Introduction

Hi there! Allow me to introduce myself and explain the name of this blog.

I am Jennifer Hammer.  I am 40+ years old, I live in Eastern Oregon, and I teach high school. I've decided to start a hiking blog but I am not a "super" hiker. I love a bit of a physical challenge and I love being outdoors.

There are a couple of reasons I'm not a "super" hiker.  By this I mean I don't do hikes with elevation gains of over 800 feet.  I don't do long hikes, usually average around 5 miles or so.  The first reason I don't consider myself a "super" hiker (I should come up with another term because I'm pretty super) is that I'm overweight. It's been a lifelong struggle with my weight and I'm glad to have found hiking as a physical activity.  But it's difficult sometimes.

The second reason I am not a "super" hiker--and why I chose this name for the blog--is because of a genetic disorder I have called Neurofibromatosis Type 2. NF2 causes bilateral acoustic neuromas. In layman's terms, I had two brain tumors, one on each side. They sat right on the auditory nerve. When the biggie on the left was surgically removed in 2003, the surgery damaged the nerve. I lost all hearing in my left ear and I lost my sense of balance that working ears provide. Therefore, I struggle with steep hikes, especially the downhill parts, because I just can't sense when I'm losing my balance, oftentimes until it's too late. There's also a bit of loss of depth perception. So yes, going down steep hikes is terribly difficult.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my hiking poles--they've saved me on many occasion!

Here's the MRI of the tumor that is still in my brain on the right side.  It was much smaller.  I believe the one on the left was 6+ centimeters. It was pushing on my brain stem. Because this one was so much smaller, they could do gamma knife radiation on it, kill it, and I retained my hearing on the right side. It's still in there, dead. The radiation, and the fact that the tumor is still on the auditory nerve, has led to some hearing damage on the right side too. I wear hearing aids on a day-to-day basis, but not when I hike because they're only water resistant and I sweat a lot.

Because that wasn't enough, I also have other damaged nerves. My left hand doesn't work right and I have a condition called "drop foot". I am unable to lift my toes or fully rotate my ankle on my left side. To cope, I wear what is called an AFO--an Ankle Foot Orthosis--brace. It is incredibly stiff to hold the foot in place. Therefore, steep hikes (either going uphill or downhill) puts immense strain on the AFO and also makes it difficult to place my foot in the right position. I have no ankle strength of my own without the brace so really rocky hikes are hard as well.

Here's a generic picture off the internet of what my brace looks like. It extends clear to the toes up to a bit below the knee.

So I've got some limitations. But I still get out there and am always looking for new hikes that aren't too tough but still a bit of a physical challenge. They're hard to find, especially out here in Eastern Oregon where we're surrounded by Blue Mountains, Wallowa Mountains, and countless others. I know there are tons of hikes I physically cannot do, but gosh I really wish I could!

My intention for starting this blog is to share the hikes I've done so that other non-"super" hikers can get outside and enjoy the activity.  I'm also open to new hikes I haven't tried, keeping with rough parameters of elevation change and distance.  My other intention was to inspire myself to keep looking for more hikes and keep challenging myself.