Elliptical

Much as I hate the elliptical, I was quite pleased to get back to the elliptical today! Recovery from surgery has been coming along well, but slower than I would like. I got the bandage off a week ago, and the doctor spent about 30 seconds with me, saying that it looked good. I was like, but what do I do to take care of it, can I get it wet, should I stretch it, can I walk normal, when can I exercise again? As she was jogging out the door. She said I can get it wet, take it easy for another week, and otherwise I can do whatever I want. So, I decided that today I can exercise again. Fortunately there's someone with a blog on his Cheilectomy surgery, that has a lot of info that I've been going off of. This is why people pay attend to Dr. Google so much.

Anyhow, I did the elliptical for 30 minutes while watching Ellen. But Ellen wasn't there, so it was some guest host. It was not a good time. I can't wait to get back to more fun exercise!

Cheilectomy

About 15 years ago I had a bone spur removed from my right big toe because it was sore and didn't bend well at all. I finally sucked it up and had the left one done last week. I'd been putting it off for years because I didn't want to have surgery and I didn't want to be out of commission and unable to exercise for weeks, but it got to the point where my toe was really bad. When I went to the doctor she said something to the effect of "we like to see about 65 degrees of bend in your big toe, and right now you have zero degrees." Which is less. Because it didn't bend, I was walking on the side of my foot a little, and it was giving me plantar fasciitis as well as hurting the rest of my left side. So, last Thursday I got it done!

They do the surgery under "twilight" sedation, meaning that you aren't completely knocked out - instead I got propofol and a nerve block behind my knee. The doctors who gave me the nerve block gave me some anti anxiety meds first, which I was glad about because I was kind of nervous about the whole thing. Which I didn't need to be, because I remember getting into the OR and everyone getting me set on the table and then I sort of remember someone x-raying my foot, and then I woke up in the post surgery and was like "I'm really sleepy." And then I got to go home!

Since then I've been hanging out with my foot up, sleeping a lot, and watching a lot of TV. I think it's healing well - it doesn't really hurt any more, and I can wiggle my toes a little. I go to the surgeon next Monday, and get the bandage off. Hopefully then I will be cleared to get back to real life. It seems like lying on the couch with the cats watching Great British Baking Show would be fun, but honestly, I don't love it. Back to work tomorrow!  And let's see how long before I can exercise again.

Hike and climb and yet still I'm stuffed

It's 5:04 and my cats are sitting looking at me like I haven't fed them in months, which I know for fact isn't true. Yet, I'm getting an unrelenting Tigger death stare. OK, so I will write about my post-Thanksgiving hike and climbing today, and then feed the starving cats!

I ate way too much, as always, for Thanksgiving. But, it was so good! Especially the stuffing. When I finished eating, I had to lie on the couch for a while and feel remorse. To compensate, the next day I went for a meet up hike on Pack Monadnock. The trail that we took was 5.9 miles and 1300 ish feet of elevation gain, so definitely a real hike, but not like a 4000 footer. I thought I could do it as a meet up, and mostly it was fine. There were 9 of us, plus one dog, on the hike, and I was in the front pack of 4 for pretty much the entire time!  I was pretty impressed with me - we went at a pace that had me breathing hard, but not about to die. There were a couple people in the group who were super slow, so we had to keep stopping and waiting. But that was OK. After I went black Friday shopping in NH, where there are no sales taxes! I got a toaster oven so I can have better avocado toast (my old toaster only worked on one side) and an Amazon Echo to replace the alarm clock that I haven't loved for about 11 years. In the morning I can ask Alexa about the weather and my commute. And I can make a shopping list :) If I was a person who made shopping lists.

Today I went to a class at BKBX where we got to use the bouldering wall for part of the class. I climbed a V1 on an overhang! It took me two tries. The first time I got to the second to last move and couldn't quite make it. I fell, and wasn't even scared!  Of course, their wall isn't that high. But still I was impressed with how far I've come on the falling.

Yesterday I also bought a turkey because it was only 49 cents a pound - so it went from like $30 to $5. Mmmm, turkey - it's in the fridge thawing, but tomorrow the plan is to cook and freeze. And then I can feel this stuffed for months.

3.32 mile run and a V2!

On Thursday I went to BKBX for a Foundations class - it was a really good workout, and more aerobic than some of the others. I got there 45 minutes early so I could boulder, of course. They just changed the wall, so the V1 with the dino that I couldn't do was gone, but there's a new, cool, V1 in its place that I worked on for a bit and didn't get. There was also a V2 on a flat wall that was crimpy and I thought I could do, and I was able to flash the first try! I thought the V2 was way easier than some of the V1's.  I've been working on doing V0 and V1 on overhang, since those are climbs that I would usually not do at all. That's definitely a project!

Today we celebrated my mom's 90th birthday! 90. She's doing pretty well, she had been sick and kind of confused for a while, but she's much more aware now. As a present, we decided to give the gift of us - we hired a photographer to take pictures of the family for an hour. She was really good, and hopefully we will get awesome photos :)  After the photos, we ate so much - I had cheese, bread, fruit, onion rings, fries, half a flatbread pizza, and carrot cake for dessert. I'm still full, and it's 8:30 (we ate at like 2 pm). After I got home, I was feeling so gross, and I am out of points for class pass until tomorrow.

So, I decided to go for a run. I wasn't sure I would be up for it, but I actually ran my old 5K ish - I started by going uphill for some reason - maybe I wasn't sure I was going to make it, and the at the end I had to take a detour because there's a bridge that's out. According to map my run I ran 3.32 miles and according to my fitbit it took me 43 minutes, which is a 13 minute mile, which is pretty slow. But, I ran the whole time, with only 3 short stops when I had to wait to cross the street (which I quite enjoyed).  I was breathing pretty hard, but not dying. I did get cramps at about mile 1.5, so I had to slow down for a bit. But I kept going and was fine! I could have run longer, but I confess was glad to stop. I remember when I first started running and had to stop and walk. I'm pretty psyched that I'm in good enough shape that I could run for 43 minutes, even if it was pretty slow.

A few months ago I read this article in the Washington post by a woman who is face blind, describing her experience. There were some tests linked to the article, and a contact with someone who's doing a study. I was able to connect with the person at the Boston VA and do 2 of the 3 parts (the third part was an MRI, and I freaked out and couldn't do it). I talked to the researcher and he confirmed that yes, I have moderate prosopagnosia = face blindness. In fact, on a couple of the tests I had some of the lowest scores he had seen, even in people with prosopagnosia. It's a little bit validating - I can't recognize people who I've met before because I can't, not because I just need to try harder. And, it makes me a little sad, because trying harder won't make a difference.

V1

I think V1 is my match level bouldering climb and V2 would be a reach. I went about 45 minutes early for climbing today so I could boulder - I was actually really looking forward to bouldering, which is kind of cool and definitely new. Anyhow, I stared with a VB which I guess is a beginner? The B's are pretty much like ladders, you just saunter up. I did a warm up with one, and it's kind of cool because I didn't feel scared at all doing it!  Then, I did a V1 and I flashed it the first try, using my technique with hands and feet.  Although I got up it clean, I did it 3 more times until I felt like I got up really well, with ninja feet. There was another V1 that I tried that was overhung, which I tried several times, but freaked out each time as I got a little high. So, that's a project I guess.

During regular climbing I practiced having two feet on the wall, shifting my weight, and then moving my hand. I also practiced keeping my top arm straight. It was hard. Really hard! Especially as I got to the higher levels. I was proud of myself because I did one climb that was overhung and scary high. And, I did a 5.9 and went back to it a second time to project on it. 

My climbing is definitely much worse than it was before, but I am optimistic that it's going to improve and really become a lot better!

Dinos

I went to an athletics class at BKBX this evening. This one was mostly upper body with medicine balls, rings, and sleds (their sleds have wheels, which is super easy. And, when we did "wall balls" we didn't have to hit the wall, we just threw the ball up and caught it. I did 30, which seemed like a lot, but not in comparison with crossfit!)

I got there about forty five minutes early so I could boulder for a half hour. I can definitely do V0 (though there was one that was pretty overhung that I couldn't do, but I think that was part mental) and I can do V1, though sometimes it takes a few tries. There was a V1 that I projected that was super fun, the last move, though, was a jump (dyno) to a really good hold. It was really scary to think about doing the jump. I tried a couple times, sort of half heartedly. In class the teacher said that the were resetting next week, which is too bad because they're going to take it down.

In class, we did this exercise where you stood on one hold, grabbed another, and then jumped and tried to touch a dot on the wall. It was really fun, and I realized good practice for doing dinos. In the training beta podcast, this woman was talking about getting over fear by taking small, incremental steps that are just a little scary, but not terrifying - after a while these little steps help you to overcome  fear and can make a big difference. Which is to say that I think I'll try the dino exercise in the gym for a little while so that the next time I can finish a climb like this.

Anyhow, when climbing I focused on only moving my hands when both feet were on the wall, and on keeping the arm that was holding the wall straight. And it really made a difference! I also got on a V2, and the first move required that I turn my body so my hip was to the wall. So I did!  That was the only move I could do, but I felt good about it :)

The Climbing Project

I've decided that I've gotten sloppy with my climbing and so I'm getting worse at it, rather than better. So, I'm embarking on The Climbing Project (which I came up with after reading the book The Rosie Project) which will be designed to improve my climbing technique, and lead to me getting more joy out of climbing. I was listening to this podcast on climbing, climbing beta, and they interviewed this climber John Kettle, who went from climbing V7 to V9 in like 9 weeks by improving his technique, and then wrote a book about it. Which I bought, and am going to follow.

Step one was to work on climbing with your legs more and your arms less. Yup, really need to do that. My first exercise was only moving a hand when I had two feet on the wall. Which was really hard!  But, as I practiced it today, I noticed was really helpful, and something that I hadn't been doing well. I also practiced keeping the arm that was still holding the wall straight, keeping the weight on the bigger muscles of my back, instead of using the smaller muscles in my arms. That got especially hard when I was in a scary place, and it was hard. Third thing that I practiced was not just doing slab, but also climbing overhang.

I climbed only 5.8 and 5.9, with a 5.7 at the end. My best climbs were one 5.9 that I did a good job with moving my feet up before moving an arm, and an overhung 5.8 - same thing.

My friend Lynne decided that she wants to go with me sailing in Myanmar!  I'm psyched because it's a small boat, and it will be nice to have a friend on board. She was looking at tickets today, and got overwhelmed and didn't get one. When I looked this evening, the trip was gone. I was so upset because I thought it was sold out, but then it turned out that there was something weird with the website, and now it's back. OK, now we both know that this is the plan that we want :)

Also, even though when I booked the trip they told me it absolutely wouldn't go on sale, it went on sale. I contacted the company and was like "WTF?" and they gave me the sale price!  Go me - I negotiated something!!

Mayor Pete

 Not an exercise post, but today I went to "Meet Pete" in NH! I wasn't feeling great and took a personal day to recoup, plus I had a doctor's appointment. Yesterday I saw that he was in NH, and I know he's been doing well in the polls, so I was curious to hear more from him. So, I signed up to go to his rally. I went right from the MD appointment, and got there about an hour early, before doors opened. It was really cold out, but fortunately they were letting people hang out in the lobby; when I walked in I ran into a friend from TKD!  It was pretty cool! We wound up catching up and, when the doors opened, sitting together.

Since we were there so early, we were able to get seats in the front row.  We were feeling pretty good about ourselves.  I guess we were looking pretty happy and enthusiastic, because one of the campaign managers came over and asked us if we wanted to sit on the stage behind the mayor, as his human props.  We were like "Hell Yes!"  I mean, I don't know if I'm going to vote for the guy, but it just seemed so fun. And it was :)  I was really impressed with Buttigieg - he's very articulate, I like his policy ideas, and he seems like someone who could be "presidential." If there's one thing that trump has taught me, it's that we need a leader who represents the ideas of everyone in the country, and so many people are opposed to Medicare for all (which I don't understand), that I have a hard time with Warren for that. Buttigieg is doing well in the polls; he could have a real shot!

It was a fun morning, definitely better than sitting on the couch and feeling sorry for myself for having a cold, which had been the plan. I'm going to have to stalk his website to see if I find myself on it anywhere.

Balboa Twist

I went back to BKBX again for class #3!  I did something to my shoulder, so I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but on the other hand, I really wanted to get a work out in this week, and I'm going climbing with the old people tomorrow, and I wasn't sure I would be into it on Friday. Also, the workout was called "Balboa Twist" which I was thinking related to Bilbao, Spain, but just realized was of course after the movie rocky. And, there was boxing! There were three stations, one that was cardio with an ardyn bike, jumping rope, and then running back and forth with a partner punching a pad. The second station was the heavy ropes - which is something I never did at crossfit, and found was hard. And one with punching bags that you pushed forward and caught from hand to hand, which I couldn't do well because of my shoulder. And the final one where your partner held a pad and you used bands and punched.

It was really fun to punch things, even if we really weren't punching right. I was laughing to myself a little because my partner was this pretty buff guy, but he did not know how to throw a punch. I could have given him a few pointers.

It was a really good workout - according to my heart rate monitor, at one point I was at 102% heart rate, which I don't think is really a thing. I did feel a little bit like puking, but not like dying.

I had my meeting with my interim supervisor. I had been loosing sleep, and having dreams about teeth falling out, about how she was going to "help" me get along more with others, and be more of a team player, and she had apparently forgotten all about it. So, we ended with her saying "you're awesome" and I was like WTF lady??

I Bouldered!

Now that I've finished my 4000 footers in NH, I need a new fitness goal, and I've decided to work on my climbing. Over the last several years I think I've been slowly de-proving in my abilities, due to two factors. #1 I've put on a lot of weight (though I have lost 10 pounds, thankfully!, but I am still about 25 pounds overweight, and #2 I've gotten sloppy. Loosing weight is a slow and somewhat unreliable process. But, I can get less lazy and sloppy with my climbing. And, I think the best way to do that is bouldering. So, I am resolved.

I've done bouldering 3 times so far. The first time I was going climbing with Greta, and I got there early and she was caught in traffic. I think I was there at the same time as the kids climbing team which wasn't really a good time. I did 2 V0's and left. The second time I got there early for climbing with the old people's metope (which I've decided to do more regularly) and did five excellent attempts  and a few crappy ones. I did a couple of V0's all the way up - one where I had to down climb and then drop down which was scary, and one where I climbed over the top and went down the stairs, which made me feel cool, but was also a little scary because it was super high. And, I did a V1, not quite to the top.  Then, Sunday I got to climbing a little early and did some bouldering for about 20 minutes and did mostly V0's. I tried some overhung ones, but didn't get far. But, later in the climbing day, on top rope, I felt like I was doing better.

I'm going to work on quiet feet, straight arms, and no death grip. And breathing.

My current boss went out on maternity leave today. I had my first meeting with the interim person last Wednesday. I told her about what I do, because really she has no idea. At the end, she was like, "next week I want to talk to you about how I can help you work more with other people." And I was like WTF are you talking about?  I don't think it's going well so far.

PS. Forgot to mention that falling from the top or during a climb is super scary (or maybe just reiterating) and that I have bruises all over my knees which I think are from dropping down to the mat. Will have to work on falling too.

BKBX Redux

I decided to go back to BKBX again already, even though my legs are still a little sore from all the squats in the last class. I have plans for the next two evenings, and my class pass month is ending and I had 8 points left. Which was perfect for one more class.

It turns out that they run the same class a few days in a row, or Thursday/Monday at least (different from Crossfit for sure). It was not bad to do the same workout again, though, because this time I think I did it better and that I will be less sore (though no promises). I was also partnered with a class mate who wasn't as hard core as the Thursday people, so I did fewer reps. And, I remembered some of my crossfit skills for sure.  I'm definitely going to keep doing this!

I've also planned a vacation to Thailand and Myanmar!  I'm super excited about it!  I'll be going sailing around the islands of Myanmar on a yacht. Which will hopefully be fun given that:
1. I could get seasick
2. The bedrooms are very small and may make me claustrophobic
3. I don't know how to sail

What could go wrong?

BKBX

I went to BKBX with class pass to try their "upscale" program. I was nervous and skeptical before going; I'm usually more of a gritty gym kind of a person, but I have to say I really liked it!  I can see myself going there more often. When I got there, the front desk guy was all friendly (and cute) and showed me around and explained the heart rate monitors that you wear in class. And I didn't mind it! I went to a Foundations - Grip and Rip class, which was a tabata sort of thing, with four rounds at three different stations, and then burpees (why? Why burpees?)

For their classes, everyone wears a heart rate monitor and the results are projected up on this screen. I was about to die according to my monitor for most of the class - I was at like 98% cardio - you should work out at like 85%. But really I was fine.  And, it was kind of cool to try and breathe and watch my heart rate get lower.  My end number was 131 - not completely sure what that means.

For the stations, we had one with weights were we did one hand lifts, one with medicine balls, and one with boxes for box jumps. They have these lovely soft boxes that you wouldn't hit your knee on. But the one I used was like 6 inches, so it wasn't a problem. After each round you had to do 3 burpees and they measured something - efficiency, skill, speed?  IDK, but I hate burpees, and I wound up doing a bunch.

After the class, I got to go to the Recovery Room and sit in this compression leg thing and watch climbing videos while my legs were squeezed. It's supposed to help recovery. I'll be interested to see if it works. We did so many squats, I'm sure my legs will be killing me.

Some of the classes include the bouldering wall. Definitely will do again!

48!

I can't believe I finally made it!  I hiked Carrigan today for #48. It was a beautiful fall day, perfect temperatures and fall foliage.  I was pretty impressed with myself because I got up at 5:16 (according to my fitbit) and was out the door at around 5:30.  We're at about 12 hours of sunlight right now, and Carrigan is a 10.6 mile hike with a book time of 5-7 hours, and it's almost a 3 hour drive to get there. So, I knew I needed to be early. (It's a long drive, but I listened to The Rosie Project on the road and it made the drive much quicker - highly recommend). I got to the parking lot at 8:30 and headed out at 8:45.

Carrigan is one of those mountains that starts out with a long walk to the mountain. The first 1.7 miles was this beautiful saunter in the woods, by a river. The leaves were changing colors and there were enough on the ground for some good crunching. It was a nice start. At the 1.7 mile mark there's a sign to either go up, or off to Lake Nancy.  Things got real fast at this point. The next 3.3 miles were pretty unrelenting uphill.  But, there were switchbacks!  On the one hand it was easier, but they kind of messed with my head - I thought I was at the top at least a dozen times before I was. Once I got up there, it was so worth it!  There's a false summit with an amazing view, and a fire tower on Carrigan itself. I was feeling kind of pooped (possibly because of only 4 1/2 hours of sleep) and had to sit and eat for a bit, but then I really wanted to get to the top.

The view from the fire tower was amazing! I told this guy up there that it was my #48, and so he took my picture. This other woman was finishing hers too. I took a bunch of pictures, but it was so windy up there, and it was one of those sketchy fire towers that you feel like could fall over at any time, so I just stayed for like 5 minutes, and then walked back to the false summit to eat.  From the top of Carrigan you can see the most 4000 footers - I looked at all the mountains that I'd climbed, and I have to say I was pretty impressed!  Then I ate a cheese sandwich on healthy bread - but it was saved by avocado! I spent about a half hour at the top before heading down - I knew traffic would be awful, and I wanted to beat it a little if I could.

It took me 4 hours up and 3 down from the false summit.  I practiced planning one step ahead, and did pretty well at it, except I still have to say "one step ahead" out loud, which maybe is a little weird.

I plan to do the 5 mountains that I haven't soloed yet next year, so it doesn't feel like my project is done. But until the bugs are gone next spring, maybe I'll just do some like 6 mile hikes or so???

Now that my hiking project is done, I'm thinking about getting a little more immersed in climbing. Can this become a climbing blog too?

Last weekend I finally got to see my adoring audience!  Haha, well, that is to say that I got to see Kit, and a couple other friends from college. It was super fun to see them - we will do it again before another 15 years pass :)

Moriah #47!

Only one more to go!  Today is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend (how did that happen?) and so I decided to do one of the two remaining hikes. Carrigan is the most common hike to finish on, so I decided to save it for last, which meant doing Moriah today. The plan was to do the entire thing in a day, drive up, hike, and drive back. This one's kind of far away - it's almost 3 hours when you go up rt 93, and even longer when your GPS doesn't work in the middle of nowhere, and you decide to take rt 16 to 95 back. But, I had a book that I was almost finished with that I was listening to, which I finished on the way up, and I started a new one on the way back, so it wasn't so bad.

Moriah is 9 miles total, and out and back hike. It starts from a neighborhood street - how lucky all those people are to have the hike in their back yard, and what a pain to have so many hikers parking on their street. I was hoping to leave nice and early - I set my alarm for 5:30, but then I woke up at 6:30, sigh, and was out the door before 7. I didn't really have any food, so I had to stop on the way up - first for a bagel at Dunks, which I have to say was delicious, and then for an egg salad sandwich, chips, nuts and a power bar. By the time I was at the trailhead and ready to go it was 10.

I read on a blog that the hike was flat for a mile, which colored my expectations. At no point was the hike flat. It's a lot of elevation gain because, even though it's a shorter 4000 footer, it starts in a valley. It was one of those steady uphills, which I actually prefer because the elevation gain is more gradual. One thing that I really liked about this trail was that it was all slab! The rock of the mountain was exposed, and it was really fun to hike up. On the way down I practiced trusting my feet, and actually did a good job of it!

There's a mountain part way up, Mt. Surprise, which has some opened spots with a great view. I stopped for some chips and a little Gatorade. On the way down, I noticed that there were also blueberries, and I ate a bunch. Yum!  There were a few false summits, which are hard psychologically. After one more, there was a really nice bog to walk through, and then I could see the top of the mountain!  It took me 3.5 hours there. I sat on top and enjoyed the view, ate, and pondered this being my second to last hike, and then I headed down.  Down was definitely fun, with all the slab.  A good hike!  Total hiking time was a little less than 7 hours. I felt pretty good at the bottom.  I realized on the way down that I should have made a big container of oatmeal again, that was good the time I did it, and it gave me a lot of energy.

I'll have to do some planning for the final hike!  Probably in a couple of weeks. Maybe I can even get Washington solo in before it's too cold.  I feel like I'm in good hiking shape - that's the time to do it for sure.

Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 4

Day 4 was my "easy day."  All I had to do was hike down to my car, drive home, and shower.  I woke up at 6:30 ish (funny how easy that is to do while hiking, and how hard it is on a typical work day) ready for my delicious hut breakfast. There was coffee, hot chocolate, oatmeal, a breakfast bread, eggs and bacon. This group of four women came in late the night before, and this one woman, we'll call her Bacon Girl, took like a quarter of the bacon and eggs, WTF? Who does that at a community table?  By the time it got to me I only got one slice! She later went back and asked for more, and took more! I could tell I was getting a little crabby.

When I went back to my bunk, I also realized that Bacon Girl had hung her sweaty shirt on top of my sweaty skort at night. Ewww. Bacon Girl, total millennial. I had no choice but to wear it, even though it had bacon sweat on it. Though, who was I kidding, after 3 days of hiking, it was pretty disgusting.

I was considering doing Garfield on the way down. Instead of going straight to my car, I would go to Garfield, then down, then have to walk for over a mile on the access road to my car.  I realized, though, that I was pretty much out of food, so I ditched that idea - hiking without food is a bad idea. Also, it was pretty cloudy - it had rained the night before (one of the bachelor party guys left his boots out, he was sad), and I thought there was only about a 50% chance of a view. So, I decided to head right down, and I was so glad I did!

The last 4.6 miles of the hike were the hardest. Maybe it was just knowing that my car, civilization, food, and a shower were waiting. Or, maybe it was that my body was killing me - I had blisters on both my little toes, and the pads of my right foot. The top going down was steep and rocky, I tried to practice trusting my feet and planning one step ahead, but it was hard when I was so tired.  When I finally got to the flatter ground, I was so happy!  It took me a little longer than the last time I descended, but not much longer - about two hours and 45 minutes. But, the rocks were wet, so I think that's reasonable.  I was so happy when I saw my car sitting waiting!  I had a change of clothes in the back, and went in the woods to clean up a little, pee, and change. It was so nice to be in something clean, even if I wasn't!

I drove home and showered and collapsed on the couch. Later I developed a migraine, which was kind of bad, though not horrible. That left me all conflicted, because if I can't hike for 4 days without a migraine, how could I do the entire AT? Having a headache out there would just be awful. Maybe I got dehydrated going down?  I didn't drink that much. Or, maybe it was the cumulative lack of sleep, and my body knowing it was OK now to get sick?

Mistakes I made:

1. Not bringing enough water in my day pack to the Bonds
2. Trying so hard to be light weight that I didn't bring a stove and wound up with an awful dinner and no hot coffee
3. Getting dehydrated or sleep deprived(?) on the last day
4. Too thin socks that left me with blisters - I should have worn sock liners with them

Peaks climbed: 8

Official 4000 footers: 7

New Peaks Bagged: 5

Total distance: 24.6 miles!

Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 3

I woke up in the shelter at Guyot feeling pretty good!  I had done my hardest day, day 3 was much shorter and I got to have hut food for dinner.  I didn't have my stove, so I was able to pack up pretty quickly, except that it took a little while to filter enough water.  But, I was "on the road" by about 7. I decided that rather than eating at the rather dull camp, I would go back up to Guyot mountain, and eat in the view. Also, there were a ton of people around, and you aren't supposed to pee in the outhouse, and I wanted to get out of camp to pee!

I was glad that I hiked out of camp to eat - maybe not always the right choice, but there it definitely was. There were a ton of people in the eating area at Guyot, and you have to be so much more careful with food due to the traffic level and people sleeping there. On top of the mountain, I found that the cairn had one of those built-in chairs, so I sat down for a delicious breakfast. Sadly, that wasn't what I had - I had these squeeze packs that were supposedly "smoothies" but were not that good - they did have a lot of protein and other energy. I did bring my coffee beans, which were delicious, so there was that. From my cairn-chair I only had a little over two miles to my next peek, South Twin, so I was in no rush. Still, after about a half hour I headed off.

The hike to South Twin was quite nice. It wasn't very steep, but lots of rocks, so I practiced trusting my feet and planning one step ahead as a way to go faster. I'm getting a little better at it, I think. The area around there was above tree line, and I love the little scrub pines and grasses. It dipped down to pine forest, and then back up to South Twin, which I had been on before the previous year.  Once again, the view was amazing, and I sat for a little bit and chatted with and listened to some AT through hikers, Mouse, Moose and Red.

It's so interesting to listen to the through hikers, and hear about their trips. At this point, they are pretty close to being done, most of them seem pretty eager finish. One of the hikers had flip flopped and was finishing at Harper's Ferry, so it was really cool to hear the hiker grapevine, and listen to them telling each other about places to stay, and how easy/hard the hiking was coming up. They all use the guthook app to find out about trails and water, I have to check it out.

My objective for the day was North Twin, the peak that I didn't get the previous year.  There was a sign on South Twin that said it was a mile away, the map said 1.3 miles, and there was a sign on North Twin that said 1.0 miles. Hm.  I took my water, a sandwich, my phone and a snack in my daypack and hid my big pack on South Twin (OK, I didn't hide it that well, I figured no one would steel it because they would then have to carry it), and did the hike over there with the smaller pack. There was a lot of downhill on the way there, which made me a little nervous, but actually it wasn't so bad on the way back. The view on North Twin was really nice, you could see the hut! It wasn't as nice as South Twin, but nothing to complain about for sure.  I ate and enjoyed for a bit before going back to South, where I sat for about 45 minutes, eating, people watching, and enjoying the 360 view. Finally I decided to head out for the hut.

The hike down from South Twin is brutal - I remembered that from the last trip. I did this hike in this direction so I wouldn't need to hike up it again :)  The hike down wasn't easy either, it took me 45 minutes to go down .8 miles!  At the bottom I was psyched to see the hut, check in, and get a bottom bunk. There was a brand new fall cru, they only had two people up there so far - they were so cute! There was this totally neurotic woman who said that she just took the MCAT and I was like yup, she's going be terrific, and this adorable kid named Max who is taking a gap year before college and will be studying documentary film making. The neurotic woman had everything running ship shape, and Max was smiling along, like his life was just beginning.

I sat out on the porch and talked to this nice guy from NYC who was there with three friends - he was the fastest of the group and was sent ahead to reserve bottom bunks. His friends came soon after, one guy who started being interesting until I realized that he was one of those people who never stops talking, and two women. We sat for a while, and I looked at Galehead. There was no reason to climb it. It's not a particularly interesting mountain, and I'd already done it. The top is a pile of rocks with no view, though there is a viewpoint part way up. In the end, though, I had the energy and that guy was just talking talking, so I decided why not?  So, I did peak #8, and was glad I did. It wasn't at all hard - it's just a mile total, out and back, and it took me 45 minutes with a stop at the viewpoint in each direction.  After, I read my book, people watched, and talked with some through hikers.

The through hikers on Galehead were an interesting crowd. First, there was a woman who hadn't washed her socks in 12 days, and accidentally put them on the wrong feet, and could tell because of how they fit. Yuck. There was a guy who hike with a foam roller (smart!) but it was blown away during a storm that night. There was a guy who was "platinum lining" meaning that he had spent about $20,000 on his hike! And a guy who had just graduated college and wanted to walk across America until his dad (who probably didn't want his son walking down random roads) told him about the AT. They talked to us for a while about their experiences including lowest moments (putting on wet and cold clothes, snakes in the shelter), bears (oversized raccoons, but scary when with their cubs), and luxury items (foam roller).  Most of them eat junk, though one guy said he eats real food, and takes an hour for lunch every day. None of them hike 30 mile days - they said that when it becomes a slog that they stop. Interesting. They had all lost weight, there was one woman who was saying that she didn't have much weight to loose to begin with, so it becomes a balancing act, because if you are too small you can't carry everything.

Anyhow, dinner was delicious, lasagne, bread (of course), salad, and tomato rice soup with beans. For dessert there was ginger bread. I sat at a table with the group of four and two couples who were nice. There were two other tables, one a group of high school students who were in some kind of program that involved sitting in circles and talking about their "rose" and "thorn" for the day and such. And, a bachelor party. I was scared about the bachelor party because, well, bachelor party. And I was pooped. But, they weren't too noisy.  At least, I put my book down at 9:30, and fell asleep, and didn't wake up until morning.

Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 2

I knew day 2 would be the hardest of my hike, and I was a little nervous. The plan was to hike up Zealand, take a break on Zeacliff for snack, tag Zealand (which is viewless), and go to Guyot for lunch. Guyot is actually higher than Zealand, but it's a sub peak of something; no 200 foot decent. After Guyot, I would go to the campground, snag a spot in the shelter, and then hike with my daypack  at least to Bond and Bondcliff and maybe to West Bond as well. Then I would return for dinner and go to bed early. And that's exactly what I did!

I had built up the hike from the hut to Zeacliff in my mind as a Big Hard Deal because it was the big elevation climb and I would have a pretty full pack still. What I didn't count on was having fresh legs from sleeping in the hut, and a huge and delicious breakfast featuring oatmeal, coffee, and this egg thing that was quite yummy!  I was so full and had so much energy, the hike was totally fine. Yes, it was uphill, but the pack was actually well distributed in terms of weight, and I was excited about my day! Before I knew it, I was at Zeacliff, which had amazing views!  I had the place to myself for about 10 minutes before these two guys showed up, and I sat and had a snack and enjoyed the view. Soon I was off, though, because I had a lot more to do - it was 5 miles with the heavy pack, and I wanted to get going.

Zealand is one of those peaks where there is no view, just a pile of rocks, there's a spur off the path that's about .2 miles, but it's almost flat. I went and tapped the top - there were two people there eating, and we joked about the silliness of it all. I moved on to Guyot which I saw had a view.  It was amazing!  I sat on some rocks and enjoyed the scenery, and knowing that I was just .8 miles from the campground.  I was getting a little nervous about the campground because I didn't bring my tent and was planning to stay in the Guyot shelter - some people who I talked to on the trail said that there had been a group there the night before.  That  night, though, I was the first one!  I tried lying in all the spots to see which made me least claustrophobic, and eventually decided on the side on the bottom. I spent a few minutes resting my feet, eating, and moving things to my day pack, then I was off to the Bonds!

The Bonds are super remote - from the top of Bond you can only see two manmade things - the tower on Mt. Washington, and the Loon Mt ski trails.  It's beautiful.  The way the path works, you go to the top of Bond, over and down the other side to get to Bondcliff.  Getting to the top of Bond was pretty easy, but it was a long way down to Bondcliff!  There was a long ridgeline between Bond and Bondcliff, and I thought it would be a nice hike, but it was super rocky.  Bondcliff was beautiful (but buggy). There was a guy on the mountain doing Tae Chi, and I thought what a perfect place it was for it! It was serene and completely away from civilization. The bugs drove me back to Bond after only about 15 minutes, though.

The hike back up was killer!  That was definitely the hardest hike I did during the trip, it was long, rocky, and above the tree line - so exposed to the sun.  I was so happy to get to the top of Bond again.  I borrowed bug spray from some guy up there, and had a good rest and ate a peanut butter sandwich.  On the way up Bond, I actually passed someone!  I was a little nervous for him, because I don't pass people, but he soon made it to the top. Once he got there, he came next to me and just lay down. It was a little unconventional, but we had a nice chat - he was hiking the Pemi Loop with a friend, he retired 10 years ago, and he prefers retirement to working. I hope when I'm retired I'm still out hiking the Pemi!  I spent about 30 minutes on top of Bond, but eventually had to head out.

I wasn't sure if I should do West Bond that day too, I stupidly didn't bring enough water. But, as I got close I thought it didn't look that hard, and it would be good to get done on the first day. And, I was right.  West Bond was so nice with a wonderful view of the other Bonds, and not very difficult at all!  I was so glad that I went up there that day. I sat around and ate for a bit, before a group came up - there was one woman who was finishing her 48 the next day on the Bonds.  I was getting hungry and thirsty, so I headed down.

I had an MRE that I got from my visit to USU, and the ravioli was supposed to heat with a chemical reaction. but at the last minute I got nervous, because I wasn't sure how I would cool the heater down way out there, and you have to pack everything out.  So, I ate the ravioli cold, and it was so disgusting. Then I read for about 15 minutes and went to bed at like 9:00!

Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 1

I've been putting off The Bonds because there was no way for me to do them without camping out at Guyot backcountry campground by myself (OK, or I guess with someone else, but then it wouldn't be solo), but it was time. I was down to just seven hikes, no more putting it off. So, I for my vacation I went for an overnight in the Pemigewasset Wilderness (also called The Pemi). I decided that since I was going there overnight I might as well get North Twin as well, and stay at a couple of the huts. So, I parked at Gale trail, took the AMC hiker shuttle to Zealand, and stayed at Zealand falls for the first night.

I have to say that I was nervous as I waited for the shuttle. It was my first solo camping, it was a long hike, and the area was very remote. My pack weighted in at about 30 pounds with food and water - I knew it would get lighter as I ate, but the big uphill from Zealand was going to be heavy. I was the only one on the hiker shuttle and the driver was super chatty. Usually I'm not the chatty type, but it was good to have someone to talk to and calm my nerves, and by the time I got to the trailhead, I was feeling a little better.

There was no reason that I needed to stay at Zealand Falls at all, it's just three miles in, pretty much all of which is flat.  But, I was so glad I did!  The hiker shuttle was at 12:20, so it gave me a chance to sleep a little (not too much, I was so paranoid I would get caught in traffic I was an hour early for the shuttle), and it gave me a chance to stay at the hut which was beautiful and amazing!  The waterfalls were wonderful. One of the naturalists told me that if you hike upstream there are some slightly bigger pools, so I went up there, stripped down to my undies, and took a dip. It was so cold, it lasted about 30 seconds, but it felt great!

I slept on the third bunk up, which is really high, and I was a little nervous that I would fall out of bed, but I reasoned that I never have before. Also, I put my left hand on the side of the bed as I was falling asleep, to remind me that there was an edge. It was kind of fun being up in a perch!

Zealand Hut is home to some creatures, like a snake colony and a wasps nest.  The snakes they are keeping, the wasps are living under the front porch, and I think it's headed out! One woman told me that as she was going up to the hut and me a little kid who told her "there are snakes and wasps and spiders." And there were. There was also an almost full moon. For dinner we had "Mexican Lasagne" which is to say that there were lasagne noodles and corn and veggies but no pasta sauce or cheese, so the cru made due. It was a different cru than usual - the summer one had just gone back to school and the fall one wasn't out yet, so it was all regular people, none of them under 40 I bet! They were good cooks though - there was also a delicious brown bread and tomato rice soup (this will sound very much like the menu at Galehead, but I didn't care).

Rowing

Today I went for the third time to this rowing place in Brookline. It's so good - so much better than the one in Arlington that I will drive across the city for it. The owner is clearly passionate about rowing and he's really into technique and cheering people on and pushing you to do your best. Which I often find annoying, but he's super genuine, and like the crossfit coaches who used to call me an athlete.  Anyhow, I had to write about it because at the end of the workout I kind of felt like throwing up, a sign of a good aerobic workout!

The class was abs and rowing - you do 5 sets of rowing and then abs, with three different ab exercises for each set. They start with a medicine ball, and this time I didn't use the smallest! After the "warm up" of 5 sets, you choose a rowing program, I usually pick the middle of 5 choices which this time was 400 meters/45 sec rest/600 meters/1 min rest/300 meters/35 sec rest/200 meters/15 sec rest/100 meters.  It was somewhere around 200 meters that I wanted to puke. But I didn't.

I booked a hike in the White Mountains - I'm going to stay at Zealand Falls Hut, then hike to Guyot campground, set up my tent, and then hike the Bonds. There are 3 Bonds, I'm hoping I can do 2 one day and then 1 the next, then head to South Twin and North Twin, and then I'm staying at Galehead Hut. Then down the next day and home. I've done South Twin already, but that's five of my remaining seven 4000 footers :)  I hope it doesn't rain.  It seems kind of silly to stay at the huts when I have my tent, but then I don't have to carry food, and it's easier if it does rain, and also I just like the huts, so there. And, it will be my first solo night sleeping out in the tent, so I decided one night was good for starters.  If I like it, I may do some more next year, since I will hopefully be done with lists.  Super excited, and a little nervous! It's a lot to do.

PS. Don't try to rob the house when I'm gone, there's nothing to take.

Cabot

Another good hike! Two thumbs up for sure on this one. Cabot is the northern-most mountain in the 48, it seems very far away. And it's down this long road that has a fish hatchery on it, with a gate. That's supposedly only unlocked 8-4, limiting your hiking time.

I stayed at my friend's in NH again. Just me this time, no surprise guests. The sun woke me up at dawn, and I was thinking about going back to sleep, but I had a long day ahead, and 5:45 was a good time to start!  I left the cabin at about 6:15 - it's over an hour to the trail even from N. Conway. I had to stop for coffee on the way there, and I ate a huge jar of oatmeal that I made on Wed night - awesome morning food for hiking (also, I ate coffee beans from Trader Joes that are the bomb! That store knows how to make good products.)  Anyhow, I got to the Fish Gate at 7:40 ish, and it wasn't locked, plus there was a summer camp inside the gate, so I thought it might be opened after 4. Trailhead at just before 8.

There are two ways to do Cabot - out and back or a loop that goes up two more 4000 foot mountains (not official 4000 footers because they don't go up and down enough - they are considered sub peaks.) It's 4.7 miles to the top of Cabot, so 9.4 if you do an out and back. The loop goes down the other side of Cabot, over "The Buldge," up and down "The Horn," then to Unknown Pond, and then back to a different trailhead - it's 6.9 miles after the summit, totaling 11.6 for the loop (The Horn is an out an back .3 mile extension, but it's the only place with a good view.) I wasn't sure if I would be up for 11.6 miles, so I parked at the trailhead for the out and back, but it turned out that Cabot had switchbacks on the way up, plus there was a view rock about 3.5 miles in where I stopped to take a rest, so I was feeling pretty good at the top and decided to do the whole thing!

Cabot is a nice little mountain - for all its 4000+ feet, it didn't seem that tough. I mean it was hard going up, but not exhausting. About 3/4 mile after the viewpoint, there is this little cabin that I stopped at - there used to be a fire tower, and I guess that's where the fire tower people lived, now hikers can just stay there! And, there's an outhouse!  It's so weird to get almost to the top of a mountain and find an outhouse :)  I was a little sad because I didn't need it at the moment.  The top of Cabot is viewless, and there's a little trick because there's a trail junction, but the top is probably 10 feet away at a cairn - I'd read up on it so I knew to tag the cairn.

The way down Cabot was surprisingly steep. No switchbacks on the other side. I practiced using gravity and trusting my feet. The tail then went over The Buldge, which had no view. I got to the sign for The Horn faster than expected, and decided I had to go up, otherwise it would be 11 miles with only the one partial view at 3.5 miles.  I was so glad I did!  It wasn't that hard a mountain to climb, and the view was amazing. I ate two cheese sandwiches on challah (so good) and basked in the sun (no helicopter came to rescue me, phew). The top of The Buldge is a big rock which was pretty fun to climb up!

Next was Unknown Pond.  It was really woodsy and remote feeling heading over. Tons of moose droppings, but I didn't see any moose. I bumped into a woman (OK, she passed me) who was a little freaked out by the remoteness - she was chatty. mmm. The pond was so nice!  At first, the woman was eating carrots behind me and it was so annoying, because I walked all this way to this remote pond - and it was all crunch crunch. And so I was rude and just sat by myself, and I was so glad I did because the spot I found was so much nicer. I counted 8 frogs around me. Imagine living your entire life at that perfect, serene pond? There's a camp ground there, I bet it would be amazing to stay.

After the pond it was 3.3 miles out. It was mostly downhill, not too exciting. For a little while I had dark thoughts. But it actually only took me like two hours, and that was partly because it was so overgrown.  I got back to the other parking lot, and fortunately it was only a short walk to my car. There was no one around, one car in the lot and I was sure that it belonged to this guy I bumped into who was camping by the pond. I've never done this before, but I changed outside, next to my car! I had some wipes to clean off, it felt amazing!

In the entire hike I saw about a dozen people. Almost everyone was hiking solo, just one group of three running. I scared a guy because he thought I was a moose. It is Friday - summer hiking Friday, I love it!

Middle Carter and South Carter

Today made me revise my opinion of the Carters completely!  I might even do Carter Dome and the Hut again, but with no snow. I did two 4000 footers, hiked 11 miles, and it was lovely! (mostly)

I went from work to my friends cabin in NH on Thursday after work - it took an extra 45 min to get there because of traffic, but it was well worth it!  My friend told me no one would be there, but I was welcomed to crash.  I got to the place and the ceiling fan was going and the water was on, which was weird. I was suspicious that someone else was there, and they were!  My friend's husband's parent's were staying - they are so much cooler than my parents. Anyhow, we chatted for a while, but I went to bed at 10 pm.  I woke up at my usual time, 6:30, and got to the trail head by 7:30. My plan was to do a loop, parking my car at 19 Mile Brook trailhead, walk to Camp Dodge, cut through, and take the trail there to the Imp trail. Then, take the Imp trail to North Carter trail, Carter Moriah trail over Middle and South Carter, and then turn down at the Zeta pass, taking Carter Dome Trail to 19 Mile Brook trail.  The advantage of doing the loop in this direction was that I knew I would be able to find Camp Dodge from this way, and wasn't sure I would be able to in the other direction, which would mean a long road walk, either at the start or end of the hike. Also, I knew that the trail down has switchbacks, and that it 19 Mile Brook is lovely, and I thought that would be good at the end. And, I would climb the taller mountain first, with stronger legs. The downside was that there aren't a ton of views on this hike, and they were earlier on going in this direction.

Well, I'm very sure I wouldn't have found the cut through from Camp Dodge from the woods, because I missed it the first time from Camp Dodge, and wound up bushwalking to where I thought the trail was. For 30 minutes before I decided I was being stupid, could get lost out there and die, and should go back. And then I tried again and found the trail.  So I started on the hike at 8:30.  The killer was that I was like 6 feet away.  Lesson for self: I am not a person who bushwhacks. This is something I already knew, but I am re-reminded. The first half hour or so up the trail I stewed at myself, before deciding that I had to let it go, I couldn't believe that I wasted so much time, when I was at the trail early!

Because of the bushwhack I'm not totally sure how long the hike was, but I think the uphill was about 3.5 miles or so. It was all a steady uphill, but none of it was super steep. I stopped a few times to breathe and let my heart slow dow, but for the most part it was fine.  I kind of like hikes where it's not directly uphill, but more a gradual thing. I stopped at a trail junction because I remembered I had coffee jelly beans, and to eat a cheese sandwich.  I don't remember when I stopped with the cheese sandwiches on egg bread and started taking healthy bread with peanut butter, but I was so glad I went back to cheese. It was so good!  I felt reenergized and headed up!  There where some nice views going up Middle Carter, the top was more one of those mountains where you are like, "ok, it's going down, that must have been it."  Maybe somewhere there's a cairn, but I could it if I walk over.

I particularly loved the fact that there was a 2.7 mile ridgeline!  It was so nice. There was some bog, and a nice view where I ate the rest of my cheese sandwiches. There are these birds called Grey Jays that will eat out of your hand - I'm not really into feeding the birds like that, but a couple of them came by to see if I would give them some treats. One puffed up his chest at me - I think he was flirting! After my rest, I headed on to South Carter, which wasn't that much elevation gain, and had one limited view. As I was walking, I thought about doing Mount Hight as well, just so I could get the view, and have a perfect hike - I was really feeling good, nothing hurt and I had a lot of energy!

I got to the Zeta Pass and there were several through hikers there!  The are so cool.  One of them told me it took him 30 minutes to get down from Hight, and I decided I should just finish so I could shower and head home.  It was still 3.8 miles down, even if there were switchback.  It was again a really nice hike down, a little buggy in parts, but not too bad. A lot of the hike was pretty overgrown, and I did extra scrubbing for ticks in my shower.

All in all, a good day!

Wildcats Redux

I don't know why, but I was bothered by Wildcat.  I really wanted to climb it. I've been thinking about it for two weeks! I did not have that problem with Cannon, or with Monadnock the time I twisted my ankle and decided to go down. But, it was bugging me.  So, today, off I went for my second attempt, and success!

I decided that since I already climbed the steep trail, I wasn't going to do it again. I would just go up and down the ski trail. Which was a very good idea. No walking on the road, and way easier on the way up. It was hot, I even wore a hat!  Wildcat ski resort has a gondola that takes people up to the top, so of course I hiked up there, and there were all these people sitting around, picnicking. In my head, I judged a little, and then judged myself for judging.

Looking at the map, going from Wildcat D to A looks like a nice ridgeline, with a little up and down. I can assure you, it is not. I got up Wildcat D again, and then from there it just went down down down.  I was scared, because I had to come up again at the end-ish of my hike. And then there was a lot of up. Because, of course, there's Wildcat B and C to go over. And A to climb. Once again, I had some Dark Trail Thoughts and thought about turning around because it was hot and humid and I was sweating like a pig, and I was a little nervous about the whole thing of walking away from my car still, when so tired.  I decided to get to the top of Wildcat C and assess.  On C, I ran into two nice women who said that it was easier from there.  I decided I should push on because #1 I never want to go on the Wildcats again and #2 I had already come down D, and was going to have to go back up.  I'm so glad that I went for it because the two women were right, it got easier, and before I knew it I was on top of Wildcat!

There's a really pretty view spot from the top of Wildcat, which probably gets crowded and not-view-y on some days, but I actually had the place to myself!  There was a tree with a nice curve to sit in and two nice spots in the rock that were almost like chairs.  With a sharp fall off them, because the view point was at the edge of a cliff.  The view of Carter Notch and the hut was gorgeous!  It's a long way down, and you definitely wouldn't want to step wrong from the view spot, that's for sure.  I sat and ate for a little, but there were a ton of black flies, so after a bit I had to leave.

The hike back was much easier - I realized just how uphill the hike there had been.  By the time I got back to the gondola it was closed for the night, and I had the top of the ski slope to myself.  There was a sign that said it took about 45 minutes to hike down, but I want to correct that - it took me over an hour, and I think I was making pretty good speed.  After I finished, I went to Joe Dodge Lodge and took a shower - I love that place!

Mystic River Kayak

I was thinking about going back up to the Wildcats today and hiking up the ski slope and to Wildcat A, and then back down. That's about 9.6 miles and 6 hours of driving (I saw someone recently say it took them 6 hrs and 15 min, which I guess would take me about 7 hours?) But, I got a bone to pick with that mountain! In the end, though, I decided I don't have to drive to NH every weekend. Also, I have some friends coming tomorrow, and I needed to do some food shopping and such. And, I didn't want to be exhausted.  So, I decided to go kayaking!

I was going to go for a short kayak, because it's really hot out!  But, on the Mystic River there was a breeze, and water, and it was really nice, even though it was the Mystic River.  I got going and just kept going. In the end, I went further on this route than before, about 4 and 2/3 miles I think, so around 9 and 1/3 miles in total!  It took me 3 hours, so I was not making record speeds.  It was nice, though, there were some bands playing music, for some reason, water birds, and I went through the pond at the end to the fish steps.  It was really hot!

For July 4, I went with a friend to a barbecue which was really nice. There were a lot of fruity drinks, a really really good burger, and all kinds of delicious salads. And, this one guy there is in the midst of hiking the AT!!  He had to get off because he was sick, and then hurt his leg, but he was headed back today.  He said that if you hike like 15 miles a day, with one rest day a week, then you can do it in 6 months..?  And, that the bugs haven't been that bad (like in NH).  Hmmm.  He started by doing like three miles a day, and worked up to 20, you don't have to be all gang buster on the first day.

I went home and was thinking about watching the fireworks on TV, but the Boston ones were only on Bloomberg TV, and you had to pay for more than 30 minutes.  The only ones that I could watch were the DC ones, and I refuse to be a part of the Trump Show.  So, I made a last minute decision and went.  I went a new way - I parked in the same parking lot as usual, but walked to a different spot so it was only a mile walk. After, though, the police wouldn't let me turn left, and so it took a while to get home, even with my close parking.  The fireworks were amazing, totally worth it, and I needed the walk after so much eating.

Wildcat D (but not A)

The plan for today was the Wildcats. I was going to get up super early, drive to NH, climb the Wildcats, and stay with my friends in North Conway. Well, I did drive to NH and summit one of the Wildcats, so part of my day went correctly.  But, also there was weather and black flies. And the hike up Wildcat D was a killer!  Oh, and I left at 6:30 am instead of earlier, like I hoped...

I did some research on the Wildcats, and learned that the hike up is super steep (it is). Which I think in some ways is harder for going down.  I learned that you can hike down the ski slope on a trail there, and it's less steep, so that's what I decided to do!  Taking that route made it a longer hike - it's supposed to be 8.4 miles out and back to Wildcat (you get to Wildcat D on the way), but with the ski route you have to walk 1.75 miles from the ski resort to the trail up, and the trail down is .7 miles longer.  I thought it would be worth it, and I was right!

I parked at the ski resort because #1 I wanted to make sure I could hike down, since the trail isn't on maps and #2 I had to walk .75 mile on the road, and then 1 mile on a pretty flat trail, and I thought that would be awful at the end of the hike (absolutely correct. The walk at the start was fine. I would have cried at the end.)  The trail up was just steep!  At one point, there were actually wood steps attached to the rocks so you could get up:

Some of the hike was pretty rock climb-y, which was fun, but then some was just exhausting.  And, there are still black flies out! Why? (Global warming? Probably...) So, it was hard to sit and breathe for a few minutes in the times when I really wanted to.  I was doing pretty well, taking my time and taking it slow, but after about an hour, I could feel my energy starting to drain.  I wound up taking some breaks, eating, and looking at the view.  Fortunately it was windy out, so any exposed area was not bad with the flies.  The views were amazing!

That's the road that I walked down!  And, in the other direction there are more mountains!

Anyhow, it was also (I later learned) 97% humidity (think Sea World): I was sucking down water!  I was pretty happy when I saw the top of the ski resort gondola - that's between peaks D and E.  I sat and at pretty much an entire container of pringles and a power bar, and then climbed to the top of D.  There's a lookout at the top, and of course there were other people up there (even though I'd seen about 10 people all day). It turned out that the other hikers were thru hiking the AT, going south!  Cool. We chatted for a few and the went on their way.

I'd decided that I would make a final decision about hiking the 4 miles (2 out, 2 back) to wildcat A when I got to D, but I was so tired, I knew I should go down.  I also had gone through over 1.5 liters of water.  It was a bummer, because I'd done the hard part already, but I know it was the right choice. I hiked down the trail on the ski slope (which I was happy was dirt, so hopefully no ticks like in grass), got into my car, and drove to the Joe Dodge Lodge where I drank a gatorade and took a shower.  My friends wound up not coming up for the weekend, and I decided to just drive home, even though it's 3 hours. I'm glad I did, I'm on the couch with my cats now!

I think for Wildcat A I will go from the other direction, stay at the Carter Hut, and that will hopefully be nice - and I won't have to do that first uphill!

Osceola and East Osceola

It was a beautiful day today, perfect for hiking!  I slept until 8:30 because I was tired from yesterday's climbing, bit of a mistake.  I got to the mountain at about 11:30 ish, I had to park kind of far away from the trail head (I didn't realize how far until I finished and was so scared that my car was gone, but no - I just had to keep walking. I had it worked out in my head that I was going to cry if that happened.)  Anyhow, it's 3.2 miles to the top of Osceola, and there are switchbacks! So, it's a pretty OK hike, not too hard, though of course it's a 4000 footer (I think the trail starts pretty high up).

I need to do more aerobic exercise, because I was pretty tired hiking up, and needed to stop several times and breath and listen to my heart get slower.  But, I left at 11:45 and got to the top at 2:01!  Which is not bad!  My plan was to stop and rest, eat a sandwich, and then go over to East Osceola.  Which I wasn't excited about doing, but it was what I went there for... It's a mile to East Osceola, but the hardest mile of the hike. The only cool think about it is there's this part called "The Chimney" that's pretty much rock climbing. You can go down a more gradual way, but then I climbed up. Super fun! I would say about a 5.4 or so, maybe outside 5.2-5.3. Not hard, but no rope and it was pretty high.  And I enjoyed that!  East Osceola itself, though, not so much.  It's a pile of rocks with no view. There were so many bugs today, I looked at it, was like, "yup, made it," peed in the woods, and then left.  I had planned to save it for last, so I could end where I started - I'm so glad I didn't!

I got back to Osceola and had the place to myself!  I'm sure that never happens, there were like 30 people up there when I was there the first time.  I was so tired, and there were all these bugs (probably why it was empty) that I just lay on my back, spread eagle, on the ledge for a minute, waving my hands around my head to keep the mosquitos away.  Next thing I know, a red cross helicopter is flying towards the ledge and I was like "that can't be good."  I got up to let them land, and they came close, and then waved, and then I realized they were coming to rescue me.  I almost wished they had, but then I couldn't count it.  Maybe it was practice, because they were there for a while.

The way down was both nice, and torture. It's a really nice trail, and I would totally do Osceola again. Like I said, switchbacks. There's some nice granite slab, and I practiced trusting my feet. I was low on water, and had to stop to filter more.  As I got lower, there were more and more bugs, until they were everywhere, even though I was wearing DEET. It became so miserable. Because I can almost ignore sore feet, but the bugs!  At one point I thought I was close to the parking lot, but then I realized I was at the last switchback, which took me a half hour to hike up to.  I was so sad. But, I just kept reminding myself I would be blogging about it before I knew it.  After, I stopped at a convenience store and bought a pint of gatorade and drank it all.  I was sweating so much!

So, tough one - Osceola would definitely do again.  East Osceola, not so much. No more hiking until the black flies are gone. But, more aerobics.

Red Rocks

Third outdoor climbing of the season - I've gone a couple times behind the Chestnut Hill mall after work, but this was the first full day.  I went with a friend to Red Rocks in Ipswich, which was a new place for us.  As will all new crags, there were a few disasters, such as we had the wrong address and went to the wrong place, there was a lot of looking the place - it was frustrating.  Then, we got there and went to set up our rope and this RUDE Russian dude, I think his name was Alex, but we will call him Boris, set up his stuff on our route.  He was all "I have static rope. Quick. Easy to set up." Climbing mansplaining. Then he and his friends climbed it first and after, one of his friends had to go, and he "graciously" left his stuff up, on our rope.  His friend was like "you're such a good guy."  HA! My friend and I laughed really hard. 

I did 6 climbs, and I only freaked out a little on the last one. They have bolts there, which is nice. It's really easy to set up, though some of the bolts were really close to the edge (scary).  There was one part that was kind of hard, but we had to go up it 3 times, and I got it clean the last time :)  The last route, the rope got so tangled, and then it got caught in a crack, and I had to rappel down and untangle it. And that sketched me out a little.

Always with climbing, you do 6 climbs and it takes the entire day. WTF?

Tomorrow the goal is to hike the Osceolas.

Crossfit again!

I've been missing crossfit a little. Weird. So, I finally decided to suck it up and go. There is one - one nation - that has a "beginner WOD," which I thought would be a good reentry.  And, it has three locations, two of which are pretty accessible for me.  So, I went!

Of course, it was not a beginner WOD, and it wasn't a good reentry.  It was so hard, there was no lifting, and I had to run a mile.  And I am even slower than I used to be.  I mean, I think soon I will be running backwards.

It was nice to be back - it all seemed familiar.  And full of things I couldn't do.  The WOD included handstand push-ups (can't do), strict pull ups (can't do) and running (previously mentioned).  I can't find an online posting of their WOD anywhere.  And yet, when I finished I felt like I had a good workout, and I would be sore tomorrow.

We started with some running - 100 meters, 100 meters and then 200 meters. Yup, I was last every time.

WOD: 21-15-9
Handstand Push-ups (I lifted two 12 pound dumbbells)
run 400 meters
strict pull-ups (I used bands and only did 15 the first round)

My time 15:40.

After we had two tabata rounds:
Alternate with your partner: plank/bandy triceps (8 rounds of each)
Alternate with your partner: side plank/bandy forearms (4 rounds of each)

After, as I was driving home, I was so tired and hungry that I think I may have gone the wrong way down a one-way street.  Oops.

I think I will try for once a week/3 times a month and see how it goes.

Deck-ish

I broke my no spending ban on the first day, so that wouldn't count as a success I guess.  But, there's this spot that I've been wanting to make a little deck for a while, so I can go sit outside and drink coffee and read a book, and today I was like, fuck it, I'm doing it.  So, I bought cinder blocks, sand, etc and leveled out an area and kind of made a deck.  It's a little wobbly, I'm not going to lie.  But I think it will be OK.  I'll take a picture tomorrow after it rains.  I'm so tired and my entire body hurts.

Mt. Watatic again

I was going to do Pack Monadnock and North Pack today, but I woke up at 5 am with a headache which I think was a mini migraine.  I took some drugs and went back to bed, but knew a big hike wasn't a good idea.  Tomorrow I'm going climbing (I tried to get my friend to change days, but she had plans for today, so no dice).  Then, I saw a hike for this evening at Mt Watatic, for 5 pm, and I thought "perfect!"  And it was! (except the bugs.)

There were 19 of us, which is a pretty big group.  We had our starting pow wow, and one guy arrived in jeans and another was like "this is my first hike since my heart attack."  I have nitroglycerin around my neck.  We were all like "ummmmm...." So, I thought it was going to be a slow one, but nope.  We pretty much jogged up the mountain, sat on top for an hour, and then jogged back down.  I get so competitive with the big groups, it's funny, I want to be up front if possible, so I was puffing along on the way up. We left the parking lot at like 5, and got up to the top around 6, with several pauses to let people catch up.

I brought a peanut butter and nutella sandwich, an orange, and cashews, and they were delicious. One guy in the group made brownies with things like beans.  They weren't bad.  He said he had a sweet potato brownie recipe, I'm going to have to do some googling.  And then after a while we jogged down, which took about 45 minutes.  There were so many bugs, I got down and was like "thanks for the hike. Bye."

On Saturday morning I did this new workout that was rowing and weights.  I kind of liked it!  I didn't think that it was so hard, but then my entire body hurts now, so I think it was a pretty good workout!  This guy on the hiking trip today called when you work out too much and are sore an "exercise hangover," which is what I think I might have had.  I like the term! And the studio. I will definitely do again!  It's closer to the last rowing studio - Arlington.

I've decided to do a shopping freeze for the summer, Memorial Day to Labor Day.  I've realized that I've been spending money kind of carelessly.  I have so much stuff, I'm not really sure why I keep feeling like I need more.  So, I'm going to try to take the summer off superfluous spending.  I can still buy food - including fresh fruits and veggies, but less Whole Foods and more Trader Joes/Market Basket/Wegmans. No more clothes, especially expensive work out clothes. No more expensive slices of pizza or Kumbacha that I don't finish.  We will see how it goes.

Carter Dome

I just did the most miserable hike to Carter Dome.  Least favorite so far, and that includes Owl's Head.  Two thumbs down. Did not like.  The sad thing is that it should have been a nice hike, but SNOW.  The first 3.6 miles were actually quite lovely, it was like the mountain was lulling me into complacency. But once I got up to the Zeta Pass, it all went downhill (not literally, of course).

I had planned this a couple months ago, making two critical mistakes.  First, I didn't realize that it was Mother's Day weekend, and I would need to get to Canton for 2:30 lunch today.  Second, I ignored trail reports online that said that the hiking was awful due to the snow melting but not being gone above 3000 feet.  I should have stayed at home on the couch, even though I payed for the hut.  I would have spent the same amount of money not being miserable.

Anyhow, the first 1.9 miles was just lovely, a gentle slope uphill.  I came to an intersection where I could go left and have the option to do South Carter as well as Carter Dome, or I could go right, and stop at the hut and leave the unnecessary things in my backpack before going to the top.  I was seduced by the lovely path, and went left, hoping to bag two peeks.  For the next 1.7 miles, I was quite happy with my choice.  Carter Dome trail has switchbacks! Something you never see in NH; usually you just hike straight up the mountain. I got to the snow line and there were these two women who tried to talk me into going down - they said they'd been hiking since 7 am that morning and were worried about making it down by dark - that the hike was awful and basically that I was going to die out there.  They were pretty persistent, but then I was like "I'm staying at the hut" and they chilled out and I kept going.

Then I got to the pass.  There were two guys there eating salami, about to head down.  They were both exhausted; they also said that the ridge line was so horrible and they had post holed up to their waists several times each.  I gave the South Carter plan and decided to head for the Dome and the Hut. Everyone was right, it was awful.  I thought about turning back and just heading down a couple times, it was so bad.  One time I post holed to my waist and almost lost my boot in the hole!  That would have been a disaster!  It was really sketchy; I was by myself, probably no one else would be coming through that day, and it wasn't that safe.  I pushed on, carefully, tapping the snow with my hiking pole before stepping, or stepping in other people's tracks.  Even then, I still post holed a lot.  It took me over an hour to go .8 mile.  At one point, I saw another hiker, and she was like "you're almost at Carter Dome!" But I wasn't.  It was another .4 mile, which took about a half hour.  By the time I got to the top, I was soo exhausted, I looked at the view for like 30 seconds - I was like "I bet there's rock under where I'm standing and if it was summer I would sit right here and eat." But, I didn't dare go off the trail to sit down because I think the snow was like 6 feet deep.  So I kept walking. When I finally saw the cairn at the top I was so happy!

Even though there was no view, I still sat and ate on the cairn.  I rested for a little bit, but then I had to get going because it was like 5:30, I had 1.2 miles to the hut, and I wanted to be there before dark.   I walked for about a half hour, when I got to a ledge and could see the hut!  I was sooo happy, but at the same time it was so far away, and so far down.  The trail after that was really downhill.  There was more snow and some places it was so steep, I butt slid down.  Then, there was dirt!  I almost wanted to be like the Pope and kiss it.  Still, it was so far down. At one point the snow came back, and I post holed and almost thought I would break my ankle.  But finally, I got down.  I was so happy to be in that hut! It was only me, the caretaker, and a couple there for the night.  I ate an entire tin of pringles, some noodle soup, and went to bed.

The next day, I got up at 6:45 am, ate breakfast, packed up, and hit the trail by 7:30 (it's all so slow in the woods).  The first mile was mud, snow, crappy hiking.  Then, suddenly it stopped and it was all lovely again!  I was so excited!  But my legs were killing me, and I had to rush down to get to my mother's.  When I saw my car, I wanted to cry a little.  I was 10 minutes late for lunch, which wasn't that bad.

PS Additional info - when I was close to the top there was a sign for the junction of Mt Hite and Carter trail and it was so covered in snow that only the actual sign showed.

Things that  I did well:
brought baggies that I was able to wear in my boots when they got wet
didn't try for the extra mountain
bought a protein bar for when I felt especially exhausted

Things that I didn't do well:
changed my plan on the trail
didn't charge the batteries in my headlamp
started too late (7 am)
didn't listed to trail reports

I think I have to get back to lifting heavy weights.  These little weights for multiple reps suck, and I don't think it's as good as doing squats.  Plus, then I will have something else to blog about.

Great Blue Hill

Tomorrow I'm seeing a dermatologist for the itchiness on my skin (sorry to any non-Kit readers that may stumble by and read this - I know, TMI), and I felt like I needed to really be itchy.  So, I decided to go for a hike.  I was thinking about a big NH one, but to be honest I didn't feel like the drive, and I decided that the Blue Hills could work.  And it did.  So itchy right now, not sure if I will sleep!

Great Blue Hill is 640 feet, which is not a 4000 footer for sure :)  It's only like 500 feet of elevation gain!  To make it a good workout, I went down the back side, walked a little more, and then climbed it a second time.  Still only about 1000 feet of elevation gain on that hill, though there were a bunch of others on the trail.  Maybe the whole thing was about half the size of Monadnock in elevation?

The last few days were Passover (it still is, to be technical).  My sister cooked the first night, and once again I ate two matzo balls and regretted it.  When will I ever learn??

This Friday I'm giving a 15-20 minute talk at a dinner on What Women's Global Health Means To Me.  I guess that's what directors do.  Nervous.

Monadnock

Spring is finally here, it's Patriot's Day weekend!  I was supposed to go climbing outside yesterday, but it was raining. Boo.  Wound up inside.  But today I was determined to get some fresh air.  Also, we are having a step challenge at work, so I wanted to got in some steps.  And I did!  18423.  Not bad.

I'm going to a concert tonight (nothing too exciting, though, but they make their own wine).  So, I had to be back early.  Monadnock seemed like a good choice. I hadn't been there in a while, also.  I was going to be lame and do White Dot/White Cross, the two most trafficked trails, but my GPS was against this idea.  It took me to halfway house and white arrow trail, which I have to admit I was happy about.

I could not find my Monadnock map, which is stupid to go hiking without a map. But, I figured that since I was going up White Dot/White Cross I would get a new one.  Little flaw in the logic.  Fortunately there was a map at the bottom, and I took a picture.  I've hiked this trail before - there aren't a lot of turns.  You can either start by going up an access road, or going on a trail through the woods.  The nice thing is that most people take the road, and so the trail is empty.  I had a really nice walk in the woods.  Once you meet up with this house on the mountain (I have no idea how they got to build their house there), you get to a real trail.  There's a sign that the summit is one mile, but that's soo deceptive.  There was a ton of ice on the trail, and even though I had brought my spikes I was scared.  I wished I had my crampons.  In the end I went around some of it.  The top is rocky and always a little hard.  But the summit is so worth it, I had a peanut butter sandwich and an orange, and admired the view.

On the way down my knees were killing me for some reason, and the ice is so much worse.  It took me forever to get down.  I had dark trail thoughts, and was sure I must have torn my meniscus or something (now that I'm on the couch, I don't think it's that).  Ouch knees!

All and all, though, a very good use of a day :)