Friday, November 15, 2013

Dang!

It took me most of the week to recover from my weekend hike. This is a bummer as I have a hiking plan and this event took me out of my comfort zone. Which is sometimes good, but apparently not this time. Five days till I could walk without serious pain - I'll have to be a bit more cautious from now on out.

Earlier this week I met with a couple of local women I know who are planning to hike the PCT in 2014 and it seems like we are on the same general time schedule. Commitment is difficult for some of us (me) but it seems likely that we will start the trail together in April of next year. April first'ish if there isn't much snow, April 15th if there's the usual amount of snow. Until then, we wait. We are a bunch of older gals (me being the eldest, but perhaps not the wisest) and are under the impression that slower starts might be benificial. Just sayin.

Of course, I also have to consider my living situation and the animals I've taken on as caretaker. So I must find a good house sitter who likes rustic environments and two cats, not to mention watering and making sure one eats enough eggs to keep above water with the chickens. (We are getting an average of eight eggs a day right now.)

As a result of all this I am experiencing something uncomfortable for me. Yup, lack of control. It's crazy! I can't control the weather and I'm not a wizard. I'm worried I might not be able to find the perfect match in my housing situation, but I just have to put my best intentions out there and hope for the best. Cross your fingers for me.

One double yoke girl around here.
Aren't these kitties cute? Chance is on the left and his sister Mija to the right. Visually impared but sweet as can be. Also, sort of feral so you have to move slow or they'll scatter like blown leaves.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Mt Diablo hike

Holy cow - What a hike! On Saturday I joined 11 other folks to hike up to the summit of Mt. Diablo in the East Bay and this 12 mile hike kicked my butt. To be kind I will say there was about 3,300 foot elevation to get to the top from the spot where we parked the vehicles (and the corresponding elevation drop) so the fact that I can't walk well is probably reasonable. Some parts were probably 45% in grade and these were the ones that hurt on the way back down. Yikes. If I can hike this trail, even twice a month, then I should be able to hike the PCT… I've never seen a trail close to this kind of steepness before, where I wasn't wearing a helmet and attached to a harness.