Trail to Wellness

Can't think of a title

2012-01-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post that I was considering volunteering at the center for the blind and hearing impaired. I emailed them first - nothing. A day later I called only to get a message that the volunteer coordinator was on vacation and won't be back till Monday. I left a message not expecting her to return my call on her first day back but she did. We talked for almost an hour. She was quite intrigued by my ideas and I am quite eager to help in the areas they need help the most. I am very excited!

See, ever since I was a teen there has always been something that fascinated me by the blind living independent lives; it was not even the Helen Keller story, that I read much later; it was a book, which title I do not remember now, I read way back in Poland about a woman who lost her eyesight because of the infection she got after poking herself in the eye with a pen. After a period of deep depression that brought her close to suicide, she picked herself up and ended up living a very active life hiking, skiing, and challenging herself in ways many of us, who can see perfectly well. have no guts to even try.

Since then I would be often encountering inspiring stories about the blind that would move me to tears. Then I saw a short documentary about a body builder who trained a blind couch potato guy and reshaped his body from flabby to nicely ripped one that he was able to participate and win body building competitions. And then there were those blind marathoners at CIM who passed me with greatest ease. And then there was a FB post with pictures from Tatch about blind runners in his training group in Japan.

The universe kept whacking me on the head and finally I noticed.

I will be away for over two weeks but decided to come back to Bay Area for a couple of days so I can talk with Liz from the center for the blind to get the ball rolling. Oh, in case it did not come across clearly, I am excited. :-)

Training (I will spare you and not write about weights or rowing - this time)

Biking

Cinderella Challenge group is plotting to kill my quads. Some leaders lure me to Saturday rides with promises of easy rides (they deny those promises later) and coffee (that one was true) and then I find out that we have to bike through rain with hail, wind, and did I mention hills? Oh, yes, we had some sun and there were some flat stretches but who would pay attention to those? Not me. I am happy to report though that my rain jacket, my hiking rain jacket, that is, worked out great!!! It sat in my little pack through the entire ride... see, it does not breathe well at all so I did not put it on at the beginning of the ride when it was still sunny. The rest is wet Ewa history. So I am proud to announce that I ordered a biking rain jacket, quite inexpensive and supposedly very, very good. Here is the weather forecast for the next few days. Do I know how to stop the rains or what?

Running...

is going... well it is going well as long as I stay off the hills. Biking is challenging my quads (haven't I mentioned that before?) so hill running is a bit difficult at the moment. I have a half coming up in April and that is in San Francisco and that, of course, means hills! Oh, well, I'll manage somehow, I can always crawl. At least I don't have to struggle with swimming like some of my virtual friends do (and you two, you know who you are, don't even think of talking me into swimming).

And speaking of hills, it is official.

Jill and Johann are trying to kill me by making me run Pikes Peak Marathon. My suspicions grew even stronger when I found out that Mary is considering joining them. So I am appealing to all/any of you to come to my rescue. The marathon is on Aug 18th and I understand there is nothing to it. It is only 6,000 vertical feet, often sunny, sometimes snowy, sometimes rainy, hot in the lower elevations, and freezing towards the top. Anybody wants to join in the fun? What if I promise a recovery beer after? How about two beers and a pizza?

And now stolen from the internet pictures since I may not live to post my own:

I am hoping this is NOT it. Looks a bit... steep?

I am to run on that? Jill, tell me this is not true!!!

I know what I'll do - more virtual inspiration and some other stuff

2012-01-18T04:02:00.000-08:00

First thing's first. What did I write to warrant such wonderful comments on my previous post? I want to thank you all. I did state that I am quite emotional. So guess what your comments made me do. Hint: wet cheeks. I am very touched by your words but the trouble is that now I feel I need to become the person you guys see. That will be a LOT of work. :-)

So as to my intended post:

I am so inspired by Laura, her love of life and also her idea of collecting pennies for every vertical foot she climbs. Since I do not live in Bishop or some other amazing place from which one has to just step out of the house to be in the mountains, and I do not do any rock climbing either (I would love to though), I decided to collect pennies for every mile I bike, hike, walk, or row. At the end of the year I will decide which charity I will donate the money to. How come I haven't thought of that before?

Another inspiration came from my FB friend, Tatch.

I while ago I posted about wanting to introduce a group of homeschooled kids to Mt. Whitney. Well, that did not work out. At first there was hardly any interest. Then, all of a sudden, I got flooded with emails of interested and very enthusiastic moms. Then, when the realization that I required time commitment for training during the year set in, all enthusiasm vanished. Needless to say I was quite disappointed but there is no way I can take a group of unprepared kids on such a trip.

And then another inspiration, this one from Japan. I met a Japanese guy on John Muir Trail, an amazingly fit person, who runs ultramarathons on regular basis and obviously likes backpacking. I wish I could say we really talked during the two days on the trail. He does not speak English well at all, but since he writes in English, we kept in touch, mostly through Facebook. He posted a photo of blind runners with their in his training group. We exchanged some comments and he stated that I could certainly become a guide to a blind person. Within minutes I was emailing (it was WAY too early to call) the local society for the blind. So far no answer. I will keep you posted though. This project excites me very, very much.

Biking update. I went for a test bike ride with JoLynn who is a trainer of the Cinderella Challenge biking group, and a heck of a nice person. Quietly I was hoping that she would say I was not fit enough yet to join the group. Then I would say that I was going to work hard to make it the next year, we would smile, chat and that would be it. No such luck. She thought I would do just fine. What!?! Does that mean I have to work hard NOW?

Now the final ride is only 90mi, not 100mi. Maybe I could use that as an excuse for bailing out, slumping my lazy body on the sofa and spending my Saturday mornings facebooking instead of riding?

But to be perfectly honest, I am quite excited and a little scared. Really fit people intimidate me, and I imagined everybody in the group would be a clone of Lance Armstrong without a penis since this is all girl group.

But so it happened the first training ride was a blast. We covered some distance (26mi), climbed some hills, and not only I survived but I managed to keep up. So I have resolved to add 10miles to the Challenge ride to make it a nice round number.

Oh, one more thing and then, I'll let you go. My teen and I will be running Bay to Breakers, one of probably the wackiest races around. Just click here for pictures. Since I am not very artistic, I don't think we will be wearing costumes and nude running... well, I am not courageous enough for that. BTW, in case you did not know, nudity is legal in San Francisco. One time, I saw a guy... that story is for another post though...

(that'll keep them coming back)

Playing a tag game

2012-01-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you Joy for tagging me. It actually motivates me to visit my blog and write something.

So the rules are:
1. Post these rules
2. Post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you have tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this". You legitimately have to tag 11 peeps!

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I am not a very good rule follower. Maybe it is a lack of discipline or maybe it is just the rebel in me. So guess what, I will be breaking some of the rules here also. Sorry, Joy. I will be skipping 4, 5, and 6.

So here are eleven things about myself.

I am a very early morning person. I can't remember the last time I slept past 4am. I like it that way.
I believe posted speed limits are stupid. Weather and road conditions are more important than a silly sign with numbers.
I love talking to strangers. Oh, wait, once we start talking they are not strangers anymore.
I think of myself as a loyal friend but you would have to ask my friends to confirm that.
Why classical music is what I enjoy the most, I love being exposed to other types of music
I am impulsive - 'nuff said

(are we done yet?)

I have very little faith in my abilities; thank goodness for friends who believe in me more than I do.
I am quite emotional - that would warrant a long post but I'll spare you
I have a heart of an explorer but in a very wide sense of that word: I love new places, new ideas, new art forms, new people - you get the idea.
I have zero patience for intolerance, racism, and prejudice
I LOVE staring at the night sky sometimes imagining there is someone out there looking in my direction and our eyes meet... When I immerse myself in that multitude of worlds, I feel I am a part, even if only a very tiny one, of this magnificent universe

Now for Joy's questions:

1. If money wasn't an option, what would you really want to do for a living?

Loaded question. I don't think I would want to have all that money, I really mean it. I just know I would give it away and I don't think I would even have a chance to make 'doing something else for a living' choices. Now I would not mind having some money to make some changes in my life but that is a totally different story. :-)

2. What is the one thing that you are really afraid to do?

Go fast when I am not in control of the breaks. So I am not enjoying roller coasters. Not at all. But I would jump off the plane - go figure.

3. What brings you most joy?

That really depends on my mood, time of day, time in my life. It can be a piece of music, hug from a friend, or a sunset, smile from my teen, call or email from a someone I care about, knowing I could help someone, or just a quiet moment by the candlelight

4. What exercise is your favorite?

I don't know. Often I hate them all when I do them but love the feeling they left me with when I am done. But then there are times when exercise puts me in a meditative state and I love it then. It does not happen often but it did several times when I was running or lifting weights.

5. What is one thing that pushed you to start your weight loss and fitness plan?

Not being able to enjoy the outdoors as much as I wanted to. Hating how I looked and how I felt.
Oh, that's two things. Actually it is a combination of many, many things.

6. What keeps you motivated?

Fear and craving for adventure.

7. Who inspires you?

Long list of people.
There are individuals whose daily rituals of exercise and clean eating inspire me to care more about my body.
And then there are all these seniors who don't let their age stop them.
And how about people with disabilities who overcome their challenges and achieve things I, a person with a fully functional body, don't even dare to dream of.

8. Is there anything holding you back from achieving your dreams? If so, what?

Doubt. Lack of trust in myself.

9. Are you a hugger? When was the lsat time you got hugged?

AM I A HUGGER? Are you kidding me? I hug strangers for a living!
Last time I got hugged was yesterday. Today I have not seen anyone awake yet.

10. What would your perfect day look like?

Any day when there is a real connection with others is perfect.

11. Are you going to reach your goals? If so, what is your plan?

Goals... am I overanalyzing these questions too much (my vice, if you want to know). For a moment I thought of reaching goals and being done, and not having anything else to strive for, and that made me feel very uneasy because what I see as my goal in life is to keep on going and doing.
Now there are some challenges I would like to conquer and I think I will. My plan? As usual, I don't have a very specific plan. My recipe is to keep at it, try not to get discouraged, get any encouragement I can (for me, a very important ingredient for success) from my friends.

The End

Getting out of my comfort zone

2012-01-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Mountain Fire, meet Road Cutie.

Yes I got my first ever road bike and I love it especially because I got a very good deal on it. I do not know how to bargain; I could be car dealers' best friend paying over the sticker price. This time I decided to give bargaining a try. It took a lot of smiles, a lot of trips to talk to the store owner, a lot of creative arguments but it was worth it. I got a great price on an already discounted last year (like I really care) model bike. Sure, there was an even cuter bike, candy apple red, because you all know how much color matters, but it cost over 1k more and I did not think the paint was worth this much. :) I still think the bike I got is cute hence Road Cutie name.

So what am I going to do with this bike? Well, one of my virtual friends, who just a few days ago changed into a real friend, is going to be training a group of women for a 90 mile ride. I know I can easy train to ride 90 mi as long as they are FLAT but no such luck; the ride is supposed to be very hilly. No wonder they call it a Challenge Ride. So I hoped on my bike to see how well I would do on one of my local hills and... I failed miserably. I can run this hill but I cannot bike it without stopping. My confidence that I can train to do the challenge ride in March dropped to zero. JoLynn, who is wonderfully supportive, and I are still talking. I don't want to slow the group down but I am very tempted to do that distance. Whether I do it with the group or not, I will train for a 100mi, and if it ends up that I train by myself, it is just going to be a slower and less hilly course, but I will do it.

And what about my Mountain Fire bike? Oh, it will still be serving me. New Leaf grocery store with good organic produce mostly from local farmers is opening only 3mi (plus some nasty hills) from my house. Mountain Fire is going to be employed full time hauling groceries.

I have a half marathon scheduled for April so I am still running (every day) and hiking (whenever I can), lifting weights (2-3 times a week), rowing (I will learn to like it), and inspired by Andrea, maybe I will be adding swimming to my fitness menu. Isn't it great that I wake up at insanely early hours and have nothing better to do?

Other news is that I am finally, I hope, over my cold. OK, I was not writing about it. I mentioned it once of Facebook, I think. It started just before Xmas with a 102 fever. Then cough, then sore throat, then cough again, then stuffy nose. Somehow it all seemed backwards to me. This thing kept bugging me till today. Today was the first day when I woke up without coughing. Cold morning run, then bike ride beautifully cleared my sinuses. I am still coughing a bit but I can live with that. Hopefully I am done with that nonsense for the rest of the year.

Dangerous virtual world

2012-01-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

You might recall some of my posts about the internet, and specifically social media. I have always had mixed feelings about how it affects our lives and our real (as opposed to digital) relationships. I know first hand that is is quite addictive. I love reading blogs and commenting. I regularly check Facebook updates. I chat with my virtual friends as if they were real. Well, maybe they are but for most I have no proof of that, so since I have a soul of a scientist, until I can prove otherwise, until I can touch them, hug them, they will remain in the world of doubt.

But one thing I know for sure is that social media can be, and in my case is, a very dangerous place.

A few months ago, on this blog, I posted a question about goals, which would help me keep my motivation for training high. One virtual friend suggested California International Marathon. I did not think there was enough time for me to train. A simple 'sure there is', as if a virtual buddy knew better what my real body is capable of, and within minutes I was registered.
So that was the first one, and quite possibly the craziest one.

Then some virtual somebody, I can't even remember who, posted about rowing challenge. If I rowed over 100km between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Concept2 rowing company would donate money to the charity of my choice. Oh, in case you don't know, I really don't like indoor rowing. It is BORING! For those of you who hate treadmills, let me tell you, rowing machines are much worse. So what do I do? I go on rowing practically every day.
Does it end there? Nope!

Just the other day another virtual buddy asked if I would run a San Francisco half marathon with her. C'mon I am really not into races. Sure I run and I enjoy it, I think, too. I do not race. A day later I pulled out my credit card and said good-bye to $75. She assures me that she is real and that she and her (virtual?) friends had rented a house in San Francisco and I am invited to stay the night before the race. I am worrying that maybe the house is virtual.

This is NOT an inexpensive bike,
but I've been drooling over it for a couple of years now.
Not that I would ever spend several k on it.

And that does not end here either; one more virtual creature is tempting me to train for a Cinderella Ride. My legs are already complaining that I use them too much. I don't have a decent bike. I don't have the time to train. I am a runner, a hiker, not a biker... so why the heck am I so tempted? I think there is something in this virtual world, something like a virus, and I am infected. That's what it is.

Right now the only thing that keeps me from signing up for this is the bike issue. The only bike I have is a heavy and slowly falling apart mountain bike. I like it, I still use it but it is not good for any serious biking. But should I find an inexpensive road bike...

I have to add something to this already published post. I've been just contacted by another virtual somebody who reminded me about the temptation of backpacking with her. You can all understand that backpacking is one thing I just cannot possibly refuse. The question is, who is this person. I mean going into the woods with someone who might carry tempting treats of cookies and marshmallows in her pack - dangerous proposition.

OK, yet another addition, from another digital friend:
"You're doing Pikes Peat with your "virtual" buddies, right? YAY!"

OK, it seems I am living in a holodeck after all.

I gotta tell you, be aware of the virtual world. It can make you do things in the real world that your body will punish you for with aches and pains for ever listening to your virtual buddies, who for all I know might exist only in my head.

How did you start 2012?

2012-01-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny how we pick a day and crown it special? Some days have actual significance in astronomy or history, but January 1st ought to be just another ordinary day but it is not. For no real reason it gets more attention than most any other day on the calendar. We celebrate it, make promises to ourselves, send wishes to friends and family, shoot fireworks, and then... go back to our pre-resolution lives. And yet I like New Year Eve and Day, if I am awake, that is.

This year, a quiet New Year welcoming at home highlight was a nap. OK, not really but I have to confess to crashing. So maybe I did not sleep well the night before, but such minor inconveniences never used to stop me from staying up the following night. Not this year. By 9pm I knew I wasn't going to make it unless I got some z's. I am proud to say that I did wake up just in time for a couple of small glasses of champagne. And then... like a true party animal that I am, I went back to sleep.

But for me the New Year really started when I woke up four hours later. I got inspired to do a sunrise hike on Mission Peak, my training grounds John Muir Trail last year, and the tallest mountain (2,400ft or so) reasonable distance from where I live. I've done many sunrise hikes there and even made hike-in-the-dark-friends. This time, I was sure, the mountain would be all mine because who, I thought, in their right mind would go hiking right after New Year celebrations? Definitely nobody in my family.

Coffee (gotta have coffee), short drive, and I am at the trailhead looking for... a parking spot. I am not kidding, most spots were taken by other insomniacs, crazies, zombies, you name it. So much for feeling so special and superior.

I decided to power hike as a good start of the year and because the winds on that mountain tend to be very, very cold and I just had to forget my fleece. The start was pretty slow, which I blamed on the lingering effects of champagne, but then I found my rhythm and plowed ahead. The morning was surprisingly warm with a gentle breeze and clear skies. The trailhead starts practically at sea level so I had some climbing to do with practically no flat stretches. This is what makes this mountain so perfect for training. But since I have not done any power hiking in ages, I was surprised, when I made it to the top, that I was off my time record only by a couple of minutes. Maybe champagne is a good fuel after all. Hmm...

There were a lot of people (no zombies though) at the top, all watching the sky change colors and waiting for the sun to come up. It was a perfect morning, one of the warmest I have ever experienced there. There was some fog in the valleys but not enough to obscure amazing views.

And when the sun came up, gray this time of year hills, turned golden. Pure magic.

I decided to go back on a different trail, so I would have some uphill sections as I ran, my first run of the year, maybe not a very long one but fun. But that was not all for this day. I still wanted to do some biking, 20miles or so. Now when I say "I", I mean my upper body wanted to do biking; my legs did not but they had very little to say in that matter so another short drive and off we went biking, my bitching legs and I. Later my behind joined my legs in endless complaints but I decided to just ignore them.

By noon I was home, showered, with all my photos uploaded eating on breakfast, or maybe it was lunch.

If this is not a perfect way to start a New Year, I don't know what is.

My New Year Resolution

2011-12-30T07:01:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!!

Holidays = time off for play

2011-12-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

I could have been writing more, I guess, but I decided to be lazy and read your posts instead. I even commented on ~~most~~ some. And then there was Facebook - an addictive time killer that it is. I am so glad I am not doing Twitter (yet). Finally I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could write a sentence or two so you guys are not the only ones doing all the heavy blog work.

Christmas was fun. Some of you may remember that I asked not to be given any stuff for Christmas since I have too much of everything. Well, I did not get *stuff* but I will be going to Tahoe for some skiing in February. Having some time off will be greatly appreciated by this poor, overworked, and stressed out ;-)
person.

Now all I need is... snow because I want to do a lot of cross country skiing and finally get ~~good~~ half way decent at it. Maybe I should have asked Santa for something after all - like snow. That sort of *stuff* I could certainly put to good use. Hello winter, where are you?

Holidays was not all about eating and vegging out. We made a short trip to Yosemite. For the first time in a long, long time, Tioga Pass was open this late in the season so I checked the park website, called to make sure it was really true and off we went. The best part of the trip was slipping and sliding on frozen Tenaya Lake. Had my brain been working before the trip, I would have rented skates.

So being able to hike and play in areas normally not accessible to mere mortals in winter was fun but all that was possible only because we have not had any decent snowfall in a long long time, haven't I mentioned that already?
I hope we are not going to have a drought year.

Our teens quickly vanished into the fog

And then there was a hiking trip with friends who have never been to Mt. Diablo State Park. This is one of my favorite hiking places in Bay Area, with stunning views, long trails, varied habitats so I was very happy to share this place with others. Too bad it is a bit of a drive from where I live, I would be hiking and running those trails every week.

We had a very foggy and chilly start but soon we climbed above the fog to some stunning views. As it kept geting warmer, or maybe it was us warming up, we kept on peeling our layers off and soon hiked in tanks. Our California winters are spoling us rotten.

I am still getting over my cold or flu or whatever has been bugging me lately so my lungs worked overtime but I was glad to see that my hiking legs are still with me. I am seriously considering doing John Muir Trail again this summer so I will be good to start my training with some solid base.

Our kids, of course, again put us to shame by running most of the trail with very little effort. I knew this was going to happen because just the other day I challenged my teen to a 7mile hilly run. He's been exercising, so he claims, but I could see he was not putting enough effort into it. Of course, our opinions differ on that subject. He goes for a run but the most he does is 3miles. His other workouts, in my expert opinion, suck too. So being a good mother that I am (please, do not argue with me), I gave him a very stern lecture, like all good mothers would, right? And then I informed him that he was going for a decent run with me. We ended up doing almost 8 miles. I was expecting him to die if not on hill number two, then for sure on hill number three. Before we took off, with my evil grin I told him that I realized it was a longish run so it was fine with me if he, poor unfit child, needed walking breaks. Not only did he not die, he ran all the hills to the very last one (number seven, I believe), stronger than I did or maybe he was holding his breath because I did not hear him breathing at all, while I... well, I'll blame my heavy breathing on my cold. And as for walking breaks... right... wishful thinking, mom.

I will have to work on my future lectures about fitness. In one run he destroyed all my arguments.

My runs these days are not that long (you know, "I have a cold" excuse) but I am keeping my running streak going, right now I am up to 123 days. I am kind of proud of myself. Streaking surely keeps me motivated to get my a$$ out there, rain or shine... oh, wait, we haven't had any rains lately.

BTW, in case you have not noticed, this year is almost over. It was a good, good hiking, running, and weight lifting year.

Joy

2011-12-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

I won't take much of your time, I know how busy the holiday season can get.

I just wanted to wish you all joy that comes from peace of mind, loving family, sincere friendships, and good health.

And if by any chance you do find the time and inclination to read about various holidays that fall around this time of year, just click.

Random musings

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

I feel I need to talk a little about your comments to my last post. Had I known you guys were going to be so sweet, I would have been writing similar posts more often - you should see my huge grin now - I am such a sucker for a good word, and yours made me tear up - thank you all. But honestly, as much as I love them, I did not write that post to earn your praises. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on priorities in spending money. It is true, I have not considered that photographers and their families need to eat too. I am only hoping that the majority of the photo fee I paid goes to them and not some administrative nonsense. After all, they were the ones standing there for hours while we were having fun running.

One of the first blogs ever I started following was Jody's Truth2BeingFit. If you are looking for a source of commonsense fitness or nutrition advice, some personal reflection, some laughs, and a lot of inspiration, hers is the blog to follow. Jody starts every week with a gratitude post and every Monday she makes me stop and think about that, which I am grateful for. Sorry, Jody I have not commented on your last post -- I am still thinking, as you can see. :-)

The time between my birthday and New Year has always been a period of reflection for me. I never plan it that way, it just happens. I look back and try to look ahead so I can figure out where I am.

This, by far, has been emotionally the most difficult year for me ever. Over the past number of years I have gone through a lot of difficulties, my father's prolonged illness and death, my mother's Alzheimer's, illness in the family, deaths of quite a few close family members and friends, even my breast cancer - nothing prepared me for the emotional turmoil this year had brought. Let me spare you the details because what I do want to focus on is gratitude - how else would I deal with trying times? So here is my comment to your post, Jody. I am grateful for my real and virtual friends, for their support and their sincerity. Most stuck by me without knowing any of the why's and how's. They put up with my roller coaster moods, they found time for me, they emailed, called, made a true effort to be there for me. But I am also grateful to those less true and less sincere ones. They taught me invaluable lessons in understanding, patience, and staying true to my feelings no matter what.

And Jody, as you might have guessed, my hormones did not help this year at all. Sorry, guys, this is the female thing very few of you seem to be able to comprehend. :-)

I am done with C2's Holiday Challenge and I am very, very proud of myself. See, you can praise me some more. :) But seriously, this is the type of a challenge I like because I am truly not good at all at raising funds so running for charities does not work for me well. Makers of Concept Rowers are going to donate $ to one of the charities of my choice if I rowed 100k before Xmas Eve. In case I have not made it clear in my previous posts, I hate indoor rowing. I do it because it is a good workout, but no matter how much I row, I cannot make myself like it. This is unlike outdoor rowing, which I love. Hey, I even used to be on the rowing team for a short while but had to quit because of frequent trips to Poland. Anyway, the charity I picked was Vermont Disaster Relief Fund. One of my friends hiked in Vermont just last month and was saying there is still a lot of horrific damage after Irene.

Now I will keep on rowing because for any km over 100k, Concept2 will double their per km contribution. Love that.

So as I said, I am not good at raising money so if any of you hear of challenges that will help others and only require me to sweat, please, let me know. I am sure I will have plenty of extra calories to burn this season. My friends need to stop baking all those sinful cookies.

Tiny, tiny world. - This is the last story, I promise.

So one of my virtual JMT friends posted a slide show on Facebook of some of his virtual friends. About 5:40 minutes into the show I saw something that looked very familiar, a Have a Good Hike writing on the trail. See, I wrote a message just like that in Evolution Valley. So I dug up my picture of it and sure enough, it is my writing. I just love how some things go in circles. This certainly made me smile.

BTW, the slide show is worth watching especially that it has not only beautiful scenery but pictures of beyond sinful pies at Vermilion Valley Resort. Mary, it is a small detour but if you don't stop there to for their pies and free (1st) beer, you will regret it for the rest of your hiking life.

This fits my mood perfectly these days:

Vanity

2011-12-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make.

I spent money on my marathon photos. They are not cheap, as most of you know. I can't even say it was an impulse. It took me about a day to decide to get them. And I did, and I feel hypocritical.

Homelessness in Schools
David McNew/Getty Images
(KQED)

So what is the problem? Well, the problem is that here I am writing posts about not asking for gifts for myself but donating to charities instead. Here I am posting on Facebook about ideas of giving without spending money. And here I am, wasting money on something as trivial as this.

It did not take long for me to get whacked on the head. About an hour later, I went for a run and listened to Forum on the local NPR station. The program was about homeless children in schools. As I listened to the heart wrenching stories of kids who come to classes hungry or leave not knowing where they are going to sleep that night, I felt ashamed. It is so easy to point fingers at those filthy rich 1%; I do that all the time. But when I look in the mirror, the picture is not so pretty either. I am not saying that I should be denying myself fun things in life, but c'mon, so much money for a few photographs of me running so I can post them on Facebook and show them to my friends?

For the longest time I've been saving money for a half way decent road bike. The bike I have is a cheap mountain bike, heavy and really not that great. I've been borrowing from the bike fund to donate money here and there. After listening to one especially sad story of a single mother who needed money by noon today so she, her sick son, her niece she's been caring for would not end up on the streets, I reached out into that fund once again. Heavy, wide-tire bike means a better workout, right? A new bike can wait. Mine, and other listeners' donations mean shelter for this lady and the kids she is taking care of.

Maybe there is hope for me yet.

Birthday present to myself - silence

2011-12-08T04:09:00.000-08:00

I am so blessed. I celebrated my last birthday no more than two months ago, I think, and guess what, just yesterday I had another one. Am I the only one who has birthdays this often? What is more, the older I get, the more frequent my birthdays become.

In my house, personal holidays always get moved to the weekend when everybody has more time. This is actually quite cool because on the actual b-day I get to do whatever I want to do and love the most; for me it is always being out there with Nature. This time I could not decide whether to head for the mountains or the ocean. Lucky for me our coast is a bit mountainous so I got the best of two worlds. This time my birthday inspiration came from an article in Orion Magazine. If you are not familiar with it, and yet you like the natural world, I highly recommend it. This article is about silence. We rarely notice these days, but there are very few places left that are not polluted by human made noise, and while we still frequently stop to look, we rarely stop to just listen. The author of this article articulates it beautifully:

"Silence creates an opening, an absence of self, which allows the larger world to enter into our awareness. It brings us into contact with what is beyond us, its beauty and mystery. Silence is not the absence of sounds, but a way of living in the world—an intentional awareness, an expression of gratitude, to make of one’s own ears, one’s own body, a sounding board that resonates in its hollow places with the vibrations of the world.

When wind plays across the maple leaves and sets them in motion, it’s we who are most deeply moved. No one knows why natural sounds speak so directly to the human spirit, but it’s possible to imagine what they say—that we are not separate from the world, not dominant or different. Like stone, like water, like wrens, we carry the shape of the world in our rustling. We are all music, we are all matter in motion, all of us, together sending our harmonies into a black and trembling sky."

So on my birthday I went to search for silence and natural sound. I headed to Big Sur, one of the most beautiful places on Earth, I think. I started with a nice, 6mi bluff trail run focusing on sound all the time. If you have not tried focusing on listening to the world around you as you run, you should try it, what an amazing experience this is. I loved the soft crunch of frosted grass under my feet, whisper of wind in the few remaining leaves on trees, and gentle sound of waves way down below.

After hours of soaking up the beauty of the sights and sounds of Big Sur I realized how little attention I have been paying to what the world is saying. Now I wonder if I've been listening to people as well as I have been to the world. Maybe it is time I went silent more often so I could hear better...

More about my marathon... sorry

2011-12-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

You are not tired of my bragging about my first marathon, are you? :-) I am certainly not bored yet so here it goes.

Update on my after the marathon recovery:

day 0: I am functioning quite well. Made a few stops during my two hour drive home to stretch my legs and, I am sure, that helped a lot; sure, I am stiff and there is some pain but nothing to whine about

day1: morning -- pain in my knees, pain in my feet, Achilles tendons hate my guts, quads agree with Achilles tendons. Walking down the stairs is close to impossible

afternoon -- some pain in my left foot (tied my timing chip too tight, silly me); knees a bit stiff but improving rapidly; I make sure I do not sit for more than a few minutes

evening -- I am actually able to run a little. It is a very slow and guarded run but after a couple of minutes all my muscles are relaxed and there is no tendon pain. I keep the run very short because I am a chicken and worry I might kill myself if I keep on going

day 2: no pain at all; knees stiff but I can get to my coffee downstairs without having to hold on to the railing. I call that huge improvement over day 1

early afternoon run, still very short and slow feels very, very good

I think I am ready for another marathon. :-) Right!!!

I've been thinking a lot about training advice out there, and future challenges.

I borrowed this from Sacramento ABC News site
I am sure they won't mind

According to everything I have read about training for a marathon, I should not have been able to make that distance. My training fell appart weeks before the race. Unlike my motivation, pain in my Achilles tendons would not leave me so I ran way too little. My fueling strategy during the race actually never took off. The only thing I did 'right' was hydration and electrolyte replacement.

True, I did not race, I just ran at a rather comfortable pace; still, most experts will tell you about glycogen stores, walls, bonking, and so on. And then there is Timothy Noakes, a running researcher from South Africa, author of the Lore of Running bible that might be summed up that all of our running problems are in our heads. OK, he does not really say that but comes close to it. So maybe the fact that I did manage to take all the pressure off myself helped me achieve my goal, which was to cover 26.2mi before they closed the course. Not only did I manage that but finished in the time I was not even dreaming of aiming for.

It will be interesting to see if I will be able to feel so relaxed the next time I run a marathon because I am sure I will want to do another one, and I am also quite sure, knowing me, that I will want to better my time. Will that bit of added pressure mess up with how I run my number two?
Another question that comes to mind is if the source of my training difficulties was not entirely in my head. All the aches and pains, stitches, cramps, you name it, all could have been generated by my lazy brain. I need a brain transplant, that's for sure, alternatively I can try and train the one I have.

And that brings me to my future challenges. I will probably wait with doing another road marathon. If Big Sur Marathon registration was not closed already I would have probably signed up for that one. I am quite sure I will want to do CIM again. Before then I am thinking of trail races (runs, not races, in my case). Pacific Coast Trail Runs people are well know in our area for well organized events. I am looking at their schedules and thinking that maybe this is something I would enjoy, you know: me and nature plus running - good combo. But as always, I am open to suggestions and ideas so keep them coming, friends.

I know that some of you have run marathons not necessarily following the traditional advice of experts. I would love to hear from you: what training dogmas did you manage to break and still ran a good race? Maybe together we can revolutionize the sport.

And now, drum roll, please, for the electronic badge I got in the (e)mail. I think it is quite neat, but I was surprised quite a bit that claiming it would automatically post it to my Facebook profile. I purposefully did not click on the 'share' button, and still, it appeared there - magic, I tell you. Pure magic.

26.2 and nobody died, not even I

2011-12-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Some of you might remember my post about my futile attempts to run a marathon. It seemed that every time I got any serious training done, somebody in my close family in Poland either got sick or died, either case requiring me to forgo my marathon plans. OK, one time it was me getting sick (not dying though).

The curse, because that's what it must have been, is lifted. I finally managed to run my first marathon. A friend advised California International Marathon and I am grateful he did because this is a very well organized event with great spectator support and a very, very pretty course.

My training went great for the first 3-4 weeks that is. I ran some serious (for me) miles, with ease tackled hills, which in my previous training attempts had always intimidated me, I had fun. And then something happened. I lost all motivation and problems started. I don't want to dwell too much on those, I'll just say that my last, what I consider long run was on Oct. 28 for a Dec. 4th marathon. It was a 20mile run, I did it, I felt good afterwards, I was hopeful that my mojo would return - it did not. November sucked big time. My weekly mileage went down significantly, my long runs ended up being rather short (I am too embarrassed to tell you how short, but how does 13 sound?), my Achilles tendons (both of them this time) started hurting - I was not a happy runner.

Still, I decided that I would run, or walk, or whatever, but I would not let the curse keep me from running the CIM. Some good last minute advice helped to calm my nerves and on the day of the marathon not only was I not nervous, I felt I would complete the entire 26.2mi possibly even without any walking breaks. A good pep talk can do miracles.

Bus ride from my hotel to the start line was fun, though not for the residents of Folsom. Our driver got hopelessly lost and ended up in a nice, quiet residential area. He was the leader of a group of busses, which all dutifully followed as he was trying to figure out where the heck he was. I don't know about the other busses but ours had very squeaky breaks and of course there had to be a stop sign at every crossing and the driver just had to obey all the traffic laws. Oh, did I mention it was 5am?

Thank goodness for smart phones with GPS. The upside was that instead of waiting for over an hour in freezing cold (yes, it was 32F (0C) ), we had only a half an hour wait and I got a nice tour of Folsom, quite a pretty town, I think. I thanked the driver for that tour, to which he answered, 'Anytime, for you, anytime'. I think I will sign up for next year CIM. ;-)

And now, mile by mile report.

I'll spare you, especially that I lost miles 8, 9, and 10 somewhere. I am pretty sure I ran them but must have slept through them because when I woke up at mile 11 I was quite surprised to be that far. Unfortunately that drift out of consciousness did not repeat even though I could have used it for the last 6 miles but more about it later.

I was hoping to finish under 5 hours if possible but what I was really looking for was to just finish and have fun. And fun I had. I don't think I missed even one spectator kid without a high five. I even jumped to give a high five to an inflatable snowman. I chatted with my new hero (and I told him he was), a fireman who ran in full gear (minus his boots) weighing 30lb. Wow! I enjoyed the views, colorful trees, sunny and windless for a change weather.

Strangely enough I did not feel the need to fuel. I had gels with me but did not eat any, yes, you read right, I did not eat any. I sucked on 3 (only three) sports jelly beans mostly for taste than anything else. I did drink electrolytes because I sweat a lot. It is quite possible that since my diet is rather low carb, my body is used to burning more fat than carbs, and then I was running aerobically all the time.

I did not hit any walls. I did not bonk. The only real complaint I had was soreness in my feet, which took some beating because I kept altering my gait to protect my Achilles tendons. The last six miles were especially difficult because I felt serious cramps coming on in both of my calves. A couple of years ago I used to get those often especially at night and I learned that if I flexed my foot I could actually stop the cramping. So I tried the same trick while running and it worked but only for as long as my foot was flexed. I must have looked really funny. And yet I was still enjoying the race. I did not even realize that I kept on grinning till one guy shouted, "Hey, this is mile 22 and you are still smiling? Speed it up!" I didn't.

I got to the finish line at 4:19:50. Yes, under 5 hours :-). No walking breaks. No walls. No stopping. Fun all the way. Mission accomplished. Curse broken.

I want to thank you friends for encouraging comments, emails, facebook messages, and phone calls, especially that on the evening before the marathon. Your support made this run possible. I sincerely mean it!

And now special thanks to: Jimmy Cliff, Paul Weller, Peter Murphy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Rainmakers, Chopin, Amorphis, Rachmaninov, Waterboys, Mumford and Sons, Roger Hodgson, Tchaikovsky, Red Army Choir (seriously motivational stuff), Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen, Yanni, Zbigniew Preisner, Kitaro, Czeslaw Niemen, The Call, Florent Pagny, Nolwenn Leroy, Manau, Hans Zimmer, REM, Cornershop, Peter Murphy, Budka Suflera, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Daniel Lanois, Charles Aznavour, and I am sure I am forgetting some other artists who kept my spirits high and my legs moving.

no gifts for me

2011-11-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

Every holiday season we spend a lot of time thinking of what gifts to buy for our spouses, kids, extended family, and friends. Every year I seem to get more and more tired of that exercise realizing that I don't need and I don't want more stuff. This year I announced that I do not want any presents, and that if anyone wants to make me happy they can donate their money and/or time to the charity of their choice.

I had written a very long post on the subject and then trashed it realizing that there are people who are much more eloquent than I am so I will let them speak.
One of my favorite columnists is New York Times columnist Nikolas Kristof who writes a lot about empowering women around the world. Check his and his wife's webpage. He also has a FaceBook page. Many of his articles moved me to tears but none made as big an impression as this one about human sex trafficking. Girls are young as 6 are sold to brothels... just read his column because I cannot bring myself to write about it.

Empowerment pin - jewlery from Somaly Mam Foundation Store

Fortuantely there are amazing people out there like Somaly Mam who risks her life saving those girls and providing them with shelters. Nikolas writes about her in this column.

I do not need to say more, well maybe except that I lied about not wanting gifts. I will get a gift for myself, I will donate to Somaly Mam Foundation and find out if there are other ways I can get involved.

Please, consider this season buying gifts from sources that help those less fortunate stand on their feet. We all have so much but if we need to get more, maybe we can empower those who have little by the choices we make this holiday season.

While I was absent from blogging...

2011-11-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

...I kept on training for CIM. I will run it though I have to confess that while the first 3-4 weeks of training were fabulous, the rest... SUCKED. OK, not all of it sucked but I had a very hard time fitting my runs in. Then for some reason I could not manage my long runs. One day I ran 20mi and felt pretty good and then for over two weeks I was unable to run more than 12mi and I am sure it was just my mind fighting me every possible way. The problem was that the mind would win...

My motivation has been another issue. My initial excitement turned into dread. I don't think it had actually anything to do with running. If anything, running kept me sane but sometimes with exercise it is like with healthy eating, one knows what is good and still... I am proud of myself though. I kept my running streak, oh, and I am still eating a healthy diet (according to at least one school of healthy eating that is).

I WILL run or walk or crawl that marathon even if it kills me.

I usually run before the sun is up but towards the end of my training I decided that since this was not a midnight marathon, I better train during the day too. Good thing about day running? I could take pictures at least before and after my run.

So guess what, I noticed autumn has come to Bay Area. I love cooler temps and fall colors. Funny thing is that some of the trees have already begun... blooming. Yep, that's California for you. I still get a kick out of how seasons are all mixed up here.

I managed to squeeze in a couple of short backpacking trips. Short is the key word here. So to maximize the time spend in the mountains we leave insanely early (how does 3am sound to you?), go for a couple of days and rush back to make it to my teen's evening commitments.

Funny thing is that these were kind of solo trips. My teen is considering doing JMT by himself next summer so he needs more solo backpacking experience. The way we work it out is that we drive to the trailhead together and then we part ways. So far he is managing just fine without me.

Strangely enough, I don't mind him not needing me.

I've been trying something new to help me sleep at night. By the end of the day I am tired enough that I have no problem falling asleep, usually within a couple of minutes I am in my dream world. And then I wake up and stay awake for an hour or two. Then I fall asleep only to wake up again. That makes me a very grumpy person during the day. The only reason I still have any friends left is because I hide it so well. :)

So here is my new routine and it seems to be working. A couple of hours before I go to sleep, I get off the computer. I do not touch my iphone either. If only possible, I turn off the lights and use candles instead. Guess what, it's working! I still wake up at night but only for a second or two just like when I am camping. So maybe what I am trying is not so new after all. Hmm, my grandparents used to live like that. They never complained about not being able to sleep. But then again, they were not spending much time on Facebook either.

I tried to find a personal trainer. Again. I failed. Again. I am frustrated. Again.

I am not that demanding. All I need is someone who knows their trade, pays attention to what I am doing instead of chatting away while I tear my muscles to pieces because of my poor form, and stops pushing newest fad routines that will work miracles for me in just a couple of weeks (the guy who tried that on me was an ex used car salesman, no kidding). Do I sound frustrated enough? If not, let me know, I will rewrite this paragraph and add some expletives.

Did I mention how much I enjoy our autumn?

Missing being out there...

2011-11-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

From Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis:

Guess what place I am in now...

I will be back with more regular posts, just not yet. I am reading your blogs though, even if I don't always comment.
Confession: I have been spending a bit more time on Facebook, where I don't have to think much :)

Stefano and Giorgio, thank you so much for checking up on me.

And now, instead of pictures, this:

Lets talk food, for a change

2011-09-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

Before I start on food, I want to thank you all, my bloggy friends, for the training advice. I knew I could count on you.

I like this quote:

People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are healed by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.

-- Wendell Berry

I haven't talked about food in a while and since this seems to be an obsessive topic for our generation, here it goes.
I am still mostly paleo, which means I limit my grain intake to a minimum. I figure that since our pre-ancestors managed to evolve over the millennia on such diet, it cannot be bad for us. I don't think they suffered from diabetes either. The last time I checked my cholesterol, sugar, and other such things they were in a very healthy range, whatever that means. Yes, I have developed some mistrust in the validity of those numbers too.

Confession: many of my meals on John Muir Trail this summer were quite far from what I consider an ideal diet for me. I ate a lot of food loaded with pasta and white rice. The horror!

Excuse: I did not manage to prepare and dehydrate all of my meals for the trek so had to buy commercial stuff and did not find any that were paleo, or at least with brown rice. Darn!

Now, that I am back, I am eating what I believe my pre-ancestors used to eat.

This food pyramid comes pretty close to what I fuel my body with but with some modifications:

--I am pretty sure cavemen and cavewomen were regularly feasting on, very dark chocolate, coffee, and red wine. :-) and whoever prepared that pyramid picture just forgot about those
-- :-) It is also obvious to me that this pyramid is missing Char's cupcakes. :-)

-- as much as I love good cheeses, I have to avoid them otherwise I would not be able to stop, oh, well, just another addiction I have to watch, so that wedge of cheese you see there - erase it

-- occasionally I will eat yogurt and drink kefir, both plain or with fresh fruit (yum!)

-- on very rare occasions I will eat some raw honey (yeah, that one I have to make sure is out of reach of my paws too)

I've been eating like that for quite some time now and I feel great. There is nothing better than a carefully prepared but simple salad with some added protein. I could eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Just the process of cutting up veggies makes me happy. So shoot me, I realize that cave people did not waste their time chopping veggies, arranging them in a bowl and sprinkling them with herbs and spices. Well, I am not as pure as I would like to be, some of that civilization of ours has rubbed off on me too.
And then there are roasted root veggies sprinkled with olive oil (surely a paleo fat), which especially in winter taste just heavenly.

So as you can clearly see I am not that much into dogma and ever so often I will stray and try things that are not on my list for foods to eat, like this recipe from Amy. Me, being me, I had to modify it "a bit" (sorry Amy, had to try cilantro in place of parsley, and there were some other changes... sorry again...), but not too many. It is yummy, and quite filling, trust me. Just try it for yourself and arrange it on your plate the way Amy did; Mine did not look nearly as nice. Oh, well, I am a cave woman after all, I shouldn't even own plates.

If you expected me to post my own recipes, tough luck; I don't really have any. I improvise as I go, every meal is different and unique, kind of like my marathon training programs. :)

So what are you eating, especially when you are in training?

And last but not least, I want to thank Michele for this award:

Michele writes:"Liebster means 'favorite' or 'love' in German and can be presented to bloggers you love that have fewwer than 200 followers."

Now I am to pass this award to people whose blogs I love. That would be all of you. Every one of you has something in your blog that inspires, motivates, makes me think, elicits a smile or a tear. I cannot choose one over the other so this award goes to all. Feel free to use it, you have earned it. And thank you for your virtual friendship.

Something to ponder

2011-09-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

I am not a big Deepak Chopra fan but I liked this post a lot:

Deepak on reincarnation

Published on September 15, 2011 in News. 0 Comments

by Deepak Chopra

What was most magical in my childhood was transformation. Death itself was seen as a brief stopping point on an endless soul journey that could turn a peasant into a king and vice versa. With the possibility of infinite lifetimes extending forward and backward, a soul could experience hundreds of heavens and hells.

Death ended nothing; it opened up limitless adventures. A drop of water becomes vapor, which is invisible, yet vapor materializes into billowing clouds, and from clouds rain falls back to earth, forming river torrents and eventually merging into the sea.

Has the drop of water died along the way? No, it undergoes a new expression at each stage. Likewise, the idea that I have a fixed body locked in space and time is a mirage.

Any drop of water inside my body could have been ocean, cloud, river, or spring the day before. I remind myself of this fact when the bonds of daily life squeeze too tight.

Enlighten me

2011-09-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Why are ice baths supposed to work? Same goes for icing.
As long as I have hot tea, I love ice baths, really, I am not kidding. But then I started thinking about blood carrying nutrients that help with the healing process of inflamed areas. If blood vessels constrict, healing would be slowed down, right? What am I not understanding here?

I truly dislike gels, energy drinks and such.
I used them in the past. My stomach tolerates them well but most are laden with artificial ingredients. Do any of you know of 100% natural products for refueling? Carrying salted potatoes would probably not be practical for a marathoner but is there anything else I could consider?

On the days when I cannot find the time to do one longer session of strength training, I break it up into mini sessions.
What is the benefit of doing, say, sets of deadlifts a minute appart vs two hours apart?

Second run a day, beneficial, useless or harmful?
Sometimes I don't have one block of time to do a longer run but I can run twice during one day but for shorter distances. Am I delaying/wrecking recovery after the first run? OR Am I strengthening my legs?

Exercising fast twitch muscles.
I am a firm believer in slow, controlled strength exercises but I keep wondering how I can safely exercise my fast twitch muscles. My legs get the exercise when I run but what about other parts of the body?

Very high intensity intervals.
There has been some research that showed that short but very intense periods of exercise produce same changes in muscles as long endurance runs. So while I would be very concerned about injuries I am still curious if any of you has tried that and seen positive results in running.

Why limit the longest run in marathon training to 20-22 miles?
The conventional wisdom is that it is to prevent injury but ultramarathoners run longer distances in their training and most survive without injuring themselves. Wouldn't it be better to actually run even more than 26mi so when the race day comes the marathon distance does not seem too daunting? Just a thought.

Combining hard running days with hard lifting days.
It seems to make sense to me that on easier days my entire body gets to rest, that all of my body's resources are used for recovery. If that's the case, on heavy days I need to do both, heavy duty running and lifting. Yes?

Am I overanalyzing my training yet again? (I would like this to remain a rhetorical question. :-) )

Word verification.
Why, oh, why some of you, my bloggy friends, are still using word verification? I wonder how many of my comments got lost, especially on those posts where the word verification box appears AFTER I click the submit button as I tend to close the window right after I am done with my reply.

On a different note, my CIM training is going surprisingly well even though I was quite a bit sick this week. I am much slower than I used to be before I started backpacking training for my summer trek but it seems I am able to put in more miles than I hoped I would:
week 1: 19.8mi
week 2: 39.8mi (OK, big jump in miles but it felt good!)
week 3: 44.3mi

And now even better news. A while ago I posted about closing of many CA state parks.
I was very happy to hear that thanks to private donations my favorite state park escaped the chopping block at least for the next three years. For a while it did not look it was going to work, but in the end we won! YES!

Too busy

2011-09-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've been guilty of being too busy for reality. Read on...

This article made a huge impression on me. I've been thinking about it for days now and I cannot escape the feeling of guilt and shame. See, I got pulled into this wonderful world of virtual friendships. After all what is not to like? They e-friendships are so easy to maintain: a short message, a Facebook 'like' click, an occasional email; virtual relationships do not require commitment, they don't affect me too much - I can have hundreds of friends, support them with a few clicks on my keyboard or iphone and can feel good about myself without feeling their pain when they suffer, but also without really feeling their joy when they are happy. Sadly enough, when I examine my life, I see that many of my real friends have moved, or was it me who moved them, into the virtual domain too. I know, I am not the only guilty one here. After all I am in their virtual world also. We still call and meet but not as often as we used to. It is easier to email. It is even easier to text or exchange messages on Facebook. We tell each other how busy we are. Too busy to talk? Too busy to listen? Too busy to meet face to face?

If I claim I am busy but I find the time to watch a movie, browse the internet, make silly comments on Facebook, I am sending a message to the universe that in my life those things have a priority over true and real relationships. I am creating a world for myself in which real people are replaced by screen images and talk is replaced by clicks.
Is this the kind of a world I want to live in? I don't think so.

For a number of months now I've been struggling with the question of the value of the virtual world. I am not trying to knock the internet down. I love what it can do for us. I have connected with some amazing people through this technology, people I would have never had a chance to exchange ideas with otherwise. But at the same time I am realizing that I've been using it as an excuse or maybe an escape from real life. Because being a real friend can be difficult, sometimes painful, definitely time consuming.

When a real friend is talking, I cannot press the mute button. When tears show in my real friend's eyes, I cannot minimize or better yet, kill the window. When a real friend needs support, I cannot pretend I don't see it like I can with emails or text messages.

I cannot put real friendships, real relationships on hold for when I am less busy, or feel more like helping, being there, and listening. And that availability is what true friendship means to me. I have not been too bad in that department but I am afraid I am sinking into this holodeck world and I don't like it one little bit.

So I made a promise to myself and to my real and virtual friends that I will never refuse them time and space in my reality. As long as I have any time to spend in the virtual world, I will donate it gladly to whoever wants or needs a real talk where one can hear the other's tone of voice, see the face expression, can touch and hug if needed. No more 'busy' excuses, because in my life, I know that for sure, these are just excuses.

Perfect trail for lazy runners and 9/11 run

2011-09-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

I miss MY mountains. I keep getting JMT reports from people who are either still out there or have just returned from the trail and whether they finished or not, I am green with envy because I want to be there, in the mountains, now.

This weekend did not look promising for any longer trips and what's more the weather forecast for the Sierras was not that great. So I managed to shuffle a few things around and went to Tahoe area on Friday. I had to settle only for a half a day in the mountains but I stretched that to the limit by leaving the house super duper early. The benefit of that was that for most of the time I had the trail all to myself. This time I explored trails on Carson Pass, a very beautiful area between Hope Valley and Kirkwood.

Notes from the trail:

- My brain thinks that trail is rather flat; my legs totally disagree.

-Brining a camera on the trail as a perfect excuse for stopping is a must; now you know why trail runners always carry one with them.

- Love rocky parts where I have to hop. Strangely enough my knees do not complain the next day. Good knees, good knees.

- I wish there was a bit more oxygen there. C'mon, 8,600ft (2860m give or take) is not that high.

- Little lakes here and there are lovely

I am already planning a snowshoeing trip there this winter

- People who complain that there are not enough wild flowers there must be totally blind

- Finding a perfect camping spot makes me already itch for a longer stay there for training purposes of course :-). Now if I could only find a couple of free days...

On a more somber note. I signed up for Daily Mile 9/11 11-mile run virtual event. At this point in my training, 11 miles of pounding pavement is pushing it a bit but I felt I needed to do it.

Ten years ago I was exploring Mesa Verde with my friend and our kids. We were annoyed to no end by all those people sitting in their cars and playing their radios very loud and then we listened...

I don't have anything new to say. All has been already said many times over. As I ran today, I focused on gratitude for all the things that allow me to live and enjoy my life despite so many tragedies in the world, especially those caused by us. I can only hope we have learned some important lessons from that day. For me the lesson is that no matter what, we need to talk to each other, listen to each other and see humanity in all of us. The price for not learning this lesson is just too high.

This is not training, this is fun!

2011-09-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

Now how could I not want to run here?

Maybe because of my unstructured approach, maybe because after a few months of not running that much I have it, whatever the reason, I am having a ball. I am actually enjoying getting up at crazy hours in the morning and going for a run or better yet hitting trails and killing my legs on hills (both up and down). A few hours after I am done running I want to do more. I mean I REALLY want to go for more. I bet some people in my house would not mind me getting some more endorphins either. I do not want to risk injury though so I am trying not to increase my weekly mileage too fast.

I hope this lasts till December.

That's all folks. At least for now.

Char, I am so sorry about those ultrarunners who got caught by the wildfire. I am praying they will pull through.

CIM Training Plan

2011-09-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have it. I have my training plan for CIM and here it is:

Isn't my form just purrfect?

RUN

OK, that was the short version. Here is more detailed version:

RUN A LOT

And that's about it.

Seriously, I am not that good about following structured anything. When I get a recipe, I have to experiment with it; when I am to follow a trail, I have to explore side trails; when I try to stick to a rigid training program, I get discouraged. I like to think of myself as free spirited as opposed to undisciplined (you, disciplined friends of mine, don't cringe, please; I am still a decent person, really).

Still, I will have some structure around my messy plan and here it is:
- I will have one long run each week, hopefully longer and longer every time, probably culminating at 22-24 miles.
- There will be two medium length runs each week also increasing in distance as my training progresses.
- The rest of the runs will be shorter and probably all barefoot. I know my feet will love me for that. No, I do not see myself doing the whole marathon barefoot; maybe the next one but not this one.

- I will be running every day. Yes, every day, and here is why: the strongest and most injury free I have ever been was when I was running every day with no rest days. Go figure. Some runs were short and quite slow, but when I look at my running logs (incomplete as they are), my injuries tend to show up after even short periods of rest. So I will be streaking, running longer and harder 4, maybe 5 times a week and on my 'rest days' slower and only 3-4 miles.

- I would like to have at least one trail run a week. Luckily some of my son's classes are near a very neat county park with lots of trails so that makes it easier. For my benefit he should have signed up for more classes there but he refused to do so. (He will want something from me one of these days.)

- I may or may not introduce tempo runs later in the program. Right now it is way too early for that since my running fitness sucks big time.

- And the most important part of my plan: carry a half way decent camera because iphone pictures suck.

My marathon goal: have fun. I don't really care how fast I run this thing.

Do you think this training plan could use some tweaking? :-)

Decision made (I must be nuts)

2011-09-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

OK, it is official. I AM nuts.

Yesterday registered for CIM. Yes, I know, it is a road race but I have a bone to pick with this specific marathon. A couple of years ago I was going to run this race on my birthday. I thought then it would make a perfect birthday present. Well, guess what, no present, only a rush trip to Poland. So while this year it does not fall on my b-day, I think it still owes me a birthday gift and a darn good one. Don't you agree?
Originally I was thinking of focusing on trail running but when a friend suggested CIM, I jumped on the idea. OK, it took me a while (a whole half an hour :) ) to decide.

My biggest concern is that I have only 12 weeks to train. I guess I will have to be smart about it and pray to my Achilles tendon, who likes to remind me ever so often that it is still there and is holding some kind of a grudge against me, that it behaves.
Any training suggestions? I can use all the help I can get.

So now this just might become a running blog again. I will be boring you with my running stats, fueling mishaps, and reports on aches and pains. I bet you just can't wait.

In the future I am very tempted to do Skyline to the Sea 50k (another friend's recommendation). I backpacked this trail in both directions a few times and I love it. They used to hold this race in September but then, I guess, the organizers decided that it was not challenging enough so they moved it to April, which can be still quite wet here making the trail in some places impassable. Fun!

And then is this sounds like a blast but the entry fee is... $400!!! If I start saving now, I might consider entering the lottery next September. Or maybe not. FOUR HUNDRED US DOLLARS! Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit high? I must be since there is enough interest in this race to actually hold a lottery. So if I put away $1.1 a day... tempting, isn't it?

Please, keep your fingers crossed that this time I do not have to rush off to Poland just before the marathon yet again. If I do, I will blame all of you who had suggested I try to break the curse.

But thank you so much for all your recommendations.

Let the training begin.

Eid al-Fitr

2011-08-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Being so focused on *my* problems, hikes, and daily struggles, I totally forgot to post about Ramadan. And while it is too late to wish Happy Ramadan to all, I would like to wish all Happy Eid ul-Fitr, a day that marks the end of Ramadan.

Here is a beautiful story from one of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho's blog:

August 30: end of Ramadan. EID MUBARAK to all my Muslim friends here!

An old man sold toys in the Baghdad market. Knowing that his sight was not quite perfect, his customers sometimes paid him with fake money.

The old man discovered the ruse, but did not say anything.
In his prayers he asked God to forgive those who cheated him.
“Perhaps they’re short of money and want to buy presents for their children,” he said to himself.

The time passed and the old man died. Standing before the gates of Heaven, he prayed once more:

- Lord! – he said. – I am a sinner. I did many wrong things, I am no better than the false coins I was paid. Forgive me!

At that moment the gates swung open and a Voice was heard:

- Forgive what? How can I judge someone who all through his life never once passed judgment on others?

Eid Sa‘eed

New goals?

2011-08-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

So now, that I am done with John Muir Trail, I am looking for a new challenge and I am looking for ideas.

Love biking or running early in the morning

Since my JMT, I have been quite good with my workout regime, I've been running, biking, lifting but I think I could use more structure that training vs. just exercise provides.

In case you haven't noticed, I am not much into racing, and there is a reason for that. Actually, just setting goals makes me worried that something will go wrong. Let me explain. In the past, I had signed up for four (yes, four!) marathons, and two 50k trail runs. I have not participated even in even one and not because I had not trained enough. Except for one marathon, when I got sick with a 104F flu just two days before, all the other races I had to skip either because somebody in my very close family died, or got hospitalized and I had to go to Poland. I am very seriously not kidding. Even this year JMT got interrupted by death. A curse comes to mind. The obvious solution would be to schedule some even in Poland, but I don't think I want to do that.

Now I don't really want to draw any conclusions here but this is quite a coincidence to have to cancel six events like that.

What do you think, should I give up or keep on trying? After all, I did manage to complete the JMT so maybe, just maybe the tide is turning around. I am hoping you can give me some ideas and if you know any spells to repel curses, I would be more than interested. :-)

I hope all East Coast friends and their families are fine and that hurricane Irene is not causing too much trouble.

Random thoughts about my visit to Poland

2011-08-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

To my dear aunt:

I love you dearly but don't you think that considering that we came to Poland to say good bye to a guy who died of food overdose, force feeding us is not the best way to honor his memory? I love your yummy food, delicious butter saturated potatoes smothered in tasty, creamy sauces, rich and sweet cakes, ice cream, chocolates, cookies, and all the other goodies you had for us, but please understand, even if I tried, I cannot eat ever a fifth of what you expected me to eat. Wait, haven't we had that conversation (many times) before?

To Warsaw city planners:

I applaud you for adding more and more bike paths. I loved seeing so many people commuting to work on bicycles. Now could you please send a delegation to San Jose to teach our city planners how to add such paths to already existing streets and sidewalks?

And hats off to you for expanding public transportation in the city. Why on earth people drive cars in Warsaw is beyond me. I love the fact that more and more popular tourist areas are being closed off to car traffic. How about now closing off the rest of the city? :)

To Polish weather people:

Could you please do something about humidity at least for when I visit? I don't visit that often so it is not like I am asking too much. I really do not like running and even walking is not fun when it is humid. And one more thing, after a nice, big storm, I would expect the air to be crisp and clear. I noticed on several occasions that storms did not produce that effect. I think you are wasting storm power that way.

To Warsaw fellow runners:
Running Agricola Street does not count as hill running, I checked it out. Maybe my Sierra Mountains perspective is skewed but for goodness sake, a slight incline does not make it a hill. So face it, Warsaw is FLAT and there is nothing much you can do about it.

To road fixing crews:

I know you are only trying to ensure your continuing employment but trust me, roads are so bad, you are in no danger of loosing your jobs. In several places I drive thorough on regular basis when I visit, I remember you filling potholes just a year ago. Guess what, they are baaack. For goodness sake, can't you do a better job?

To whoever is responsible:

I don't think fumigation is an answer but those mosquitoes in the city center are a total nuisance, in case you have not noticed. They made us behave at the funeral ceremonies in the most undignified way. Just try to picture a bunch of people standing around a grave slapping themselves silly. Can't you or anyone do something about that? Seriously, in all my life and then frequent visits in Warsaw, I have never seen so many mosquitoes. Some parks would have them but now they seem to have adapted to car fumes and bite even on busy city streets. They may ruin the tourist industry if something is not done and fast.

To Polish (or is it EU) food industry:

When I see a label saying 'butter', I expect to find inside the wrapper butter, right? Am I missing something? I don't know what tripped me to actually read the ingredients list but imagine my surprise when I found out that what I was holding in my hand was only 60% butter and the rest was partially hydrogenated oils = poison.

To Polish citizens:

-I know you have always admired all that is American but c'mon, you don't have to copy and then improve on everything you see in the States. Food portions in your restaurants are getting bigger than those we have here. Eating more food will not make you better. Trust me, I know. I just buried a guy who believed that.

-And have you noticed that the number of pastry shops in Warsaw is equalled only by the number of pharmacies? Hint, hint!

-I am so glad to see, every time I come, more of you running and biking. This time not even one person stared at this middle age woman (me that is) who was running. Now if you could only encourage the other part of the population to move their a$$es more because in all my visits I have never seen so many fat people as this time.

-And could you please stop that self flagellation? I am sick and tired of hearing how bad things are in Poland in comparison to the rest of the world and how it is the Polish character that makes it so. The grass is not always greener on the other side. Actually it seems to me that with Polish economy being the only one still growing in Europe, you are doing quite well. Stop complaining and start enjoying.

-I believe tolerance is a virtue. You will have a healthier society if you stop bitching about gays and lesbians, foreign immigration and anyone who is different. Period.

To Polish drivers:

-Just because you drive fast and expensive cars, does not mean you have to drive like maniacs. Or are you trying to beat Greece for most road fatalities per capita? You are not that far off.

On the positive note, you could teach American drivers what turn signals are for. Many here have no idea.

-With gas prices being way higher than those in the US, how come you don't buy hybrid cars?

To Polish DMV:

I love how tough your driver's license exams are. I am not sure I would pass one. Now do you think you could have an exam for common sense when driving too?

To the car industry:

Since so many countries now require cars to have with lights on, why on earth do I have to remember to turn them on? Couldn't they just come on automatically once I turn the ignition on? You know, my memory is not what it used to be and the fines for forgetting are quite high.

To car rental agencies in Europe:

Get that smirk off your face when renting me, a person from the States, a standard transmission car. I know how to drive with a stick and I love it, so the joke is on you.

Disclaimer: this time renting a car was a must. Normally, to the horror of my family and many friends, I move around Warsaw without one, I don't get lost and I love public transportation.

To whoever thought that hosting Euro 2012 Soccer Games was a good idea:

That huge and ugly monster stadium you are building in Warsaw is a total waste of money especially that because of how it was designed, it won't be able to host any track and field events (smart, really smart). Wouldn't it be better to spend that money on fixing roads? And they need fixing badly.

To Polish television:

Sorry, can't comment since I did not turn the TV on even once. I hear though it is as good as American television. That is not meant to be a compliment. One more tip, adding more channels will not improve the quality of your programming.

To Polish print media:

You are at the new low. In communist times you were forced to print crap but even in those times, one could find the truth between the lines. Now there is no room for truth and objectivity anywhere, all is filled by sensationalism and nonsense. Is honest journalism dead in Poland or is it hiding underground again?

To Polish kids:

I am not complaining about my childhood but I envy you nevertheless. Being able to just jump on the plane to spend a few days in this or that European country for practically nothing is something I could never had dreamed of. I love it that most of you speak at least two foreign languages. There is the whole world out there for you to explore, just disconnect yourselves from your laptops, and TV please.

To Starbucks, Subway, KFC and so on:

I don't know what to say anymore so I can get through to you. I keep seeing your signs all over the world and I cringe. I do not go to Poland to have coffee at Starbucks; there are plenty of excellent coffee shops there all over the place. I do not crave Subway sandwiches. I certainly will not be buying KFC. Could you just stick to the US? I do not want to feel like I am in America when I go to Paris, London, Tokyo, or Warsaw.

So these are just a few things that would make Ewa happy when she travels to Poland. I am not asking too much, am I?

Encounters on John Muir Trail

2011-08-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Most people are respective of Nature, they don't litter, they don't destroy any natural features. Still, I was amazed how clean the trail, and what is more all camping sites along the JMT were. But as soon as I got on much more popular Mount Whitney Trail, I saw pieces of trash, plastic bottles and wag bags* left behind. In 251 miles, the ONLY thing I found on the JMT that did not belong there was a bag of peanuts somebody forgot. Yes, there is a difference between occasional hikers and those who truly love Nature. OK, got that off my chest.

What I really want to write about is all those wonderful encounters on the trail that made my trek even more amazing.

I will start with the animals because it was their home I was visiting.

I almost befriended a deer. It came one evening to my camping site and did not seem to be bothered by my presence at all. I must assume that the grass near me was of a better quality than that several feet away because the deer came within arm's length of me. We looked at each other and I even talked to her but she was the contemplative type and did not answer. Then she went over to my bear can and smelled it. That was the end of our friendship. She took off as if somebody was chasing her with a gun. I had no idea my cooking was that bad.

Stags I saw on the trail were a lot less brave and ran away as soon as they saw me. What kind of men are they?

If you look closely there are two mosquitoes in the frame. The rest must
be camera shy

In one of my previous posts I mentioned a bear, I was sure was visiting me at night but I am sure he/she saw what a professional camper I was and realized there was no food to be found. Or maybe the deer told him/her about the bear can odors. Sierra bears are really harmless, which I have learned a couple of years ago in Yosemite Valley when a bear followed me to the tent cabin and it took quite a bit of effort to persuade it to leave.

Then there were numerous marmots and chipmunks who, though curious about my backpack, did not want to have anything to do with me. I felt sooo rejected. But then there were mosquitoes who tried very hard to make up for the marmots' and chipmunks' behavior. One even bit me on the lip. What was she thinking, that I would turn into a handsome mosquito prince? I only want to know what Dalai Lama would do if an army after army of mosquitoes attacked him. But then I am not Dalai Lama...

There were also two-legged creatures on the trail and I want to write more about them because in all my hiking/backpacking trips I have never met so many wonderful people.

There was a young couple, Pete and Mary (Pete is the one who was ~~spreading rummors~~ ~~about~~ me warning other hikers about getting lost on Donohue Pass). JMT was Mary's... first backpacking trip! I met them twice, three days apart, and was surprised to see that not only they had not divorced yet but actually seemed to enjoy the backpacking experience. Mary impressed me to no end.

Or how about those four guys, Joe and his teen son Kale, Dan, and, what was the forth one's name(?). They could not find any camping sites further away but there were some very close to where I was staying. They asked if it was OK with me if they set their tents there. We ended up talking and laughing way passed my ~~bed~~ sleeping bag time. When I was leaving very early in the morning, Dan was waiting for me on the trail just to tell me not to worry about the Mather Pass, which everybody I talked to seemed to be very concerned about. He assured me I was going to do just great and wished me a great journey. I was practically choked up when I left.

Mary Jo, and Jim were probably the friendliest and most inviting people I have ever seen in my entire life. I won't gossip too much but the amount the stuff they carried made a Japanese writer for an outdoor magazine (I will write about him later) snap a picture of their campsite filled with chairs, pots, pans, solar showers and so on. They were not doing JMT but still even an 8 day long trip with so much stuff must be tough. Jim was spoon feeding me Mountain House meal I was not familiar with, and Mary Jo, a teacher, and I, a homeschool mom spent endless time ~~bitching~~ talking about education. And then there was fly fishing but I would rather not say how well I did. :)

Tatsuya (Tatch) lives in Japan but seems to be spending a lot of time in the US. He runs ultra marathons like Western States 100, and hikes JMT. He seems to understand English perfectly well but does not really speak it much. Still, he was such a joy to have around. Jim was showing him fly fishing too and being a much more patient person than some bloggers whose name I won't mention, Tatch caught a fish.

Had I known he wanted to see the sunrise from Mt Whitney I would have woken him up when I was leaving in the middle of the night but I had no idea and he missed it by good 40 minutes. Still he was very happy to see me and even though he was infinitely faster than me, he patiently hiked with me down the mountain.

And then there was Ross an Aussie living in London. We kind of started together after one creek crossing and continued on for the next couple of days. At first I thought that maybe he was annoyed by my presence because he did not talk at all, but then he waited to make sure I did not kill myself at one of the fords and I realized that maybe he was fine with my quiet company. We had to start communicating when we got lost. OK, not really lost but totally confused because a well visible trail vanished all of a sudden in a fast moving creek and there was no sign of it on the other side. Grudgingly we took our boots off and crossed. The trail was there, only hiding. I was fun to have a bitching company about steep passes and snow and laughing at the stuff his sister insisted he took with him since she was the one equipping him here in the States (you know, typical backpacking stuff like a huge thermos bottle and even bigger bear spray with a holster).

Mondo was a black guy doing Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which is only ten times longer than JMT. That trail starts on the Mexico border and goes all the way to Canada and practically everyone does it in the northerly direction. He was so much fun to chat with that I wanted to talk him into changing directions. I learned a lot about preparation for PCT should I ever be crazy enough to do it (hmm...). Then I noticed a toy sticking out from his backpack's pocket. Mondo told me that when he goes to town for supplies and needs a ride to a store, since he is black, that raccoon puppet makes him somehow look less threatening. Somehow I did not need any puppets to enjoy my chat with him.

How about a really funny guy who entertained Ross and me for quite some time with the stories of his previous JMT hikes. I noticed he had water bottles clipped to his shoulder belts but in those bottles were... cigars. Apparently he likes to have one as a treat after a long day of hiking. This is not what I would want to do but still, I found it rather funny.

And then there were angels like Audrey at Muir Trail Ranch who, when she heard of my brother in law passing, went out of her way to be helpful. She waved all internet use fees, offered me the use of it way after hours should I need to communicate with the family, and showered us with hugs on our departure.

Brandy is a very sweet guy who shuttles people and supplies on the ferry on Florence Lake. Not only was he a joy to talk to but he would not take any money from me for the ticket only because I helped him to load a few empty resupply buckets onto the boat. C'mon Brandy, you will soon go broke if you keep on doing things like that.

Jim, the owner of Vermillion Valley Resort makes thru hikers feel like at home and he starts with offering them free bottle of beer. Camping for backpackers at VVR is free and the food (not free) is sinful. Talking to Jim is a joy. Not only is he funny but he is a great source of information about the area and the trail.

You know what? I think I will stop now. There are so many other people I enjoyed meeting on the trail, this post would get way, way too long. What I think I wanted to say is that there is some kind of camaraderie in the backcountry I have never seen on any other trails. People seem more friendly, more approchable, more concerned for each other. I wonder how come we are not always like that when we get back into civilization?

THE END

______________________________

*Wag bag containing a highly absorbent substance is a requirement for the Whitney Zone since most of the area is exposed rock and one cannot dig to hide human waste. One uses the bag as needed and is supposed to carry it out. I have done it in the past and it is not a big issue, and the benefit of using it is that it leaves the trails and surroundings clean and smelling fresh. BTW, the bag does not smell in the backpack either.

JMT Challenges

2011-08-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

I would like to express my eternal and truly sincere gratitude to all the hikers who lied straight into my face about how easy the passes were. Not too steep, not much snow, and whatever the snow there was it was on the flat parts only, and navigation, of course, was a breeze. Yeah! Had I known the true conditions, I might have turned around and never learned what I could actually do.

Now I know they lied because I could easily see all the places where they had slipped and all those holes where their legs had fallen in hip deep. I have also followed their tracks, which clearly and without any doubt proved they had as much idea of which way to go as I did, which is none whatsoever.

I just got an email from one of those liars :) who said he was sending me positive vibes while I was struggling with the most bitchy pass of them all. This was the guy, who the night before told me, "Nothing to it. You'll be just fine". Never trust a man, I say.

This year Sierra Mountains received about 200% normal snowfall. Winter was long and snow started melting very late in the season. I am beyond words for the skills and guts of those who did that trek some weeks before I did. I am quietly hoping that if I venture out into the mountains more often, OK, much more often, I will hopefully acquire some of those skills too.

I am a morning bird and I like to conquer passes early in the day when my legs are still fresh (later I learned that this did not matter much as I would truly not feel tired by the day's end) and before snow becomes soft. While that makes for an easier effort, since one does not sink into the snow, navigation is more difficult. Usually fewer hikers go late in the afternoon and the sun is still strong enough to melt the snow and hide the tracks. Quite often, when I was actually able to see the tracks, they would end up on a pile of rocks on one side and not emerge on the other. Fun, ha?

On Mather Pass I followed a well preserved set of tracks to a maddening rock pile I had no choice but to get on top of. It was way too steep for me to consider going back down so the only thing to do was to do a rock scramble up. Now I am NOT a rock climber and with a heavy pack I am even less of a rock climber. I was praying the boulders were solidly wedged against each other and was grateful my son was not with me. Of course he is a lot more agile and would probably scramble to the top without a problem but I am a mother so I have to worry, right?

And then there were steep traverses. I do not like hights very much so having to walk on slippery snow on a steep slope with a several hundred foot drop was challenging. So I just fixed my eyes a couple of feet in front of me and slowly cursing all the time (another reason I was glad my son was not around) moved forward making sure to plant my poles as firmly as possible. My poles became my very good friends on that trek. And you know what? After every traverse like that I wanted to do more. I really need to have my head examined.

Every time I got to the top of a pass (I am a slow learner) I had this feeling of being done. Yes, I thought, I finally made it, easy going from now on. But sure enough there were more challenges ahead. Usually on the southern side there was less snow, but less does not mean none and going down, for me, at least, is always more challenging than going up. Again, my wonderful poles saved my butt because usually by the time I got to the down section the snow was soft and slippery. Trust me, I know how slippery it was. Need I say more?

Creek crossings this year, I am told, were especially difficult. I am proud to say that I fell in only once, on the first part of the trip when a boulder decided to tip under my weight (hint, hint). It did not move when my teen hopped on it but sure enough it did when I stepped on it with outmost care. I survived and so did my camera, which got wet and in protest refused to work for two days. Other than that no creek accidents. I learned my lesson this time. I would check up and down any creek for easier crossings, I would make sure to protect all my electronic gizmos, and I would go very slowly no matter how much my feet froze. Sorry, feet.

Disclaimer: I did not cross here. I went half a mile down to a nice
ford by a meadow where water was still deep but much slower.

Then there were countless easy creeks that required that I changed my shoes for fording. That was getting to be actually boring. One day I counted six shoe changes while one hiker claimed that a couple of years ago there were only two crossings for which he had to take his boots off. Not fair.

Can't see much here? Well, neither could I. Notice the drop on the left...
...or maybe better don't look.

Doing Mt Whitney in the dark.
I will get back to you on whether this was smart or not. So here I was vegging out at Guitar Lake on the west side of the mountain trying to decide when to do the climb. Some people wanted to go in the evening and spend the night near the ridge and head out before the dawn to see the sunrise. Some wanted to start in the morning and make it to the top before it got too hot and before possible afternoon storms. I, trying to be original, had to have this 'fantastic' idea of hiking by moonlight. Now true, the moon had been especially bright so why not, right? Well, had I looked at the map carefully I would have noticed that the way trail went would put it in the shadow of the mountain and I would not have much moonlight, but who checks the maps when the trail is so well visible even in the moonlight, right? Half a mile into a 5 mile hike, I was in total darkness. Out went my headlamp and for the rest of the ascent I had a tunnel vision of only what my lamp allowed me to see. For that reason I really, really detest headlamps, flashlights and so on but there was no way I could manage without it. By the time I got to the ridge the moon had set so I could not count on its light even there. Thank you, moon. I had done Mt Whitney twice, I repeat, twice before. How come I did not remember how challenging the ridge part could be? It is not steep but there are stretches of rubble, wobbling rocks with 2,000ft drop on the side of a narrow trail. Me doing that at night meant going very, very, very slow. I truly expected to see "you must be crazy" sign once I got to the top. Oh, and one more thing, but I actually think this was not that stupid, I dragged my heavy backpack with me, which made balancing more challenging. Most people, when they get to the ridge, leave their packs there hoping marmots will not chew through them. I decided not to do that because, see my memory and sanity are not gone altogether, I remembered how cold it could get on the top even when it is very hot below. I wanted to have my sleeping bag and all my clothes with me.

One thing my friends know about me is that I am never late, actually I tend to arrive early. Of course I did not want to be late for the sunrise either so I made it to the top with plenty of time to ~~spare~~ freeze and of course I was the first one there. I put every piece of clothing I had with me on, and that included my rain jacket. I wrapped myself in my sleeping bag and seriously considered throwing the tent tarp on top because the wind was fierce. A young couple arrived some time later, you know, those people with still high metabolisms but without sleeping bags. High metabolism did not help them at all and they were freezing, poor souls, but timidly refused my offers to hide from the wind beneath my sleeping bag.

Watching the sky change colors and then the small sliver of light and promise of warmth made it all worth it. My sunrise-craving but totally frozen friends scrambled off the top as soon as the sun came up. I stayed a little longer enjoying the top and newly lit world all to myself. I knew I was in heaven.

If you ever climb Mt Whitney, you may seriously consider not going down. Yeah, the trail is pretty. Yeah, there are sinful burgers at Whitney Portal Store, but going down is tedious. It is tedious, I tell you. After three weeks on the trail of going up and down, up and down, this was the most mentally challenging descent. Even stunning views did not make it easier. And even though I did remember from my previous Whitney climbs how much I disliked this part, it still did not prepare me for the suffering of the endless switchbacks and the views of the bottom of the valley that did not seem to be getting any closer.

But then there was that yummy burger and a very long and very funny chat with Doug, the owner of the store, who is one of the nicest people around and even the never-ending descent seemed like nothing. But till this day I am really not sure if the burger was truly tasty or maybe anything would taste good after days of feasting on dehydrated food. Doug tells me his burgers are good for real. He would say that, wouldn't he? :-)

In case you don't know it by now, I loved my hike and that includes the long descent from the Whitney ridge. I would do it again anytime especially if I could have more laughs with Doug at the end.

I Wish I Were Still on the JMT

2011-08-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am back. I was hoping to stay a few days longer and scout some trails near Mt Whitney but real life forced me to go back home sooner. Oh, well...

According to my GPS, with all my intentional and unintentional :) side trips, I hiked 251 miles. Somehow it did not seem that long. Actually, it seemed way too short for me because I loved every step of that journey and I would LOVE to do it again.

So are you ready for day by day report? Mercifully I will spare you. I am thinking of writing a few posts about my trip but since I need to get ready for to go to Poland for my brother in law services next week, those might be slow in coming.

First, general impressions:

I did the second part of JMT solo. My teen, once at home, lost his momentum, and decided not to continue. I was fine with that and secretly, even though I love my kid (I write this because I know he will be reading this post), I was eager to tackle the harder part of the trek on my own. I have done enough solo hikes and backpacking trips to know I would not be afraid but I did wonder if I would get lonely after a couple of days without any companion. I did not. There are other people on the trail, and even without them, I felt fine being with my thoughts and the amazing beauty around me. People who have done that trail before were telling me it was going to be getting more and more beautiful. I did not think it possible but every day the views were becoming more and more stunning. Also, it felt to me, I was getting stronger every day but maybe it was only my backpack becoming ligher as I was eating up my supplies. I felt I could go on forever and ever. At no point did I ever feel I wanted to leave the trail, that it was getting too tough or that I even missed any of the civilization's conveniences.

Unfortunately the only other solo woman hiker I saw was a tiny Japanese girl and she was doing great with her very limited English and her big, really big backpack. There were plenty of men hiking solo but no women. C'mon ladies, we can do it too! Interestingly enough no man was surprised to see me by myself but all but one woman expressed doubts they could ever managed alone.

There were not that many kids on the trail either. Now that truly upsets me. I think backpacking should be a school requirement. Period.

Doing the second part without my teen was a great experience for me. The biggest problem I had in the first part the was navigation. Normally the trail is very well marked, but this year with snow covering big parts of it there were places where finding which way to go was quite challenging. I was relying on my son for the map and GPS reading since I stepped on my glasses in Yosemite Valley (smart, wasn't it?) and could not read well. For the second half of the trip I had two pairs of glasses with me (see, I can learn from my mistakes) and was quite surprised to find that I had very little trouble navigating even when my GPS topo maps vanished only to miraculously reappear after four days. That sense of total self reliance made me feel quite good about myself. I still need to work on my navigation skills though.

Trail safety was something many women (never men though) asked me about.

People:

My personality is such that I feel a lot safer outdoors than in the city. My mind makes me believe that there are more creeps in urban areas than on trails. Actually I have never met as many wonderful people as on JMT. Again, I have backpacked quite a bit in the past meeting all kinds of people but there is something about those who venture deeper into the backcountry, or maybe it is the backcountry that does something to them, that makes them nicer and friendlier. Without an exception, all the people I met were great and I would not hesitate for a moment to invite any of them into my house. I will have a post just about the trail people because meeting them was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

Bears,

not that I have met many, are really not an issue in less frequented by humans parts of the Sierras, especially since the bear can requirement. The only ones I saw were in Yosemite Valley busy figuring out how to open garbage dumpsters. One PCT hiker told me that a bear smelled her backpack she kept her feet on when she was asleep, but moved away as soon as she stirred. I am pretty sure I had a bear visitor one night at my campsite but since I kept all smelly stuff in a bear can, this poor, and I am sure famished creature had to move on and look for something healthier to eat than my food. Next night I slept with my camera in the sleeping bag but no bears showed up.

Injuries:

Another frequent question was 'what if I got injured'. My only major concern was not to get injured off the trail. On the trail there are enough hikers to call for help should I be unable to do so myself. Off the trail chances somebody would find me were small so I made sure not to stray off too much (see above about my navigation skills). Hey, I even managed to avoid blisters by changing socks as soon as I felt my feet were getting too sweaty.

Boredom. What is that? So, OK, this was by far the longest backpacking trip of my life. I did not know how I would feel after a few days on the trail by myself so had my iphone with me (you did not think I could ever leave my preciousss at home, did you?) loaded with new and very good music and books to read. I did not need any of that. On the trail, the views, the sounds, and the smells occupied my senses, and at camp I just wrote in my journal and tried to commit to my memory all I had experienced during the day.

Did I mention I loved this trek? :)

More trail musings to come...

Changing Dreams into Reality - more about JMT

2011-07-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

I just love dreaming and making plans; I get immersed in my imagination of what it would be, could be like if only... But then it often happens that when it comes to realizing a dream something stops me and all remains in the realm of my fantasy life.

When I started dreaming of JMT my head was full of images of me with a pack on the trail, snapping pictures, climbing hills, gaping at mountain peaks, and sleeping under the stars. I read trail reports, studied maps, planned our meals and sweated over gear selection. All the time I worried that maybe this time again I wouldn't follow all the way through and this trek would become yet another unrealized dream. But this time was different; almost seamlessly my fantasy turned into reality, and before I knew it we were on the trail getting out of Yosemite Valley shamelessly bragging in front of Half Dome hikers about our 220+ mile trek (hey, they asked, so we bragged).

When my dream got cut short, I felt sad but at the same time I knew I had an amazing experience behind me, much better than what my imagination could have ever provided. It is often like that - reality is much grander than any fantasy, we just need to make that step into the real world.

But then life had another surprise for me. It seems that we do not have to leave for Poland for the services for my brother in law till mid August. This gives me just enough time to hopefully complete the trek, and if not, at least to spend more time in these magnificent mountains. After a long talk with my family, and I have to say they were not only supportive but actually pushed me more than a little to go back to the mountains, I decided to go for it. I will start where we had left the trail, which will add some miles to the trek but then I think I can skip the last resupply. I just need to carry a few more days of food with me.

My teen has decided to stay behind though, which means I will be doing the second half of the trek solo. Having company would be nice but I think I can manage on my own. I think... I hope... :)

So here I am, packing again, this time with confidence of knowing what I need and what can stay behind. BTW, I am proud to say there was only one piece of gear we truly did not need on the trail, gaiters and that there was nothing we forgot.

I am reworking my itinerary realizing that, like with the old one, I will have to be flexible and will be adjusting my daily mileage depending on trail conditions (they just had a major cloud burst with flash floods at Whitney, ouch) and on how I am feeling.

I can't wait to be out there again. I can't wait to chat with other hikers and make new, even if short lived, friendships. It is so much better than anything my imagination can provide. I cannot wait to make it real again.

I will be posting my progress via SPOT device on Facebook. This is unfortunately one way connection and since the second half of the trail is practically cell coverage free, I won't be able to see what you guys are up to. I'll catch up when I am back.

In my dream about the JMT trek during my breast cancer surgery, I was not able to finish the trail because the anesthesia wore off just before I reached Mount Whitney summit. I found it ironic that in real life I was not able complete that trek either but now it seems the sun has not set yet on the dream finishing my JMT.

132 Glorious Miles (part 1)

2011-07-29T03:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know where to start.

This was ~~one of~~ the best experiences of my life.

End of post.

OK, I will write more but there is no way I can describe how great it felt to be out there for so long. This was by far the longest backpacking trip I have ever made. How much did I like it? Well, all the time I kept thinking that doing Pacific Crest Trail ('only' 2,663 mi (4,286 km) long, vs 220 of JMT) would be a total blast. My ds agreed under the condition that he could stay connected with his friends, or better yet take them with us (RIGHT!!!).

I loved the simplicity of our days: Wake up very early. Say bye to the stars. Greet the sun (somehow it kept waking way after I did). Eat very simple and fast breakfast with Starbucks coffee (their instant is actually half way decent). Pack the gear. Hit the trail. Lunch in the most picturesque area we could find, which usually was just a few steps away. Hit the trail. Find a camping spot in the most picturesque area we could find (and you know how hard it is find those in the Sierras). Free time to explore, journal, do nothing. Dinner. Look at the maps so we would not get lost the next day (did not help much, but more about it later). Sleep.

A few words about sleeping. My nights in the outdoors are always full or waking moments, as I think it ought to be. I cannot imagine our ancestors sleeping soundly for 8 hours each night with all the hungry wild beasts around them. It seems my body has some connection to the past. In nature, I wake up often, look around and fall asleep again. When that happens at home, the next day I am a zombie. When I sleep outside, no matter how many times I wake up, I am rested the next day and ready to go. I think I will start sleeping in the back yard from now on. :-)

We missed the most difficult part of the trail, which is the southern portion, but even on the easier part, I had some ~~memorable~~ embarrassing moments:

- On day number three I lost one of my lightweight shoes I was planning to use as camp shoes and for creek crossings. They were wet so I tied them, apparently not that well to my pack. One decided to explore the trail on its own.

- We got totally lost on Donohue Pass, the first major pass of our trek. In the in the morning and then happily followed the tracks left in previous days in the snow. We were the first ones to hit the trail so we were glad the tracks were so well visible, at least for a while because then they seemed to have dispersed and then vanished altogether. My GPS for some mysterious reason had lost its topo maps (they showed up three battery changes later(?) ) so we used paper maps and my preciousss iphone GPS to find our location. The altimeter showed we were higher than Donohue Pass. Hint, hint! That little diversion cost us over two hours of sun cup hiking.

I told that story to a very nice couple we befriended on the trail. Three or four days later at Vermillion Valley Resort a guy whom I had not met on the trail yet, comes over and asks if I my name is Ewa. "Oh", he says, "so you are the one who got lost on Donohue Pass". So see, we became legends on the trail.

BTW, people tell you that JMT is safe because there are many other hikers on the trail. True but it becomes a bit less safe once you get off the trail. Then there is nobody there so save your a$$.

- Silver Pass. This time, even though morning navigation was tricky again, we DID NOT get lost. Actually one, guy, Scott, who caught up with us praised us on finding an easier route over the pass. He seemed very fit and fast so I asked him to go ahead as I did not want to slow him down. He replied that my pace was perfect for him. I think (but I am not sure) I must have tried to show off a little so I was going faster than my usual snow pace. Soon I slipped and fell on my butt. Not once, twice. Thank goodness I was able to get up really fast hoping he would not notice. Sure! Scott was gracious enough to say that he was glad he was not he only one falling down. Like I believed him he fell even once.

- Creek crossings. We had numerous creek crossings, some challenging for us but we did very well. One of the creeks forked in three parts but the current in all three legs was still fast and very strong. The last leg mercifully had some big boulders to step on. Don't ever believe boulders are too big and too heavy to tip under you even if you see that they have not moved an inch after other hikers have hopped on them. I stepped on one that seemed solid but it was not. Soon I was flying down into the water; banged my head (not too hard - I will petition to require helmets on the trail from now on :) ), scraped my shin (leg protectors would be good too), and wet my camera (which miraculously recovered two days later and is just fine). Still I am very proud of our creek crossing skills. A much more experienced friend who hit the trail 5 days later messaged me that he got totally wet 3 times. See how skilled I am? :-)

- That one I have not shared with any other hikers on the trail so you will be the first to know. On day one, I stepped on my reading glasses bending the frame in such a way that I was unable to make it right. That did not help me much with reading the map, as you have probably guessed and my mobile updates on facebook are full of typos. Actually it seemed to me that with the lenses out of place the glasses became more useful for far vision than for any closeup work. Lesson: have a spare set of glasses or at least contact lenses. A willing to show off teenage son will do too.

Mary, I am sure now you will think twice before considering doing JMT with me next year. :-)

This year John Muir Trail presented hikers with more challenges than usual. Our snowy and long winter followed by a cool spring left a lot of snow on higher elevations. I loved hiking on snow but finding the trail at times was quite challenging. My dear teen proved to be a very good navigator and I seem to have developed excellent tracking skills. After a couple of days of on the trail training we were managing to find our way very well. The only problem my teen had with paper maps was that two finger swipe would not result in zooming in. I agreed with him that it was a serious design flaw that needed to be addressed.

What worked:

- WOOL!!! My wool t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, socks, and underwear worked great! I was never too hot or too cold and, what really counts on the trail, the stink was minimal.

- external frame pack. I have always backpacked with an internal frame pack. I used to be a firm believer in superiority of internal frame packs. BUT during my training period, when my pack weighed 50 lbs I could not adjust any pack well enough so my back would not hurt a couple of hours into the training. Desperate, I followed an advice of one of the oldies from JMT Yahoo Forum and just a few days before we hit the trail out of desperation I bought a very cheap external frame pack. This is by far the best pack I have ever had. Period.

- Boots. OK, I know, I know, here I am advocating barefoot or at least minimal shoe running and hiking, and I find myself wearing heavy boots on JMT. Excuse: my trial trips to the mountains to try my Merrell Gloves in the snow proved very fast that I would not be able to deal with cold and wet feet. Four pairs of boots later (thank you REI for being so patient with me) I got a pair of hiking boots that my feet were grudgingly willing to put up with. After a few days my feet and the boots became good friends.

- Hiking poles. Never liked them. Took them on JMT only to aid with creek crossings. Learned to love them. For the first time my hands would not swell when hiking. They saved me from falling on my face numerous times.

- compression sleeves, not for their advertised benefits, but for sun protection for the arms. Thank you, Mary for your input here. They felt great on my arms and weigh a ton less than any shirt.

- solar charger. Maybe a bit heavy but greatly reduced battery waste and worked great.

- mosquito net. A trail friend from Minnesota told us that mosquitoes were worse than those in her state. Mercifully ours would vanish as soon as the sun went down. Apparently Minnesota mosquitoes do not.

- SPOT messenger. It is a safety gizmo that will alert emergency services when you get in trouble but also send short messages to your close ones, you know the ones on Facebook, using satellite connection. Messages can be only 41 characters long but till the technology improves, I am fine with that.

- cold beer (first one free for JMT or PCT hikers) at Vermillion Valley Resort. Need I say more?

Why don't they come up with freeze dried beer for hikers?

To be continued...

Death by Food

2011-07-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am angry.

I had to interrupt my dream trek on John Muir Trail but that does not make me angry - sad and disappointed, yes, but not angry.

I am angry because of the death of a person still young, a person who had no business dying yet.

My brother in law died three days ago. He did not die of a heart attack or from diabetes. He died because he loved food. He loved it so much that he gave it all he had: his dreams and his life.

The only time I remember him fit in trim was when, after graduating from college, he had to go through compulsory at that time in Poland military service. But that service for college graduates lasted only a year and soon he was free to return to his love of eating and dislike of any physical activity. But in those days he was still young and his body took the abuse without complaining much.

Years passed and with every visit to Poland I could see changes in him, subtle at first, but then more and more pronounced. I would notice he was huffing and puffing going up only two flights if stairs. Next time I would notice he was breathing hard just walking down the street. At the next visit I would see that going down the stairs was giving him trouble, and then even just standing became a big effort. Every time he seemed bigger and fatter but I kept telling myself that maybe I was just imagining things, that maybe I had just forgotten how big he really was.

It seemed to me I was the only one really alarmed by the changes in him. Those around him kept serving him seconds "or food would go to waste". Was it better to have his body go to waste? So I tried talking, explaining, pleading. I thought in my arrogance and naiveté that since I had been managing my food addiction with decent success, they would respect what I had learned and listen. They did not.
With every extra bite, with every second serving he was eating his life and his dreams away.

He himself was in total denial too. His blood pressure was "under control", he said. To translate, the meds worked at least until he needed new, stronger ones. His blood sugar was "under control" also in exactly the same fashion as his blood pressure. At no time would he accept that HE, not the meds was the only one who could actually help his condition.

Stories of my friend's mother who lost both her legs and eyesight to diabetes and then died made no impression on him. After all he still had both his legs, weaker maybe but "under control"

One time I noticed bruises on his shins. I was told they were several months old. Alarmed, again I tried talking to him and those close to him. Again, I was told that all was "taken care of and... under control". Doctors, I was assured, were pleased with how the medication worked. Only when I talked to his primary care doctor, a close family friend, I was told a different story of her pleading with him to undergo a stomach stapling surgery since obviously he was not able to manage his food addiction on his own. He kept saying he would think about it. Later. Tomorrow. Next year... never...

Last spring I learned that he had to undergo a partial foot amputation because a simple scratch got infected, would not heal and became gangrenous. I was not surprised

Even before the surgery he had been unable to leave the house, too heavy for his atrophied muscles to support all his weight, he spent days, weeks, months immobilized on the sofa, which with TV became his entire world. Now with most of his foot gone, he moved even less.

One would think that all that would shock him and the ones around him and make them see what was happening. Not really. The close ones made sure my brother in law was well fed. He could not go shopping so this was a perfect chance, I thought, to help him but instead of loosing weight he kept on getting bigger and bigger.

So I am asking myself a question, was it only a slow motion suicide or was it... dare I say the word? ...

I know I sound harsh. Yes, know I am angry, very angry. I want to scream at this attitude of denial. Nobody in their right mind would offer one more drink to an alcohol addict. No one in their right mind would clam that one more fix of a drug was harmless and would actually help kick the addiction. Yet when it comes to food people don't hesitate to have "just one piece of cake because saying no to it would only increase the cravings" Yes it will make you crave it more but only for a while. If you have one more then you will want another, and another, and then you WILL loose your foot, maybe your leg, your vision, and then, your life.

Do not fool yourself that one more bite of junk food will not harm you. I promise you that it will and it will make you die a miserable death.
If you need more persuasive arguments, read this post

(I promise to write about our JMT adventure another day)

Doing Nothing Is Boring

2011-07-24T12:59:00.001-07:00

We decided to take one day off hiking and I am BORED. Sure it's beautiful here but by now I am so used to our little routine of getting up early and hitting the trail that this day of inactivity is driving me nuts.
So far we are having a blast. We got lost only once and I managed to fall into a creek (boulders are not supposed to be wobbly, right?). Nothing major happened and I will write more about it when I get access to a decent keyboard.
We have covered almost 100mi and don't feel tired of the trail at all. It is great meeting other hikers.
I am posting short updates on Facebook, which I can do even without a cell reception.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as I am enjoying mine. BTW the teen is still alive (and that is a miracle).

So our adventure begins

2011-07-14T13:40:00.001-07:00

Right now we are vegging out in Yosemite Valley. I feel funny just sitting on my butt and watching tourists but I excuse myself because tomorrow we'll be hard at work, only 10 miles, but about 4,000 feet elevation gain.

Our trek already brought some excitement. This morning we were in a big rush so a friend who gave us a ride could make it back to work by noon. In all the commotion my camera stayed in the car so right now the only thing I have to take pictures with is my iPhone.

But my friend promises... to drive back to Yosemite to bring me the camera. I think I am going to cry.

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful support. Your words of encouragement meant a lot to me. What a wonderful bunch of people you are!

Off We Go

2011-07-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

"Keep close to Nature's heart...

and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.

Wash your spirit clean."

-- John Muir

click to enlarge

This will probably be my last post before we hit the trail.

We are ready to go, I think, I hope.

Food: if there is a rupture, we are sooo ready. I have never had so much food in my house. Now all is portioned, packed, repacked, some already shipped to resupply points, some still waiting for the trip to the postoffice. Remembered to pack some unhealthy stuff too. :)

(and I did not start with food because I am considering this the most important thing for this trip only that over the past few of days I've been doing nothing but dealing with food)

Equipment: if I forgot anything, tough luck. Still not sure about taking microspikes, which are like miniature crampons. I am told snow is soft enough even on high passes, even early in the morning. Maybe I can carry those extra few ounces for the peace of mind at the cost of my back.

Training: I am sure I could have done a better job. I'll finish my training on the trail. There!

Many people who have done long distance backpacking complain that upper body looses a lot of fitness over time. I am hoping to keep it in shape with some(?) exercises at the end of the day - yeah, right! Any ideas/advice on what kind of exercises to do?

Entertainment: Taking lots of pictures and admiring jaw dropping views.

I will be taking an ebook with me in case I am don't get tired enough on the trail to sleep at night. The one I am quite curious about is The Invention of Air about Joseph Priestly till recently known to me only for his scientific research but as many great men of his day, he was much more than a scientist, and played an important role in early American history. I am eager to learn more.

Company: I am still not sure about taking my teen with me. OK, I am kidding, he is coming knowing full well I will strangle him if he does not stop being a teenager for the duration of this hike. Brave kid. Should I end up strangling him, would anybody want to join me in his place? I promise not to strangle you.

Trail: well, I am ready but the trail is not. I am still hearing reports about people turning back and changing their plans. The biggest problem - creeks. People who are familiar with the trail claim they have never seen them so full and so vicious. Video clips I watched from hikers who are already there are just scary and I cannot believe the things people do to cross. I know I am not that ~~stupid~~ brave.

Clothing: we will have some but only to keep cool on hot days and warm on cold nights. No real changes of clothing. We will stink, that's for sure. Next time I do a long hike I will be taking pack animals to carry my wardrobe.

I am quite excited, nervous, ready to do the entire distance, but also ready to turn back if conditions are too dangerous for our skill level. So I will see you all in a few weeks or... in a few days.

Enjoy your summer, I know that whatever happens, I will.

Think Before You Kill

2011-07-04T15:26:00.000-07:00

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends." --- Gandalf in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Sometimes a short paragraph, in this case about choosing not to kill a fly, will start an avalanche of thoughts, and this is what happened when I read Roy's post, which wasn't really about killing (for that you have to check his previous entry) but exercise. But please, read more than just one paragraph of his post, read even the entire blog, it is good.

For now I don't want to write about wars, murders, and such. I am going to talk about killing of what we consider lower forms of life. While it is hard to feel compassion towards something that on the life ladder is so much lower than we are, maybe it is time to consider that we are harming ourselves in our quest to eliminate what we think deserves to die.

This is one stubborn, hard to kill spider

A couple of years ago a black plastic spider fell off our Halloween decorations and stayed on the house porch. I was about to remove it but then decided to keep it as a questionable welcome to our guests. I found it interesting to watch my visitors' reactions. Without an exception, as soon as they noticed it, they would stomp on it with vigor, often several times. To make it perfectly clear, my plastic spider does not move, it just sits there not even pretending to be alive. It is not threatening, it just is. Stepping on it does not squish it so that calls for more attempts to kill it. Not even one of my guests, some very close friends whom I consider to be thoughtful and gentle, had a thought of sparing this creature. Just the fact that this was a spider meant it had to be killed.

Did you know that in many traditional cultures spider webs were and still are used to aid in healing wounds as they contain penicillin like substance? So even if we cannot show compassion for arachnids then maybe before we kill them all, we can consider that they could be of use to us.

Such considerations take me even lower down the chain of life. We have even less mercy on the creatures we cannot see. I am thinking about bacteria. With those we are waging an outright war of extermination.

A short story about the use of antibiotics:
When my son was little, like many kids his age, he developed an ear infection. I watched him for a while but then decided to take him to his doctor who checked his ears and sat down to write a prescription for some kind of antibiotic. I gathered all my courage (I was much more timid in those days) and asked if that was really necessary, adding sheepishly that I was raised in Europe and had this strange notion that antibiotics were to be used only as the last resort. The doctor smiled and said that we could just watch my son for a couple of weeks and see what happens, and no, there wasn't any danger in doing so. My son recovered just fine and that was his last ear infection ever. A few months later I happened to stumble upon a Dutch study stating that in kids whose ear infections were left untreated with antibiotics, the recurrence rate was 15% (or was it 10%?), while in kids who received antibiotics, recurrence rate was 85%! Maybe without drugs it took my son longer to recover but his organism had time to develop antibodies that have been keeping him ear infection free since. What is more, antibiotics would would have killed a lot of beneficial bacteria in his body.

We go after bacteria with a vengeance even though in our own bodies our own cells are outnumbered 10:1 by bacteria, without which we would not be able to survive. Just check out this link.

Aren't they just too pretty to kill? :-)

The overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial products forces bacteria to develop defenses. Already many of our strongest drugs are powerless against some bacteria. In this fight we are also damaging our friendly bacteria who keep our bodies alive.

What can you do? Do not buy meat that has been treated with antibiotics. Do not use antibacterial soap, regular soap will do just fine. Let your kids develop their immune systems by allowing them to get dirty and letting their organisms fight disease under your watchful eye before reaching for drugs. There is very strong evidence pointing to overly clean environment as a cause of many allergies and asthma.

And if you are still having doubts, our mitochondria, which, among other things, are responsible for cellular metabolism, used to be bacteria, who in ancient times got into symbiotic relationship with host cells, and the rest is evolutionary history. So every time while running you get that extra kick from your energy gel, thank the bacteria.

Again, it is not a matter of compassion (though it could be that too), just common sense and self defense - "do not be too eager to deal death in judgement".

And now that I am off my soapbox, here is my unrelated to this post new discovery:

Snow Trouble in the Sierras

2011-06-28T02:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while so this one is going to be a long post. Sorry, folks.

What is new? First thing's first. Here are pics of our under the house neighbors:

They moved in last year and had two little ones. They were very shy then but this year they don't seem to mind me coming to the kitchen window and taking pictures. I was afraid there weren't going to be little ones this year. I heard loud squealing some weeks ago, it is possible the not all little ones survived. Last year there were two, this year also two. The young ones are very curious, as they should be, they come to sniff Sylvester's, our cat's, nose through the window, but run off when Sierra, Sylvester's smaller but feistier twin sister, jumps on the window to attack.

I feel honored that they chose our house. I guess they feel safe here.

My training for our backpacking adventure took me to Desolation Wilderness. There was still plenty of snow and the road accessing the parking lot was impassable. I parked on the side of the road and started getting ready. I chatted a bit with a couple already heading for the trail. The guy glanced at my footwear and said to be prepared for snow. As he went ahead I thought, 'Yeah, that is just something Ned would say'. Oh, who is Ned? Ned is a mountain safety guru, a great contributor of common sense and wisdom on JMT Forum.

At least in the beginning the road proved to be the biggest obstacle. This year, it seems, it has not been plowed even once. The snow was slippery and in places soft enough to make walking difficult.

Once I got on the trail it was actually not too bad, the parts that were in the sun were mostly snow free, the rest... well, a bit challenging but passable. I realized that I rarely hike in the snow this time of year and it is a totally different animal than hiking or rather snowshoeing in winter. Snow covered trails are full of surprises. One of the nastier ones are snow bridges that form when water melts the snow from below. Not that long ago a woman hiking in Sequoia Nat'l Park was crossing a creek on such a bridge when it collapsed. Fast current swept her under. When she stopped she was under a layer of snow. With a hiking pole, she managed to make a hole above her head and toss her pack out but was unable to get out herself. Luckily, 3 hours later, somebody noticed her pack. She suffered from severe hypothermia but survived. On the trail I was on, snow bridges were tiny but whenever possible I avoided them anyway.

Postholing is when your foot crushes the top layer of snow and falls in deeper, sometimes all the way to your hip. Not fun trying to get out one of those. Usually I don't hike with poles. I don't like them. But for snowy conditions and creek crossings they are invaluable. One can use a pole to test the snow ahead. This way I managed to avoid quite a few surprises.

This snow bridge is tiny and visible
Some can be quite large and hidden

Bald eagle, if I am not mistaken

And yes, I made peace with boots. The ones I finally decided on have a 'pretty' sapphire color - trust me, not my color of choice for hiking boots, but I are very, very light, the sole is not too stiff and my feet seems to tolerate them better than most boots.

When I stopped for a midday rest and snack, I realized that a couple I saw at the trailhead was behind me. They must have gone off trail and I passed them without realizing it. We started chatting and soon enough I was bragging about my summer plans for doing the John Muir Trail. The guy asked if I was on JMT Forum by any chance. I said yes, and that my name was Ewa, to which he replied that he was, yes, you guessed it, Ned. Now I was really glad I wore boots instead of my beloved Merrell Gloves. Ned is a bit of a traditionalist. OK, not a bit, he is a very traditional backpacker but I have a lot of respect for his wisdom and I have learned a lot from his posts. I am not a very active member of the forum so I was quite surprised he remembered me. Must be my charming online personality. :) He remembered that way back in December, I think, I mentioned I was considering signing up for one of his snow safety courses. I haven't because I was under the impression these were at least a week long. So I told him that since I am homeschooling my son, I did not have the luxury to take the entire week off. Julie, his wife then said she had homeschooled her sons too. I knew I liked those people right away. Ned is offering two day courses too, so guess what, I will learn how to self-arrest with a snow axe.

I have no idea why I did not take pictures of them or their adorable dog, Snowball. Mea culpa.

As we were chatting an older gentleman joined us. He asked me if I was hiking solo. I said, yes. "Then", he said, "you have to talk to my wife. She won't let me hike by myself anymore", he complained bitterly. He was 84! Yes, you read right, 84!!! I want to be like him when I grow up.

In case you haven't noticed, I love meeting people on trails and find that people, once they venture out in nature, soften up and become more open, and more inviting.

Tenaya Lake

I've been spending some time reading harrowing reports by Pacific Crest Trail hikers. These people start on the boarder of CA with Mexico and after 2,663 mi (4,286 km) end up in the trai's northern terminus in British Columbia, Canada. For most of the way, John Muir Trail goes along Pacific Crest Trail, so for me those reports are invaluable as they tell me what to expect since this year conditions in the High Sierras are epic. I read about snow covered passes which take forever to conquer because of soft snow and unreliable footing. I read about people swept under water by raging creeks and rescued by other hikers. I read about impossible to find without a good GPS trail as any footmarks melt in the hot sun, and all trail markers are still covered by a deep layer of snow. Many hikers decide to quit. From what I am reading, it seems a miracle there have not been any drownings yet.

Here are a couple of examples:
"This year has been difficult to enjoy the Sierras because the snow, but also the snow melt. The trail is sometimes not a trail, but a waterfall, a creek, a snowdrift, or a huge mess of downed trees."
"Our group experienced a pretty harrowing day. We had three tough creek crossings after Vermillion Valley resort. One of our friends got swept away and caught in some downed trees and by the grace of 5 hikers spared her and her pack only losing her hiking poles and a few ancillaries in the process." -- from Sniper
or
"With my poles in one hand, I made a jump for the rock, not knowing that it had an invisible coating of ice on it just like the bushes on the banks. When my foot hit the rock, it slipped right over it and I landed on the rock in a split. I tried to hold on to the rock but it was covered in ice and I was pulled over backwards by the extremely powerful current. I went from bad decision to a life threatening situation in the blink of an eye. The freezing water took my breath away as I was quickly swept downstream. I had to get out of the water but first I had to keep from smashing my head on a rock. I got my feet downstream and flipped over, trying desperately to get my foot or hand on something. Suddenly my leg got caught between two rocks and the current flipped me over it. I thought my shin was going to break as the current pulled on me. My leg was stuck and my back hit another rock. The current had me pinned down and I was facing upstream with the water rushing over the front of my body. I knew a had only minutes to get out of the 35 degree water. I threw my oles over the the bank and tried to get my leg unstuck and still keep from getting swept downstream again. My hands were frozen and I couldn't grab anything. My fingers were useless. I was probably yelling and I managed to thrash through and get to an overhanging bush which I grabbed onto and dragged myself onto the shore. I was safe." -- from David "Mr.F.Gentle Spirit"

Where is the trail?

So while my men are away, I head to higher parts of Yosemite to see for myself what is happening. I know that conditions change daily and that what I see today is not what we will encounter on our trip in just over two weeks. Still, I just have to know and I am only 4.5 hours away.

The rate at which the snow is melting is astonishing. What I see has no resemblance to pictures I saw posted just a few days ago. Walls of snow along the Tioga Pass Road are almost gone. Tenaya Lake is totally free of ice that covered its entire surface just a week before. On one hand all that is good, because it means that big parts of the trail will be snow free. On the other hand it means that creeks will stay swollen and raging dangerously for a long time.
I wish I could stay for a few days and venture deeper into the High Sierras but I have no wilderness permit and only one day to spare. I set out very early and hit the trail just after 6am. The first thing I notice is that even though my trail is covered only by patches of snow, I have to be quite vigilant to make sure I do not stray off it. Any footprints from the day before have melted away. The dirt parts of the trail look more like creeks than the trail. At times I am not sure which creek to follow. Several times I have to backtrack.
Then I enter a more open space. Here I don't have to play a detective, I can see the trail easily but instead of snow I have to battle mud, at times ankle deep. Again I am grateful for my boots. I don't think I could last a mile in my trail runners.
And then there are mosquitoes. They are just beginning to mobilize and are sharpening their proboscis. Before I manage to apply the bug repellant I get at least three bites. Mosquitoes have always loved me.

I am happy to get to drier parts of the trail. At least I can move faster and look around instead of having to keep my eyes on the ground. It is astonishingly beautiful here. Marmots do not seem to mind my presence, neither do deer. I know I am in heaven for sure.

This was an easy one to cross. NOT.

But then there are raging creeks. Fortunately I don't have to cross any big ones but even the small ones push on my legs with astonishing force. This is what truly scares me about our trek. Hopefully there will be more hikers on the trail and we will be able to do group crossings, the safest way to do it but holding onto each other. But on this day, for all my 16miles I don't see a soul on the trail.

By the time I turn back, the trail has changed into even a bigger challenge. Mud got deeper, snow got softer, and even my morning footprints are totally gone. Creeks grew bigger and faster. Ned did advise me to try to cross the most challenging ones early in the morning as the snow melts slower at night and to spend time looking for a good crossing up and down the stream. On my way back, a couple of times I follow his advice because what was easy to cross in the morning does not look so in the afternoon. Thank goodness for hiking poles, another piece of equipment that I usually don't like but carry just because of creek crossings.

On this hike I did not lug my big pack and yet after 16 miles I am quite tired. My ankles especially got a good workout having to twist and turn to adjust to uneven and slippery snow. I also realize that conditions in higher mountains are a lot more challenging and that what I have experienced on this hike it nothing in comparison to what is happening up there.
Still, I understand better now why so many people, who like us, have scheduled their JMT hike in July decided not to go. I also understand why some groups, which started earlier this month had to quit.

And then there is this making all the struggle worthwhile

We are still going in hopes that the conditions will improve. I am not going to take any crazy chances though, if we need to bail out we will. I am glad I went to check things out since it prepares me mentally to the possibility that we may not be able to complete our trek this year.
To make things more interesting, there is snow in the forecast for mid week. What I saw yesterday just might change back to what my friends saw a few days ago.

Oh, am I loosing any sleep over it? Of course I am. Why do you think I am writing all this in the middle of the night?

But for now, all I can do is to continue dehydrating our food, packing it to send to resupply points in hopes we will make it there to claim it.

Happy Naked Hiking Day (PG-13? post)

2011-06-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

HAPPY SUMMER TO YOU ALL

Not that long ago there was a naked biking day with a bunch of naked, of course, bikers riding NYC streets. Talk about chaffing. Ouch!Today we are proudly celebrating a Naked Hiking Day.

I am noticing though that those guys are not barefoot. C'mon, what kind of back to nature movement is that?

In case you are wondering, I will not be celebrating. I have a very long list of ~~excuses~~ reasons: I think I am way too busy today to go on trails, I also think the sun is too strong and I don't like using sunscreen especially on my butt, also, I can just imagine how ugly tan lines left by a pack are, and it seems to me that heavy backpack must feel terribly uncomfortable on a bare skin. :)

Maybe next year. Today, the only naked thing I might do in celebration is a long tub soak with a glass of good wine.
Happy Hiking.

BTW, what do you think about naked hiking, biking, or running?

(oh, I was not the lucky photographer here. I stole those pics from BBC.)

Father's Day

2011-06-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

For all you Fathers out there who care, who find time, who make their children their priority (after their wives that is :) ) -

Happy Father's Day

and

Thank You.

Tioga Road Opens This Weekend!!!

2011-06-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Aren't you all excited? C'mon! That's a wonderful news! Haven't you all been just waiting for it to open? No?

OK, OK, I'll explain. Tioga Road (rte.120) cuts through Yosemite allowing for easier access to the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Every spring all Yosemite lovers wait impatiently for it to open because open Tioga road means easier access to higher regions of the Sierras. It does not mean there is no snow on trails but at least one can drive to a trailhead.

I am excited because I will be able to make yet another trip to Yosemite and have a nice training session at higher elevations in the snow. Since I can't go this weekend, I will have to (grudgingly) wait till the next week.

I only hope they will clear some parking bays at trailheads.

Unlike my last Yosemite trip, this one might end up being a true solo adventure since I don't expect to see many hikers in the area. What is more, I am kicking my son and my husband out of the house for a couple of weeks so they can spend some quality (I hope) time together, just the two of them, father and son, while I will spend some quality time by myself. Can't wait.

Brainless Hike

2011-06-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Trust me, views in the distance are to kill for

The plan for this hike was simple, do Skyline to the Sea Trail in two, instead of traditional three, days. On the way, one has to camp in preassigned campgrounds, and since they are spaced evenly, and we were skipping the first one, we had a long day ahead of us on Saturday, a bit over 20mi. Now I have hiked 20mi in one day before but never with a full pack and never in brand new boots. Yes, I am still obsessing over boots for our summer trek.

We started at Castle Rock State Park which is off the official trailhead but the beauty of this part of the trail and the views are hard to miss while the official trail goes along a busy road. This time the entire area was enveloped in fog denying us views but making our trek quite enchanting. On the request of my teen, we started much later than I would have liked to but still there were no people on the trail in this very popular park, and it seemed like the place belonged us alone.

BTW, this park will be saved from closures after all (YES!!!) because it provides access to the seashore and thus closing it would violate some federal laws.

We met one parson, a ranger, a baby ranger, really, in his very early 20's. Later on we noticed that all park employees we dealt with were surprisingly very, very young, and unfortunately very, very inexperienced. So what happened to the people who used to work for CA State Parks? Is this some another insane money saving scheme? Don't older people need to eat too?

Once we got to the forested area it felt like rain. Big water drops kept falling down soaking us silly. This is how many California trees, gigantic redwoods among them, deal with long stretches without rain. They drink fog water which condensates on their leaves and drops to the ground. Somehow we did not feel justified to pull our ponchos out and enjoyed the cool wetness.

We have done this trail numerous times in sections and once the whole thing. It is a very easy to follow, well marked tail. I was even considering leaving our map at home but then decided against it. Smart move because... should I just brag to you about our hike or admit that... we got lost? Don't ask me how. I have no idea how that was enen possible but somewhere we made a wrong turn. How is that for building confidence for our JMT hike this summer? Thank goodness we know Skyline to the Sea Trail quite well, really. After some time we noticed that the surroundings looked totally unfamiliar. Now a forest is a forest so how we could tell that it was not the forest we remembered, I don't know, but at one point both, my son and I just stopped and looked at each other and commented that we had never been here before. We had no clue how long ago we had veered off the official trail either and how far we would have to go back. Considering that we had already a long day planned, we were not looking forward to any adding additional miles.

That was a good time to stop for lunch and map studying. To make things more interesting, my reading glasses broke making map reading possible but rather difficult. So, I decided, trusting mom that I am, to rely on my teen's map reading skills hoping he had any. Since I am here writing this post, you have probably all guessed that I survived. I can assure you, my teen did to. He figured out where we were and found another way of getting us to the campground and with only 2 extra miles added to our planned 20. Not too bad but let me just tell you that those two last miles were tough on my my feet and on my mind.

Along the trail we saw only a few hikers but when we got to Big Basin State Park's Headquarter, the area was a zoo. It is a very popular destination with many car/RV campgrounds often reserved months in advance. Most people come just to admire old redwoods but some brave a hike and venture to see beautiful waterfalls.

Who needs picnic tables?

Mercifully the trail camp is set away from the crowds and while one can still hear the noise, it feels secluded. Only one site has a picnic table but it was already taken. We were happy to use a large log for our dinner table instead.

We set camp and I tended to my blisters. Another newbie mistake cost me two big ones on each foot. For 20 miles my feet felt quite comfortable but the last 2 miles were a bit more difficult. I did feel two hot spots but I kept thinking that I would check them when we got to the campground. What is two miles after all? I know better than that. I really do but do I listen to myself when I talk reason? So I paid the price. Fortunately we both took our Merrell Gloves, just in case something like that happened so the next day I hiked in those while my son decided to go barefooi.

I have never felt so famished in my entire life. I am not kidding. I thought I could eat our entire food supplies not leaving anything for my teen. No long run has ever made me feel this hungry and even though, I thought, our dinner portions were big, I went to sleep listening to my stomach beg for more food. I was to tired to oblige.

I am a morning bird. Actually I usually wake up way before any birds do. Getting out of the tent was a challenge because I was stiff as a board. I should have stretched the night before but I did not. Yes, I am lazy. My muscles rebelled and just refused to cooperate but strangely enough my feet felt fine as if I had not hiked at all. I made myself some tea and went through few yoga poses. That helped a lot. Then a short walk, hot tea in hand, and I was like brand new, ready to tackle the rest of the trail.

Day number 2 greeted us with sun

The patient mother that I am (you do believe me, right?), I allowed my teen a couple more hours of sleep while I listened to the birds' morning symphony. What a treat that was. Around the time my son woke up, other campers started stirring also, slamming their car's doors, calling to each other as if they needed to fill the silence with their voices. It was time to eat a quick breakfast and hit the trail.

This was our easy day, only 12 miles. I thought I would never say a thing like that. 12 miles in my mind seemed like nothing. Another surprise was was how easy it was to get out of the park HQ area. There is a mile, I think, long climb that used to intimidate me. This time, even with packs, it seemed like nothing. We both felt rested and strong.

Like the trail goes only in
one direction?
Guess which direction we were going?

This day started with a sun peaking through the trees but temperatures stayed very comfortable for the rest of the hike. For more than half of the trail we were alone again. Now one really cannot get lost on this part of the trail even though the trail markers are kind of funny.

Half way through we stopped for a small snack and admired the waterfall. This year rains made it spectacular, the best I have seen it yet. I just wanted to stay there forever.

Berry Creek Falls

So since we did not get lost, did not grow any new blisters, covered only 12 miles, there is not that much more to write about. Unlike on many other hikes, I did not feel like pondering the issues of relationships or problems our humanity faces. It was rather a brainless hike. I just looked around, took tons of pictures, talked a little with my son, but not too much, since neither of us (especially he, teen that he is) felt like chatting, we just plodded along.

Before we knew it, we could see the ocean. And a few minutes later we spread ourselves on the beach waiting for our ride to my car at the trailhead.

So:

I finally have boots that work for me. Yes, I got blisters but that was my own stupidity. From all the reports I am getting from JMT now, we have to have something more sturdy on our feet this early in the season. The snow is melting but not fast enough and kicking in steps in soft shoes is not an option. Our plan is to use boots only for snow fields and hike the rest in Merrell Gloves.

We promised ourselves to pay better attention to the trail. Getting lost is just not vey smart.

Addressing hot spots before blisters form is something I have always lectured kids I took on hikes with me on. I guess nobody lectured me.

I was glad to see that the SPOT beacon worked. I've been having some issues with it before and on Friday I spent almost two hours with customer service trying to figure out what was wrong. SPOT messages are very short but it is better than nothing and it gives me a peace of mind that I can also send an SOS with our exact coordinates should we get totally lost, eat all our food supplies and start dying of starvation. :-)

He still thinks he wants to do JMT even though there is no beach at the end

Bulk and Bulge

2011-06-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

Years ago I used to be a COSTCO member but when I started on my wellness journey I dropped the membership. There was no way I could justify buying food in such staggering quantities for a small family like mine. What is more, at the time, none of the produce, and certainly none of the meats were organic. Now I buy produce at local farmer's market. Most of the meat I buy comes from a local organic farm. And then there is always overpriced Whole Foods.

Most of our meals on JMT will be home made dehydrated dishes. We need 144 of them so that is a lot of cooking and that translates to tons of groceries. I needed to buy them in bulk. My friends assured me that COSTCO sells a lot of organic stuff these days so I decided to become a proud member again.

Organic stuff or not, I STILL CANNOT STAND this place. Sure, there is some organic produce, chicken, beef, wild caught salmon and that is quite a change from the years before. But nothing else has changed.When I looked around I found it very depressing to see the quality and the quantities of food in people's carts. I did not think carts were loaded to the top with cookies, fatty meats and potato chips because their owners were planning to spend several weeks in the wilderness. Maybe they were preparing for the rupture but that's been rescheduled for October, right? Well, maybe they had huge families to feed.

Or maybe they just bought into this quite brilliant marketing concept bulk stores employ.

There is some kind of allure in bigger is better for a good price idea. We think, "great, I will not run out of cheese if I buy this huge chunk". Then we think, "wow, it is half the price of what my grocery store charges". Once in the fridge we do not want that cheese to go to waste, we eat to excess, we bulge, we get sick, and then we spend whatever money we saved and more on medical bills.

And then there is this rush atmosphere I could not understand. People seemed to be in some kind of a haste to get to their carton of ice cream or milk as if there was ever a danger COSTCO would run out of it. In such a rush people don't look at each other, it is almost like cars on a highway, they cut in front of other cars to be just a little bit ahead. Where does that come from? Certainly it is a different shopping experience than that of a farmer's market when one takes time to chat and choose.

Then I was wondering why would anybody shop there for food. With all the sampling stations, all one needs to do is just go around, try everything there is to try, and leave the store fed to the brim.

And don't get me started on the checks at the exit. It would be quite difficult to steal any of the oversized packages and what is more, people who do the checking hardly look at what you really have in your cart.

But like with everything else in life, it is up to us to make choices. It matters what we put in those oversized for a reason grocery carts. It is not COSTO's fault for how they market and what they sell. They come up with an idea and if it works they run with it. It is us who allow them to do so by the choices we are making. Do you think they would be stocking so much junk food if we were not buying it? So when I go grocery shopping, COSTCO or anywhere else, I ask myself a question: Do I want to spend my money on quality foods now or on medical bills later on?

When my trip preparations are done, I don't think I will be going back to COSTCO. My family is very small and I don't believe October rupture will materialize and if it does, I might still have some dehydrated foods leftover from our trek.

Check-in/OK message from Ewa's Trip SPOT

2011-06-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

Ewa's Trip
Latitude:37.16877
Longitude:-122.21988
GPS location Date/Time:06/11/2011 18:04:33 PDT

Message:Just checking if SPOT and blogger talk.

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/51pyW/37.16877N/122.21988W

If the above link does not work, try this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=37.16877,-122.21988&ll=37.16877,-122.21988&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Ewa's Trip

You have received this message because Ewa's Trip has added you to their SPOT contact list.

Every day is an Adventure. Share Yours.
http://www.findmespot.com

A Free Offer to Bloggy Friends (not a giveaway)

2011-06-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Some of you I have e-known for quite some time now, and if I am any good at judging people (and I am not), none of you seem to be ax- or chainsaw-murderers. I know, I always overestimate people and then cry about it but what the heck.

I was thinking that if any of you are ever in San Francisco Bay Area, and need any kind of help: picking up from the airport, showing nice trails, or whatever else you may need, I am willing to risk my head being chopped off and help.

Feel free to contact me on this blog or at: ewa (dot) bialkowski [gmail] {dot} com

If I am in town, I will gladly help

This is a serious offer

This is a free offer, OK, you may buy me coffee or something

This offer does not expire

What are friends for, right?

Followup to My Previous Post

2011-06-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Just when I opened a brand new Facebook account.

Is somebody trying to tell me something?

My Preciousssss

2011-06-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

It did not take me long to get ~~used to~~ addicted to my iPhone. It could have been an Android or any other smart phone. From a person who kept her old 'stupid' phone for ages, I morphed into a smart phone junky. I sometimes even use it as a phone, can you believe that? But then there are all these other uses: searches for information - entire world encyclopedia at my thumb tips, emails I can answer instantly, which makes me very popular with my friends, GPS for when I get lost, which I often do, weather forecast so I can confirm it is another sunny CA day, and my eyes are not deceiving me, news to assure me that the world has not blown up to pieces, blogging that has to be done right this instance and can't wait till I have a larger block of time and I can actually write something that makes sense, podcasts that help pass the time during boring house chores, e-books so I don't overwork myself carrying the real thing, dictionary (see books) so I don't have to flip pages, music, hours and hours of it so I dont have to listen to the same piece twice, camera... well I use it I guess if I want to email my pics immediately, texting to tell my friend to stop texting while driving (I am a good girl and I always pull over to text), calendar so I don't show up for Wednesday meeting on Tuesday, topo maps in case I loose the real ones (?), shopping lists so I don't kill trees by using paper (oh, that goes also for books, maps, and dictionaries). Shall I continue?

Borrowed from Apple Insider

What is my favorite app on my Preciousssss? I think Sky Walk. You point your very intelligent phone to the sky and it shows you the map. One click and you get the names and information about the stars. Another click or more and you can see what the night sky looked like when Julius Cesar crossed Rubicon. How cool is that?

I got my Preciousssss half a year ago. How on earth did I survive without it for 53 years?

But I also give that technology a more serious thought; I often wonder how it affects my life and how it changes the world. Just yesterday I was listening to Krista Tippett's (you know I love Krista) unedited interview with Jean Vanier, an interview that was not really about technology but about caring for and loving those with disabilities. Krista brought up the subject of technology and what she and Jean Vanier said very strongly resonated with me because I have had similar misgivings about how I use my Preciousss.

Since this part (about 1:18:44 into the program) of the interview was edited out from final version, I had to transcribe it, and quite possibly missed and/or added a word or two; sorry about that.

Krista:

The world’s pain comes to people in Western cultures often through their television sets or through reading some horrific story in a newspaper, or seeing an absolutely heartbreaking picture, like a picture I saw of an Iraqi child crying at a funeral the other week that haunted me for days and yet there is nothing I can do for that Iraqi child; he’s thousands of miles away. I think am also aware that it’s not only I can’t touch his pain or the sources of it directly, it’s that I don’t know his sources of solace, I don’t know what’s gonna help him get up the next day and somehow start to heal.

Jean Vanier:

We are in incredible world of technology, global world, we can be very excited to see what is going in television and yet with television and even with cell phones and internet we can cut away from relationship. To get an email you don’t see the eyes of the person, you don’t see the face, you don’t see the smile, you don’t see the hands, you don’t see the tone of voice.

[…]

As you look at that Iraqi child and you were wounded and wanted to do something and yet you were confronted by your incapacity because that child was not in front of you, if that child was in front of you, you could have taken that child in your arms. So we are going into the world where the imagination, the virtue, the long distance, things we see far away appear as close but you can’t touch them so they are not close, They are close to the imagination but they are not close to the body.

I've been often guilty of mistaking emails for real connection to my friends. But even though technology has enriched my life, lately I have been making an effort find the time to meet with my friends in person, to talk to them, to eat meals together, to hike together, to hug, to laugh and to cry together.

I still love my Precioussss and would be lost without it, but, old fashion that I am, I would rather hold that Iraqi child in my arms than just write a check.
But then I just went back on Facebook. :-)
.

Paying Back

2011-06-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't even started this summer adventure in the Sierras and already I am dreaming of a new one, next summer, yes, a year away.

For years I had been organizing Nature Walks for homeschooled kids, most of whom would never get closer to any wilderness than a city park. Our hikes took us to coastal trails, redwood forests and inland wild flower covered hills. Then I organized several weekend long hiking trips for overworked homeschooling moms, some in local nature preserves, some in the Sierras. In case you don't know this about me yet, I love Nature. I get out there whenever I can to unwind, get some exercise, and to cleanse my mind and nourish my soul. But I also love to share that love with others. I want to infect enough people so they start caring about what is happening to our natural world and have enough force to fight to protect it. I want them to respect it and help keep it pure, unpolluted but accessible to all.

I stole that image from the Wiki page since I don't have
any snowy Whitney shots.

In San Francisco Bay Area, we have a huge and very diverse homeschool community. Sometimes I think that it is the schooled kids who are in minority here. They are not, but these days more and more families are choosing homeschooling for the wonderful opportunities this way of educating offers. I owe a lot to those moms for their hard work of organizing classes, finding truly inspirational teachers, or putting together amazing activities and field trips. Over the years I've been trying to contribute my time and efforts but I still feel I owe to the community more than I gave. Sure I put together some social and physical science classes, and music appreciation by sunset activities, organic gardening in my back yard and many other ones, but I don't think it is enough. So, as I am planning our next school year, I realize that I don't really need to contribute in the area of academics. There are so many learning opportunities here, I can't really add anything more of value. What is still missing though is time to unwind, time to reconnect with the natural world, and time to forget about calculus, chemical reactions, and American Revolution.

I am thinking of prepping a group of teens to take them to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak of the contiguous United States. At 4,421m (14,505 feet ) this is one of the most popular, non-technical, but still challenging climbs in the Sierras. And the hike is one of the most scenic I have ever done.

My son, not 11 years old then,
on the Mt. Whitney Trail

We climbed Whitney twice and it was such an amazing experience that we had a hard time deciding not to do it the following year, and then the following year, and so on.

I want this to be a teen led hike. I am hoping kids will do their own research and preparations for the trip. Yes, there are nice learning opportunities here too. We'll be covering some history, geography, map reading skills, first aid, nutrition, fitness, geology, ecology and in such a way that the they won't even know they are learning. My head is already buzzing with all kinds of ideas.

Teens will be responsible for finding out how to get their backpacking gear on a minimal budget. Trust me, I know how easy it is to overspend on camping equipment. Renting comes to mind. But again, I want the teens to do the research. I will be there only to ~~criticize~~ oversee their efforts.

And then of course there is the training. I just can't wait to whip those kids into shape. We'll be hiking our feet off on the most challenging trails in the area I can think of. Oh, the fun I am going to have with that one. Of course I realize that they will eventually outrun me on the trail and it is I who will really need to train hard to keep up. Why do I have to keep getting older? Still, all that training translates to many hikes over the entire year before we embark on our final adventure. Can you imagine? Entire year of hiking with teens. Doesn't that sound like fun to you? :-) ?

Can't you tell I am excited? But for now back to cooking and dehydrating our food for this summer trek. That part is not as fun as I hoped it would be.

And then the year after that, how about a backpacking trip with my bloggy friends? Hmm, I would like that...

Solo in Yosemite?

2011-06-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

"We find Muir's trail wherever we follow our own sense of wonder beyond paved borders of modern life to wander once more, even for a brief time, our into the world of raw earth, living forests, and free-flowing rivers. We stand at that trailhead wherever mountains lift our imagination to the clouds, whenever their glistening heights ask us to embrace life's essentials: whenever their wild independence inspires us to re-create ourselves, to ascend their heights - and walk the sky."

-- from Walk the Sky by John Dittli(*) and Mark A. Schlenz

Whoever made this trail, thank you
for the hard work

Since none of you joined me on my trek, I had to lug my pack all by myself on steep, rocky trails. C'mon, what kind of friends are you? :-) Well, it was your loss because it was a fantastic trip.

I am told that none of the climbs along the John Muir Trail are as challenging as Yosemite Point hike. Sure, I thought, none are as crowded as this one. I hiked that trail before but never with a pack. I decided to start early so I would not slow anybody on the trail down. See, what a considerate person I am? Joking aside, I just wanted to be able to keep my own, steady pace. So I left my house at 3am, which is not an unusual hour for me if I want to get to a trailhead early in the morning.

Sure enough, the Valley was asleep. I saw a couple of guys with cameras equipped with enormous lenses and that was it. Parking was not a problem - how is that for a treat? Within minutes I was at a trailhead but I was not alone.

Lots of water in the falls this year

JD, quite handsome twenty something, decided to beat the crowds too, but he just has to ask about my pack and if I was planning on camping in the backcountry. I explain to him that I was in training for JMT and that is how the conversation started. He has such an interesting life story I forget to ask him to carry my pack for me. Well, he graduated from college three years ago, and decided he was not ready to settle down so he moved into... his car. He works summers and winters, and the rest of the year he explores.

I feel bad for slowing him down so several times I encourage him to go ahead but it seems he is also enjoying our chat so he stays with me. Well, a few steps ahead of me and since I want to hear what he has to say, I try to keep up. So much for my plans for a slow and steady pace. At one point he asks how much I am carrying. I tell him that about 50lb. This is where the word badass falls. How can I not like that guy.

We part at the top of the falls since I want to ~~admire the view~~ give my shaking legs a decent break.

Higher up there is still a lot of snow

Then there are two cookie guys. JD and I pass them on the trail. They must have started earlier and were resting on the way munching on what looked like chocolate chip cookies. For some reason those cookies looked very tempting and I don't even have a sweet tooth. Only later do I remember I forgot to eat breakfast. They seem to be totally amused that anybody would do that trail just to train, and to want to do it twice is beyond their comprehension. So they join me on the last leg to Yosemite Point. At least with those two I don't feel I am slowing them down. I think the cookies are. They are a fun company though and I am having a good time.

When we make it to the top one of the guys asks me if he can take a picture of... me. What? I do not have any makeup with me, I am all sweaty, and my hair is a mess, but what the heck.

On the way down I have a different company. He is a Canadian, and she, his fiance, French. They've been exploring the States for the past few weeks so I am curious about their impressions. Their first complaint is food. Oh, don't get me started on that one. Then I learn that he is working on his phD in political science. I get to talk politics on the trail? Great! Don't get me started on that one either. And then I find out that she is of Polish descent and last year went to visit Poland for the first time. As we are heading down dodging crowds, we are having a marvelous talk. Forget the pace, I am enjoying myself way too much. I even forget that my pack does not feel very comfortable and my shoulders ache.

My first day in Yosemite was dry and quite warm. The rest of the stay, as forecasters promised, was wet, cold and windy. At times the Valley looked more like a tropical rain forest minus the tropics. I loved it that way. I headed out onto less popular trails to find some solitude and to relax (yes, ajh, I do relax sometimes, and this is just how I do it).

Even though snow conditions in the high Sierras this winter are, 'epic', I am told, I hope I won't have to carry crampons because they are heavy. Our microspikes should do the trick. So I drive (since Four Mile Trail is still closed) to Glacier Point area and hop on a snowy trail there. There is plenty of snow but it is soft, not crusted like the stuff we will most likely encounter on our trek.

After a couple of hours of hopping in the snow, I am ready for some coffee. There is a shop at Glacier Point and I know they opened it last weekend. When I get there, three people inside are struggling to open the door. Finally seeing me standing there, poor soul frozen by howling winds to the bone (a little drama here), they yell for me to go through the side door. As I enter I tell them that all I really want is coffee. Well, they cannot sell me coffee because there is something wrong with the water hookup to the coffee machine and this is the only way they can get the coffee maker filled. So I ask if maybe they sell small coffee packets because I have a small camp stove so I could manage that. They don't. A lady adds that they don't even have any tea. A girl goes in the back and brings me a tea bag, one of her own. How sweet is that? I am so touched that I don't tell her I have plenty of tea. I take the bag and thank her.

Oh, and they do finally manage to open the door.

Later on, already outside when there is still hardly anybody there I meet a nice family from Australia. Poor Aussies are shivering in the cold but are also not looking forward to going back in a couple of days because it's been hotter and dried than usual where they live. We talk a bit about the climate and then they rush off to their comfy RV and I rush to make my tea.

Not even a lousy weather can deter crowds from visiting this wondrous place. Sure, I would love to have Yosemite all to myself, wouldn't everybody? But I know how to find quiet places even on the Valley floor (hint: anywhere a mile or two away from food places). I enjoy solitude as much as meeting people and listening to their stories. What I do not like is cigarette smoke and cigarette butts in more popular stopping spots. I do not like plastic bottles and trash left despite plentiful trash and recycling receptacles all over the place. I do not enjoy traffic jams and I hope they will get rid of car traffic in the Valley.

Hope you found your own Muir trail last weekend, and if not, there is always next weekend, right?

____________
(*) John Dittli has been photographing the Sierras for decades now and has been great source of information about all aspects of hiking in the Sierras on JMT Forum. His photographs in Walk the Sky are simply breathtaking.

No Excuses

2011-06-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

I scheduled this post in advance so it will publish while I am enjoying, according to the forecasts, cold, rainy, and snowy(?) camping trip in Yosemite. Aren't you insanely envious?

How do you like my
exercise attire?
Too bad you can't see
the shoes that go with it. :)

Some of you have it in you to just do it. Early in the morning you just hop on your bike, lace your running shoes, hit the gym for a sweaty workout without as much as a thought. For some of you doing daily workouts is as natural part of life as breathing. Sadly not not for me. For me it takes an effort to get going. What is worse, I am very good at finding excuses;

I am a queen of excuses.

My best ones have to do with time, or rather the lack of it. It is kind of a bummer that the school year is ending because the time excuse is becoming a bit thin. Yes, we are homeschooling so in theory my son's learning never stops but in practice many of his courses ended and I have more time for myself. Still, I can find all other things I just have to catch up on and that prevents me from going to the gym or doing a backpack lugging session.

Well, I have to tell you something. I know, and I bet you do too, that there are all kinds of workouts one can do without making a special trip to the gym or trails, without buying exercise equipment, or devoting one big chunk of time to workouts. Some time ago I realized how lame all my excuses had been.

If you visited my life on a busy day you would see me dropping onto the kitchen floor doing a set of pushups or squats in between stirrings of the meal I am cooking (haven't burend my cooking or myself that way yet). You could see me doing stretches while I am reading my son's essays or brushing teeth. You might see me doing walking lounges on the way to the coset. You would see me running up and down the stairs while listening to phone messages. I still have to figure out what I can exercise while I am blogging. :-)

A chair makes for a great step-up bench. My stairs become a mountain I can climb with my pack (actually the stairs are more challenging than many local hills). Add to that a couple of weight sets and exercise mats strategically placed where I spend the most time and my entire house becomes a gym.

So much for my excuse-queen status. I think I will have to abdicate.

I am sure these exercises are not as effective as nicely structured sets with prescribed breaks in-between. I don't care. It is either that or no exercise at all. And it works for me unless I can find a good excuse for not doing those. So far I haven't found one yet, and please, don't help me look.