Mt. San Jacinto July 27 2008

I don't even know where to begin.

I rode with my friends Gene and Jeremy to Palm Springs where we took the Aerial Tramway up to 8,500 feet elevation. It is the easiest way to climb Mt. San Jacinto but it certainly wasn't easy today. I am getting to that.

For the 2 or 3 people who have been reading my blog know, I have been fighting shin splints for quite some time. I have good days and bad days. Today began as a very bad day. Immediately upon our first steps into Long Valley, my legs were failing me. I had to stop repeatedly. I was holding back Gene and Jeremy and every step I took brought on more ferocious pain, especially my left leg. The pain was as intense as I have felt in my life. It took me probably 2 hours just to hike the 2 miles to Round Valley. At that point, I could see they were frustrated, and I certainly was too.

I made the decision to call it a day. I couldn't go any further and I was holding them back. Jeremy and Gene said they would reach the peak and meet me either in Round Valley or back at the Tram Station.

There were wide-ranging consequences of what I was going through. At that moment, it seemed clear to me that my days hiking were over. This meant Mt. Whitney was out, as well as the hike next weekend up San Gorgonio which corresponded with my birthday. This wasn't to be taken lightly. I love the outdoors and hiking if the main way you enjoy it.

A few others may know that I attemped to climb the peak in 1990 with my BSA troop. Only, my map was marked wrong and at the Wellman Divide I headed north instead of camping at Round Valley with my troop. I spent the night on the trail until Search and Rescue came looking for me. I knew I was close to the peak, and I didn't make it. It has bothered me all these years.

I found a rock to sit on and let my legs burns and cool down for the next 45 minutes. I needed every second of it, my left leg in particular was on fire. After a while, I grew weary of sitting there and I walked around a little, making a circle around the Round Valley meadow. I could see the peaks like Jean, Miller, and Cornell jutting skyward. It was frustrating to be grounded.

Earlier in the day, Gene and Jeremy made an observation. They thought I was walking flat-footed. This is not something I was apt to pay attention to because when you have muscle memory, you tend to let your body do it for you. With a little more range of motion in my left foot, I exaggerated a heel-toe walk to see if walking this way, if it were different than my normal gait, would help.

At first, there was little difference, but I made a curious decision. I would head up the trail to the Wellman Divide, to see how far I could get. It was only 1 mile, but climbed 700 feet making it very steep. At the same time I did this, an older gentleman hiked ahead of me and I noticed he was keeping a very slow pace - perfect for me. I followed behind him, careful to stop when he did. My shins still hurt, but it wasn't debilitating. After some patient time had passed, I saw us cross the creek and I realized I was almost to the junction. What a surprise! I could see the ridge just above me and at this time, I was up to 9700' elevation.

Then, the thought hit me. I am starting to feel better, my stamina is still good, what if? What if I could get higher up the trail to meet back up with Jeremy and Gene. I continued north, and I honestly felt a second wind I hadn't felt before. I moved as quickly as I could, and I believe it was a good pace because I passed a number of people who hiked ahead of me earlier in the day when I could barely walk. The distant peaks of Jean and Miller were surprisingly close. I kept going, and the thought finally hit me that I might catch them in time to make my own ascent.

Alas, I passed a group coming down who I encountered earlier in the day. They told me I was at 10,200'! I couldn't believe it, but what was more remarkable was that I was only 600 feet from the summit, in elevation. They thought I was only about 1 mile from the top. As luck would have it, I immediately ran into Jeremy and Gene who seemed generally shocked to see me so far up the trail. And I didn't have answers for them, I don't know what force it was that carried me that far but it was remarkable.

I immediately negotiated with them. They knew I wanted this climb for a lot of reasons and they decided I was close enough to do it. Even better, they decided to go back up with me. With my renewed energy, I put my focus on climbing and I think they would agree I kept up a good pace. Within minutes, we were doing the final rock scrambling up and unbelievably, improbably, I found myself on the summit of Mt. San Jacinto. After 18 years, there I was.

As many a hiker will tell you, when you make the summit, you are only halfway. So we had to get on with things and head down the mountain. The pace was good, with few breaks. Just a few to calm down everybody's legs and knees which were starting to ache. I even found the rock I slept on 18 years ago and showed it to Jeremy and Gene. I still remembered that rock.

Coming down, we ran into a lady named Christine (Kristine?), who had passed me and hiked near Jeremy and Gene most of the day. She appeared to be struggling and her friend had left her behind. She had her hands to her head in a clear sign of a headache. As it turned out, she had run out of water which is dangerous in the mountains. We gave her a bottle of water, a Clif bar, and a couple of Jeremy's naproxen. I hope she made it through okay. She was quite beautiful and asked us for a business card to thank us, only I was too dense to think to get her phone number or email address. The usual for me. I did have the pleasure of lecturing her friend on leaving her behind. What a jerk. You don't leave people behind in the wilderness.

I did fill out a permit card with my name, phone, and email but alas, I never saw her again. A shame.

Now that the peak is done, I really am in a quandary. Is my way of walking causing my leg problems? Is it that simple a solution? Can I realistically do San Gorgonio next weekend, with the first 4 miles wearing a full backpack? I am very nervous about that, and Whitney is only 3 weeks away. Next weekend will be test.

Today, I failed and then passed with flying colors. What a strange world. On the Whitney confidence scale, I would say I am a 3 right now.

Cowles Mountain

No good news to report here. My time was the worst yet. My shin splints were at their worst. Obviously, I am doing something wrong that I have not put my finger on yet. I am guessing it has to do with properly stretching and warming up. Still, it seems strange that I can climb one mountain on one day without issues and then be nearly debilitated on the next day.

I started the hike at 5:14 and summited at 6:40. Those 86 minutes are the slowest yet. I made it down at 7:26 PM. The 46 minutes down the hill are about the same time I usually make it.

I see myself always getting off to such a slow start, and I realize how much time I could cut if I could make it up without complications. I feel like I know every single turn on the trail up to Cowles Mountain. It should be getting easier. Today is a rest day, and one I plan to enjoy. After work, I am going to do some additional exercises that I hope will help, and more stretching to see if that helps. I am planning to go back up the mountain Wednesday evening, and we will just have to see how I feel.

I would say the Whitney confidence scale is back down to a 2.

Tahquitz Peak

It was a dark and stormy day...Jeremy and I climbed Tahquitz Peak. For me, it was my 2nd ascent up the peak and my first in over 10 years. As for the usual protocol, I got off to a very slow start. Jeremy was patient with me, and it prevented me from getting shin splints on the hike.

The weather was interesting, with gusts of wind blowing clouds over the peak and from the south. I was wearing a shirt with no sleeves, so the gusts were quite cold. There were intermittent rains. We found a tree to huddle under to let them pass.

The trail was measured at 3.6 miles with a '2400 elevation gain. It did not feel like a steep trail though and that either means the mileage is mismeasured on the trail or I am starting to be more confident going up the trail. I won't give myself any credit, it is probably the former.

The trail roughly followed the South Ridge that leads up to the peak. Approximately 2 miles into the hike, it moved across the West face of Tahquitz with steep switchbacks leading all the way to the top.

One pleasant surprise was to find the Fire Lookout manned. They are all volunteers now, but they were very gracious and friendly to hikers. One gentleman showed us his map and where other fire lookouts had spotted lightning fires in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

The weather drawback was that the spectacular views promised by a Tahquitz ascent were nowhere to be found. Someday, we will come back and bask in the view.

Overall, this was a slow day but I felt progress being made in my quest to do Whitney. If you wanted to know...I would say I am a 5 on the confidence scale today.

I plan to do Cowles Mountain on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week, with a date with Mt. San Jacinto on Sunday.

Cowles Mountain

Not as good today. I got a start at 5:09 and my shin splints started immediately. They seem to have a mind of their own. I have good days and bad days. I try to stretch every time I hit the trail. I wish I could narrow it down and eliminate the problem.

I quickly figured out I was running way behind my last trip up the mountain. Despite the pain, especially in my right leg, I didn't want to turn around. I made it to the peak in 84 minutes, 10 minutes behind Tuesday. Coming down, I made it back 7:20 which was 14 minutes behind my last time up Cowles Mountain.

It is hard for me to evaluate this trek. I was very disappointed and considered it a setback. Then again, instead of turning away from the challenge, I stuck to it and finished the hike.

I will be doing Tahquitz Peak on Sunday with Jeremy. I will have a better idea on my progress then. In the meantime, it's time to do some stretching...

My Whitney confidence would not be about a 1.

Cowles Mountain

After work, I headed back to Cowles Mountain in Mission Trails Regional Park. I was feeling tired, and even considered taking the night off. I knew I would be out on Thursday though, and I needed to conquer the feeling of laziness.

I started the trek slow as usual. This is where I think I can eventually make up time. It is amazing the burst of energy you get when you hit a landmark. As I met the merge with the Big Rock Trail (0.7 miles) I walked much faster. I passed a couple people and one of them remarked "can you believe mom does this every Sunday?" I laughed since it was my third trek in 4 days. I left them in the dust and didn't run into them later, they never made the peak.

The final ascent was as tough as always. I focused on steady progress and didn't beat myself up for being slow or tired. I could feel I was moving better than even a couple days ago. I made the peak at 6:29 PM, meaning it took me 74 minutes. This was 2 minutes faster than yesterday.

Coming down, I also accomplished something else because I did not make any stops. I had to slow down and move out of the way of a couple mountain bikers, but I moved quickly down the hill. I made it to my car at 7:12 PM. This was a total time of 1:57, my best time in a long time. I also cleared a mental hurdle by getting under 2 hours.

I am taking the night off on Thursday, hopefully hanging out with a good friend if all works out. Then Friday I will be back at it and I will have more to say about that experience.

On a scale of 1 - 10, my confidence in doing Whitney would be about a 4 right now. This is an improvement though, so I will keep at it.

Cowles Mountain

Last night I climbed up Cowles Mountain in Mission Trails Regional Park for the second time in three days. It was 86 degrees outside but the heat didn't bother me. I didn't stretch as much as I should have, so I shouldn't have been surprised with the early beginnings of shin splints.

I got off to a very slow start which was frustrating. The view wasn't anything special, with marine layer mixed with smog. I kept a reasonable pace, albeit a slow one. I felt stronger than two days before, something I was cognizant of going up. I pick up something new about the trail every time I do it, and now I have a dozen ascents in me at least. I noticed that the last leg of the climb has a moderately steep section and a very steep section. I had always perceived it to be one strenuous stretch. The familiarity is helpful. I made the summit in 77 minutes which was pretty mediocre. This was not a good time for me and I long to get it closer to 60 minutes if possible.

I picked up the pace coming down and was back down in 45 minutes. I only stopped a few times, a couple times to slow myself down on the steepest part of the trail from the summit, and once to let a couple mountain bikers go by.

My overall time was 2 hours, 2 minutes, which was about 7 minutes off my best time. I believe I need to make that time up on the ascent, and to have any chance at Mt. Whitney I need to conquer Cowles Mountain like it's nothing.

The work continues, I will ascend tonight for the 3rd time in 4 days.

Struggles...

As you may know, a long-time goal of mine is to summit Mt. Whitney in Eastern California. The moment is at hand, in late August, and I must confess I do not feel confident. I am worried. I am not sure I am conditioned for the challenge. I don't want to fail.

For the next six weeks, I will chronicle the struggle to prepare for this awesome quest. A pilgrimage if you will.

Completion of this task will amount of one of the biggest successes in my entire life.

No pressure. But I may fail.

The Next Big Thing

Maybe it is kayaking through the Anacapa Islets...

Perhaps it is pounding the Vivian Creek Trailhead, exhausted and desperate to reach the top...

It could be strolling the shores of the Virgin River in Zion...

But I can imagine a distant faraway place, vaguely familiar to the senses but disorienting to the mind.  A remote island, a mountaintop, a fired synapse, a place real or imagined or an unsettling combination of both.  It could be thousands of miles away or never further than the next neurotransmitter.

There is the next big thing, both real and physical.  And my mind can't help but wonder what it is, where it's at, how I can reach it, and what it will be like if in this life I can ever find it.