June 2--Black Hills

Today was a fabulous bonus day, because thunderstorms were forecast and they stayed away until 3 pm.  So we got in a 5 mile hike this morning on the Mickelson trail, and then I did 4 miles this afternoon near Sylvan Lake.  Elevation change was 300 ft in the morning and 700 in the afternoon. I wore my vibram 5-toed shoes this morning and my minimal shoes this afternoon.  Both felt good.  I'm reading a book called "Whole Body Barefoot" by Katy Bowman.  She says the whole body is involved in walking and she recommends doing some exercises before transitioning and then transition slowly to minimal shoes.   Of course I'm not following instructions but I do look forward to getting to the section that describes the exercises.  I'm curious to read her other books too.  I find what she says interesting and plausible, though I'm pretty ignorant about physiology so could be susceptible to garbage advice.  Here are pictures from the hikes.  

This morning:

This afternoon's hike: