My name is Bret Belgarde and this is my blog. The main reason for this blog is to document my progress both in getting fit and as a hiker. This process actually started shortly after my 36th birthday, my general health seemed, at least to me, to have degenerated significantly. I weighed over 340 pounds, and smoked at least half a pack of cigarettes a day. My idea of exercise consisted of walking to the fridge to find something else to eat. To say I was out of shape would have been the understatement of the century.
