Mt. Shasta

Hiking Mt. Shasta is something I never thought I would do twice. To quote myself the last time I did it: "Sometimes I wonder why people, myself included, subject themselves to such pain and misery". 

It started off pretty ominously. 

The problem with this is that we are hiking up a hill with a 40+ lb pack on our backs...above the tree line. This means there is no shade, so a high of 99 is BRUTAL. To top that off, part of the hike is through snow and the last time we did this, the reflection of the sun off the snow gave me a wicked sunburn on my lips and under my chin. And the last time we hiked it, it even snowed a little! So this was going to be hard. 

6,915 ft* / 0 miles / Bunny Flat: The hike starts just above Shasta City at the Bunny Flat trailhead. After grabbing our poo bags, we started up the trail. Oh, you want to know what I mean by "poo bags"? Let's just say that you have to carry EVERYTHING out; nothing can be left behind. Need I say more? My mom joined us for the first two miles, which ends at Horse Camp. 

Ready to go

7,898 ft / 2 miles / Horse Camp:  Horse camp is the first place you can camp, if you like, and is the last place to get running water. At Horse Camp there is a natural spring where the water comes right from the ground and you can fill up to your heart's content. It is delicious. After this, all water will be from melted snow. Horse Camp is also the last place with a real toilet. After this, business will NOT be as usual. At Horse Camp, we filled up with water, used the facilities, ate a Snickers bar (man, I have not had one of those in a long time!) and said goodbye to Mom. 

Below Standstill Hill

10,430 ft / 4 miles / Helen Lake: From there, it is a semi-flat slog for about .75 miles on a rock path called the Olberman Causeway, which is named after one of the caretakers, who made a 950 yard long rock path from Horse Camp to the bottom of the steep hill. Once we crossed the causeway, the hill went up and was mostly scree, which is a bunch of loose rocks, and is really hard to hike/climb because it's very slippery. After the scree hill came a snowy one, aptly named Standstill Hill, as you are starting to feel the elevation, plus you can only take one tiny step at a time so that you don't fall. 

Helen Lake: Trying to stay out of the sun.

At the top of Standstill hill is Helen Lake, which is where we camped the first night. It's good to camp at a higher elevation in order to get acclimated for the next day. However, we arrived pretty early, as we had started pretty early in the morning in order to avoid the sun. We got our camp set up and then pretty much ate and stayed in the tent reading and talking in order to stay out of the sun. Unfortunately, it is summer and the sun stays out late! It finally went over the mountain around 7, so we had dinner and then went to bed. 

The next morning we got up at 2, ate breakfast and started up the hill. It's best to start early for a few reasons. First, you want the snow to be icy. This facilitates crampon use as well as helping you to get down the mountain later, which you do by sliding on your butt. If it is too slushy, you will not slide very well and you will get really wet to boot. Also, it's hot during the day; you want to minimize the time you spend in the sun as much as you can.

12,555 ft / 5.5 miles / Red Banks: The first mile and a half was done in the dark and was hard. It took us about an three hours, including breaks, and we gained about 2,000 ft in elevation. We were wearing winter clothes and I was sweating inside my coat but it was too cold to take it off. The going was slow. The hill was straight up. It was icy and walking with crampons up a 45 degree angle (est) is hard. In this period, we passed the Heart and got to the bottom of the Red Banks. 

13,773 ft / 6.25 miles / Misery Hill: An hour and 45 minutes later, we reached the top of Misery hill. To get there, we had to go through a chute in the Red Banks. Usually you can walk around the Red Banks, which means more mileage, but it's less steep. However, it does include a hill termed Heart Attack Hill, which we avoided by going straight up the chute. However, the chute was a heart attack and a stroke, so we didn't really get off easy. The chute made Misery Hill, which is usually deadly, seem pretty tame. We took a break between the chute and Misery Hill and at this point the altitude was definitely affecting us. Also, the sun was out and it was strong. I was pretty ready to be done, but knowing that I only had about 1,000 ft left (from the bottom of Misery) kept me going. I was not about to quit now! 

Bottom of Misery Hill: Starting to feel it.

14,129 ft / 7 miles / The Summit: Like a marathon, the last little bit was the hardest. There were rocks, which are no good with crampons on, and I had a headache that wouldn't quit. Also, altitude makes you feel like such a weakling! My whole body was unresponsive and my brain was dysfunctional. I wasn't hungry, which really made me realize that the altitude was affecting me, because we had just hiked for five hours and I should be famished. I was pretty happy to make it to the summit. Once we got there, We we didn't hang out long; we took the obligatory photos and got the heck out of there. At this point, it was about 8 a.m.

It's amazing; as soon as you start to head downhill, you start to feel better. It's like immediate relief. We headed down a few feet, ate a snack and then hiked back down Misery Hill and through the Red Rock chute (which was NOT any easier going down). This is where the fun began. We took off our crampons and got our ice axe at the ready and glissaded down the snow on our butts. The same part that took us about an hour and a half to climb up took us about 15 minutes to slide down. 

We finished our slide at Helen Lake, where we broke camp and boiled a little more snow for water before heading back down to Horse Camp. We didn't really have enough water, which was really stupid on our part. We had boiled a bunch the night before, but we ended up drinking more than expected during the night and so we didn't have enough left in camp for the last leg down. So we made pretty good time down to Horse Camp because we were jonesing for that natural spring water! 

We got back to Bunny Flat at 2 p.m. I was hot and tired and thirsty! We went back to the hotel and took a shower and tried really hard not to fall asleep before dinner (it didn't work). We finally went to dinner where I drank a bunch of beverages and ate like a horse before going back home and going to bed around 7 p.m. 

Verdict? Things we did well: We brought the perfect amount of food. At first I was worried it wasn't enough, but the second day with the high altitude really doesn't warrant a lot of food. We ended up having some left over but not a whole lot. Starting early is a great idea, although it does leave a lot of time in camp the first day. Things I would do differently: Boil more water! Bring a tarp or something to make shade during the day. As much as I like to make fun of them, those ski pole walking sticks would probably be pretty handy. 

We actually saw a few people who did it all in one day. They started at Bunny Flat around 10 pm and hiked up to the summit and back in one day and got back around the same time (or earlier) than we did. I think this may be better due to the fact that you are not carrying your tent etc with you, so your load is much lighter. However, knowing how tired I was on Sunday after four miles less (and 4,000 ft gain less) than them, I am not sure I would be able to do it in one go.

*All elevations shown are from my / Broski's Garmin recordings. 

Have you ever done a multi-day hiking trip? Have you ever been so tired you went to bed at 7 p.m.? What's the earliest you've gotten up in the morning for an event?

Mt. Diablo

Every time I do something physically challenging, it makes me think of my Dad.

Dad -- Hiking the PCT

(FYI: if it's factually challenging, Mom's the one. In fact, we call her Moogle because when you need an answer, you just call her and she will know!). He used to drag us up and down mountains, to the ski slope on days where the snow was ripping your face off, and into other such situations where we thought we couldn't possibly succeed. I can't say I necessarily LOVED doing much of it, although I don't remember really hating it either (or did I? Dad/Mom? Did I whine a lot?)

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

However, I did love the sense of accomplishment, of pride, that you get when you do something difficult and live to tell the tale. I did love the view from the top, the one that I got to see because I had pushed myself to the limit (or past it sometimes) of my capabilities. I did love that feeling of strength that it brought.

And I guess that part stuck.

In two weeks, Broski and I (and possibly Dad and Moogle) will go to Mt. Shasta to once again see if we can conquer the high peak another time.

Shasta Summit 2009

For another training session (see the first couple here), Broski and I decided to run up to the summit of Mt. Diablo, the highest point in Contra Costa county, at 3,849 ft (source). We were aiming to do the "5 Peaks of Mt Diablo" which would be about 16 miles and 5,200 ft of total climb. The five peaks are Twin (1,733 ft), Eagle (2,369 ft), Diablo, North (3,557 ft) and Olympia (2,946 ft) (source). In that order.

You know how I always say how I went up and then down and then up and then down? Well this time...I went up. And up. And up. And up! In case you don't know, Contra Costa county is hot and Mt. Diablo is no exception. As my brother said, it's not called Diablo for nothing! We climbed and climbed and climbed and finally made it to Twin Peaks. Then it was up some more to Eagle.

Unfortunately, there was some down between Eagle and the main summit. You can see it there, right around mile 3. And it was HOT. After the problem I had with dehydration last time, I made sure to drink about 2 - 3 liters of water before we left, plus I ate breakfast AND a snack, plus I carried 3 liters on me. However, even with these precautions, I was pretty tired by the time we started heading downhill from Eagle Peak. In fact, I remember looking at the trail and at the elevation on my Garmin, knowing that I was going to have to do a lot of climbing due to this downhill, and thinking "S**T, I don't wanna!".

Broski on the down between Eagle Peak and the Summit.

I really wanted my sandwich. I had stuffed two of them in with my icy water in my hydration pack, as a sort of cooler system. I was craving that sandwich and some shade, but neither were in the cards just yet.

We make it to the summit, but it was a long, dusty, hot, shadeless, scratchy, poison oak filled 7.6 miles. It was one of those hikes (/runs) where you were trying to look out for snakes and not touch the poison oak and try not to twist your ankle on the rocks all at the same time.

Remember what I said about loving to see the view because I pushed myself? Well, ironically, the summit of Mt. Diablo is one you can drive to. So we made it to the top and it is filled with people, trying to find parking spaces, snapping obligatory photos and wearing white cutoff shorts and cute tank tops and flip flops.

We ate our still cold (and must I say, completely delicious) sandwich pretty quickly and then started to head back down. In fact, looking back now, I realize we did not even take an obligatory summit photo!

The trail went straight down. In four miles, we dropped almost 3,000 ft. It was hell on knees; welcome to Mt. Diablo. After about two miles of this, we decided to skip peak 4 and 5, not because we didn't want to hike up them, but because we didn't want to hike down them! We were tired of downhill already! So we took a shortcut and got the heck out of there.

Still fresh -- this was before peak #1

We finally got to the trailhead and drank some nice cold water and dreamed about ice cream (which I never got. Pity). So, I had plenty of water this time, but I still think that the heat really takes it out of me! I think I will go back to this mountain, as it is yet unconquered, but next time I will do it in January!

Total miles: 14
Total time:4:54
Total elevation gain: 4,300 ft

Well Dad, I think we are ready for Shasta. Who's in?

What gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride in yourself? What obstacle have you faced and beaten? Do you prefer mental or physical challenges?

The Dipsea

Like I said yesterday, I have to tell you guys about this funny local race we have. It's called the Dipsea Race and it's supposedly the oldest trail race in the nation and one of the oldest foot races in general. It began in 1905 and aside from a couple of missed years during WWII, has been going strong ever since. It goes from a town called Mill Valley to Stinson Beach and is 7.5 miles long.

starting the climb

To get from the start to the finish, you first climb a series of stairs and then a large hill, before heading back down to the beach. The fun thing about this race is you can get there any way you want. If you know a shortcut, you are allowed to use it. There is also a handicap system in place, based on your age, so it's not always the youngest who win the race. In fact, the 2012 winner was 72 years old.

Up, up, up

After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, my family, who lived in the city at the time, moved out to Mill Valley, and my relatives ran this race shortly after that. When I was one month old, my entire family ran this race and I was there to cheer them on.

My Dad and Aunt getting ready to run.

It is difficult to get into. They only allow about 1,500 people and they have a very strange entry system. If you have not run it before, it is really hard to get in. If you ran last year and you were one of the first 500, you get a chance to register early for this year's race. After that, the application is posted online at noon on a Saturday and you have to print it out and send it via snail mail and the first 500 who get there first get in. For the next few hundred or so, there is a lottery and then the remaining slots can be bid on, sometimes going for hundreds of dollars.

Heading down to Stinson Beach

There is a wild card. If you have a "sob story" you can include it in your packet to attempt to get in. We did this. Our story was how three generations of our family have run this and we would like the fourth (my brother and I) to be able to join the tradition.

We did not get in.

The race is this weekend, and like I said yesterday, last weekend my brother and I decided to hike the trail instead, in honor of my Dad and his family who have run it. What I learned is that we probably want to practice, as it is quite a climb (2,200 ft). Also, we need to practice in order to beat the old guys! They were passing us as we were hiking and they really know their stuff. I don't want to get beat by a 72 year old!

So, we will rework our sob story and we will try again next year!

Have you ever really wanted something but didn't get it? Did you try again or give up? What do you think a better "sob story" would be? 

Hood Mountain & Mt. Tam

My family likes to scale tall things. I have mentioned before how my Dad and his friends like to climb to the highest points in each state, but we also like to climb anything tall. Or taller than something else. Or not tall at all. So...pretty much anything.

For instance, we have climbed to the top of Mt Shasta before. The last time we did it was June of 2009. So we figured we were about due for another trip. (However, I just read the recap from last time and I realize it's funny how easily we forget how difficult things are!)

Base camp is at approximately 7,000 ft. The top is at 14,179 ft. It really is pretty much straight up on the way up and if you are lucky, it is snowy, and you can glissade (slide on your butt) half of the way down. That's an approximate elevation gain of 7,000 feet. After races like this, it would seem easy, right? It's not. The high elevation really takes every bit of energy you've got out of you.

So Broski and I are "training" a bit. We never intended to train, but I had a free day a few weeks ago, and he and I decided to hike what we thought** was the tallest mountain in his county, Sonoma County. This is called Hood Mountain (#1), and is about 2,733 feet.

1: Hood, 2: Tam, 3: Diablo

It was approximately 3 miles each way and the day we did it, it was about 100 degrees. We did not bring enough water and there was no water along the way. To top that off, I ran into a poison oak bush with my face near the top and so we ran down to try to get to a stream to rinse it before the oils set in. However, it was a pretty cool hike. From the top you can see Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and the Pacific Ocean. (**note: the tallest one is actually Mt. Saint Helena at 4,342 ft. Boy were we off by a few feet!)

View from the top of Hood Mountain

Next up was Marin County, where the tallest is Mt. Tam (#2), at 2,574 ft. As a sidenote, there is a really famous trail race called the Dipsea, which I will actually probably tell you more about tomorrow because otherwise this post is going to be way too long... Let's just say that we took the long way to the top of Mt. Tam (via the Dipsea trail), so our hike lasted all day. It was a great hike though, taking us past the ocean, through the redwoods, and to the top of many a grassy knoll. If we would have went straight up, it would have been about a 2,500 ft elevation gain, but we took a detour, which caused our climb to be about 5,000 ft instead. This hike took us about 9 hours, since we did the detour, which caused our total mileage to be about 22 miles.

This time we brought enough water. In fact, Broski carried about 8 liters (and two beers!) and I carried 2.5 liters. We were so paranoid after the dehydration from Hood Mountain! However, there were places to fill up your water this time. But we were really glad we brought our own because we froze all the bottles so we would have cold water and it was so nice, since it was about 90 degrees that day and was really dusty to boot!

From the top -- with view of the TINY city in the background

Up next is Mt. Diablo (#3), the tallest in Contra Costa county, at 3,849 ft (source). We are ready!

I am not sure this will truly ready us for the thin air of Mt. Shasta, but it's worth a shot and it's fun to do regardless of whether or not it's helping! Of course it's much easier to hike with a tiny Nathan hydration vest rather than a 40 lb pack!

Do you like hiking? Do you have a favorite type of hike? What is your weekend hobby?

Active Vacation

Next week, I will be in Oregon, spending some time at a friend's house near Bend. I am really looking forward to this, as it will not only be spent with friends and family, but from the house, within walking distance, there are several running and hiking trails. So this will not be a rest and relaxation vacation, although I am sure there will be plenty of time in the evenings for reading and other relaxing pursuits. This will be an active vacation, with lots of fun and physical stuff going on!

As you know, where I grew up is in a National Forest, so I am kind of assuming the part of Oregon we are in will look similar. Here is a photo of where I grew up.

Bald Eagle Mountain

Here is a photo I found online about the area we will be in.

The Three Sisters (source)

Okay, so maybe it's a little different. But there are mountains, and trees and water!

Where we will be staying is not actually in Bend, but in a cute little town (Population: 2,000, Elevation: 3,100) nearby. Besides hiking, the 15 Must Do Activities list says that I should also do these things:

- Eat an ice cream (I think I can handle that!)
- Go fly fishing (I LOVE fly fishing)
- See some live music
- Enjoy a coffee drink (naturally!)
- Bike around the area
- Paddle on one of the local lakes

I want to do all of those things! Also, I looked around a bit and I may also see many animals, including Elk and an animal called the Water Ouzel, which is a bird that flies underwater. I think I am going to have lots of fun and I won't be short of things to see and do! 

I have been to Oregon before and I loved it. I had a great time in Portland, eating my way around the neighborhoods (and I found some GREAT food!) I did some hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, which is beautiful. I also went to the coast and ate cheese and stared at water and fog and houses and rocks. I loved my trip last time and so I have high hopes for this one as well!



Have you ever been to Oregon? Do you normally stay active or try to relax on your vacations? 

*Don't forget to stop by Jills for some more Fitness Friday posts!*

My Bucket is Half Full

It's funny, if you asked me what was on my fitness bucket list a year ago, my main one would have been:

To run a marathon.

Period. A marathon. It seemed like something that I would do...in the future...in a long time...later...when I was faster or stronger.  Little did the me of June 2011 know, but that marathon was closer than I realized. I am not going to say it was an easy journey to get there, but I definitely underestimated myself. Running my first marathon made me realize that I was stronger, more determined and could do more than I give myself credit for.

So now my list of hopefuls fitness-wise is a lot longer. I may not get to all of them, but it's fun to dream, and I know I will do many of them! The list keeps growing as I find out about new, fun things, so there will always be things on it that I am wishing for, striving for, working toward and checking off!

1. A Marathon: The goal to run "a marathon" has become a new thing entirely. The new goals are to:

Source: google.com via Kyria on Pinterest

- BQ (and run Boston, of course)
- Run a destination marathon -- Paris, The Great Wall, The Inca Trail
- Run a marathon in every state

2. Trail Running: I have found that I like running trails more than I like road running. I have been a hiker all my life, so trail running, and racing, combines two of my favorite things...and gummy bears!

Source: google.com via Kyria on Pinterest

- Run a 50k
- Run a 30k
- Run the Rim to Rim to Rim
- Run the Western States 100

3. Hiking: Like I said, hiking has always been a part of my life and some of these things have been on my list for a while. Others are new. There will always be another trail I want to hike!

Source: milfordtrack.net via Kyria on Pinterest

- Hike the Milford Track (New Zealand)
- Thru Hike the Pacific Crest Trail
- Thru Hike the Continental Divide Trail
- Thru Hike the Appalachian Trail
- Hike Mt. Washington (NH)
- Hike the 7 Summits
- Hike in Colorado (I am not sure where yet -- any tips?)
- Continue to hike the US High Points (so far, I've hiked to the top of 4 out of 50) 

4. Other: There are always non-running and hiking things as well!

Source: google.com via Kyria on Pinterest

- Learn to Surf
- Do a handstand for 30 seconds
- Do a plank for 5 minutes
- Learn to Kite Surf
- Compete in a triathlon
- Buy a bike and ride it

There are many, many more on my list, and I could go on forever, but I want to hear from you guys. What is on your fitness bucket list? What have you already done that you think I should add to mine? 

You can find more of my fitness bucket list on Pinterest. Also, don't forget to go cver to Jill's  for more Fitness Friday inspiration!

Bay Area Ridge Trail

Recently, I found out about a gem in my own back yard. Literally, it's about 3 miles from my house (in Oakland). In my book, that is walking distance (in case it's not, there is a bus). It's called the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It's 325 miles of trails around the San Francisco Bay, with a proposed future distance of 550 miles, as you can see from the map below. I think this is great, since I grew up living ON the Pacific Crest Trail (2,663 miles from Mexico to Canada, through CA, OR and WA) and hiking, hikers and trails have always been a big part of my life.

I decided then and there that I was going to try to hike, walk, or run as much of it as I can. I found a trail tracker, where you can track your miles.

So, right now, since I am was living in Oakland, I started out with a few sections near my house. It was beautiful. The first day, I went for a 17 mile out and back trail run, which included sections of redwood forests and open grassland and had views of the bay area, including San Francisco and the headlands beyond. It was great. The only downside was that I took a wrong turn around mile 4 and ended up running through a grassland area (for about 8 miles. Oops). I only realized I was lost when I wasn't arriving at my destination when I thought I was supposed to.  Day 1: Skyline Gate to Robert Sibley, including sections of Redwood Regional Park,  Huckleberry Botanical Garden Preserve and Robert Sibley Volcanic Preserve. (4.3 miles)

Tilden Regional Park

The next day I took a walk with my friend and then ran back to the house via the trail I was supposed to have used the day before instead of getting a ride back with her. The walk was on a nice flat path and the run was a lot of ups and downs on a single track with some really good views of the Bay. I got lost once but followed, stalked was helped by an older gentleman with a 100 miler shirt on. Day 2: Nimitz Way to Robert Sibley, including sections of Robert Sibley and Tilden Regional Park. (5 miles)

Robert Sibley

On the third day, I was going to meet up with my friend for a walk at 9 a.m. I decided to run from my house to meet her. From what I could tell, it was about 9 miles. I left at 7, which should have given me plenty of time. However, you may have guessed this already, but I got lost. I ended up doing an extra 2 miles, rounding out this run at 11 miles (but only 9 of it was on the BA Ridge Trail) Day 3: MacDonald Staging Area to Procter Staging Area, including Redwood Regional Park and Anthony Chabot Regional Park. (9.1 miles)

Chabot Regional Park

Total to date: 18.4 miles**

**I will have to do a more through calculation later, because I have also been on some additional portions of this trail without even knowing it (see stars on map above).

So, the general theme of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Exploration Project (that is the official name and has been approved by the FDA and the USDA) is my getting lost. I am not sure if it's my map reading skills or my navigation skills, or their lack of signage/good maps. Or all four maybe? I have had a lot of fun finding out the routes and making a point to try a new route, rather than the same one that I always do and am comfortable with.

I think it's a great way to see new areas near my home as well as to push my boundaries a little bit. I also feel that it keeps running FUN (or hiking/walking). And the views have been fabulous! I also love the fact that within the city there are such beautiful green spaces. It's like you are all alone running along a trail. I barely saw any other people and there are rarely even commercial structures in view. I can't wait to try some of the other sections!

Do you have any hiking trails near your house? Have you ever done any hiking on the PCT, Appalachian or Continental Divide Trails? Do you like to try new running/hiking/walking routes or do you stick to the tried and true?

A Hiking We Will Go

Mr. Lovely hails from the Northeast and has never been to Yosemite! So we decided that although it is winter, we would go and see what adventures awaited us. I was expecting snowshoeing and hot chocolate by the fire to be honest, but it couldn't have worked out better. Since we haven't had a lot of snow this season, the high passes were still open and we made good use of the late arrival of winter!

I know that you have seen enough cliched photos of Yosemite and I know that I will never be able to compete with Ansel, so I will give you a few alternatives. We decided to hike up the Four Mile Trail  to Glacier Point, which was a 4.8 mile one way hike, with a 3200 foot elevation gain. It was a nice path actually; it wasn't too steep and it was smooth and even paved for part of it. I know...paved! The views were fantastic! I am not really sure why it's called the Four Mile Trail.

View from four mile trail

Once we got to the top, we had a snack and decided to brave a longer hike around, instead of going back down the way we came. We took the Panorama trail, which ends up going over near Half Dome and then back down near Vernal Falls. From Glacier Point around and back down was about 8.5 miles.

View from Glacier Point

Illilouette Fall

So, total mileage was about 13.3 miles. Afterwards, we went and each had a hamburger, an order of chicken wings AND a bowl of chili! We were starving!

We also went to the Tunnel View for the sunset view of the valley. It was gorgeous! Except why is it that when you ask a person to take a photo for you, you either get a blurry one, or one with your feet (or head) chopped off, or something of the sort?

First, I took a photo of Mr. L. Isn't the view nice?

Then he took one of me. El Capitan! Half Dome! Oh My!

Then we asked a Random to take one of both of us. 

Seriously? 

We actually asked ANOTHER Random to take a photo and he took one of us standing (RIGHT) in front of (ie BLOCKING) Half Dome. AND he had a huge Canon, so I thought he knew what he was doing!  Sheesh!

PS. Our calves were SO SORE the next day! 

What is the longest hike you have ever done? Have you been to Yosemite?

A Change of Pace

Today is the last day of the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge! I took advantage of the new year to try a few different ways of keeping in shape! Actually I went to visit some friends and then did a little mini road trip around California! It's been bad for blogging, but great for hanging out and believe it or not, good on the exercise front (but BAD on the food intake!) Here are my days and points, with pictures to prove it! Total for this week: 50 points.

Saturday, Dec 31: 10 points
6 mile run
7 servings freggies
1 hour (3 mile) walk

Sunday, Jan 1: 3 points
1 mile walk (Resolution Run - x2 points)
7 servings freggies

Monday, Jan 2: 4 points
1 hour Pilates (3 points)
7 servings freggies

Tuesday, Jan 3: 14 points
9 hour (13 mile) hike
7 servings freggies

Yosemite, CA: 13 mile hike

Wednesday, Jan 4: 7 points
2 hour (6 mile) walk
7 servings freggies

Monterey, CA: 6 mile walk

Thursday, Jan 5: 6 points
5 mile run
7 servings freggies

Thursday and Friday's Running Route: Monterey

Friday, Jan 6: 6 points
5 mile run
7 servings freggies

All in all, not a bad week. It was fun to do some other activities besides running and to realize how sore they can make me! I see that I need to incorporate at least a day of weights, Pilates or other cross training into my routine!

Don't forget to check out Jill's blog, where she hosts Fitness Friday! Also Amanda at Run to the Finish is doing a Food Journal Challenge!

Did you do the HBBC? How did you do? Have you ever tried Pilates? Do you have as much trouble as I do keeping your hips straight?

Ben Lomond Hike

A while ago, I went on a nice hike with some friends of mine. The peak we hiked was called Ben Lomond, which according to what maps I have seen, is somewhere around 6500 ft high. The trail is (according to the forest service website) 4.8 miles each way. I am lucky to be in a place where you can literally just step out your door and take a hike. This one was a little bit of a drive, but what's fun is that I have never tried this trail before, even though it's pretty close to the house. So it was a new adventure!

Unfortunately, there was a fire in the area about 5 years ago and so many of the trees are gone. There are a few left standing and some smaller ones have grown back, but it is strange to see the mountains looking so naked. However, the good thing* about this is that you can see all the really cool rock formations that were covered by the trees before.

*silver lining

Sometimes the trails in this area are not well maintained, but this one is set up for equestrian use, and so was pretty clear up until about mile 3 or 3.5. Then we had to bushwhack our way through some scrub brush to get past a certain area, but it was worth it. The views from the top were amazing. I will let the pictures tell the story.

Trail signage

Bear print

Does it look like this? Yup.

Looking up at the mountain. See all the cool granite boulders? And the burnt trees?

More granite. And a bit of foliage.

View from about 2/3 of the way up.

Granite awesomeness. Can you see those tiny people in the foreground (wearing purple)?

View from the top

View of the mountain from the bottom. We climbed to that very tippy top point.

The day after our hike, it snowed.

Which means that we have really good timing, because we would have been slogging around in the snow instead of just bushwhacking! I love living in a place where I can hike every day if I want to! Hiking is not only a great way to cross train, but it is probably one of my favorite activities!

Where do you like to go hiking? Have you ever hiked in the snow? Do you like rocks?

Sam I Am

This week's beer is... Sam Adams. I have to admit, I am not a fan of their Summer Ale. However, I may have to try one of their fall or winter brews this weekend, while I am at...guess, guess....

You guessed it, I am in Massachusetts this weekend, racing in the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon. I am probably running right now, as you are drinking your coffee and reading this post. So, you know the drill, put down the coffee, grab a beer, and look what happened to me this week! (Inspired by Kim) (photo credit)

It was another busy week, but in a different sort of way this time. On Monday I finished up with my last client in Cape Girardeau and headed to Columbia to check out of the office. Now I am once again jobless! Back to the old drawing board. But first, let's start at the beginning...

Last weekend one of my very dearest friends came to visit me! She and I have been friends since...well probably about 20 years. We played little league together. Her nickname is Red.

We decided to do some hiking at the Trail of Tears State Park. Along the way, we found....More Ponies! These ones let us touch them! 

Then we went hiking! It was great! Except I told Red that the trail had "a few hills". I didn't remember that it was quite strenuous! We took her dog Lucy and poor Lucy was tuckered out afterwards (and so were we!)

Even though she was tuckered out, she was happy to dress in this banana split costume and pose for the camera. Can't you tell how happy she was? 

The foliage, or as my family likes to jokingly call it, FOILAGE, is beautiful right now!

After Red left, I took at 16 mile run, my last run in Cape. It was 90 degrees. It was brutal. This is the Cape LaCroix Creek trail, where I have been running for the last 4 months. 

And then it was time for me to leave Cape. A departing shot of my "home", the Candlewood Suites.The drive to Columbia is about 4 hours. It rained the entire time.

I had to check out all my equipment and I said goodbye to my friends in the office in Columbia. More importantly though, I checked the color of my urine against this chart in the bathroom. My favorite? The second one from the top...in case you can't read it, it says, "You're just fine. You could stand to drink a little water now, maybe a small glass of water." Who writes these? And who has pee the color of the bottom one? If you do, you better get to the doc ASAP! (or maybe you ate beets?)

And then? One last run in Missouri. This time the weather was in the 40s. 

Total miles this week: 30.

And now? 

Wish me luck. Hopefully I get a beer when I am done!

What did you do this week? Do you live close to your best friends? What friend have you had the longest? Have you ever dressed up your dog in a costume?