First off I want to thank you for the extra Honkney sticker. I have the perfect recipient! The zine is fun and as a seasoned backpacker from years ago I found some good updated information. I recently retired and want to get out and paint and draw again. You inspired me to go last Sunday to the lake and do a bad watercolor LOL. But hey, it has been years! I'm working on getting into better shape and learning what I can and can't do (vestibular, arthritis and covid issues too. It is fun getting old! LOL!). Thanks for the inspiration.

@MelMitchJackArt

8 күн бұрын

Amazing! I'm so glad you've got a great recipient! Congrats on retirement and getting out to draw! Bad paintings are great teachers :) I love your attitude that youre working up towards your goals. Its all in meeting our bodies and minds where we are at and slowly (but surely) carving out what we need! :)

Awesome Thank You so much for sharing this is fantastic to know 🙏🌈☀🌻👣💗

@MelMitchJackArt

8 күн бұрын

You are so welcome! Enjoy adventuring!

Lovely upload my friend, you presented this so professionally!

@MelMitchJackArt

6 күн бұрын

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed! I love bringing my teaching spirit out here!

Great video lots of good info Thank You Much❤

@MelMitchJackArt

8 күн бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

yeap a first aid kit is so important to have when hiking, even a basic one can help a lot More people really should have some kind of emergency communication, especially if they are hiking in the Glens here, the weather can change so quickly and people do die when hiking th3eglens :/

@MelMitchJackArt

6 күн бұрын

Yeah! Knowing how to reach help in distress is so key. I hiked part of the PCT yesterday and had to help someone back flush their water filter because it failed. So many things can go wrong that overpreparing and carrying too much is always better than not enough!

@fuzzydragons

5 күн бұрын

at least you were able to help them tho 🙂 (but people shouldnt rely on someone randomly showing up that can help) if a person can carry it (or someone else in the hiking party can), its always better to have more supplies/rood/water etc on a hike (and extra socks can be a good idea, can always use them as hand warmers if needed 😝)

@MelMitchJackArt

5 күн бұрын

This this this! We always bring “too much” but it feels good to be prepared. I used my extra socks as mittens during a really cold hike earlier this year! Hilarious but super useful.

@fuzzydragons

4 күн бұрын

extra socks just make sense, and so many uses if a person is creative enough 😄

This might be a bit of a personal question so you don't have to answer if you don't want to! :) But you've said before that you're chronically ill/have long covid. How do you manage to go on longer hikes/bicycle rides etc without your body protesting too much? I'm chronically ill as well (I have quite a few symptoms that are similar to long covid) and really want to walk for longer than like 30-40 minutes but so far I haven't been able to, especially when I'm carrying a heavy backpack or something. Of course I've talked about this with my doctors, but they're like ''yeah we don't know either so good luck with that''. Do you have any tips? Did your stamina improve after a while?

@MelMitchJackArt

8 күн бұрын

Hey, this is a great question and I'm happy to answer. The short: LOTS of time, training, self compassion, and steroids. I take a corticosteroid twice a day which helps manage my symptoms but sometimes, its just no match and I gotta bail. Electrolytes have REALLY helped me manage on longer stretches. When my sodium drops too low i end up with lots of swelling and pain. It really has come down to gradual and incremental steps and adding a tiny bit, little by little. Went from really short 2 mile hikes to the 10 milers I'm at now. I have switched doctors a bunch in the last year and have a better grasp on my symptoms. That being said, I still have very bad low spoon days. Strava has been a helpful app in managing because it gives you this "fitness score" to help you realize when training has been too dialed up and when to dial it back! Hope this helps and good luck in gradually moving towards more!

@puckvanrooij

7 күн бұрын

@@MelMitchJackArt Thank you so much for replying! I'm still in the middle of figuring out my symptoms and where they're coming from, and because I don't have a clear diagnosis (yet?) I find it hard to pace myself because I feel like I should be able to do [insert activity] without problems. But I'm learning to take smaller steps and also give myself some grace instead of pushing myself far beyond my limits. Thanks for your tips! Also, love your art btw! :)

@MelMitchJackArt

5 күн бұрын

@@puckvanrooij No worries! and thank you for the compliment! So much of having Long Covid has been totally rewiring my brain around those "i should" statements. It's so hard. I was training for a 100 mile bike ride right before i got hit with covid, i dont know if ill ever actually do one of those but the fact that i can ride and hike again AT ALL feels like an achievement. Each time that i slow down and just meet my body where it is every day has helped me slowly start to bounce back. Its been 2.5 years since my initial infection. Hopefully you get some guidance soon but just remember those short moments of outside time are so so so valuable even if they are small!