At age 39, I fell in love with California's Sierra Mountains and especially Yosemite National Park. I really do not know what took me so long to find them. It was on a Boy Scout hike with my two sons when I discovered them. I soon found that to enjoy the mountains you needed to be fit, and at that time I had just come off 15 years of very little physical activity and was not in good shape.

I discovered that getting in shape had many unknown obstacles, especially in my joints. You really do not know your body's weakness until you start exercising. I was not far into the process before I determined never to get so out of shape again. I learned that you need muscle to protect your joints while exercising and it was muscle that I was lacking. I also discovered that it is easy to hurt a joint while building the muscles needed to protect it, so you see it is a sort of catch-22.

It was determination and knowledge that I needed to work through the process of getting in shape. I found the determination from my desire to hike in the wilderness; it was these feelings that drove me to workout day after day especially in the winter months. Obtaining the knowledge began with going to my doctor to find out if I had anything seriously wrong with my knee joints and then I started reading to get the information that my doctor did not have time to tell.

Now to stay in shape I exercise 6 days a week alternating between running, bicycling and weight lifting. I follow the exercise and diet philosophy of the book Body for Life. I also stop all weight lifting one week before a major hike and then do not resume lifting for one week after the activity. I run and bike ride up to within three days of the hike and then start up again after my legs stop being sore

Cathedral Peak

Mono Lake

Tuolumne Meadows

Conness Lake