This week was pretty much a bummer. My foot continues to be a pain, and I got a new solution from Ryan. He tore out the metatarsal pad and put a different pad under the rightmost three toes, to try to shift the weight over the sore joint and onto the big toe joint. The major effect of THAT was to cause a big blister on my heel. So, both to let the blister heal up, and to try to rest the foot and see if this new solution will work, I spent the week on the streets around my house instead of on mountain trails. I am also trying ibuprofen every 6 hours or so, to see if that will bring down the inflammation and swelling. No such luck so far. Somebody told me about another foot guy over in Truckee, so I think I'll pay him a visit this week. Other folks have said I should see a podiatrist, but I am leery of them after what that guy in San Jose did to my left foot. I am beginning to be resigned to just eating a lot of pain pills.
This week:
July 19: 4.5 miles on street, extra 10 pounds in pack
July 20: Pilates
July 21: 5.2 miles on road, no extra weight
July 22: Pilates
July 23: 5.2 miles on street, no extra weight
July 24: 5.2 miles on Street, now in sneakers
July 25: 5.2 miles on street, sneakers
Total for this week: 25.3 miles
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Week 18 of 26
This has been a painful week. I talked to Ryan at the Shoes N Feet store again and he tried a different insert for my right foot. It made absolutely no difference, and by the end of the week I could hardly walk. I started to suspect the boots and tried my old Merrill trail shoes, and the problem was worse.
On the plus side, I walked up the highest mountain around here, Mt Rose, twice this week (yeah, no wonder I can't walk). Some pictures from the first time are attached below. The weather has been quite warm, and this hike is cool: it goes from 8940 feet to 10,776 feet. I wish I could do it 3-4 times a week, but the foot just won't permit it.
This week:
July 12: 5 miles, up Jones Creek and down (3 hours)
July 13: Pilates
July 14: Nothing
July 15: 10.6 miles up Mt Rose and down (6 hours and 10 minutes)
July 16: Pilates
July 17: 5.2 miles on road in sneakers
July 18: 10.6 miles up Mt Rose and down (5 hours and 50 minutes)
Total for week 18: 31.3 miles
(1) The three of us at the waterfall halfway up Mt Rose (2) The trail near the top (3) From the top, view of Reno to the north (4) The three of us at the top
(5) From the top, view of Lake Tahoe to the southwest
On the plus side, I walked up the highest mountain around here, Mt Rose, twice this week (yeah, no wonder I can't walk). Some pictures from the first time are attached below. The weather has been quite warm, and this hike is cool: it goes from 8940 feet to 10,776 feet. I wish I could do it 3-4 times a week, but the foot just won't permit it.
This week:
July 12: 5 miles, up Jones Creek and down (3 hours)
July 13: Pilates
July 14: Nothing
July 15: 10.6 miles up Mt Rose and down (6 hours and 10 minutes)
July 16: Pilates
July 17: 5.2 miles on road in sneakers
July 18: 10.6 miles up Mt Rose and down (5 hours and 50 minutes)
Total for week 18: 31.3 miles
(1) The three of us at the waterfall halfway up Mt Rose (2) The trail near the top (3) From the top, view of Reno to the north (4) The three of us at the top
(5) From the top, view of Lake Tahoe to the southwest
Monday, July 12, 2010
Week 17 of 26
This week, I decided that doing the entire Jones/Whites loop was not totally productive. We found a cutoff near the bottom that eliminates .5 mile of boring nothing, but it's still 7 miles downhill which only batters my feet. So I decided to go up the steep 2.5 miles at the beginning and then just come back down again. If I do this one time, I have strength left for pilates later in the day. I tried doing it twice one day and my right foot was so sore I could hardly walk. Have to pay Ryan another visit! It kind of amazes me that it doesn't toughen up, but it is just always sore and swollen.
Several things have to happen in the next two months:
1. I need to start adding weight to my new pack (Got an REI Venturi women's medium 30 liter pack and I love it!!). I need to put together a plan to increase to 30 pound or thereabouts by the final two weeks.
2. I need to increase time on my feet in the mountains to 8-10 hours a day. HOW this can happen is a mystery, as after 10 miles my right foot is so sore I limp for the next two days.
3. I need to string a couple of long days together in a given week. Another mystery, see #2.
4. We need to move this party to higher elevations.
This week:
July 5: 9.5 miles, Jones/Whites loop with cutoff (5 hrs, 10 minutes)
July 6: Nothing
July 7: 5 miles, Jones up (2 hrs) and down (1.5 hr). Pilates in PM
July 8: 5 miles, Jones up (1 hr 40 min) and down (1.5 hr).
July 9: Pilates
July 10: 5 miles, Jones up (1 hr 32 min) and down. 5 Miles Jones up (1 hr 50 min) and down.
July 11: Pilates
Total mileage for week: 29.5
Several things have to happen in the next two months:
1. I need to start adding weight to my new pack (Got an REI Venturi women's medium 30 liter pack and I love it!!). I need to put together a plan to increase to 30 pound or thereabouts by the final two weeks.
2. I need to increase time on my feet in the mountains to 8-10 hours a day. HOW this can happen is a mystery, as after 10 miles my right foot is so sore I limp for the next two days.
3. I need to string a couple of long days together in a given week. Another mystery, see #2.
4. We need to move this party to higher elevations.
This week:
July 5: 9.5 miles, Jones/Whites loop with cutoff (5 hrs, 10 minutes)
July 6: Nothing
July 7: 5 miles, Jones up (2 hrs) and down (1.5 hr). Pilates in PM
July 8: 5 miles, Jones up (1 hr 40 min) and down (1.5 hr).
July 9: Pilates
July 10: 5 miles, Jones up (1 hr 32 min) and down. 5 Miles Jones up (1 hr 50 min) and down.
July 11: Pilates
Total mileage for week: 29.5
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Week 16 of 26
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!
On July 1, we drove the RV up to Gold Mountain to play the newly opened Dragon golf course and take a look at our property (still worth next to nothing). The course is pretty ratty right now, but once they get it fixed up, maybe that lot will be worth a little something.
The next day we did a big hike all around the Lakes Basin area (Plumas County, California) where we were camped. This map shows a portion of what we hiked: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=49427. I included some pictures below. LOTS of snow left up there!! The elevation is about the same as our house, so I am not sure why it should be so much colder.
We are both feeling very good about the decision not to use the Umbwe route (been reading more about it). Joe's been having trouble with blisters from his new boots, and Ryan's solutions aren't working too well (the metatarsal pads keep moving all around). My feet are happy blister-wise, but still bruised and swollen at the ball of the foot (now both sides). As the weather heats up we are going out earlier and looking for higher hikes. Above the Brown's Creek loop, the forest service has been doing "fuels reduction" meaning they are chopping down trees and sawing off lower branches. They have left all this debris on the trail, making it impassable. I doubt they'll have it cleared anytime soon, and probably have to use helicopters to get the stuff out.
The week:
June 28: 5.2 miles in sneakers on streets, 6000 feet
June 29: Pilates
June 30: 10 miles, Jones/White Loop, 5 hours 15 min
July 1: Golf at the Dragon
July 2: 8-9 miles at Lakes Basin, around Long, Silver, Round and Bear Lakes, a
total of 6 hrs 15 minutes
July 3: 2 miles Lakes Basin (bad choice of trails; it abruptly ended), Pilates
July 4: about 5 miles, Brown's Creek
Total mileage this week: 30 - 31
Some pictures of the Lakes Basin hike. The last one shows the tracks across one of the snow patches:
On July 1, we drove the RV up to Gold Mountain to play the newly opened Dragon golf course and take a look at our property (still worth next to nothing). The course is pretty ratty right now, but once they get it fixed up, maybe that lot will be worth a little something.
The next day we did a big hike all around the Lakes Basin area (Plumas County, California) where we were camped. This map shows a portion of what we hiked: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=49427. I included some pictures below. LOTS of snow left up there!! The elevation is about the same as our house, so I am not sure why it should be so much colder.
We are both feeling very good about the decision not to use the Umbwe route (been reading more about it). Joe's been having trouble with blisters from his new boots, and Ryan's solutions aren't working too well (the metatarsal pads keep moving all around). My feet are happy blister-wise, but still bruised and swollen at the ball of the foot (now both sides). As the weather heats up we are going out earlier and looking for higher hikes. Above the Brown's Creek loop, the forest service has been doing "fuels reduction" meaning they are chopping down trees and sawing off lower branches. They have left all this debris on the trail, making it impassable. I doubt they'll have it cleared anytime soon, and probably have to use helicopters to get the stuff out.
The week:
June 28: 5.2 miles in sneakers on streets, 6000 feet
June 29: Pilates
June 30: 10 miles, Jones/White Loop, 5 hours 15 min
July 1: Golf at the Dragon
July 2: 8-9 miles at Lakes Basin, around Long, Silver, Round and Bear Lakes, a
total of 6 hrs 15 minutes
July 3: 2 miles Lakes Basin (bad choice of trails; it abruptly ended), Pilates
July 4: about 5 miles, Brown's Creek
Total mileage this week: 30 - 31
Some pictures of the Lakes Basin hike. The last one shows the tracks across one of the snow patches:
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