Run Rest Run

I recently went more than a week between runs. I didn't have to do that. I could have gotten a run the day before my business trip, or even done a run at my hotel, but I chose to not run. I wanted to see how my legs did. 

The last time I went more than a week without running, my legs started to ache. And getting back into running was painful as I stretched out my tight iliotibial bands. But since I've been wearing those natural shoes, my iliotibial bands are not as tight. And I know now that I can go longer between runs if I need to. 

And instead of the run being an exercise in discipline as I ran through the pain, I was just a bit sore and managed to run my last tenth of a mile at a sub 10-minute mile pace. I haven't recorded myself running that fast in years! 

On my last few runs, I've started to really get into the feeling of Chi Running. It's like I'm running downhill even when I'm running on a flat or a slight incline. As long as I can hold onto the tight core, and swing my legs back, I can get there. It was several years ago when I got to my fastest running pace ever, being able to sustain 9 minute mile pace for 4 miles. I think with the combination of Chi Running and natural, foot-shaped shoes, I might reach that again. 

But it takes patience. I just need to let myself continue to progress a bit at a time. If there's anything I've learned from Ambrose about fitness, it's that it's never too late to start - or too early. 

Trainin' on Heinen

In early June, I wanted to get one last training hike in before I left town for a business trip. The week following the trip I'd be going on a camping and backpacking trip, so I wouldn't have time for any more training hikes between the two trips. 

Now, I wanted to stay the night at the trailhead and then hike out first thing in the morning, but my husband checked the weather forecast and made the call that we should sleep at home and drive out in the morning. I was a bit disappointed, because I do love sleeping outdoors, but I don't like getting wet. 

So we woke up at 4:30 am, got ready to go, and drove out to the trailhead. When we arrived, it was clear that there had been rain over night. Yes, I admitted to myself, Ambrose was right to pay attention to the forecast. 

As we were getting ready to hike out, Ambrose casually mentioned that he had been up since midnight, unable to fall back asleep. I was a bit amazed that he had been able to drive - had I known earlier, I would have offered to drive us out as well as back. So I understood that he was going to go as far as he felt comfortable and no farther. 

I honestly didn't want to go very far myself. It's the dread of those first two miles that really makes me not want to go very far. And the weather was overcast and threatening to storm, so I gave myself a soft goal of getting to the peak with the hitching posts and barbed wire. 

Of course, as soon as I hit that first uphill on the front, I wanted to turn back and take a nap. But I powered through, hoping that if I could make the peak that I could do the whole trip faster than I have before. I also didn't bring my camera for this one, though I did have a camera in the form of my phone, since I was using my phone to track my distance and time. 

I took my first break a little bit after the first mile. I was planning on a snack and break every hour on the hour - or so, and my first mile only took 54 minutes, so I hiked on a bit before stopping for snack break number one. And for snack break number two, I went well past the 2 mile top out. It was at that top out that I began to feel good about being out there. 

The sky stayed overcast, but didn't do anything more than a bit of sprinkling rain now and again. I ran into a hiker coming down and we chatted a bit; she wished she had started a bit later since she ended up turning back before the peak due to the threatening weather. She was going to go and do another hike, maybe Cervidae, since she'd driven all the way out. 

I was happy for the clouds, because they kept the temperature comfortably in the 60's. A bit warm for strenuous hiking, but not as bad as it would be if the sun were to come fully out. I made it to the hitching post hill and knew I wasn't stopping there. My body really felt good, and I knew I could make it. 

At one point, my inReach device chimed; Ambrose was letting me know he was heading back to the car. I didn't expect to see him again on the trail since I was still heading up to the peak. I'll admit, a small part of me did a little gleeful dance at the realization that I wouldn't be doing the cooking at the car. Ambrose would get there first, so he would do it! 

I reached the peak around a quarter to eleven, which was less than 4 hours from when I started at seven. Yay! There were four people up there, taking pictures and kind of hanging out there. I took a few pictures for proof and then turned right around to continue my hike. One of them asked if I was already leaving and I replied that it wasn't break time yet. 

When it was breaktime, I finished off my first water bladder and switched to the next one. I think I could do this hike with 3 liters, but 4 provides a nice buffer and a little extra weight for the sake of training. Going down went much faster than coming up, as per usual. 

After I finished the steepest climb on the way back (also the steepest descent on the way out), I came upon two hikers and I stepped off the trail. I was sucking wind from the steep trail, and one of them asked if I was okay. I said I was, just that it was super steep. She was not happy to hear that a steep section was coming. 

I ran into more and more hikers as I continued to descend, but no dogs, which was a first for me. I also saw several little lizards run across the trail (five in total), so that was cute. When I got down to the final mile, I saw that I had caught up with some people who had passed me earlier. I figured if I really went hard on the last mile, I might catch them, but I decided to be safe instead. I'd rather not get injured on a lark. 

But I did end up doing a little running on those last descents, just letting gravity kind of pull me along. My pack jounced, which was a bit uncomfortable, but it was also fun. Especially since I made it back to the car in less than 7 hours, beating my previous time by almost an hour. 

As I had hoped, Ambrose had cooked up the chicken and rice. He also had a brilliant idea of pouring water over my head, and I was all for that! It felt so nice to rinse the sweat out of my hair and cool my face a bit. Then I got to sit in the scant shade of the car and eat before I drove us home. 

Not sure what these flowers are, but I was enchanted by them.

Threatening clouds sped my steps.

Obligatory peak selfie.

Nice view from the peak.

I didn't expect so many flowers to be in bloom. 

I guess May showers brought June flowers this year.

And not just flowers - everything was gorgeously verdant.

Took a break with a view.

My favorite flower.

The sun was out by the time I got back to the car.

Memorial Day Backpack - Days 2 and 3

Saturday morning was relatively dry, at least when I woke up. There were clouds in the trees, and clouds obscuring nearby ridges and far away mountains. Clearly the kind of day to hole up in the tent. 

Ambrose cooked us up some breakfast, and we both had to leave the tent to answer nature's call before the rains came back. 

The tent was not the most comfortable it's ever been, not because of the rain outside but because of the moisture accumulating on the inside of the tent from the condensation of our breathing. Every time I sat up, my head would get wet. Or whatever I had over my head at the moment, my hood or my balaclava. 

Rain fell on and off through the morning and afternoon. When it rained, we stayed in the tent, and when it stopped, we left if there was a need. But mostly we just spent the time cozied up in the tent. Staying warm and hydrated as best we could. I filmed a few minutes of rain falling on the tent roof, but I can't upload them here because the files are too big :( 

I debated putting on my day clothes and decided I'd rather just keep my night clothes on. I wasn't going to be hiking anywhere, and the night clothes are just so warm. 

I did take off my heavy layer in the afternoon when the sun broke through for a brief while, but I basked in the warmth, while Ambrose enjoyed switching over to day clothes. He also made some forays around our campsite and found a single morel mushroom. He left it, figuring we'd see more the next day. 

The nice afternoon didn't extended into the evening, and we were back to clouds as the sun sank down below the ridgeline. We had a quiet evening after eating dinner, with periodic rains. 

The next morning, I woke up way too early, and I felt cold. I ate some snacks, and tried to get warmed up, but I was already wearing all my warmest clothes. There wasn't much more I could do. And there was copious condensation inside the tent, which was unpleasant. 

I read a bit and thought about how to get warmer. Ambrose finally caught on that I was not comfortable and I admitted to being too cold. I thought maybe we could wait for a break in the weather or later in the morning when it might be warmer to head back to the car a day early. 

Ambrose pointed out that it was only going to get colder and we should head out as soon as possible. I had to go dig a hole, and when I came back, I couldn't agree with him more. Nothing like being snowed on in May to convince me to head back to the car. 

So we had to get all packed up, while trying not to get too wet in the slushy snow that was falling. Ambrose valiantly volunteered to swap the food bag for the tent, which meant that I could get all packed up inside the tent, while he would have to finish packing in the rain - and carry out a soaking wet tent. I was very grateful, even if the food bag did weight a bit more than the tent. 

We got down to the business of hiking pretty quickly, and made our way back to the trail. From there, it was a simple matter of following the trail back to the car for two miles. Right? 

Well, not quite. See, on the way out, we'd done a boots off crossing for a particularly swollen creek. Now, when Ambrose did his quick hike to get a sleeping pad, he'd discovered that there was a possible log crossing, but he expected the log he used to be underwater after all the rain we'd had. And so our plan was to just hike through the creek with our boots on, and finish the hike in wet boots. 

On the way back to the trail, Ambrose showed me where he had found the morel, but it was now gone. Most likely some animal had eaten it. So our morel haul for the year was zero again, sadly. 

Once at the trail, we hiked quickly. The snow faded back to drizzle as we reached lower elevations, but we could see snow capping nearby ridges (far ridges were completely obscured by clouds). Before too long, we came upon the creek crossing. Oh, I didn't want to do it!

Ambrose went through first, right into the cold water. I lengthened my trekking poles, possibly as a delay tactic, and then squealed in anticipation before I made the plunge. 

So cold. And the water was flowing very fast, coming up to my knees and pushing me downstream. But it was almost worse when I got out. My boots were soaked along with my socks. My gaiters somewhat protected my pants, but I was just wet. I had to keep hiking at a good pace just to keep warm. 

The next stream we had originally crossed on a log, but now we just went ahead and walked through it. The log was slick with rain and we were already soaked anyway. 

I'm so glad that the hike was short. We reached the trail head before too long and split up. The plan was that I would go to the car while Ambrose went to the pit toilet. I got in the car's backseat, which was folded down, and changed out of my wet clothes as fast as I could, knowing Ambrose was waiting in his wet clothes for me to bring him dry ones. 

It felt so good to put on dry clothes!

I drove over to the pit toilet and backed the car up to it so Ambrose would have easy access to the trunk. He got his clothes and changed in the shelter of the pit toilet. Then we boiled up some water to make a meal before we drove home, Peak Refuel Biscuits and Gravy. After the cold hike, the warm food was perfection. Before too long, I was ready to start the drive home. 

I was actually pretty nervous driving through the rain, but it was nice that Ambrose trusted my driving enough to nap as I navigated the twisting, narrow dirt roads. 

Clouds in the forest.

The mist ate up the views.

I couldn't get enough of those low hanging clouds.

Ambrose took advantage of a break in the rain to look around.

Even the small stream near our campsite was swollen.

Time to get outta here!

That's a lot of water.

Ambrose in the lead.

Oh that water was soooo cold!

Higher elevations clearly were getting snow.

The water level of the Queens River was actually lower than when we hiked out. I theorized the cause was freezing temperatures at the higher elevations reduced water flow - a bit. 

Memorial Day Backpack - Day 1

As is our tradition, my husband and I went out for a backpacking trip. We used to do car camping at the Queens River Trailhead, but after several years of having to share that site with folks who were more interested in drinking and shooting than enjoying the quiet beauty of nature, we switched over to backpacking out just a few miles into the wilderness for Memorial Day. We've got a good spot that is out of sight of the trail, and we have yet to see any other people come near it. 

This year, the weather conspired additionally to keep most people away. There was going to be rain, and a lot of it, though we had hope for some dry windows to allow us to set up the tent and get situated. I took a day off of work so we could drive up on Friday morning. The original plan was to eat lunch at the trailhead and then hike out, but we got there before 10 in the morning, well before it was time to eat lunch. 

And so we came upon the first forgotten piece of gear for the trip. We expect to forget some things on the first trip of the year; that's part of why we only go out a couple miles on this trip so we can figure out what we're forgetting. This time, it was the trailhead cook pot in which we had planned to cook this lunch and a lunch on Monday. Luckily, it was easy enough to switch over and use the backpacking pot to get our lunch cooked. And since it was just Minute Rice and chicken, we put it in a gallon baggie and packed it out to eat once we got hungry. 

I grabbed the car shovel from its place in the bin, and shoved it in with my pack. That's my big indulgence for this trip, a shovel that's heavy but big and makes digging a hole super easy. I still had my trowel fastened to my pack, but I planned to use the shovel. Especially with the rain, I'd rather spend less time digging. 

Once Ambrose got lunch cooked up, and I finished filling out our permit, we were ready to go. Ambrose volunteered to carry the lunch, and we hoisted our packs. As always, they seemed way heavier than they had when we weighed them at home. It's just that our shoulders aren't conditioned for them yet. That's another reason to have an early season backpacking trip. 

We had managed to find a break in the weather, so while the ground was damp, we were able to hike without being rained on. There were some downed trees across the trail near the start, and Ambrose said he thought the Idaho Trails Association had just cleared the trail. I clarified that they'd done the Little Queens trail last year, not the Queens trail where we were hiking. 

As we hiked, we chatted a bit. It's not too unusual for me to get chatty on the trail, even though it can be hard to hear and make oneself heard when walking in single file. But Ambrose pointed out to me that he was chatting and doing so with ease. I hadn't noticed, but I knew this was new behavior. I remembered feeling bad a few times for asking him to speak and hike at the same time because he looked like the effort pained him. But now he was initiating conversation. The weight loss journey has been difficult and had its ups and downs, but the rewards are just enormous and go beyond what is seen on the scale. 

We had a relatively low snow winter, and so we weren't expecting there to be high water levels. But it had been raining for a few days, and we encountered the highest water levels on the creeks we crossed that we had ever encountered. I remember the very first time we hiked this trail, the water was fairly high, and we ended up having to turn back because the trail was essentially lost in a bog (it's since been rerouted to higher ground). This time, there were five flowing streams, some of them flowing along the trail, in the space that we would usually encounter just two. 

One of the creeks was running so fast and deep that we decided to do a boots off crossing rather than risk crossing on one of the wet logs that could have provided a makeshift bridge. I was eager to try out my new Xero sandals as crossing shoes anyway. I mean, not so eager that I wouldn't have done this if I didn't absolutely have to... the water was freezing cold, and I was about to cross it essentially barefoot. 

After we finished the cold crossing, we sat down to put our boots back on and decided to eat some lunch as well. Well, Ambrose started to eat. I had to go dig a hole first. And when I got back, I thought I'd be hungry, but I wasn't. I only ate a few bites and then we hoisted the packs and continued hiking. 

I thought we might have reached the right spot fairly soon after that, but Ambrose disagreed and when we reached the small meadow, I knew he was right. But we were close, and I was pretty sure I saw our landmarks. Sure enough that I stopped on the trail as Ambrose continued on until he turned to see what I was doing. I explained I thought we'd passed the turnoff, but again he disagreed and we kept going. 

But then we reached Kid Creek, and I was adamant that our spot was on this side of that particular creek. I convinced Ambrose to follow the creek up a bit, where we found a decent camping spot that looked like it has been used, perhaps by hunters over the winter. And then we angled back to the trail and I pointed out where I thought we should head to get to the aspens that we camp near. Ambrose reluctantly agreed to follow me, and I led us to our spot. 

We decided not to pitch where we had in the past, because it was fairly low, and might flood. Plus, there was recent elk sign and we didn't want to be where they wanted to be. So I spent some time looking around for a good spot. I wasn't sure I'd find one, because the last spot had been chosen out of necessity at the time. But I did find a spot that would work. It would be a bit tilted, but not so badly that we'd be sliding all over the place. And it was mostly out of reach of any nearby widowmakers. 

I was about a quarter of the way through staking the tent when Ambrose announced that he could not find his sleeping pad. I was shocked, to say the least. The sleeping pad was essential equipment and it was very much not like Ambrose to forget it. Plus, I'd seen him take it down to pack earlier in the week. I had a clear memory of it, because I noted at the time that he wasn't pulling my pad down for me, which made sense because I wouldn't be packing until days later. So that was our second forgotten item. 

Ambrose could not sleep out in this weather without the sleeping pad. The sleeping pad provides vital protection from the heat-sapping powers of the ground. In an emergency, we could probably have figured something out to keep him warm enough, though not necessarily comfortable. But this was not really an emergency. Not since we'd recently purchased foam pads for car camping and left them in the car. I had thought about suggesting that we bring those pads into the apartment, but decided against it. And so now, a sleeping pad for Ambrose was a mere two miles away. 

In past years, I might have volunteered to go and get the pad myself, saving him the journey. But there was never any question of that this year. Ambrose has lost enough weight to get off all of his blood pressure medications, and one of the many benefits to that is that he was absolutely ready to hike another four miles - especially since he wouldn't need to bring his pack. 

He set off while I continued to stake the tent. Since we'd be spending a lot of time in it, I decided to find a Y shaped stick to help elevate the part of the tent over our heads. Once I had that set up, I finished tightening the stakes and put all our stuff into the tent, ready to dive inside and hide if it were to start raining. I passed the time by finishing the lunch Ambrose had kindly left me and reading once my chores were done. It was cozy inside the tent, but I got antsy about Ambrose being gone and spent some time reading while sitting on a large log. Not the best idea, since the log was a bit damp, but I survived. 

Ambrose got back right on time. He had only been back a little bit before the rain started up and we settled into the tent, making sure that all the lines were tight enough to keep the rain from flowing into the tent. Though the pitch had a very low ceiling, the rain stayed on the outside. 

It rained on and off through the afternoon and into the evening. While it was cold and wet outside, inside the tent it was warm and dry. Well, warm inside the quilts. The air in the tent was pretty cold, it's got mesh doors after all. But I was warm enough to sleep, and that's what mattered. 

Ambrose is ready to go.

The Queens River running high . . .

. . . in both directions.

Ambrose hiked in front at a nice pace.

I don't often get shots of these squirrels.

That's the trail, not a creek.

Also trail.

That's a creek crossing I don't want to mess with.

Luckily, we didn't have to on that one.

The next creek was even more swollen.

We took the cold way. Also the safe way.

We've never seen so much water on the trail.

A decent pitch for rain. 

I was shocked to see that a tick was out in the cool weather.

Heinen Again! A Tale of Three Shoes

The first time I tried hiking Mount Heinen, I only made it 2 miles in before turning back. On that trip, I wore the Softstar Switchback boots and found myself disappointed that my toes felt so banged up by them, especially when hiking that steep downhill. I also felt how lacking full gusseting impacted the amount of dirt that managed to get inside the boot, though I think a combination of gaiters and proper lacing will mitigate that significantly. 

So for the next hike, I wore my Lems Boulder Boots to see how those would do. I had to figure out some lacing tricks, especially for the downhill parts, where I undid the top two lacing holes so my ankles had more room to bend. But on the downhill, once again, my toes were just banging up against the end of the boot. 

Now, this hike is not an easy one. The downhill sections can be super steep and a bit ridiculous. So I decided on the third trip to wear my ol' reliable Altra Lone Peaks. If my toes still felt banged up using those, then I could lay blame solely on the trail, since they are mostly quite comfortable. 

And so, it came about that I wore my Altras to hike Mount Heinen. 

Ambrose and I also made a few changes to our hiking plan, because we didn't want to be quite as wrecked as we were after the first full hike of that trail. We both planned to eat more frequently and intentionally on the trail itself, and I suggested we have a meal at the trailhead after we finished. We also decided a Saturday hike would be a smarter move for us than another Sunday, so we could use Sunday as a recovery day. 

On Friday night, after eating dinner at home, we drove out to the trailhead. This time we didn't drive down towards the beach, because it was much more crowded. Instead, we parked closer to the road, and then ended up laying our tarp out just behind the car. Even though we could hear music being played at the beach, it wasn't loud enough to disturb our sleep, and we had a good night. 

Up at 5 the next morning when a pair of hikers drove into the trailhead. Ambrose asked them the time, and they apologized for waking us, but they hadn't. Ambrose was already up and so was I. We packed up our sleeping situation and ate breakfast, again getting started just before 6 in the morning. I headed out to try and beat last week's time. Ambrose had the same goal, but I'm still faster than him (for now). 

I got passed by two separate hikers before I even reached the two mile mark, which made me feel quite slow. But at least it wasn't Ambrose passing me. 

I was able to go faster than before in part because I now knew where I was going, and had somewhat of an idea of what to expect as I hiked. More uphill, that worst downhill section of the back, Heinen in sight. 

The day was cool, and I made good time as the sun rose. I tried to pay a bit more attention to the terrain as I walked the ridgeline so that I would recognize my landmarks on the way back. The Altras were doing well on both uphill sections and downhill sections. 

Every now and then I'd look back to see if Ambrose was about to catch up with me, but I didn't see him behind me this time. For the most part, I hiked as though completely alone. I knew there were the guys ahead of me, and I wondered when I'd see them coming back. 

That made things complicated when I needed to dig a hole. I didn't want to be caught in sight of the trail while doing my business, not with people certainly ahead of me and behind me. Though if Ambrose were to come upon me, I wouldn't have an issue. Luck was with me, and I managed to find a spot on the ridge where I could walk into the trees and be concealed from the view of the trail for my hole digging. 

This time, I knew better than to rejoice at the top of the hill with the hitching posts. I knew which peak was the peak I wanted to reach. And not long after I caught sight of Heinen, the early bird hikers came back from the peak and passed me. 

And while the steep uphill hiking wasn't that much easier, I was keeping up with my snacking and hydration. It was much easier to keep up with drinking water when I was carrying 4 liters to drink instead of just 2. 

For this trip, I had my first 2 liter bladder filled with caffeinated electrolyte mix (Nuun Fresh Lime), and the second 2 liter bladder had herbal tea. And this time I took the tea bags out after the 2 liters were brewed - last time I didn't remove the tea bags and they obstructed my drinking tube. 

As I reached the final line of the ridge, the first guy to pass me hiked down, and, shortly after, the second. No one was left between me and the peak! I didn't spend much time at the peak, just long enough for a picture and some admiration of the view.

I passed Ambrose right at the edge of that final ridgeline. He was making good time and looked like he was in good shape.

I didn't end up finishing the first water bladder by the time I reached the peak. But at my next snack break, I checked the level and found that I had just managed to finish it! I swapped over to the full water bladder and ate my snack before continuing on. 

I relished the remaining climbs, knowing that I would soon be on a steep downhill stretch. I managed to find another place to dig a hole that was mostly not visible from the trail, and no one came upon me while I was doing my business. 

But more people were coming up by this time. A couple of solo hikers and several pairs were headed up, along with some dogs. But after I got to that last 2 miles, I didn't see anyone else coming up on the trail. 

I got focused on the extreme downhill. And while I didn't appreciate how much my toes were hurting as I went down the trail, I did appreciate that even the Altras banged my toes coming down from Heinen. My experience with toe banging with the Lems and the Softstars was nothing to do with them, necessarily. It was the trail!

I took my time on the downhill. I didn't want to slip and fall. Not when I had a meal waiting for me at the car. 

The timing was just about perfect. I made it back to the car, spread out the tarp and got myself set up to cook. I made Minute Rice and Dinty Moore Beef Stew, and just as I finished, I saw Ambrose making his way down the trail. I started eating, of course, but I didn't eat all of it before he got there to grab a bite. 

We finished eating just before the rain started to fall, forcing us to retreat into the car. I drove us home.