Mt. Paugus

I've been kind of cranky lately and thought a good hike might help - I think it did! A friend of mine did Mt. Paugus recently and really loved it. It's one of the 52 with a view, it's 8 miles long and 2500 feet elevation gain - so a solid hike but not killer, and it's a 2 hr 20 minute drive each way, which is a lot but not so bad. So, I decided to check it out.

For some weird reason I woke up a little before 5 am. On a normal day I guess I would have just gone back to sleep, but today I was ready, got up, and left a little after 5. I've been listening to hamnet, and that made the ride go so much faster. Before I knew it I was up there. I stopped for gas, so by the time I parked it was a little after 7:30, which I guess is the time everyone gets there? So many cars arrived right around the same time as me - I was worried. I also thought I had been there before, and I had - it's also the start of Passaconaway. I was so relieved to realize everyone else was hiking a different mountain. Anyhow, after a stop in what has to have been the cleanest portapotty ever, changing boots and being a little OCD I started off. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day - nice and cool in the morning, though it kept getting warmer throughout the day. The hike I did had a loop option, which I did going up Kelly and down old Mast road (which I felt was the right way to do it). The loop was about half the hike, there was a little bit at the start that was combined, and the last 2 miles or so are both on the same path. The walk up Kelly was so nice - it was a steady uphill, but not so hard that it was exhausting or anything. There was a creek next to the trail, everything was super green, the trail didn't have a ton of boulders on it, and the light was coming through the trees and looking shiny. For most of the hike up the trail lulled me into a false sense of security that it was going to be pretty moderate - ha! The last mile or so was pretty tough - I was getting hungry also, and so it just seemed to take forever. The worst moment of the hike was when I realized that although it was 8.1 miles, it is a loop, so that means it could be more than 4.05 miles up. Anyhow, I got up to the top and, although I had only seen one other person that day, there were three people and a very nice dog up there. And like a million bugs. I sat where they had been sitting, and it was really nice (except for the bugs), but I think I may have missed the nice view. Dope. I think I need to get the 52 with a view book if I'm going to do the rest of them, which I think I may.

I had a cheese and avocado sandwich on the delicious bread from bread obsession and an apple. But it was so buggy that I only wound up sitting up top for about 20 minutes. Which I knew might happen, so I was prepared to not be upset about it, which I wasn't. 

I thought the way down was going to be hard because I was kind of dying on the way up, but it was actually really nice. There were a few rocky areas, but for the most part it was all a dirt path, and it had switchbacks. The one down side to it was that there were 500 feet of elevation gain on the way down because the trail goes over a little peak. I thought that was going to suck, and it did. I was so glad when I was done with it. The way down was nice too, but I think I liked the way up more. 

I got back to my car and it was so so hot. I realized that it actually was pretty warm out. Which I should have know because I was sweating like a pig, and really grose. Anyhow, with all the bugs I turned the car on and the ac on and let it run while I changed my shoes and such outside with the door closed. By the drive back I was starting to get tired and stressed about the other drivers, but I bought some energy drink and a snack and held it together until I got home. Two thumbs up, would recommend!

Saving lives

I've done the Charles River swim three times now, and liked it less and less each time. The thing is that you have to swim a mile, and that's far for me. But they do have really nice tshirts. So, this year I signed up to volunteer on the safety team as a kayaker. And I rescued someone!

The hardest part of the volunteering was that you were meant to arrive at 6:30 am, which is really early for me. I just got a new folding bike (yay!) and so the plan was to ride the bike to the hatchshell instead of driving since it would take about the same and cost way less. Surprisingly I actually woke up at 5:30 and was ready to get up, so it wasn't that hard to leave at 6:10 and get there at 6:30. It's so much nicer than riding a blue bike - they are very convenient, but super clunky and heavy.

I was assigned to share a kayak with a lifeguard, and when I saw her standing on the dock I went over and introduced myself. We stood around together waiting for the safety briefing, but not really talking because it was just about 7 am. Then they took us by boat to where the kayaks are (I thought they were across the river, but actually they were at the community sailing place right next door). For some reason, though, I wound up switched out of the boat with the nice quiet lifeguard and being put in one with this other woman. We got in our kayak and instead of using her kayak paddle like a kayak paddle, she used it as a canoe paddle, doing 5 strokes or so per side before switching to the other side (Yes, I counted, because I was so surprised). So, of course we were zig zagging along, and then occasionally she would stick her oar in the water to steer. In my head I was like "and this is why I don't do team sports."

Anyhow, we got set up in our zone and soon the swimmers were off. The ones in front were so fast! It was amazing. And soon the big group was coming through. We were sitting and watching everyone when I spotted a swimmer just hanging out and yelling for help. And we were off - fortunately we were supposed to raise a paddle to get the attention of the safety boat, so I told the woman to hold her paddle up while I rowed. At one point she was bringing it down and I was like "lift it back up" because the last thing I wanted when someone was struggling was for her to take us zig zagging around. But then she was all "you are going too fast, you are going to hit her!" and slowing us down (I was not going to hit her, and even if I came close to her it would be better than having her drown). Anyhow, the woman was OK, she just had a cramp and wasn't feeling well. She grabbed onto the side of the kayak while the rescue boat came over. Another woman who was just tired of swimming but looked fine got in with her. So that was my save :)

A friend of mine was swimming and she was near the end of the pack. I found her and she was going a little off course - I wanted to spot her in, because there were plenty of extra kayakers so we could do that, but of course Ms. ZigZag couldn't help with that. I was so glad to get back to the paddle place and get out of that boat with her.

After my friend took me to Burlington because my car was in the shop there and she doesn't live that far away. But then it turned out that although it was about noon, my car wasn't going to be ready until like 4. It was really hot out and I didn't want to waste my Saturday, so I decided to ride the 12.5 miles home. I questioned my life choices for a bit, but actually it wasn't that bad - I had been thinking I would bike out to get my car, but decided not to because it was so uphill. But the way home was mostly downhill, which was awesome. Today I'm pooped.

Climbed a 5.11 B!

After the tough row I was so tired. I woke up in the middle of the night with my legs and back twitching and had to take some advil and a hot shower before I could fall back to sleep. Then Friday I was tired all day and instead of going to yoga I took a nap. It was pretty brutal.

Today it's been raining all day and super windy, perfect couch weather for the morning. In the afternoon I met a friend at the climbing gym and had an awesome climb! We started with a 5.8 which went quite well, then a 5.9, also clean. There was a new route that was labeled "5.Friday" which who knows what that means, but it looked interesting so I tried it. It was hard. Especially there were a couple of moves that were really difficult. But also it was pretty fun. After I did a 5.10a - clean until the overhangy bit, and two 5.10b's, both clean (though I have done them before and don't really think they are 5.10b's). Then there as a pretty nice looking 5.9, which I had to take a break on because my arms were becoming toast. After, I was going to do this other 5.10a, but right by it there was a 5.11b that didn't look that hard. It was kind of pinchy and fiddly, but not overhung, so I decided to try it. It was definitely hard, required a lot of rests, and wasn't pretty, but I got up it! I think if I climbed it earlier in the session I could have done it with a few lest rests and slightly less ugly. I'm going climbing with a friend on Thursday, so I'm going to try to get it again.

I can definitely tell that all this rowing is making me stronger, especially my legs. There were a few moves that were basically getting up from a one-legged squat. So, I felt really good about that. It's really nice to be back into climbing regularly again.

Bad Day of Rowing

The learn to row class finished and four participants registered for the regular rowing, so now we have a novice boat. Which of course I am in. I thought it would be great because we would have time to focus on things like early roll ups and such, but so far it completely sucks. It's only been two rows, so hopefully it will get better.

Today I was actually in the five seat! I don't get be in the center of the engine room often, so I was pretty psyched about it. It was also super windy, which kind of sucked. The thing that was no fun, though, was that we were down to starboard the entire row, so the release my oar was dragging on the water. It was so hard, and after a while it just made me so cranky. By the end I was so glad to get out of the boat.

We went over all the ways that the boat gets offset - different catch timing, different handle heights on the recovery and something else and tried to focus on them individually. Occasionally it improved for a few strokes, but then it went back to how it was. Which was sucky. By the end I was so annoyed I didn't want to focus on technique or timing, I just wanted to snarl at people. But I didn't. I hope we can improve, because it would be a whole lot of no fun to row like this for the rest of the season. 

Cox

Today was my first time coxing - we all survived, I didn't hit a bridge, and I even managed to get us back to the dock, so I'm considering that a win! We have a few people who cox sometimes, but mostly we just have to take turns doing it. I knew it was coming, and now I'm glad it's over with for a bit :)

I was assigned to cox in a 4, which I think was easier in some ways because there are fewer people in the boat to get confused about and because you sit up front and can see really well. It's also harder because you are up front and can't see the rowers. I kind of forgot, though, that the bow was right behind me and the stern was in the back because I was in a different space, which was really confusing. Otherwise, though, I did get everyone to turn correctly and figured out the steering of the boat pretty well.

I arrived a little early and asked someone for help with it, since I had never coxed before. She showed me where to get the cox box, headset, basket and emergency kit. And then she was like "all set!?" and I was like "no! How do I steer the boat?", so we went over and she showed me how to plug everything in and steer. When I got into the boat I realized how small the cox spot was and had to go get something to sit on - it's clearly not designed for a person with hips. Fortunately for me, while I was trying to get settled one of the other rowers accidentally set her boat adrift, and so we had to wait for her to catch it and get in, etc. 

At first I was super unsure about what was going on and how to steer, and about all the commands for the drills. And, I kept thinking I was going to hit the other boat. So things were a little slow. But once I got the hang of it we did a lot better. The woman who was in bow gave me some reminders, in a very nice way, and fortunately the workout was mostly just rowing at a steady state. I even was able to share the stroke rate with the rowers, and sometimes call the power 10's correctly. I have to say that they were really well balanced and in rhythm, especially once we got settled in - it turned out to be a good row.

There is a swan's nest right by one of the bridges and every time we have gone by there for the last few weeks there has been a swan sitting on eggs. I keep waiting for her to be either gone or sitting with her babies, but she was still there. I'm loving that it's definitely spring!

Put away the dryrobe

It's officially spring/summer - I put my dry robe away in the attic for the season and got out my summer mumu!  It was actually in the high 80's today and so the water at the lake is up to 68 - that's weather that most people can swim in, not just weirdos. 

On Tuesday it's supposed to get up into the 90's, so I decided that this weekend was a good time to start preparing for summer. I went to get my ac down from the attic, and once again instead of lowering it down I dropped it. Dope. I was googling if I could still use it because I couldn't remember what I did last year, but then I started reading that I should actually replace it because ac's are so much more efficient now than the were 10 years ago. So, today I did parkour, then I bought a new ac and installed it, then I went to the lake. Of course all the parking was full and it was a zoo there. Some of my friends have a folding bike, so they were able to park a mile a way easily, and I decided that I need one of those too - not just for the lake but also to leave a spot for hiking. So, I ordered one - we'll see how that goes, and if it's any better than bluebikes.

Also this weekend I put some plants in my garden. I did cherry tomatos, because they are the best. And kale, which we can all agree isn't the best, but it's good for you. And a sage plant because I feel like they are hardy. My rosemary came back from last year and I already planted snow peas. And of course the raspberries and horseradish returned. I still have a little space so I have to decide what else to put in - maybe tomatillos because they always grow so well? 

I took a personal day on Friday and was going to hike Lafayette and stay at the hut up there, but the weather report was saying sleet and freezing rain for Friday, as well as 30-40 mph winds for Saturday, so I stayed home and was productive in terms of getting my car inspected and renewing my parking permit. So, the hut is still on the bucket list. 

Rowing Port

I looked on the spreadsheet for seat assignments today and I was in the 2 seat - port side! I was sure it must be a mistake, but every time I looked I was still port. Even after the wind picked up and the singles and doubles had to be moved to an 8 and other people were rearranged, I was still port. But, I decided it would be good for me and didn't say anything. The irony was that the woman in the 3 seat was a port rower, and this was her first time on starboard!

Anyhow, it was super windy at the water and we were floundering around a lot, especially since I was doing things all wrong - for example holding before tapping down and keeping my oar handle too high. It was easier to feather with my left hand, but my whole body was confused because I was twisting and pulling opposite. By the end of the hour I sort of got it on port side, though I was still a little funky. 

Having rowed port, though, I think I should change myself to row both sides because I could feel that I was stronger on the other side, and if I'm doing this for fitness then I should really try to be balanced. But I'll make that change for next week, because it was really hard.

I took a personal day for Friday since I need to use them before I lose them, and I was going to hike Lafayette and stay at Greenleaf, but it says there will be sleet and a wintery mix, followed by rain on Friday and then winds up to 40 mph on Saturday. Maybe this makes me a fair weather hiker, but I think it makes me smart - I cancelled and am planning to sit on my couch with the cats instead.