I Love Wild - Bring It On

Here’s my Wild “confession.”  I’ve read Wild twice and enjoyed it thoroughly both times.  Yeah, I’m one of “them.”  One of those Wild fans who read the book and ran straight out and tried to hike the PCT. 

Actually, no, that’s not quite how it happened.

I’ve had this strange ambition to walk a really long distance for a long, long time.  Seriously, since I was about 9 or 10.  That desire has stuck with me all of my life but unfortunately I never made it happen.  My trajectory took me in other directions.  And then I turned 40 and I had, I dunno, call it a wake up call or, heck, a mid-life crisis.  I suddenly realized that I wasn’t getting any younger and I had better get working on this long distance walk thing or I might never get the chance.  I know that a few folks continue backpacking into their 60s and 70s but I wanted to do it now, when I was still reasonably young and my body could handle it better.

The year I turned 40, my friend Melissa completed about 300 miles of the PCT in Oregon.  Listening to her talk about her adventure, a light bulb clicked on.  That was it!  I could hike across Oregon.  While I had known about the PCT for several years, it hadn’t occurred to me that it was the perfect solution to my long distance walking ambitions.  So, I started thinking about and planning my adventure just as countless PCT hopefuls do every year. 

That was October 2013.  Two months later, my mother-in-law gave me a copy of Wild for Christmas.  I loved it.  I thought to myself, “This girl did what I’m going to do!  How cool is that!”  I had no idea at that time, when my plans were in their infancy, that there was this whole big “thing” about the PCT going on.  I had no idea that more and more people were tackling the PCT every year.  I had no idea that there was something called a “thru-hiker.”  All I knew was that I was seriously pumped to walk across Oregon and this amazing, funny, sad, and touching book strengthened my resolve to go out and do it.

My Initial Reaction to Wild

As I said, I received Wild for Christmas in 2013.  I devoured it in 2 days.  I was completely caught up in Cheryl Strayed’s story.  From the heartbreaking loss of her mother to her terrible decisions following her mother’s death – I was enraptured.  For me, on that first reading, the PCT merely formed a backstory.  It was the linear backdrop to a story that meandered from the present to the far away past.  It anchored the story in the now.  I loved her descriptions of being on the trail and her self deprecating humor.  And I did think, “geez, she never tried packing her backpack before she went?!”  I laughed and cried and smiled and marveled every page of the way.  But importantly, at no point did I think “This is the greatest book about backpacking I have every read!  I want to be like her.”  For me, the book was about Strayed’s personal journey to recovery, every messy step of the way – and I’m not talking about hiking.  Strayed is incredibly forthright and truthful about what she went through with depression, infidelity, and drug use.  And that’s the point.  The hike and the book were her catharsis.

My Second Reading of Wild

So, inspired by many things, including Wild, I set forth in August 2014 to hike across Oregon.  Sadly I only made it 210 miles before injury ended my trip (I will be back!).  I dealt with some pretty serious self doubt and depression when I returned from my trip.  My failure stuck with me and for months I couldn’t stop thinking about my trip and making plans to go back and accomplish my dream.

During this time, the movie based on Wild came out.  Of course I had to go see it.  I was excited to see the landscapes I had seen in Oregon and to relive some of my trip.  I found the movie to be thoroughly disappointing.  Reese Witherspoon just didn’t fit my image of Strayed.  Witherspoon in all her sweetness just couldn’t pull of the proper level of ‘90s angst Strayed went through and although they supposedly packed her backpack full of gear, she just never hit that backpacker stride that comes from walking many miles.  Most disappointing of all, the amazing PCT landscapes that I love weren’t there.  The shots were too tight – filming couldn’t occur in wilderness areas, so they found substitutes and shot scenes tightly to cover up the fact that they weren’t really on location.  I also took deep umbrage to the fact that they showed Strayed camping on the rim of Crater Lake, which is illegal and did not happen in reality.

Disappointed with the movie, I decided to re-read the book.  My second reading was a bit different than the first.  I knew what to expect from her emotional journey so that part wasn’t as engaging as it had been the first time (but still SO good).  What I focused on, probably stemming from the disappointment I felt over my “failure,” were her descriptions of hiking.  As I read, the book, I definitely noticed that Strayed moved locations around to suit the story.  But reading her descriptions of life on the trail, I also found myself smiling ruefully and thinking, “I know exactly what she’s talking about.”  Her disappointments and victories on the trail were very much like my own and will probably resonate with anyone who’s backpacked long distances.  Reading her descriptions of the trail and her hike I thought, “Guys, she’s legit.  She’s been there.”

STFU and HYOH

I’ve seen quite a bit of vitriolic negativity thrown toward Strayed and I personally don’t get it.  My sense of things, as I watch from the sidelines (until now), is that most of the haters haven’t read the book.  They’ve maybe watched the movie but I think a lot of people are just riding the Strayed Hate Wave to fit in and are repeating the same BS about how dumb and unprepared she was.  God forbid anyone should stand up for her, especially in a group as conformist as thru-hikers.  There is also a subset of people who read the book but didn’t get it.  I think what people get out of the book has a lot to do with their expectations of it.  Like I said, when I read it, I was going in blind.  I knew the PCT existed and I knew that I wanted to hike part of it.  But I didn’t know much more than that and thus I also didn’t know what to expect from the book so I just rolled with the story and got caught up in it the way Strayed intended.  On the other hand, there are people like my friend Melissa and my mother-in-law who read the book expecting it to be a description of Strayed’s backpacking trip and were thus disappointed in her naïveté and, as Melissa puts it, her “stupidity.”  I’ve heard that others hate the book because they thought it would be a how-to guide for the PCT.  God, it bugs me when people talk shit about something when it isn’t what they thought it would be.  Get over it.  Love it or hate it based on what it is, not on what you think it should be.

What bugs me in particular about the Strayed haters is that they’ve forgotten the mantra of the PCT and all backpackers – HYOH.  Hike Your Own Hike.  Why is everyone wasting so much energy tearing down a fellow backpacker?  I have several theories but I think it comes down to this: thru-hikers are pissed that their little secret is now main stream.  It’s like they’re afraid Oprah’s Book Club is going to take over the PCT and armies of ill-prepared middle aged women are going to be clogging up the trail.  And while there are more hikers on the trail with each consecutive year, I really don’t think Wild has much to do with it.  During my short time on the PCT in 2014, the most common backpacker I saw was a 20-something, white, college educated male - and I sincerely doubt any of them read Wild.  As things have a tendency to do, the PCT is building on itself.  As more people do it, more people learn about it and want to attempt it themselves.  That’s how I arrived at my decision to hike it.  Either by design or happenstance, Wild came out just when the interest in the PCT was growing exponentially.  The snowball was already growing when Wild came along.

I’m sure few people in the hiker community will take my opinion seriously since I’m only a section hiker - and a failed one at that - but I felt the need to defend a book that I really love.  Read the book and love it or hate it but geez, form your own opinion about it instead of repeating the same BS everyone says.  More than anything, get over it.  Stop using a book and a single person as your scapegoat for the problems with the PCT.  Seriously people, STFU and HYOH.  

Day Hiking in Yosemite: Day 3

For our final day in Yosemite, we wanted to do one last short hike before heading home.  We both agreed that something in Tuolomne Meadows was ideal because 1) it was on our way home and 2) I could get my passport stamped at the visitor's center at TM.  After the fiasco of the day before, I was even more determined to get my passport stamped.

So we ended up hiking out on the Lyell Canyon Trail, which is a segment of the John Muir Trail/PCT.  Knowing that we wanted to get home at a decent time, we gave ourselves 2 hours of hiking in each direction rather than pick a specific spot to get to.  It was nice and relaxing feeling that we didn't have much of a goal. We started out near the Lake Catherine trailhead and headed east.  The trail for the first 0.5 miles was a nasty, tore-up mess.  The ground was rocky and hikers and equestrians had walked all over the place to find the smoothest route.  But as we moved past the trail to the visitor center, the trail improved and became a nice little footpath through the trees.

The hike wasn't terribly scenic but moving down the trail was pleasure in itself.  As my friend says, "it smells like the outdoors."  Yes, Melissa, it did.  Piney and dusty and fresh.  After the debacle of the day before, this trail was peaceful and soothing.  As we neared our turn around point, we spotted a nice flat area by the river and sat down for a break.  I took my shoes off and stood in the water.  Holy moly was it COLD!!  I grew up going to Lake Tahoe and the coldness of Tahoe has nothing on this stuff.  But my feet loved it.  They felt all tingly and refreshed when I got out.

On the way back, we went down a side trail to the visitor center and I finally got my passport stamped.  But just to finish the trip off right, I accidentally stamped it upside down.  Because of course I did.  Sigh.

Melissa looking like Mountain Girl.

Peaceful trail.

Our spot by the river.

Day Hiking in Yosemite: Day 2

Day 2 of our Yosemite Trip was a comedy of errors.  Our plan had been to hike up to Glacier Point on the 4 Mile Trail. Yeah sure, we can do that.  Easy.  Right?  Heh.

So the day started off with us bumbling around Yosemite Valley.  I wanted to get the Yosemite stamp for my National Park Passport, so we parked the car near the 4 Mile Trail and decided to walk over to the visitor center.  Half way there, I realized two things.  1) I'd forgotten my passport in the car and 2) I'd forgotten to bring a lunch.  Sigh.  But we soldiered on.  We were almost to Yosemite Village anyway.  At the store, I picked up a Clif bar - just like the one I left at camp - and we perused the souvenirs a little.  On the way back to the car, we decided to catch the shuttle, which supposedly would drop us "near" our car.  I guess 1 mile from the car is "near."  Anyway we finally got back to the car, grabbed our backpacks and made our way to the trailhead.

Our first inkling of trouble was when we got to the trailhead, which listed the mileage to Glacier Point at 4.6 miles not the 4 we had been expecting.  Our next inkling came from gazing up at what we guessed was Glacier Point - waaaaaay up above us.  Now, I knew it was going to be a crazy slog to get up there but I didn't realize just how crazy until I started climbing.  The trail appears on maps as a death slog of switchbacks with a seemingly flattish spot in the middle with a second set of death by switchback.  We made it past the first set of switchbacks and started the second set and then I just quit.  My legs were shaking and I was totally out of gas - and we weren't even half way to our destination.  I swallowed my pride and made a command decision, to stop where we were and go down.  My friend is in better shape than me and probably could have gone on but she agreed.  And I'm glad she did.  We were WIPED for the rest of the day.  But we did get to see some pretty awesome views from the trail.  Had Yosemite Falls had any water in it, we would have gotten some really stunning views of it.

In the end, we drove up to Glacier Point (a surprisingly lengthy drive).

Our day continued to be a tad effed up all the way back to camp.  After visiting Glacier Point, we drove back to Yosemite Valley because I was determined to get my passport stamp.  We arrived 30 minutes after the visitor center closed.  Sigh.  But we trotted over to the store where we bought some souvenirs and I bought a Tasty Bite for dinner.  Then we took off for our camp...and totally missed the turn to the Tioga Road and ended up at Hetch Hetchy.  "Wait I don't remember there being a fee station on the Tioga Road..." Sigh. By this time we were fed up and tired.  We got back to camp at about 8.  But my Tasty Bite dinner made it all better.  The microwaveable ones fit into my Jet Boil.  Just plop the bag in a Jet Boil for a couple of minutes in boiling water and voila! Delicious Indian food for dinner.  I recommend cutting the bag to vent and not filling the Jet Boil to the fill line to avoid overboiling.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's Glacier Point.  Way up there.

"4 Mile Trail" my ass.

Death by switchback.  This picture makes it look kind of tame but it was freaking steep.

Yosemite Falls is that stain in the middle.  No water, alas.

We did manage to get pretty high above the valley before we quit.  This is looking west.

Looking west again.  That's El Capitan on the right and Yosemite Valley waaay down there.

Final view of our goal...which we never got to.

We made it...by the power of turbo diesel. 

Yosemite Valley is waaay down there.

Absolutely stunning.

Day Hiking in Yosemite: Day 1

A couple of weekends ago, my buddy and I went to Yosemite to do some camping and day hiking. Both of us live on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so we cruised down Highway 395 to Lee Vining and drove up the long climb to Tioga Pass. We got to the fee station at about 10:30 and then made a bee-line to the nearest first come-first serve campground that had openings - Porcupine Flat.  We got a campsite no problem but the campground filled up quickly after we go there - phew!

After getting our tents set up and our food in the bear locker, we headed back to Tuolomne Meadows to do a day hike along the Tuolomne River.  The weather was gorgeous - low 70s with crystal clear skies.  We got some amazing views of Lembert Dome and some of the surrounding spires and glacier carved granite.  The hike along the River was easy.  Mostly flat with only a few very minor climbs.  As we made our way down the trail, we were surprised to see CCC trail maintenance crews coming out followed by pack teams carrying the heavier gear and trash.  I didn't realize the CCC still existed! As a mule fan, I was super excited to see the mule teams.  The packers were obviously tired and just wanted to end the day, so we left them alone but I would have loved to give the mules a good scratch behind their ears!

We mostly ambled along, in no hurry to get anywhere.  My hope had been to make it Glen Aulin camp and to see a series of waterfalls along the way.  Unfortunately, our slow pace plus a late-ish start and our propensity to stop and take lots of photos meant that we didn't make it the full 4 miles in to the camp. Oh well, we did make it as far as the first of the waterfalls where we relaxed for a bit and took some photos.

On the way back, we were surprised by a mother coyote and her two nearly-grown pups walking down the trail toward us. I wasn't afraid of them but I chose not to take any photos - I didn't want to be "that guy" who's found half eaten in the woods with the last photos on my camera showing a pack of coyotes moving in for the kill.  Not that I thought that would happen...but still.  It was actually kind of neat to watch them.  The pups moved off the trail yipping and calling to each other while the mother hung back to watch us and make sure we weren't going to cause them trouble.  After she was satisfied that we were OK, she followed the pups into the woods.

Photos from the Tuolomne River hike:

Lembert Dome in Tuolomne Meadows.

Spires from the trail.

Mule team!

Buckskin with zebra striped legs.  My favorite.

Tuolomne River with big granite in the background.

Glacier scrape.

Waterfall.

Soda Springs

TRT vs. Plantar Fasciitis

Newsflash - the planar fasciitis won.  My plan had been to hike the Tahoe Rim Trail as a series of weekends.  I had it all planned out.  The reasons seemed good - a series of weekends would mean fewer days off from work, more time to recuperate between segments, and an "out" if my foot started to bother me.  Well, I didn't expect the last reason to pop up so soon but it did - 6 hours into my first day on the trail.

Back in late June, I started the first segment of my trip - Kingsbury Trailhead to Echo Summit (clockwise around Lake Tahoe).  It's about 50 miles, which I figured I could do in a leisurely 2.5 days.  Jeff dropped me off at the trailhead at about 9:30 and I was off.  The trail south from Kingsbury gets a lot of flack for being in an urban environment.  I started among condos and for the first few miles, the trail crosses ski runs and passes under ski lifts.  I've read trail journals of this section and most people complain that this is hardly a wilderness experience.  Well, if that's what you're looking for, than the detractors are probably right.  On the other hand, I liked this section.  I thought it was pretty cool to walk under ski lifts abandoned for the season.  As the trail progresses it eventually clings to the east side of the Sierras and offers amazing views of the Carson Valley below.

The section between Kingsbury and Monument Pass climbs and climbs. I've heard this section referred to as "moderately grueling,"  I have to agree.  The climb itself isn't really that bad.  It does climb more-or-less continually for the first 6 miles but it's not terribly steep.  The real problem is that there is hardly any shade during this section.  This, combined with the fact that I started during a heat wave, contributed to my eventual abandonment of this section.

At first, I was fine.  The climb wasn't too bad but as I neared Monument Pass, I started to feel really woozy and light headed.  At one point, I started to get a little tunnel vision.  I immediately stopped and found a little bit of shade and drank a bunch of water and had a couple of handfuls of trail mix. I sat there for a bit and looked at my map.  I could see that I was very close to the top of the pass and that the trail would level out after that.  So I decided to soldier on to the pass with the intention of reassessing once I got there.  So, up, up, up I went.  When I got to the pass, there was a trail sign with mileage.  It said that Star Lake was another 5 miles. What?!  According to my map, Star Lake should have been 3 miles from the pass.  I had only brought enough water to make it 9 miles comfortably, but according to the sign, the segment was more like 11.  Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but I was still pretty light headed and a strong headache was coming on. I started to feel really anxious about what I was doing.  Being by myself, I was worried that I might pass out and there would be no one to help me.  I sat there and mulled my options over and decided to bail. I was feeling really light headed and sick to my stomach and I couldn't be sure if I was suffering from heat exhaustion or altitude sickness.  Either way, I felt the best course of action was to get down the mountain. I managed to send a text to Jeff who said he'd meet me back at the trailhead.

Heading back the way I came, I felt better and better the lower in elevation I got, leading me to believe that I was suffering from altitude sickness (it's close to 10,000 ft. at Monument Pass). Unfortunately, heading downhill was murder on my plantar fasciitis.  It took me about 2.5 hours to get back to the trailhead and my foot was aching terribly by the time I got there.  On the ride home, I had painful spasms in my arch that continued for several hours.

All-in-all I'm pretty disappointed. Because of the plantar fasciitis, I haven't been able to train for backpacking much this year. I have been riding my bike, so my cardio and leg muscles are relatively strong but perhaps not quite strong enough.  I also completely misjudged how limiting the plantar fasciitis really is.  Walking long distances with a heavy backpack is not a good idea right now - not if I want to finally get over this injury and resume the activities I love best.  So, while I am disappointed, I think I needed this trip to fully accept my current physical state and to get serious about getting in better shape and allowing my foot to heal completely.

So this is likely my last backpacking trip for a while.  I'm going to spend the next year losing weight, getting in shape, and attending to my injury.  Then it's back to Oregon to hike the PCT.

At the trailhead.

View of Kingsbury Grade.

Trail and trailmarker.

Ski lift in summer.

Big rock over trail.

View of Carson Valley.  Smoky from a fire near Markleeville.

This was a HUGE tree.  Hard to tell in the photo but it was ginormous.

Cool looking tree root.

My One Successful Trip So Far this Summer

I had big backpacking plans for this summer.  I was going to thru hike the Tahoe Rim Trail and try to get onto any trail as much as possible.  Sadly, I misjudged just how bad my plantar fasciitis is.  So far, I've gone on exactly one backpacking trip and that was back in June.  I tried to go on one other trip but was defeated a mere 4 hours into the trip.  More on  that later.

My one successful trip was on the Tahoe Rim Trail.  I started at the Spooner Summit trailhead and hiked into Marlette Campground.  A very fun trip.  I've day hiked the first part of this section of the Tahoe Rim Trail a few times and thought it was OK.  Kind of blah scenery wise but OK.  I, like so many other day hikers, have always stopped at the North Canyon Campground trail intersection.  It's about 4 miles to that point, making for an 8 mile round trip.  But just 1.5 miles past the intersection, the views really open up and can be quite spectacular.

View of Star Peak.

A typical view in the first 5 miles.  Carson Valley in the distance. The road cuts visible on the hillside are Highway 50.

The first 5 or so miles of this section are a steady climb - although by no means grueling.  On a scale of 5 where 1 is easy and flat and 5 is an uphill death march, I'd give this a 3, maybe a 3.5.  After about mile 5, the views to the west open up and there's a great view of Lake Tahoe and Marlette Lake below.  In June there were tons of pretty little purple wild flowers.  But what surprised me the most were the pieces of petrified wood I saw along this section.

Hillside walk about 5 miles in.  Marlette Lake is just barely visible in the center left of the photo.

Expansive view of Lake Tahoe.

Sagey open walking.

 After about mile 6, the trail flattens out and there is a nice walk through a high meadow that eventually leads to some stunning views of Eagle Valley (Carson City), Reno, and Mt. Rose and Slide Mountains.  As a nearly life-long resident of Northern Nevada and having grown up in Reno, it was a thrill to see Mt. Rose and Slide "at their level."

Big piece of petrified wood. 

Looking north toward Mr. Rose and Slide Mountain.  Marlette Lake below.

My one complaint about this section is that both of my maps - the Tahoe Rim Trail Association's official map and the National Geographic Recreation map for the Tahoe Basin - gave incorrect mileage.  Both said it was about an 8 to 8.5 mile hike to the campground.  In truth, it's about 10 miles. Not a huge deal but I was mentally prepared for 8 miles and had only packed enough water for that distance.  In the end, it was OK and I made it to the campground with plenty of water to spare but I do wish the maps were a bit more accurate.

Oh - I should mention that my dog, Dexter, accompanied me.  He carried his own water and food in his doggie backpack.  He did VERY well!  I was very proud of him for being so stoic.  He was very obedient and walked behind me the entire trip.  He even slept in the tent with me and didn't bark or cause problems, even though he was highly curious about the other campers - especially the hammocks they were sleeping in.  Am I inspired to do more backpacking with him?  Maybe but 1 or 2 day trips only.  His backpack was a nearly constant annoyance to me, having to be adjusted every few minutes.  Even the slightest imbalance in the load would result in it slipping to one side.  At one point, I turned around to find that it had slipped completely under his belly.  I spent A LOT of time adjusting and re-adjusting it and fiddling with his water bottles to make sure his water was evenly distributed.  But more than anything, I'm a little unsure that he had a good time.  He was glued to me for the trip and seemed a little scared occasionally.  It was very windy toward midday and he seemed scared and unsure about it.  He never ran away but he might have run off had he been more scared.  I really don't like the idea of losing my dog in the middle of a backpacking trip.  Maybe more trips will help his confidence.

Anyway, I'd heard not so great things about the Marlette Campground, so I was a little leery about and unsure about what I would find.  I'd heard it described as "creepy" and "weird."  I don't know why others complain about it, I found it to be very nice.  What a luxury to sit at a picnic table to have dinner and to have a well that pumps icy cold potable water!  Not to mention a nice pit toilet and bear boxes.  I guess some people prefer more of a wilderness experience.  I did find a spot where some backpackers had scraped a shallow hole to dispose of their trash.  Gross.  I packed it out for them. Double gross.

My campsite with my Easton Rimrock1 tent.  It's maiden voyage.  I like it very much!

Trash left by other backpackers in a shallow hole.  Gross.

The next day, I hiked back the way I'd come.  I met up with a yellow bellied marmot on the ridge above Marlette Lake.  He was not inclined to be photographed as he scampered away when I got too close to the rocks he calls home.  I took a nice break at that spot and tried to sneak up on him for another photo but he sensed my plan and scuttled away before I could get the camera ready.

I did kind of bad thing on the way out.  With the trail mostly downhill on the return trip, I basically walked the entire 10 miles with only one break.  I tend to do this on downhill sections.  I'm not tired so I forget to get off my feet every few miles.  By the time I made it back to the truck, my plantar fasciitis was flaring up so badly, I could barely put weight on my foot.  I also was not good about giving water to Dexter.  He had hardly drank any water the day before, so I assumed he didn't need much.  But on our one break at the marmot's rock, I gave him some water and he ended up drinking over a liter in one go, which is a lot for a 50 pound dog.  I felt terrible about that!

After our hike, I took Dexter to In 'N' Out Burger in Carson City and ordered a cheeseburger and fries for myself and a plain meat patty for Dexter.  He thought that was a great treat!  All-in-all I really enjoyed my little trip and would highly recommend this section.  And for you day hikers - push on past the North Canyon Campground trail and you will be treated to some beautiful views.

Here are some photos from our return trip:

Stunning.

I love it when trails hug the edge of hills like this.

The marmot's rock.  He's just barely visible on the rock to the left.

Disaster Strikes

So it's been a while since I last posted.  No recent hikes have been taken and my training regime has dwindled to the occasional lap around a nearby park with my dog.  Why?  Two words.  Plantar fasciitis.  Ugh.

I've actually been anticipating this.  My right foot has endured every injury a foot can get.  1988 - broken toe.  1994 - badly sprained ankle with torn ligaments.  2010 - badly sprained ankle.  2011 - Achilles tendon injury.  2012 - inflamed tendon. 2014 - double sprained ankle.  2015 - plantar fasciitis.  Notice how the injuries have piled up since 2010?  I turned 37 in 2010, clearly age and overuse are a factor.  My poor right foot is just a mass of old scars and arthritis, so the plantar fasciitis is not a surprise.  I'm actually amazed that I haven't developed it already.

Back in March, I set a goal for myself - to run and/or walk 50 miles in a single week.  I got close, 46 miles and then during a hike, the bottom of my right foot went "sproing." Pain where my heel and my arch meet.  So I gave walking/running a rest for two weeks.  And then at work, while wearing a not very supportive pair of sandals, I turned suddenly on the ball of my right foot and, huge "sproing."  Super painful sproing.  Limping for weeks after that sproing.

So I did some research and bought a pair of heel cups designed for plantar fasciitis.  They seem to be helping but the pain is still there.  So I did some more research and found a brace to wear at night.  The brace has been helping tremendously.  But - I still can't walk more than 2 miles without my foot starting to hurt again.  Clearly the best remedy is rest.  Sigh.

My plans to hike the Tahoe Rim Trail are rapidly disappearing.  I don't think there's any way I'll be able to backpack in a mere 6 weeks time.  If I can't even walk around the park, there's no way I can carry a backpack and walk 16-18 miles a day.  My cardio is also terrible right now.  Six weeks of near inactivity has taken its toll.

So I've gone to Plan X - as in, I didn't have a Plan B so I made one up when reality set it.  I'm still hoping to do some backpacking this year.  So I'm pushing my trip back to August to allow time for my foot to heal and for me to regain my cardio.  But pushing the trip to August means I probably won't be able to do the Tahoe Rim Trail.  With this year's incredibly low snow pack (15% of normal!) I don't think there will be enough water by August.  I could probably put a bunch of water caches out for myself but I don't like the idea of relying on them and they ruin the sense of wilderness that I look forward to with backpacking.  So instead, I'm considering redoing the section of Oregon I did last year - Callahan's to Highway 138.

But in the meantime, I'm implementing Plan X.  Plantar fasciitis sucks.  My two favorite modes of exercise are out the window - running and walking.  So I'm going back to my first love - bicycling.  I used to ride my bike everywhere when I was in college.  I really love the sense of speed and movement that a bike gives you.  So I pulled out my old mountain bike (bought in 1997!) and got ready to ride it.  Almost.  It's in bad shape after being stored for too many years.  It needs a thorough tune up and new tires.  Sigh.  And then I got to thinking.  The last time I went for a bike ride, I found it to be an exhausting slog.  Why?  Because mountain bikes aren't the best form of street transportation.  Back in my 20s, I just gutted it out - and got into great shape.  But now that I'm older (and a lot heavier), I'd prefer something a bit more easy to ride.  Something intended for street riding and commuting.

So yesterday, I went into Reno and bought a new bike, the first I've had in 18 years.  I bought a Trek FX 7.3, which is their exercise/commuter bike.  I love it.  It rides like a dream and it's so fast!  Even in the bigger gears, it cruises right along and I'm not huffing and puffing.  Awesome! I'm a little weirded out by the skinny road tires, having ridden a mountain bike for years, but I'm sure that's why the bike is so fast and smooth.

So for now, that's the plan.  Ride my bike for exercise and stay off my foot and maybe come August I'll be ready for a major backpacking trip.