Final training hike

I got up yesterday morning at 4AM. I hadn't slept well, perhaps 4 hours, and that restless...

But I had a mission, to train, and I wasn't to be deterred. I ate my bagel and drank my coffee alone watching whatever tv is on at 4:30am on a Saturday. Actually I watched a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean hehe... I drank a Redbull, packed the truck and hit the road.

The Santa Ana's started just past Temecula but I didn't realize it till I started having a hard time keeping my truck in the lane. I did notice that I had to turn the vent to cool after needing the heater in San Diego.

At the Baldy Schoolhouse Visitor Center it was chilly but not terribly so. Higher up at the trail head it was windy and cold, but nothing I hadn't seen before. However my hands hurt when I locked the truck and headed up. I quickly warmed up on the trail and a Japanese couple passed me chattering away trying to warm themselves as well.

When the trail steepened I passed a large group. I makes me feel good to pass people who are carrying only day packs or less as I lug my 40 pound load. I caught the Japanese couple as they took a break to adjust their clothes.

It was cold and windy and I felt very strong. I hardly noticed my backpack. I was moving good on the steep trail but I knew if I stopped I'd get chilled quickly. I decided not to stop after one hour as has been my habit on these hikes. I felt good enough to keep going and I thought I could get to the Ski Hut with an hour and a half of hiking from the trail head. I got there in 1:25. I felt good. I appreciated the fact there is a bathroom there...

I sat down with my pack, ate and quickly got cold. Very cold. It was 38 degrees and very windy.

I packed my stuff up and left my gortex windbreaker on. I crossed baldy bowl and headed up the switchbacks to the saddle at Devils Backbone. It took 15 minutes of hard hiking on those switchbacks to warm up and have my fingers not hurt anymore.

I got to the saddle and it was 35 degrees and the wind was blowing even stronger. It had taken a half hour from the ski hut to get here. I was moving very well. As I had hiked over and behind the ridge I would alternate between freezing and cooking. On the ridge I sat down.

I thought about a few things. I felt very strong. I was passing people with much lighter loads, no one had passed me since the Japanese couple two hours earlier. I was cold and had on nearly all the clothes I brought. I knew it would be colder up higher because on this trail the exposure only increases as you go up. I thought about the fact that I was leaving in a few days for almost two weeks and my family was at home doing whatever it was they were doing without me. That was the clincher. I thought to myself that I should be home with my family before this upcoming trip and not up here on this blown out and too cold mountain. I thought my fitness was where it needed to be and another couple hours in this unfriendly place wouldn't make the difference of my summiting or not in Ecuador.

I headed down.

The hike out took about an hour and I felt great the whole way, despite going down the steep scree laden trail that I hate.

I got to my truck feeling pretty good actually. I thought coming down was the right decision and I headed home with much haste. The Santa Ana's blew me all over the road until I got to Temecula again.


This week I plan in being in the gym most every day and I've already started preparing my gear. I'll start actually packing tomorrow night or Tuesday but I've really already started. My pile in the garage grows, I have a small pile in my bedroom that needs to go down to the garage and I have a few items in the hamper that will need washing.

I went by T-Mobile on Friday and talked to them about cell service and Blackberry service in Ecuador. We looked at their map and it looks like cell service will be best in Quito, where I'll be for a total of four days. The other areas we'll be look as if they are not covered at all. My phone will work, where I have coverage, but the roaming will cost 4.99 a minute. I think my phone conversations will be brief in the extreme! It would cost $19 for a month of international Blackberry service. Since it doesn't look I'll even be able to get a signal outside of Quito I won't be getting this service. So it looks like any updates I'll do will be from Quito where there's both a business center in the hotel and an internet cafe less than a block away that is also a bar and restaurant... :D

I'm sure I'll have a few more updates before Friday, so until then...
R