I'm entering my fourteenth week of doing my Spartan race training. I've been doing three days a week of workouts. Two of them are completed at a normal gym, and the third I do at my CrossFit box during open hour. I'm going to look back at my results from the start and compare them to the most recent one.
The exercises are all pretty upper body focused, with a smattering of core focused work added in for stability. I try to push myself when it comes to weights. The idea is to push to failure, and I try to get close without risking injury.
My second gym day starts with some max sets of push-ups on the Bosu. I do one set with my hands flat and one with a side grip, for variety. I get more reps on the flat ones, but that might be because I do them first. I should probably try switching it up and see if there's a difference. Then again, I'm using different muscle groups for each one, with the side grip being wider and the flat being more of a triceps push-up.
The first sets I did back in late October I got 12 reps flat and 14 with the side grip. Last Thursday (in week 13), I did 30 with flat palms and 26 with the side grip. I find as I get over 20 reps on the side grip that it's useful to use a bit of chalk. Otherwise, my hands slide off the side of the platform before my strength runs out. The numbers fluctuate more on the side grips, but I've been pretty steady in beating my last set by one or two reps each time on the flats, and most times on the sides.
Next is a balance task: single leg Bosu ball balance; I do 30 seconds per leg, three times each leg. To simplify timing, I use a Tabata timer and set it for 6 rounds of 30 seconds each. That gives me 10 seconds to switch legs and reset. For the most part, I do pretty well on this. I've only dropped off before the 30 seconds a few times, mostly when I'm feeling under the weather.
Then I get to do a traditional Tabata (8 rounds, 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest), alternating between Superman holds and swimmers (which are like Supermans in motion). I push through that every time, but it started hard and stayed hard. I think I'm getting stronger, and that's why it still feels just as hard as the first time - because I'm using my muscles more.
The next two exercises use a cable cross machine. When I first started, the gym was never super crowded, so it wasn't hard to find an open spot. But in January, the gym gets some influx, so I don't always have a choice about which machine to use. There are several machine that I can use, but I prefer the one that always me to add weight in smaller increments - which happens to be the metric one. See, on one machine, I can use pounds, which I have a pretty good sense of, but the only option is 10 pound increments, and those are pretty big jumps for me when it comes to upper body. The metric machine allows for adjustments in 1.5 kilogram increments - much easier to build up.
I started in late October at 17.5 kilograms for my single arm row and reach. That's about 38.5 pounds. I stayed in the 40 pound range for a while, but when I used the metric machine, I could start to ease the weight up without skipping right to 50. I did go to 50, but then I started preferentially using the metric one, since I wanted the smaller increments for the next exercise. Last Thursday my heaviest set on these was 29 kilograms - nearly 64 pounds.
I was even more hesitant to go up with the low to high twists, because even 40 pounds felt really heavy. I stuck with close to that weight for 7 weeks. But on the day I wanted to go up with them, the metric machine wasn't available. So I bit the bullet and did 50. The next day, I could feel soreness in my lats, and I knew I had to make that jump and keep pushing on these exercises. Last Thursday, I did a set at 25.5 kilograms, which is touch above 56 pounds. And those reps hurt.
At first, I went directly to the 30 assisted pull-ups, as is written on my sheet. But lately, I've taken to giving my forearms and grip a little break first. So, I do my hip flexor exercises, which allows me to catch my breath and mentally prepare for the set of 30.
I wasn't sure where to start with the set of 30 assisted pull-ups, because I'd never even attempted 30 strict pull-ups, never considered what it might take to get me there. I started at 70 pounds of assistance (and here, higher weight means I'm getting more help, so I want it to go lower). 70 pounds was really tough, and I stuck at that weight for 8 weeks. But going up on the twists gave me the confidence to try and go up on this one. In week 9, I succeeded at 60 pounds assistance. Week 10 I tried 50 and went to failure after 29 reps. I figured that was a good place to stay and work.
It was only week 12 that I finally completed a full set of 30 with only 50 pounds of assistance; basically I'm taking a third off of my body weight to get through the sets. Last Thursday, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish all 30 again, because I was feeling tired and I'd done a 5 am workout that involved a total of 50 pull-ups. I did those kipping, but it's still the same muscles. And I'd went heavy on my twists, so I approached the assist machine with a bit of trepidation.
To my great surprise, the entire thing was easier. I kept the wide grip longer, and when I had to go narrower, I never went to the narrowest part. Instead, I stayed on the rubber coated area, though I did get right to the very edge. And my arms were limp noodles at the end, but that happens every time I do the sets of 30. Good thing that's the last movement!
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Workout Review: Day 1 Rec Center
I'm entering my thirteenth week of doing my Spartan race training. I've been doing three days a week of workouts. Two of them are completed at a normal gym, and the third I do at my CrossFit box during open hour. I'm going to look back at my results from the start and compare them to the most recent one.
The exercises are all pretty upper body focused, with a smattering of core focused work added in for stability. I try to push myself when it comes to weights. The idea is to push to failure, and I try to get close without risking injury.
The first exercise is wrist extensions. I'm not sure if I should maybe go back down in weight again to try and build up strength on these. I started out using a 5 pound dumbbell, then moved to 7.5 pounds and yesterday I used a 10 pounder. With the 10 pound dumbbell, I definitely struggle on the back half of each set, and my form would probably be better with the weight backed off a bit.
It's almost the same story with the second exercise, which is wrist curls. I started with 10 pounds, and I'm up to 17.5 as of yesterday. But those are also pretty difficult at that weight. And there's something weird that happens with my wrists when I do the wrist curls, even with lighter weight. My wrists pop as I lift the weight, and they don't stop popping. Lift, pop. Release, pop. It feels weird, and does start to hurt, so I try to avoid it, but I think I'm not getting full range of motion when I avoid the popping. Again, dropping the weight might help.
The next thing I do is go to the lat pull down machine. Rather, to one of them. There are two at my gym; one is downstairs and the other is upstairs. The downstairs one has a narrower bar and can be adjusted in 5 pound increments. The one upstairs has a thicker bar and can only be adjusted in 15 pound increments. I find the upstairs one much harder to use; I've discovered that I have about a 10 pound difference between the two machines. At the start of this project, I used the upstairs one more often, but towards December the gym got less crowded and I used the downstairs one more often. Now, in January, it's a lot more crowded and sometimes (like yesterday) I have to wait for a machine. Rather than do nothing, I skip to the next exercise and then try to find an open machine again.
In week 1, I did 50 pounds on the upstairs machine. Last week, I did 100 pounds on the downstairs machine. And yesterday, I struggled with 80 pounds on the upstairs machine and went to failure on 95 pounds on the upstairs machine.
Usually, the Eccentric Biceps Curl comes after the Lat Pull Downs, but yesterday I had to switch them. For those, I have two different ways of approaching the exercise. I can use two lighter weight dumbbells and do both arms at once, or I can use one heavy dumbbell and do one arm at a time. The heavy dumbbell should be one that I can't curl without the help of the other arm. As an added stress to my grip, I try to go upstairs and use the dumbbells with the thick handles for these.
I started with two 20 pound dumbbells for the light weight and one 25 pound for the heavy. Yesterday, I did one 30 pound dumbbell, and last week I did two 25 pounders. So I'm making a little bit of progress on those free weights. I'll have to try doing a chin up one of these days and see if there's any improvement.
My last machine stop is at the seated row. Again, there is one machine downstairs and one upstairs, but the difficulties are reversed. The downstairs seated row is much more difficult than the upstairs, which has two independent handles instead of a single handle. I can switch out the downstairs handle, but there's still only one pulley, so it's just as hard.
I started at the upstairs one and really had no idea what to use when I started. The first day, I tried sets at 40, 50 and 60 pounds. Up to 70 pounds the next week and continuing to tick up, slowly but surely. Yesterday I did a set at 105 on the upstairs. But I only got 90 pounds last week on the downstairs machine.
The last exercise on the plan for this day is a tabata (8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest). Plank, right side plank, left side plank, bridge, repeat. I feel stronger on this one. I'm doing straight arms for all the planks, and doing a full bridge. I could have just done a hip bridge, but I've got the flexibility for the full and I'm enjoying doing something a bit gymnastic in the routine. I definitely feel better in the bridge than when I started. It's easier to breathe and also to adjust myself.
One thing that I've added to the routine is some hip flexor work. At the gym, that's usually some seated leg lifts. I think I might add in a goal about doing a hanging L sit, but I'm not sure what kind of goal would be realistic; at this point I can hardly hold an L sit long enough to count.
Overall, I'm experiencing steady improvement with these exercises. I've got a lot more time before my race, so if I can keep this up, I should get a much better result for myself - the official goal is an obstacle pass rate of at least 70%. If there are 8 burpee-penalty obstacles, like last year, then that means missing no more than 2.
The exercises are all pretty upper body focused, with a smattering of core focused work added in for stability. I try to push myself when it comes to weights. The idea is to push to failure, and I try to get close without risking injury.
The first exercise is wrist extensions. I'm not sure if I should maybe go back down in weight again to try and build up strength on these. I started out using a 5 pound dumbbell, then moved to 7.5 pounds and yesterday I used a 10 pounder. With the 10 pound dumbbell, I definitely struggle on the back half of each set, and my form would probably be better with the weight backed off a bit.
It's almost the same story with the second exercise, which is wrist curls. I started with 10 pounds, and I'm up to 17.5 as of yesterday. But those are also pretty difficult at that weight. And there's something weird that happens with my wrists when I do the wrist curls, even with lighter weight. My wrists pop as I lift the weight, and they don't stop popping. Lift, pop. Release, pop. It feels weird, and does start to hurt, so I try to avoid it, but I think I'm not getting full range of motion when I avoid the popping. Again, dropping the weight might help.
The next thing I do is go to the lat pull down machine. Rather, to one of them. There are two at my gym; one is downstairs and the other is upstairs. The downstairs one has a narrower bar and can be adjusted in 5 pound increments. The one upstairs has a thicker bar and can only be adjusted in 15 pound increments. I find the upstairs one much harder to use; I've discovered that I have about a 10 pound difference between the two machines. At the start of this project, I used the upstairs one more often, but towards December the gym got less crowded and I used the downstairs one more often. Now, in January, it's a lot more crowded and sometimes (like yesterday) I have to wait for a machine. Rather than do nothing, I skip to the next exercise and then try to find an open machine again.
In week 1, I did 50 pounds on the upstairs machine. Last week, I did 100 pounds on the downstairs machine. And yesterday, I struggled with 80 pounds on the upstairs machine and went to failure on 95 pounds on the upstairs machine.
Usually, the Eccentric Biceps Curl comes after the Lat Pull Downs, but yesterday I had to switch them. For those, I have two different ways of approaching the exercise. I can use two lighter weight dumbbells and do both arms at once, or I can use one heavy dumbbell and do one arm at a time. The heavy dumbbell should be one that I can't curl without the help of the other arm. As an added stress to my grip, I try to go upstairs and use the dumbbells with the thick handles for these.
I started with two 20 pound dumbbells for the light weight and one 25 pound for the heavy. Yesterday, I did one 30 pound dumbbell, and last week I did two 25 pounders. So I'm making a little bit of progress on those free weights. I'll have to try doing a chin up one of these days and see if there's any improvement.
My last machine stop is at the seated row. Again, there is one machine downstairs and one upstairs, but the difficulties are reversed. The downstairs seated row is much more difficult than the upstairs, which has two independent handles instead of a single handle. I can switch out the downstairs handle, but there's still only one pulley, so it's just as hard.
I started at the upstairs one and really had no idea what to use when I started. The first day, I tried sets at 40, 50 and 60 pounds. Up to 70 pounds the next week and continuing to tick up, slowly but surely. Yesterday I did a set at 105 on the upstairs. But I only got 90 pounds last week on the downstairs machine.
The last exercise on the plan for this day is a tabata (8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest). Plank, right side plank, left side plank, bridge, repeat. I feel stronger on this one. I'm doing straight arms for all the planks, and doing a full bridge. I could have just done a hip bridge, but I've got the flexibility for the full and I'm enjoying doing something a bit gymnastic in the routine. I definitely feel better in the bridge than when I started. It's easier to breathe and also to adjust myself.
One thing that I've added to the routine is some hip flexor work. At the gym, that's usually some seated leg lifts. I think I might add in a goal about doing a hanging L sit, but I'm not sure what kind of goal would be realistic; at this point I can hardly hold an L sit long enough to count.
Overall, I'm experiencing steady improvement with these exercises. I've got a lot more time before my race, so if I can keep this up, I should get a much better result for myself - the official goal is an obstacle pass rate of at least 70%. If there are 8 burpee-penalty obstacles, like last year, then that means missing no more than 2.
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Spartan Training Update January 2019
I am moving forward with my Spartan Race training plan. I completed the 11th week of training on Sunday and not this past weekend, but the one before, I went to a new place for obstacle course training.
Sometimes my progress with the weekly training feels like it is going nowhere. I might increase some weights here or there, but then I have other areas where I'm not holding on as long. It's a long, slow process to get my upper body into the kind of shape that can tackle Spartan monkey bars with my short arms.
The obstacle course training that I went to was out of Camp Rhino in Boise. They also do CrossFit there, but I'm happy doing CrossFit at Arbor. The draw of Camp Rhino for me is that they have obstacles to practice on, and I hoped the atmosphere would be not too intimidating. I thought about trying to drag other people along, but decided I should go by myself. After all, I raced by myself last year and this couldn't possibly be any more intimidating than that.
Well, I didn't get off to a good start. I had an upset stomach the morning I planned to go, and may have set a record for number of times going to the bathroom in an hour. But I made it to the facility (where I had to use the bathroom one more time), and got checked in without any issues. I was a bit uncertain about what to do after that. People were milling around in the workout area, which was quite large, with one side devoted to more CrossFit style equipment and the other more obstacle course oriented, and Ninja Warrior oriented, with a warped wall and a salmon ladder in addition to ropes and walls and monkey bars.
The receptionist had pointed out the instructor so I kept an eye on him, briefly introducing myself before the class got started. When the class did get started, I surprised myself by being one of the quicker folks during warm-ups. Why, there were people there who didn't know what burpees were! So that was a nice boost of confidence for me.
The first obstacle we worked on was rope climbs. I said that was moderately good at them, and that proved true enough, I think. I can get myself up a rope, for the most part. I just failed horribly when it came to last year's race. So the more practice I get on them, the better. I didn't know what to call my foot wrapping technique, because I always forget what I'm using (I use the J-hook). But I could demonstrate it.
And after we worked on ropes, we moved on to walls. Now this was what I came here for!
We started at the 4 foot wall, which the instructor explained to us was the one where the most people got injured - more than the 8 foot wall - because of overconfidence. So, we all treated it very seriously, except for the one guy whose legs were so long he was practically stepping over it. He ended up catching his toe and stumbling once.
I was able to get over the 4 foot wall with ease and even try the speed technique the instructor demonstrated, which is almost like doing a roundhouse kick over the wall so as to fling your body towards the next obstacle. Fun.
The 6 foot wall was harder, and yet, it was also not as hard as it was during last year's race. I am, in fact, stronger than I was last year. My technique isn't very fast, but I was one of only two women to get up and over the 6 foot wall without assistance. Once I get my forearms on top of the wall, I can get an ankle up, and then it's just a matter of leveraging myself onto the top and sliding down.
The 8 foot wall was not so easy. Last year's race didn't have an 8 footer - just a 7 footer (just!). I had nothing to compare this one to. And I couldn't get myself up and over. I could grab the top with my hands (with the help of the kicker), and I could lift my legs while holding on, but my shoes offered no purchase on the wall, so I couldn't get myself set up to fling an ankle over the top.
I did get to go over the 8 foot wall once with a partner method. I felt pretty nervous about coming down from that one, but I took it slow and remembered to land on my toes as instructed. Plus there was a mat.
That was that. After the class, I talked to the instructor a bit more about my experience and expectations for the class, and my plan to come in once a month. He said they usually do ropes since many people have issues with the rope climb, but that we could do rings next time I came in. I hope that happens, because I think I just need some practice to be able to get past the Spartan multi-rig.
Of course, I also need to work on monkey bars, and the inverted wall, and the spear throw (which I really need to do some time soon). But training is proceeding apace. I'm on track for what I want to do. Strength now, running as the race gets closer, maybe try to cut weight in the 6 to 8 weeks before the race.
Sometimes my progress with the weekly training feels like it is going nowhere. I might increase some weights here or there, but then I have other areas where I'm not holding on as long. It's a long, slow process to get my upper body into the kind of shape that can tackle Spartan monkey bars with my short arms.
The obstacle course training that I went to was out of Camp Rhino in Boise. They also do CrossFit there, but I'm happy doing CrossFit at Arbor. The draw of Camp Rhino for me is that they have obstacles to practice on, and I hoped the atmosphere would be not too intimidating. I thought about trying to drag other people along, but decided I should go by myself. After all, I raced by myself last year and this couldn't possibly be any more intimidating than that.
Well, I didn't get off to a good start. I had an upset stomach the morning I planned to go, and may have set a record for number of times going to the bathroom in an hour. But I made it to the facility (where I had to use the bathroom one more time), and got checked in without any issues. I was a bit uncertain about what to do after that. People were milling around in the workout area, which was quite large, with one side devoted to more CrossFit style equipment and the other more obstacle course oriented, and Ninja Warrior oriented, with a warped wall and a salmon ladder in addition to ropes and walls and monkey bars.
The receptionist had pointed out the instructor so I kept an eye on him, briefly introducing myself before the class got started. When the class did get started, I surprised myself by being one of the quicker folks during warm-ups. Why, there were people there who didn't know what burpees were! So that was a nice boost of confidence for me.
The first obstacle we worked on was rope climbs. I said that was moderately good at them, and that proved true enough, I think. I can get myself up a rope, for the most part. I just failed horribly when it came to last year's race. So the more practice I get on them, the better. I didn't know what to call my foot wrapping technique, because I always forget what I'm using (I use the J-hook). But I could demonstrate it.
And after we worked on ropes, we moved on to walls. Now this was what I came here for!
We started at the 4 foot wall, which the instructor explained to us was the one where the most people got injured - more than the 8 foot wall - because of overconfidence. So, we all treated it very seriously, except for the one guy whose legs were so long he was practically stepping over it. He ended up catching his toe and stumbling once.
I was able to get over the 4 foot wall with ease and even try the speed technique the instructor demonstrated, which is almost like doing a roundhouse kick over the wall so as to fling your body towards the next obstacle. Fun.
The 6 foot wall was harder, and yet, it was also not as hard as it was during last year's race. I am, in fact, stronger than I was last year. My technique isn't very fast, but I was one of only two women to get up and over the 6 foot wall without assistance. Once I get my forearms on top of the wall, I can get an ankle up, and then it's just a matter of leveraging myself onto the top and sliding down.
The 8 foot wall was not so easy. Last year's race didn't have an 8 footer - just a 7 footer (just!). I had nothing to compare this one to. And I couldn't get myself up and over. I could grab the top with my hands (with the help of the kicker), and I could lift my legs while holding on, but my shoes offered no purchase on the wall, so I couldn't get myself set up to fling an ankle over the top.
I did get to go over the 8 foot wall once with a partner method. I felt pretty nervous about coming down from that one, but I took it slow and remembered to land on my toes as instructed. Plus there was a mat.
That was that. After the class, I talked to the instructor a bit more about my experience and expectations for the class, and my plan to come in once a month. He said they usually do ropes since many people have issues with the rope climb, but that we could do rings next time I came in. I hope that happens, because I think I just need some practice to be able to get past the Spartan multi-rig.
Of course, I also need to work on monkey bars, and the inverted wall, and the spear throw (which I really need to do some time soon). But training is proceeding apace. I'm on track for what I want to do. Strength now, running as the race gets closer, maybe try to cut weight in the 6 to 8 weeks before the race.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Spangle Lake 2018 Day 6
We didn't get up super early, but neither did we sleep in. The morning was cold, and that always encourages me to get moving as fast as I can - once I manage to drag myself out of the warm cocoon of sleeping bag. We were off before the sun rose above the ridge, so I hiked out ahead to stay warm.
At one point, high above the river, I thought I heard something on the trail behind me. When I stopped to see if Ambrose had caught up, there was no one there. I strained to see if there were any animals in the brush, but I didn't see any. Feeling thoroughly paranoid, I kept hiking a bit more slowly.
I was a little worried about a possible bear encounter as I waited at the junction for Ambrose to catch up. Plus the sun still wasn't hitting my position so it was cold.
He got there safe and sound and hadn't seen any signs of bears, so we kept on hiking after he had a chance for a break. We headed down the switchbacks, where I quickly got ahead of him again. Mostly because I was chasing the sun. Now that it was all downhill, it was harder to get warm with exertion.
I made it to Leggit Creek and sat on a log to wait for Ambrose to arrive so we could cross together. I used the time to eat a snack so I wouldn't get too cold. We crossed and soon made it out of the wilderness.
When we got to the rocky washed out section, I saw something I've never seen. Two hikers were approaching us along with a pair of dogs yoked to a wagon. The dogs were big and fluffy, sled dog type dogs, and looked pretty happy. One of the men asked me where they were and I pulled out my topographic map and showed him and advised him which way to go at the next junction. They were going to Heart Lake.
I passed several more people as we got closer to Atlanta. One pair, a guy and a woman, asked if I'd had a hard hike and I explained it was my sixth day on the trail. There was an older man carrying a camera with one of those large zoom lenses who was going to hike off trail. And I started to smell (or imagine) roast pig, which I knew to be a part of the Atlanta Days festival going on.
I waited for Ambrose to catch up so that we could get back to the trailhead together. I really wanted to get to the nearest bathroom, but when we reached it I saw someone enter it. Six days on the trail, and the bathroom was occupied...
We hiked on the road to find the next unoccupied bathroom rather than waiting for that one to free up. The campsites, mostly empty when we hiked out, were now bustling and full, but we found one eventually.
When we got back to the car, Ambrose was looking forward to eating at the restaurant in Atlanta. I didn't want to patronize them because of their sign, so I endured Ambrose being hangry and rather mean for the several hours of driving to Idaho City where we had lunch and got milkshakes. Once he got some food in him, he was much better company.
At one point, high above the river, I thought I heard something on the trail behind me. When I stopped to see if Ambrose had caught up, there was no one there. I strained to see if there were any animals in the brush, but I didn't see any. Feeling thoroughly paranoid, I kept hiking a bit more slowly.
I was a little worried about a possible bear encounter as I waited at the junction for Ambrose to catch up. Plus the sun still wasn't hitting my position so it was cold.
He got there safe and sound and hadn't seen any signs of bears, so we kept on hiking after he had a chance for a break. We headed down the switchbacks, where I quickly got ahead of him again. Mostly because I was chasing the sun. Now that it was all downhill, it was harder to get warm with exertion.
I made it to Leggit Creek and sat on a log to wait for Ambrose to arrive so we could cross together. I used the time to eat a snack so I wouldn't get too cold. We crossed and soon made it out of the wilderness.
When we got to the rocky washed out section, I saw something I've never seen. Two hikers were approaching us along with a pair of dogs yoked to a wagon. The dogs were big and fluffy, sled dog type dogs, and looked pretty happy. One of the men asked me where they were and I pulled out my topographic map and showed him and advised him which way to go at the next junction. They were going to Heart Lake.
I passed several more people as we got closer to Atlanta. One pair, a guy and a woman, asked if I'd had a hard hike and I explained it was my sixth day on the trail. There was an older man carrying a camera with one of those large zoom lenses who was going to hike off trail. And I started to smell (or imagine) roast pig, which I knew to be a part of the Atlanta Days festival going on.
I waited for Ambrose to catch up so that we could get back to the trailhead together. I really wanted to get to the nearest bathroom, but when we reached it I saw someone enter it. Six days on the trail, and the bathroom was occupied...
We hiked on the road to find the next unoccupied bathroom rather than waiting for that one to free up. The campsites, mostly empty when we hiked out, were now bustling and full, but we found one eventually.
When we got back to the car, Ambrose was looking forward to eating at the restaurant in Atlanta. I didn't want to patronize them because of their sign, so I endured Ambrose being hangry and rather mean for the several hours of driving to Idaho City where we had lunch and got milkshakes. Once he got some food in him, he was much better company.
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| Goodbye, campsite! |
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| Good morning, Ambrose! |
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| No sunshine for me. |
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| And yet more sunshine. |
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| I thought there might be a bear somewhere near here. |
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| Heading down towards the sun. |
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| Sharp switchbacks. |
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| A little wilderness bridge over the bog. |
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| This is where we camped the first night. |
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| I sat on this log to wait for Ambrose to catch up. |
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| I spent time admiring the flow of the water. |
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| Almost out of the wilderness. |
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| Ambrose made it out of the wilderness! |
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| A good place to water up horse, I bet. |
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| I didn't remember this part being so rocky. |
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| Right around here we ran into the guys with the dog wagon. |
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| We knew to go straight across the rocks this time. |
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| Getting closer to Atlanta. |
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| Time to climb up. |
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| The spur trail to the road - and the occupied bathroom. |
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| Out, safe and sound. |
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Spangle Lake 2018 Day 5
On the fifth day, we headed out from Spangle Lake. The plan was vague for this day. We might go all the way back to where we camped the first night, or try to find a place near Mattingly Creek or somewhere in between. Water access would be a deciding factor in our choice of campsite, and how long it took us to get down from Spangle.
We set out before the sun had crested the ridge. Frost covered the low meadows that we walked by. I was glad that the first few crossings of the day were rock hops (or log hops) rather than boots-off crossings. I'd already had enough of boots-off crossings in freezing temperatures this year back in May.
The climb down the switchbacks from Spangle Lake was a lot faster than the climb up had been. And I was cold enough that I had to keep moving fast to stay warm, and I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the sunshine.
This time, I knew to time the break so we could sit on the rocky overlook, admiring the valley we would soon be hiking through. But I couldn't stay long without some sun to warm me up. Not even with the help of snacking on candy.
The sun caught us just after that break as we continued down towards the Flytrip Creek junction. The interlude of warmth was shortened by the shade offered by the trees down by that junction. And then when we crossed the Middle Fork again, we were on the east side of the canyon and the sun was blocked by the ridge again.
As I walked down the trail, ahead of Ambrose, I caught a whiff of animal scent. There's a musky smell that elk and bear can give off, and I kept a close eye out and slowed down a bit. When the trail left a meadow for forest, I saw a place where bushes had been crushed flat, as if a large animal had climbed over them recently. But no bear sightings.
Luckily, the sun was up by the time we reached the boots-off crossing. Unluckily, there wasn't much sun to bask in on the other side of the river, so I hurried with the drying of my feet. Ambrose did take his boots off for this crossing this time, when he didn't do that on the way up for this one.
At the next crossing, unfortunately, the stone bench was on the near side, so we had to cross over and find places to put our boots back on sitting on downed trees. And the sun was behind the ridge again, so I got really cold again.
But we regained the sun again in short order and I warmed up for good. When we got down to the junction, a pair of young hikers passed us going in the other direction. They looked like teenagers, and maybe too young to be out by themselves, but we didn't exchange any words. We stopped for lunch after our final crossing of the Middle Fork for the day, and another party of four older men hiked up.
Their party was spread out, and we ended up directing the one at the rear of the pack as to where his companions had crossed the river. After lunch, we continued on towards Mattingly Creek. I ranged ahead of Ambrose and came across yet another party not far from the creek. This one was four people and a dog. The dog approached me and I tried to keep it from touching me because of my allergies. I think that gave the group the impression that I wasn't friendly, because they didn't talk to me, but Ambrose said they asked him questions about how far they were from the next junction.
We made it across Mattingly Creek and then to the flat spot I thought might make a good campsite. We dumped packs and checked the water access. There was a viable path down to the Middle Fork, so we wouldn't have to backtrack to Mattingly for water. That settled it for our campsite, but I was in no hurry to put up the tent. By now, it was a nice, warm day and Ambrose and I lounged around.
Another pair of hikers passed by; I think they were hoping to get our spot, but they had to walk on. They ended up camping just out of sight towards Mattingly, so it was still like we were alone. And no more Labor Day hikers passed by. We had a quiet night, comfortable once I got the tent up and we ate our dinner.
We set out before the sun had crested the ridge. Frost covered the low meadows that we walked by. I was glad that the first few crossings of the day were rock hops (or log hops) rather than boots-off crossings. I'd already had enough of boots-off crossings in freezing temperatures this year back in May.
The climb down the switchbacks from Spangle Lake was a lot faster than the climb up had been. And I was cold enough that I had to keep moving fast to stay warm, and I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the sunshine.
This time, I knew to time the break so we could sit on the rocky overlook, admiring the valley we would soon be hiking through. But I couldn't stay long without some sun to warm me up. Not even with the help of snacking on candy.
The sun caught us just after that break as we continued down towards the Flytrip Creek junction. The interlude of warmth was shortened by the shade offered by the trees down by that junction. And then when we crossed the Middle Fork again, we were on the east side of the canyon and the sun was blocked by the ridge again.
As I walked down the trail, ahead of Ambrose, I caught a whiff of animal scent. There's a musky smell that elk and bear can give off, and I kept a close eye out and slowed down a bit. When the trail left a meadow for forest, I saw a place where bushes had been crushed flat, as if a large animal had climbed over them recently. But no bear sightings.
Luckily, the sun was up by the time we reached the boots-off crossing. Unluckily, there wasn't much sun to bask in on the other side of the river, so I hurried with the drying of my feet. Ambrose did take his boots off for this crossing this time, when he didn't do that on the way up for this one.
At the next crossing, unfortunately, the stone bench was on the near side, so we had to cross over and find places to put our boots back on sitting on downed trees. And the sun was behind the ridge again, so I got really cold again.
But we regained the sun again in short order and I warmed up for good. When we got down to the junction, a pair of young hikers passed us going in the other direction. They looked like teenagers, and maybe too young to be out by themselves, but we didn't exchange any words. We stopped for lunch after our final crossing of the Middle Fork for the day, and another party of four older men hiked up.
Their party was spread out, and we ended up directing the one at the rear of the pack as to where his companions had crossed the river. After lunch, we continued on towards Mattingly Creek. I ranged ahead of Ambrose and came across yet another party not far from the creek. This one was four people and a dog. The dog approached me and I tried to keep it from touching me because of my allergies. I think that gave the group the impression that I wasn't friendly, because they didn't talk to me, but Ambrose said they asked him questions about how far they were from the next junction.
We made it across Mattingly Creek and then to the flat spot I thought might make a good campsite. We dumped packs and checked the water access. There was a viable path down to the Middle Fork, so we wouldn't have to backtrack to Mattingly for water. That settled it for our campsite, but I was in no hurry to put up the tent. By now, it was a nice, warm day and Ambrose and I lounged around.
Another pair of hikers passed by; I think they were hoping to get our spot, but they had to walk on. They ended up camping just out of sight towards Mattingly, so it was still like we were alone. And no more Labor Day hikers passed by. We had a quiet night, comfortable once I got the tent up and we ate our dinner.
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| Reflection of sunshine. |
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| Goodbye Spangle Lake! |
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| Time to head down. |
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| Glad we don't have to walk through the frozen meadow. |
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| One option for crossing. |
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| A better option for crossing. |
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| The rocky overlook. |
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| Sunshine! |
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| Another rock hop. |
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| Flytrip Creek Junction. |
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| Lost the sunshine again. |
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| Spuming side stream. |
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| Tree problem. |
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| Bye, stone bench. |
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| Cold water crossing. |
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| Ambrose on the trail. |
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| Late setting moon. |
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| Green valley. |
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| Ambrose crossing before lunch. |
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| Almost there. |
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| Rather tall bushes. |
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| Mattingly Creek. |
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| Old sign after the Mattingly Creek crossing. |
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