No room at the Inn.

Started driving at a bit after 7 this morning and with only a couple of stops I got to Capitol Reef National Park right about 4pm. Just in time to be told they had given the last campsite away five minutes prior to my arrival. Dang. My only consolation being I was able to get my senior pass at the visitor center, the lifetime pass! And for only ten bucks - Such a deal. 

The only options I had were to head back west, or drive east till I reached the park boundary and camp wherever I could find a nice place to park. My first spot was on a bluff with a 360 degree view. It was super windy and I was there for an hour before I gave up as that kind of wind is unnerving for me. 

Choice number two was out of the wind and tucked up into a side canyon off the road. It is much nicer and I'm the only one here. Beautiful sunset, salad for dinner and off to sleep. Tomorrow Durango!

Day trip

Took a drive out to Mesa Falls today, making a nice loop into the country and back to Idaho Falls. 

While there I got to snuggle up with a grizzly bear, previously alive. She was about three years old when she met her demise but she's now a part of a bear educational exhibit. A great day. 

Neccia's making chili for dinner. Yum. 

Idaho Falls

Rain rain rain rain snow rain rain sun. That was the weather yesterday. I awoke early and simply put on my clothes, pulled out of my campsite and back onto the road. That's what I did yesterday, drive. 

I kept hoping I'd find a nice area to stop and walk but the first part of the day was in fairly dense woods then open farmland or high desert scrub. I guess I could have just walked along a country road somewhere but that held no appeal. 

At some point in the day I finally called the friend I was planning to visit on Friday and asked if I could come early. Fortunately she said yes and after many long hours driving I arrive at her place in Idaho Falls. The good news is the last couple of hours of the driving day included some beautiful sun/cloud combinations.

 

The even better news is that N had French Onion Soup and salad waiting for me when I arrived. YUM. 

Oh, and I had breakfast at this place. 

The name was better than the food. 

Clyde Holiday campground

I had breakfast in Eugene, lunch in Sisters and dinner sitting in my van at this campground. In between I drove in the rain, took pictures of a PCT trailhead, wandered through the Painted Hills and hoped it would stop raining when I arrived here. It seems the last part wasn't to be. I hope to find a place to hike tomorrow as I need the exercise after sitting all day. 

It's gonna be chilly tonight!

Fun in Eugene

I'm having a great time here in Eugene, OR staying with old friends and seeing others. Tonight we'll be celebrating my birthday as well as my friend Aggie's as we both have the same b-day, 9/27, though she's one year older. Anyhow there will be BBQ dogs and burgers, baked beans and potato salad. With birthday ginger cake for desert. Yum!

I hiked on the Ridgeline trail this morning with the goal of submitting Spencer Butte at 2,062'. I did succeed (see above) but once on top the trail going down the other side was not clear. I heard voices coming up to the top and two runners came into view. I asked about the trail they were on (falsely assuming it was the official trail) and they said it was clear. As I dropped over the side I heard a parting comment from him saying,"it's steep!" Little did I know how right he was. Being conservative I'd say that 90% of this path was 45-60% grade and by the time I got down my legs were shaking and I was a sweat soaked pile of nerves. Holy cow! Clearly, I was not on "the official trail". While I didn't manage to hike the whole seven miles I certainly managed a good workout. I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.

This image doesn't do the steepness of the trail justice. No falls, whoopie!

Travel plans

Since my late summer backpack trip got burned out (the Rim fire in Yosemite) I've had to come up with something else and just decided to take the new vehicle for a big drive. The plan is to head north to Eugene, OR and visit friends for a couple of days then drive east towards Idaho Falls, ID to visit another group of friends. Next down and over to Durango, CO and then to El Rito, NM to see folks there. Finally I'll be heading west to see Mom in So Cal, finally rolling back up to Santa Cruz one month later. In between all these places I am planning to find places to backpack, even if I am only able to make one or two night trips. I am sure I can find some interesting spots to check out! I must say I am really looking forward to seeing fall in the mountains... it's been a long time since I've seen Aspens turn flame yellow. Very nice.

On the hiking front I have bumped up my mileage to seven, still three days a week. I must confess however to missing the hike on Monday as I was dealing with being swarmed the previous day by yellow jackets. I think we counted 16 or 17 bite sites and even with tons of benedril the day before, I awoke on Monday with half my face swollen with my left eye completely shut. Needless to say I wasn't up for hiking but only for seeing the doc and getting something in my system to reduce the swelling. I was out for two full days and only felt as though I could be in the world this morning. Still two days of prednizone but most of the swelling is gone. Damn, I don't like yellow jackets.

This is right after I pulled a stinger off of my eyelid. I didn't take any later images because, well you know, it was UGLY!


I'm good now.


More from the road!

Here's the plan Stan...

I have approximately seven months till I take off from the Mexican border and I have some things to get done before that day arrives. Of course the food and resupplies will need planning, the gear refined and prepared but the most important thing I must do? Walk, walk and more walking. Walking in sun, wind, rain, cold, and mud. Walking with weight in my pack and in the clothes I intend to wear. Deal with the discomfort while training so the thought of being uncomfortable during the hike will be... ho hum, what else is new? Been there, done that. This is not only physical preparation but more importantly I think, psychological preparation for the trials ahead.

The plan is to walk, wearing a 10 pound pack, five miles, three days a week for one month. Each month thereafter I will increase the mileage by two miles and add 2.5 pounds to the pack. By late March I'll be carrying 25 pounds and walking 19 miles, three days a week. At the end of this training period I will have 1,027 miles under my feet. If this doesn't prepare me, nothing will. Fortunately I am only one week from upping my miles to seven so all is looking good on the mileage front. Hips are sore but my feet feel fine.

Here's an image of the weights I packaged in prep. It's simply play sand poured into old mailing envelopes and taped shut. There are lots of things about this kind of training that are out of my control but at least I can be clear about how much weight I am carrying.

One other piece of good news is that I've lost 16 pounds. My goal was to lose between 25 and 30 pounds so I am getting closer. Only 9 to go till I hit the sweet spot of 25. I could definitely live with this! Thirty would be even better but not necessary in the scheme of things.

So far, so good.