May 2014 – wandering chardonnay

Really , really?

So I dubbed last weekend bad ‘decision weekend’. The decisions weren’t even that bad (I’ve made worse) but they certainly rather ridiculous. Sometimes I just get overly excited and don’t think things through, you know logically. So here’s what happened….

It was Memorial Day weekend and I really wanted to do something since my trip to the desert was out. Decided that I needed to do some hiking and Mt Baldy had been on my mind for a while. Out of the blue I stumble upon MissyKat having an extra ticket to Myth Masque in LA, something else I had wanted to do. Of course I decided I could do both, bad idea. A friend told me so but I was all whatever. Bad ideas are built on not listening.

Now Myth Masque is not just any masquerade ball in LA, people go all out with costumes. I, of course did not have a thing to wear. After totally stressing, I ended up buying a corset that was way out of my budget, bad idea.

Friday night a friend had a housewarming party that I ended up staying way too late at, bad idea. But I was having such a good time, I have great friends, you would have stayed too. So staying out late Friday meant a Saturday morning rush to finish my costume and pack the car.
Did I mention I hate driving to or around LA. Agh. The traffic is mad crazy and there are just people EVERYWHERE. Plus there is nowhere to park. The stress of me driving and a valet parking situation led the me rewarding myself later that night with……drinks!!! Bad idea.

But again you would have too. It was a festive atmosphere, the venue was spectacular, the costuming was top notch, the company was good, so …..I got my party on. Bad idea.

After about 4 hours of sleep I dragged myself up (makeup still on from the night before) and started what was supposed to be a simple one and half hour trek to Mt Baldy. I was meeting Liz and Mark at 8. I had planned on grabbing some food/drinks for the hike on the way……that did not happen. Why…..in my sleepy has I totally took a wrong turn and got lost (sorta) at least went way outta of the way. Didn’t get to the mountain until 9:30 (sorry Mark and Liz).

So in my frazzled state I grabbed my day pack, 2 bananas from the backseat, and Gatorade. And I was off….in the clothes I has slept in! In my mind I thought we could ride the chair lift up and cut off 4 miles, it wasn’t running. (actually it was but my lack of planning I did not realize it didn’t start til 10) So we just set off for the shortest route to the top, seemed like a good idea, but we missed the turn off for that short route, doh! (side note: there is a true lack of signage on this trail, it is a true guessing game which direction to go.)

Now Liz and Mark are in great shape and good hikers so they were ready to take that mountain. I was pleading with my legs not to revolt. That was the weird thing about the whole hike, I was feeling good from the waist up. From the waist down my legs felt like lead, every step not painful, just hard. I managed to drag myself to the lodge after a gazillion breaks. Then the death march began, for me anyway! (let it be know if it hadn’t of been for Mark & and Liz I would have turned back, heck I might not have gotten out the car! They are fun to hike with and put up with all my whining.) We went up this stretch of rocks that was steep and seemed to never end. I kept telling the others to go ahead as I was basically pausing every third step.

I finally made it to the top (well that top anyway). From here it leveled out a bit as you cross Devils Backbone. I must say even in my exhausted state, WoW what a view!! You can see clear down to the desert floor and the cool breeze rushing across the peak was refreshing. We rested here before starting across the tiny trail that led to the summit. There were plenty of people coming down from the summit (they obviously did not miss the mystery turn off).

The thing about hiking is you get plenty of time to think. The one thing on my mind that last sections was ‘holy carp next year I’ll be doing this with 25 pounds on my back, dear goodness’. The other thing about hiking is the distance between utter misery and euphoria is very short. As I trudged along I reflected on all the bad decisions I had made recently made and came to two conclusions, I can’t change them and don’t have to make anymore.

A term used frequently on the PCT is HYOY (hike your own hike). When we turn that last corner and I saw that 700′ vertical climb to the summit was when I stopped. Hiking my own hike meant letting the others go on and my turning back. Sure I could have limped up there just to say I did, but that most likely would have meant me being rescued or spending the night on the summit.

Long story short (after all that lol) I went back down, Mark and Liz made it to the summit then we all took the chair lift back to the parking lot!

All in all it lessons were learned and memories were made. I’ll go back and bag that summit, everything in it’s time!

Quitting something is hard. But it’s also valuable. ~Anish

2 a day

Hiking

Been getting back out there!! Mostly doing a lot of walking around the hood. There are tons of hills just of the front door. Love the looks I get when decide to take my backpack instead of the day pack. Managed to figure out a few 3- 4 miles loops. Trying to get myself up to 4 miles in the morning and at least 4 after work. I’m not much of a morning person so the morning routes are tough. The after work routes are working out good now that I found a nice trail near work, the South Poway Trans County Trail!

What can I say it’s time to tone this body up, there is a very busy summer coming up! Just scheduled BRC Ranger training for July in Napa! Oh the man burns in 105 days!

Adventures..,similar but different

PCT

Lately I’ve been ruminating over all the similarities of the adventures I undertake. Mainly Ragbrai, Burning Man and the PCT. They are all quite similar but different, but things I gravitate to all the same.

Check the links to see what these are all about, because I could go on for days about them all. Basically Ragbrai is a weeklong bike ride across Iowa, Burning Man is well TTITD, and PCT a long distance thru hike (for me anyways).

Things…..

In each of these experiences you really want to pack ALL THE THINGS, you convince yourself you need ALL THE THINGS (you really don’t). THING is you have to transport the things. You pack them on your bike, in vehicle or on your back. I’ve seen bikes weighted with more than 60 pounds of ‘gear’ on Ragbrai, but your rolling so….hills are a b***h thou. On the PCT, for your own enjoyment you will want a whole lot less, a shakedown will take care of that. Burning Man well heck if it won’t all fit in or on top of your car you upgrade to a Uhaul!

Danger….

There is a level of physical and mental preparedness that is necessary for each of these endeavors. If you choose to go unprepared, which some do, you will wise up quickly pay dearly. Each one of these contain a level of danger involved that could, well, result in death. But hey, nothing like a little death and danger to make things exciting.

Goodness…..

On both Ragbrai and the PCT there are a lot of people willing to help you out. On Ragbrai they are called Iowans; on the PCT they are called Trail Angels. I’ve heard tales of how generous trail angels are; I have experienced the generosity of Iowans. These are people who when a bunch strangers on bikes roll into town they open there hearts and homes. Iowans will let you stay in their house/camp on their front lawn, do your laundry, drive you the next town, fill you with adult beverages, then grill you dinner! One time we camped in the town square of a very small town, in the morning some local ladies brought out the best the best egg casserole and oj for breakfast, just because. At Burning man this comes in many forms, people helping put up your camp, gifting food, presents, hugs, rides, even a shoulder to lean on.

Then there is the time. Ragbrai runs a 7 days (+3 if you bag out from Des Moines), Burning Man runs a week also (unless you have early entry or stay late then it could be 10-14 days). The PCT 4-5 months, time commitment indeed. So if you a looking a adventure, I highly recommend checking your vacation time then heading out to any of these. Why not? You never know what dangerously amazing experience you might have!

WBC Reunion

Hiking

I got me a patch! A wilderness basics patch! This past weekend was the WBC Reunion at Lake Moreno Campgrounds. I got there Saturday morning went to send a text and remembered there is zero signal. Really Verizon. So I wasn’t sure when the Liz or Betsy were gonna get there. Turns out Liz (and Mark ) were pretty much right behind me. They pulled up as I was whipping together my tent. (Betsy wasn’t feeling well so didn’t make it. Feel better girl!!!)

The first hour was kinda chaotic; we were trying to get our tents set up prior to the Land Navigation hike and for some reason our camp site was hot and treeless. Yes, exactly last week I was freezing my butt off a week later l’m roasting, cray, cray. We ran back and forth to the registration table, the ranger’s office, and then moved all our stuff to the shade only to move it back into the sun. Finally we gave up and went hiking.

Jim and Diane did a swell job with the Land Nav/Scavenger Hunt. Whenever we finally found a spot there was a cache box with candy, toys (even Hot Wheels), and a clue to the next spot. We sorta worked as a group, but Mark was like a bloodhound finding those things. It was a great hike, a little rock climbing, the lake is very very low. But not totally dry, one wrong step and you could sink pretty deep in the mud.

Me, Mark and Michelle! Thanks for the pic Liz!

Afterwards (ie after beer run) we realized that we had set up our tents basically where we were supposed to park the cars! Oh well. Later, there was a PCT presentation and a great potluck dinner. I was so full from dinner only had room for one smore at the campfire.

But before the smores there was a graduation certificate and PATCHES!!!

There was also a astronomy presentation complete with two super telescopes so we got an up close look at the moon! After chatting around the camp fire we turned in. I slept like a baby.

Sunday morning instead of hiking after breakfast we opted for sitting around camp soaking up the sunshine and chatting. Sometimes you just need to sit and connect. So glad we did. A friend told me to take the wilderness basics course you’ll meet some cool people that will end up being your long time hiking buddies …..he was right!

Sock it to me

Hiking

I love when thru hikers meet up or hike together and then their blogs intersect. It’s like when a character from one sitcom appears on a different sitcom. Worlds colliding.

I’ve never had designated hiking socks. Typically I just throw on some socks, my hiking boots and go. Well at the kickoff I was gifted some Keen hiking socks. WHAT! How come nobody told me about these things? They are all soft and comfy. I was cruising through my 3 mile hike the other day. I’m totally getting more of these. Oh then I just ordered some from Thorlos -women’s hiking socks. They was a special where you only have to pay shipping. Can’t wait to try those puppies out this weekend!

Weight this is too long

Hiking

My lack of posting comes from the fact that I feel every post needs like a certain length. So every time I sit down with an idea I either ditch it or it sits unpublished waiting for more. Where is the more? It’s that same weird feeling I’d get in high school when you had to have type (like on a typewriter, i’m that old) a paper double spaced with some arbitrary word count. So yea, i’m letting that go. Short posts rule!

I’ve been reading trail blogs and enjoying the Santa Ana Winds blowing through San Diego. Trail blogs make me hungry. There is a lot of talk about food, especially snacks. I’m constantly fighting the urge to grab some junk food. Sympathy weight is not cool. Found another cool blog of couple going stoveless, that’s my plan too! Check it out here.