Whew boy! Summit was cold yesterday! But I'm getting ahead of myself...
I went up to Mt. Baldy yesterday. I got up and 4AM and left at 5AM. It was a bit surreal getting up and making breakfast alone while Sam and Mandi slept; and not just a little bit sad and lonely. I was on the road on time and got to the Baldy Visitor Center at 6:45. The Ranger there was already opening up shop so I went in to get my Adventure Pass. I found out that since it was Veterans Day I didn't need a pass. Cool!
On the drive up I decided to listen to the Comedy station on Sirius instead of the Music stations I usually listen to. I couldn't seem to shake my melancholy-ness...
I was at the trail head by 7:15 and on the trail by 7:30. I knew that I wanted to push the pace somewhat but I also knew I was going to be on the trail for 6-7 hours so I wanted to be smart about it. I started with a good steady pace that kept my heart rate up in the 130's to 140's. I can do this pretty much all day. I was carrying a good 50 pounds in my big Gregory pack, perhaps a little more.
I hit the turnoff to the Ski Hut trail and it gets steep here, of course I had to slow down. But I was pushing pretty good and I was feeling strong. I decided my schedule would be to hike for an hour to an hour and a half then rest for 10 to 15 minutes. This is similar to the schedules we'll try to keep on the mountains. I stopped at 1 hour when I found a nice tree to sit on. I recently picked up some Hammer E-Caps so I took one of those and ate a little. I kept my jacket on until it was time to go then I took that off and packed it. Now I really was acting like I was climbing hehe... Since I was alone I listened to my iPod all the way to the top.
I was going good and passed two young couples who were hiking up in jeans. They commented that I was carrying a big pack! I told them it was heavy too... Seems like everyone that I went by remarked on the size of my pack. I was something of the oddball up there.
I got to the top about 10 minutes to 11 in 3 hours and 20 minutes. It was 42 degrees, my shirt was soaked. Interestingly I was on top by myself for about 10 minutes. I changed quickly in the biting wind and huddled down behind a rock wind-break. I tried to eat a little bit but with my gloves off it was just wasn't any fun up there. I had told Mandi I'd call her from the top if I could. The call failed a couple times so I pecked out a quick email with painful hands on my Blackberry then I packed up and got out of there! The summit was completely in the clouds by then.
I headed down at a pretty good pace but I kept slipping on the steep scree and loose rocks. So then I added a profane commentary to my hike down. I got to use all them really good bad words that aren't always appropriate at a dinner party...
I got to my truck right around 1:30PM making the up and down in 6 hours. Pretty good considering last time up, before the fires, I carried 35 pounds or so and whole trip took a little more than 7 hours. Last time with less weight I made it up in 3:45 so I feel pretty good about the effort. I will say I'm a little tighter a day later than last time though. However, if I had to I could go back up today.
Assessments:
I would like to get up Baldy at least once more before my trip, maybe even twice if my schedule will allow.
I think the e-Caps helped somewhat but for about 20 minutes above 9000' I felt like i wanted to puke a bit. I felt better as I got closer to the summit and felt fine, other than cold, on the summit.
No blisters.
I think the food needs more thought. I was hungry when I got down but didn't really want to eat any more of the food I had. I had some pretty good trail mix, some Gouda Cheese, Fig Newtons, and some granola type bars. I really had a craving for Cheezits. I couldn't find my apple either, that would have been good too.
Back in the gym today. I'd really like to get in two solid weeks of training before 11/30 but Turkey Day may get in the way of that just a bit.
R
11.12.2007
11.09.2007
The Forest is Open!
Okay... Pretty good week back at training. I had a 45 minutes session on the stairs at level 11, another at level 12 and a 45 minute session on the bike.
I was supposed to go do Iron Mountain last night but the mountain was socked in with fog. The last time I did Iron Mountain in the fog it took 2 hours to come down. That coupled with the fact that due to the recent fires there have been a few Mountain Lion sightings in the area I decided to skip hiking in the dark and fog alone for four hours...
So now it looks like the Angeles National Forest is back open as of yesterday. My plan now is to assault Mt. Baldy for 5 to 6 hours on Sunday. I hope to get an early start and carry about 40 to 50 pounds to the summit. This will be a solo hike since Kurtiss is out of the country and Mandi has to kick it at home with Sam.
I went to REI yesterday and used a gift card I got for my birthday to pick up some adventure clothes that I'll wear on the plane down to Ecuador. :D I picked up some North Face mid-weight convertible pants and a nice long sleeve North Face shirt.
Also earlier this week Al from the Today Show was down in Ecuador. It was cool checking his reports out but I don't think I'll be going anywhere near the places he went.
Looking forward to some good hard hiking this weekend and I'll report back in afterwards.
I was supposed to go do Iron Mountain last night but the mountain was socked in with fog. The last time I did Iron Mountain in the fog it took 2 hours to come down. That coupled with the fact that due to the recent fires there have been a few Mountain Lion sightings in the area I decided to skip hiking in the dark and fog alone for four hours...
So now it looks like the Angeles National Forest is back open as of yesterday. My plan now is to assault Mt. Baldy for 5 to 6 hours on Sunday. I hope to get an early start and carry about 40 to 50 pounds to the summit. This will be a solo hike since Kurtiss is out of the country and Mandi has to kick it at home with Sam.
I went to REI yesterday and used a gift card I got for my birthday to pick up some adventure clothes that I'll wear on the plane down to Ecuador. :D I picked up some North Face mid-weight convertible pants and a nice long sleeve North Face shirt.
Also earlier this week Al from the Today Show was down in Ecuador. It was cool checking his reports out but I don't think I'll be going anywhere near the places he went.
Looking forward to some good hard hiking this weekend and I'll report back in afterwards.
11.05.2007
Fires and Jobs
Wow, it's been a while. Well, training has suffered a bit in the last two weeks. The biggest hit to my schedule has been the fires in Southern California.
Just before my birthday fires came roaring through Rancho Bernardo, where I live, and made not only working out dangerous but even going outside was a health risk! First we spent three days cooped up in our house waiting for the flames to come over the hills. Thankfully for us the fires passed us by to the north, but those neighborhoods were hit hard as the news has shown.
Also due to the self destructive methods of her boss Mandi has lost her job. That has also put a cramp in my training schedule.
Anyway, what that has meant for my training is that I simply haven't been training! I have made it into the gym a couple if times since 10/25, but have done no hiking at all. I called Mt. Baldy visitor center this morning and they, along with the entire Angeles National Forest, are still closed. Though the bored girl there was hoping it might open this week. I hope that's the case because I would REALLY love to get up there on Sunday!
Thursday this week I plan on getting back on Iron Mountain. I checked that trail and someone was on it yesterday so it appears to be open, and I don't believe it actually burned in the fires so the trail should actually be in pretty good shape.
So regardless of jobs and trails and fires etc. Ecuador awaits! She will not care about excuses. Mother Nature is relentless and knows no mercy so it is on me to be prepared regardless of conditions. I am prepared for this, see you in the Gym today. :D
R
Just before my birthday fires came roaring through Rancho Bernardo, where I live, and made not only working out dangerous but even going outside was a health risk! First we spent three days cooped up in our house waiting for the flames to come over the hills. Thankfully for us the fires passed us by to the north, but those neighborhoods were hit hard as the news has shown.
Also due to the self destructive methods of her boss Mandi has lost her job. That has also put a cramp in my training schedule.
Anyway, what that has meant for my training is that I simply haven't been training! I have made it into the gym a couple if times since 10/25, but have done no hiking at all. I called Mt. Baldy visitor center this morning and they, along with the entire Angeles National Forest, are still closed. Though the bored girl there was hoping it might open this week. I hope that's the case because I would REALLY love to get up there on Sunday!
Thursday this week I plan on getting back on Iron Mountain. I checked that trail and someone was on it yesterday so it appears to be open, and I don't believe it actually burned in the fires so the trail should actually be in pretty good shape.
So regardless of jobs and trails and fires etc. Ecuador awaits! She will not care about excuses. Mother Nature is relentless and knows no mercy so it is on me to be prepared regardless of conditions. I am prepared for this, see you in the Gym today. :D
R
10.15.2007
10,064 feet
For the first time in over a year I made it back above 10,000 feet!
We headed up Mt. Baldy, which I found out is actually named Mount San Antonio, yesterday. We were supposed to wake up at 3:45 and meet Kurtiss at 4:30 to get on to road. So when Mandi woke me up at 4:30 saying Kurtiss was calling my phone I freaked out. Stupid alarm clock! I was tired too because my Ass of a neighbor decided to have one of his little concerts Saturday night starting around midnight!
So we scrambled to get ready and I think we were on the road by 5:30.
We got to the Mt. Baldy Ranger Station right at 7AM which happens to be when they open. Picked up our adventure pass and headed to the trail head. Beware, this road is TWISTY! But it's a short drive to Manker Flats where we were to start.
The plan was to take the Manker Flats/Ski Hut trail up and down for total of 8.4 miles and almost 8000 feet elevation gain and loss. The trail starts out pretty mild on a closed road. About 1/2 a mile up there is a barely noticeable trail that takes off on the left. We saw it because a trail runner took off up that trail. From this point the trail is pretty steep and relentless all the way to the top.
We tried to stop about every hour and ate something at every stop. I carried about 40 pounds. 20 pounds of dumbbells, 1.5 gallons of water and some food and sundries. I felt good all way to the top but I definitely felt the altitude near the top! We made it up in 3:45 and I think I could have pushed a little harder.
Near the top where it was steep enough I was able to get into a rhythm with my rest-stepping. I also practiced my pressure breathing quite a bit. I was surprised when I got to the summit because I was expecting a false summit first. When I got there I looked around and there was nowhere to go but down. Plus as I neared the top I could hear crowd noises. Not just a few voices but full on crowd noises! Such is the nature of a wilderness experience in the LA/OC/Riverside area. There were about 40 people on top and one of them was smoking a cigar! It stunk!
The view from the top was great though. We could see in almost every direction and the whole inland empire was covered in a layer of clouds thousands of feet below us. We were bathed in warm sun while on top. Of course I didn't put sunscreen on so I have a burned neck and raccoon eyes from my glacier glasses...
We came down the same way we went up and it was slower than I thought it would be. Descending loose scree on a steep trail is never any fun. It took almost three hours to come down and we were all pretty tired when we got to the truck.
A day later and I feel pretty good. I feel like I could go back up today if I had to. Little sore in the calves and quads and my neck is sore too.
The next time I head up for that hike, or maybe San Jacinto, I'll use the big backpack. I loaded my day pack with 40 pounds and that's just a bit too much to be carrying just on my shoulders. 40 pounds is a lot more comfortable when you can carry a lot of that weight on your hips. I'll also use my sunscreen!
R
We headed up Mt. Baldy, which I found out is actually named Mount San Antonio, yesterday. We were supposed to wake up at 3:45 and meet Kurtiss at 4:30 to get on to road. So when Mandi woke me up at 4:30 saying Kurtiss was calling my phone I freaked out. Stupid alarm clock! I was tired too because my Ass of a neighbor decided to have one of his little concerts Saturday night starting around midnight!
So we scrambled to get ready and I think we were on the road by 5:30.
We got to the Mt. Baldy Ranger Station right at 7AM which happens to be when they open. Picked up our adventure pass and headed to the trail head. Beware, this road is TWISTY! But it's a short drive to Manker Flats where we were to start.
The plan was to take the Manker Flats/Ski Hut trail up and down for total of 8.4 miles and almost 8000 feet elevation gain and loss. The trail starts out pretty mild on a closed road. About 1/2 a mile up there is a barely noticeable trail that takes off on the left. We saw it because a trail runner took off up that trail. From this point the trail is pretty steep and relentless all the way to the top.
We tried to stop about every hour and ate something at every stop. I carried about 40 pounds. 20 pounds of dumbbells, 1.5 gallons of water and some food and sundries. I felt good all way to the top but I definitely felt the altitude near the top! We made it up in 3:45 and I think I could have pushed a little harder.
Near the top where it was steep enough I was able to get into a rhythm with my rest-stepping. I also practiced my pressure breathing quite a bit. I was surprised when I got to the summit because I was expecting a false summit first. When I got there I looked around and there was nowhere to go but down. Plus as I neared the top I could hear crowd noises. Not just a few voices but full on crowd noises! Such is the nature of a wilderness experience in the LA/OC/Riverside area. There were about 40 people on top and one of them was smoking a cigar! It stunk!
The view from the top was great though. We could see in almost every direction and the whole inland empire was covered in a layer of clouds thousands of feet below us. We were bathed in warm sun while on top. Of course I didn't put sunscreen on so I have a burned neck and raccoon eyes from my glacier glasses...
We came down the same way we went up and it was slower than I thought it would be. Descending loose scree on a steep trail is never any fun. It took almost three hours to come down and we were all pretty tired when we got to the truck.
A day later and I feel pretty good. I feel like I could go back up today if I had to. Little sore in the calves and quads and my neck is sore too.
The next time I head up for that hike, or maybe San Jacinto, I'll use the big backpack. I loaded my day pack with 40 pounds and that's just a bit too much to be carrying just on my shoulders. 40 pounds is a lot more comfortable when you can carry a lot of that weight on your hips. I'll also use my sunscreen!
R
10.12.2007
More Gym, More Hikes
The other day at the gym I did 30 minutes of intervals on the stairs at level 14. Puking was an option but I made it through... I followed that up with 20 minutes on the stationary bike.
Last night I met Kurtiss at Iron Mountain, we both carried around 35 or 40 pounds. Kurtiss wore plastics and paid the price for that... We were up in 61 minutes and down in 50. It was a good workout and I felt better afterwards than I did last week. I just got back from the gym, 30 minutes at level 13 on the stairs and 20 minutes on the bike.
Tomorrow I'm looking forward to the Miramar Air Show and Sunday morning early we'll hit Baldy, which I found out is actually called Mt. San Antonio and is the third highest peak in SoCal at 10,064 feet.
I'm hoping to do a Thursday evening hike every week until the week before I leave for Ecuador. I enjoy getting out and I can really feel the difference between carrying weight up and down a real trail and climbing stairs in the gym. This was something lacking in my preparation for Rainier last year so I hope this helps me somewhat. I'm also hoping to get in a few more climbs of higher peaks where I can put in 5 to 7 hours of good hard hiking. But we'll see if my schedule allows for that.
I'll check in again after Sunday. It's Raiders week... GO CHARGERS!
Last night I met Kurtiss at Iron Mountain, we both carried around 35 or 40 pounds. Kurtiss wore plastics and paid the price for that... We were up in 61 minutes and down in 50. It was a good workout and I felt better afterwards than I did last week. I just got back from the gym, 30 minutes at level 13 on the stairs and 20 minutes on the bike.
Tomorrow I'm looking forward to the Miramar Air Show and Sunday morning early we'll hit Baldy, which I found out is actually called Mt. San Antonio and is the third highest peak in SoCal at 10,064 feet.
I'm hoping to do a Thursday evening hike every week until the week before I leave for Ecuador. I enjoy getting out and I can really feel the difference between carrying weight up and down a real trail and climbing stairs in the gym. This was something lacking in my preparation for Rainier last year so I hope this helps me somewhat. I'm also hoping to get in a few more climbs of higher peaks where I can put in 5 to 7 hours of good hard hiking. But we'll see if my schedule allows for that.
I'll check in again after Sunday. It's Raiders week... GO CHARGERS!
10.08.2007
Good Hard Hikes!
So last week I went and did Iron Mountain. I tried to keep pushing myself the whole way. I was probably carrying about 35 pounds, which isn't much but it's something. It was a bit hot.
I did the 3.5 miles up in 55 minutes. It took another 45 minutes to come back down. It felt good and I pushed it hard enough to get a good workout out of it. I hope to be able to do that again this Thursday. I definitely want to spend some more time walking down hill!
Next Sunday Kurtiss and I will run up and down Mount Baldy. I haven't done it so I'm not sure what to expect. I plan on carrying at least 35 pounds again, maybe a little bit more. I'm not going to wear plastics though. I'll just wear my hiking boots. Since this hike is up and down I think this might be better than San Jacinto, even though San J. is much more elevation gain.
Last weekend I went up to Palomar Mountain to look at the telescope with my family. I could feel the 6000' up there.... hmmmmm....
Until next time,
R
I did the 3.5 miles up in 55 minutes. It took another 45 minutes to come back down. It felt good and I pushed it hard enough to get a good workout out of it. I hope to be able to do that again this Thursday. I definitely want to spend some more time walking down hill!
Next Sunday Kurtiss and I will run up and down Mount Baldy. I haven't done it so I'm not sure what to expect. I plan on carrying at least 35 pounds again, maybe a little bit more. I'm not going to wear plastics though. I'll just wear my hiking boots. Since this hike is up and down I think this might be better than San Jacinto, even though San J. is much more elevation gain.
Last weekend I went up to Palomar Mountain to look at the telescope with my family. I could feel the 6000' up there.... hmmmmm....
Until next time,
R
10.04.2007
Training hikes and things
In an effort to be boring I'll say my training continues as usual. Lots of stairs, stationary bike, leg workouts and core work. Feeling pretty good. Have not lost an ounce in months. It's a strange thing that I'd rather not talk about....
I'm going to leave work a bit early today and head up to Iron Mountain for a training hike with about 30 pounds in my pack. It's only seven miles, and it's only 2500 feet gain, and it's at nearly sea level, but hey, I live in San Diego and it's what I've got... So I plan on pushing it pretty hard to get something out of it.
Looks like next weekend Kurtiss and I might get in a hike up and down Mount Baldy. As the weather changes I'm hoping to get out to Mt. San Jacinto soon too. Things have been pretty quiet over Gerry's way but I know he's been busy...
The Chiropractic continues. I can't say I'm pain free but I do feel changes going on, and while I still feel pain daily it's a bit different now. My confidence is raised and I've committed to about a year of working with this guy.
I have begun to consider details for Ecuador. Some random thoughts and questions I have:
*** I know we need about 7 lunches but I wonder if we will be able to do some shopping down there or should I pack 7 lunches and take em down with me. Since I'll want some fruit seems like I'll need to get that down there. But montezumas concerns me with that scenario...
*** I know airlines don't like shoulder straps on bags checked. So I was thinking about my backpack, there are many straps hanging off of it. I talked to Gerry about that and for his Rainier trip he bought a Travel Bag for his pack. Basically it's like a big duffel that your pack fits in and doesn't have any extraneous straps hanging off of it. And it's lockable. So I think I'll pick up one of those.
*** I was also thinking about summit days. We'll be staying in public huts the nights before summit day. I don't imagine we'll want to leave anything in the huts. That means we'll be taking nearly a full pack to the summit and back... Ugh...
*** During the period we'll be in Ecuador there is an "Excess Baggage Embargo" on by the airlines. This means we are only allowed two 50 pound bags to be checked. I can get buy with checking 100 pounds, but I wonder if I'll have to limit my souvenir shopping while down there because of that...
*** I have been wondering if my blackberry will work down there. I'm not taking a laptop of course so I want to find out if my cell phone and email features will work from my blackberry. It looks like the cell phone will work, with some hefty roaming charging but I'm not sure if the email features will work.
That's all for now. I hope to report how the hikes goes later today.
R
I'm going to leave work a bit early today and head up to Iron Mountain for a training hike with about 30 pounds in my pack. It's only seven miles, and it's only 2500 feet gain, and it's at nearly sea level, but hey, I live in San Diego and it's what I've got... So I plan on pushing it pretty hard to get something out of it.
Looks like next weekend Kurtiss and I might get in a hike up and down Mount Baldy. As the weather changes I'm hoping to get out to Mt. San Jacinto soon too. Things have been pretty quiet over Gerry's way but I know he's been busy...
The Chiropractic continues. I can't say I'm pain free but I do feel changes going on, and while I still feel pain daily it's a bit different now. My confidence is raised and I've committed to about a year of working with this guy.
I have begun to consider details for Ecuador. Some random thoughts and questions I have:
*** I know we need about 7 lunches but I wonder if we will be able to do some shopping down there or should I pack 7 lunches and take em down with me. Since I'll want some fruit seems like I'll need to get that down there. But montezumas concerns me with that scenario...
*** I know airlines don't like shoulder straps on bags checked. So I was thinking about my backpack, there are many straps hanging off of it. I talked to Gerry about that and for his Rainier trip he bought a Travel Bag for his pack. Basically it's like a big duffel that your pack fits in and doesn't have any extraneous straps hanging off of it. And it's lockable. So I think I'll pick up one of those.
*** I was also thinking about summit days. We'll be staying in public huts the nights before summit day. I don't imagine we'll want to leave anything in the huts. That means we'll be taking nearly a full pack to the summit and back... Ugh...
*** During the period we'll be in Ecuador there is an "Excess Baggage Embargo" on by the airlines. This means we are only allowed two 50 pound bags to be checked. I can get buy with checking 100 pounds, but I wonder if I'll have to limit my souvenir shopping while down there because of that...
*** I have been wondering if my blackberry will work down there. I'm not taking a laptop of course so I want to find out if my cell phone and email features will work from my blackberry. It looks like the cell phone will work, with some hefty roaming charging but I'm not sure if the email features will work.
That's all for now. I hope to report how the hikes goes later today.
R
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