Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Hike Hike
My weekends are getting more and more "extreme". I went on a 9 mile hike in the San Gabriel mountains on Saturday, from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. It was a level-3 hike. What this means to people not from California is I was basically totally over-exterting myself at the hottest part of the day in the middle of a sun-baked canyon with only about 4 bottles of water. Stupid or adventurous? You make the call.
But it was a really fun time. The canyon trail goes right along the beautiful San Gabriel river, which even at the end of July is still plenty full of clear, cool water. Parts of the river bubble and churn, and then there are calm, blue-green clear pools that just call to the hot hiker: "Come! Swim! Sink into my crystaline pureness!" Unfortunately, while the water is refreshing to splash in, it wasn't pure enough to drink. So people say. At the end of our hike, with one water bottle between us 3 girls, we decided that it wasn't pure enough to drink "in large quantities". I admit we sipped from the river...just a cupped handful. We figured it was a choice between risking stomach upset vs. dying of dehydration in the canyon. You can cure the stomach upset. Dying is forever. The water, by the way, tasted heavenly. I mean, think of how many times you swim in a lake or in the ocean, and you swallow a few mouthfuls while splashing around. Did you ever get seriously sick from that? Didn't think so. Then again, there was that time I got giardia at Lake Tahoe....nevermind.
The hike itself was a real challenge. Most hikes I've done so far are nice, well-marked trails among pretty trees and scenery. This was an incredibly difficult, tactile hike. As I mentioned, it was classified as a "3" out of 5. I don't know how the rating scale works, but in my mind it probably is something like this:
Level 1: Wide, well-marked trail, mostly flat, pretty scenery, good for all ages and physical abilites
Level 2: Narrower trains, varying terrain, several hills and challenging passages. For people in generally good physical condition.
Level 3: Rough trail, parts of hike will involve negotiating rocks, steep cliffs, uncertain terrain, river crossing, rock climbing, and generally full-body hiking. No special equipement needed though.
Level 4: Very difficult, rough trail. Very uncertain terrain, lots of full-body hiking involving rock climbing, possible belaying, steep rises and sharp drops, river fording, etc. May need special equipment.
Level 5: Sheer rock face going up, up, up. Or something equally impossible and difficult and most definitely involving special equipment, years of training, and a license or two. And lots of First Aid training.
I'm assuming that's how it goes. So we did a level 3. In about 100 degree heat. Love it!
I'm so sore today. And while most of my body is a fit 24 years old, my left knee is about 84. Its mature for its age I guess. This matureness rubs off though to my brain...when the other girls were calling "Water....water..." at the end of our hike, I was moaning "glucosamine....chondritin...oh yeah and water..." I have no idea why my left knee gives me the troubles it does. I lost weight and that helped it, but I think the issue is with the cartilage. In that its probably not there anymore. The doctors I've seen can't seem to tell me anything helpful other than "Don't use that knee so much". That's just not acceptable to me. I'm going to use this knee, the other knee, and heck I will also use the feet and ankles while I'm at it. I like hiking. I plan to go again.
But it was a really fun time. The canyon trail goes right along the beautiful San Gabriel river, which even at the end of July is still plenty full of clear, cool water. Parts of the river bubble and churn, and then there are calm, blue-green clear pools that just call to the hot hiker: "Come! Swim! Sink into my crystaline pureness!" Unfortunately, while the water is refreshing to splash in, it wasn't pure enough to drink. So people say. At the end of our hike, with one water bottle between us 3 girls, we decided that it wasn't pure enough to drink "in large quantities". I admit we sipped from the river...just a cupped handful. We figured it was a choice between risking stomach upset vs. dying of dehydration in the canyon. You can cure the stomach upset. Dying is forever. The water, by the way, tasted heavenly. I mean, think of how many times you swim in a lake or in the ocean, and you swallow a few mouthfuls while splashing around. Did you ever get seriously sick from that? Didn't think so. Then again, there was that time I got giardia at Lake Tahoe....nevermind.
The hike itself was a real challenge. Most hikes I've done so far are nice, well-marked trails among pretty trees and scenery. This was an incredibly difficult, tactile hike. As I mentioned, it was classified as a "3" out of 5. I don't know how the rating scale works, but in my mind it probably is something like this:
Level 1: Wide, well-marked trail, mostly flat, pretty scenery, good for all ages and physical abilites
Level 2: Narrower trains, varying terrain, several hills and challenging passages. For people in generally good physical condition.
Level 3: Rough trail, parts of hike will involve negotiating rocks, steep cliffs, uncertain terrain, river crossing, rock climbing, and generally full-body hiking. No special equipement needed though.
Level 4: Very difficult, rough trail. Very uncertain terrain, lots of full-body hiking involving rock climbing, possible belaying, steep rises and sharp drops, river fording, etc. May need special equipment.
Level 5: Sheer rock face going up, up, up. Or something equally impossible and difficult and most definitely involving special equipment, years of training, and a license or two. And lots of First Aid training.
I'm assuming that's how it goes. So we did a level 3. In about 100 degree heat. Love it!
I'm so sore today. And while most of my body is a fit 24 years old, my left knee is about 84. Its mature for its age I guess. This matureness rubs off though to my brain...when the other girls were calling "Water....water..." at the end of our hike, I was moaning "glucosamine....chondritin...oh yeah and water..." I have no idea why my left knee gives me the troubles it does. I lost weight and that helped it, but I think the issue is with the cartilage. In that its probably not there anymore. The doctors I've seen can't seem to tell me anything helpful other than "Don't use that knee so much". That's just not acceptable to me. I'm going to use this knee, the other knee, and heck I will also use the feet and ankles while I'm at it. I like hiking. I plan to go again.
posted by The Semi-Pro Chef at Sunday, July 31, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home