 7 a.m. or earlier.

From our home, we walk uphill for about three blocks, elevating about 30 feet, and then it’s relatively flat for a long block before walking downhill to Apex Lake, a drop to a lower elevation than the driveway to our home. The Town of Apex many years ago created a nice asphalt path around the lake. It’s over two miles long and meanders through wooded areas within a few feet of the lake. We encounter other walkers as well as ducks, geese, hawks, and other animal life.

There are toddlers being pushed in strollers; there are pregnant women trying to keep from adding pounds; there are elderly couples (present company NOT included) walking slower paces than we. There are the path hogs, a group of more than two people who walk shoulder-to-shoulder and refuse to yield space to oncoming traffic usually forcing the approaching twosome to change to single file. The path hogs are oblivious to everyone else using the public pathway. 

About halfway around the lake, there are paved paths leading to another Apex Park which includes youth baseball fields (bringing back memories of coaching youth baseball for about 12 years including mentoring one unfeated team of 12 and 13 years old boys), tennis courts, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, and a nice playground for those toddlers being pushed my their mothers. This park includes picnic shelters. This detour loops from one intersection of the lake path to another just a few yards away, adding about three-quarters of a mile to the overall walk.

When walking counterclockwise, the second half of the lake path is hillier than the first, giving your legs a better workout. But as the fast-paced stroll makes its way to just below the lake’s dam, the walk home is back up that hill that took us down to the lake to start our trek. Then it’s flat and finally downhill to home, offering an easy cool down for the last minute. It’s about four miles and takes about an hour. There’s no Morning Joe or Golf Central or any other TV program; we don’t listen to music unless we walk at different times. The twosome outdoor meander is a great way to start the day. You should try it.

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Dictionary.com word of the day

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