Saturday Hike

Last Saturday was pretty epic.

Last Saturday, I got to cross off a big item on the Life List.

Last Saturday, I hiked the Grand Canyon.

I have dreamed about hiking the Grand Canyon for- I don't even know how long. Since before I discovered my love of hiking, even. Long before I considered purchasing a backpack, I thought "Why would anyone ride a mule down when they could hike?" And I fully intended to do just that.

First off, I have to say that I would much rather have hiked down, spent the night at a campground, and hiked out the next day. That kind of trip takes a lot of advance planning, however. Six to 12 months in advance, especially this time of year when the weather is perfect. I attempted to secure some cancellation campsites, but to no avail. I would have to go down and up in one day.

Grand Canyon National Park is filled with signs warning people not to attempt this. I wasn't worried, though. These warnings are mostly for folks who arrive at the park and decide - spur of the moment - to try hiking down and up. The warnings are also for the heat. It is not uncommon for the temperature difference between the rim and the floor of the canyon to be 30 degrees or more.  Ninety degrees at the rim with no humidity isn't nearly as uncomfortable as 90 degrees say in Washington DC with 90% humidity. People get overconfident by the lack of humidity and end up in 123 degree heat at the floor of the canyon. I was not in either one of those situations.

It would be a strenuous hike, no doubt. Seventeen and a half miles with 10,000 feet of elevation gain and loss (or loss and gain, more accurately). I had done worse, though. And since I would NOT be camping, I'd only be carrying a day pack. I could do this!

I had booked a cheap room right outside the park entrance, so I could get the early hiker's shuttle.  My planned route would take me down South Kaibab Trail, on the east side of the South Rim, across the Colorado River, and back up Bright Angel Trail, more west on the South Rim. I would park my car near the Bright Angel Trailhead and take the 6 am shuttle to the South Kaibab Trailhead. Me and about 80 other people.

Sunrise was at 6:45am, which explained the popularity of that early shuttle. About half the bus jumped out with their expensive camera equipment and sprinted to the trail. They converged at a spot 1/4 mile down called "Ooh-ahh Point" which had a great view of the sunrise.  Though I only had an iPhone and took the shot while moving, I still like my sunrise shot!

Even more spectacular than the actual rising sun, in my opinion, was the way the light played with the colors on the rock. The red rocks are spectacular!

The temperature at the start of the hike was 36 degrees, but as the sun came up, so did the temperature. And I soon found myself dropping layers. The trail was steep and windy with lots of switchbacks. I was warm and comfortable and loving the scenery!

 I reached the canyon floor in about 3 hours. The trail goes through a rock tunnel to the Black Suspension Bridge. I had to wait, with 15 or so other hikers, since the mule train was crossing the bridge. Since there is a chance a mule can get spooked and bolt back up the trail, hikers are not allowed on the bridge when the mules are crossing. I used that time to drink up and eat a little snack. (I hadn't eaten much on the way down and was feeling a little tired and hungry)

On the canyon floor, I headed to Phantom Ranch. I have a friend who honeymooned here and she had a beloved hat from Phantom Ranch. A few years ago, her dog ate her hat, and she has been unable to replace the hat, since it is sold ONLY at the ranch itself. So I had the task of replacing the hat. Phantom Ranch also has really good lemonade, so I ate and drank two glasses of lemonade before heading back up to the rim.

Once again, I had to cross the river, this time via the Silver Bridge, which is too narrow for mule trains to cross. No waiting this time! Just a quick stop to watch the river for a couple minutes.

Once across the bridge, Bright Angel follows the river west for a mile or so, which is pleasant, but also has stretches of soft sand, which is not so pleasant.  When I took my shoes off at Phantom Ranch, I noticed a pretty good blister on my small toe, and the soft sand was not the most welcome surprise.

After the stretch along the river, the trail follows a narrow canyon and follows the Pipe Creek up an alternately steep and moderate trail. This was the only section of trail that was hot this time of year, as it got some direct sunlight. Most of the way down, I was in shade.  Still, the temps were only in the high eighties so it was pretty comfortable.

My favorite part of the Bright Angel climb was just below the Indian Gardens Campground. The trail passes through a gully with Garden Creek. It is filled with cottonwood trees, cooler temperatures, and a refreshing breeze! I stopped for a water break and a granola bar here, enjoying the surroundings.

Shortly thereafter, I reached Indian Gardens Campgrounds. It was quite crowded, as there was piped water, rest rooms, and benches. The campground is also a popular turnaround spot for people hiking down Bright Angel.  Once again, I stopped for a bit. By now, I was right around 13 miles and starting to get tired. Eating, drinking, and taking off the shoes for a bit helped.

Past Indian Garden Campgrounds, the trail got significantly steeper. There were a series of switchbacks that, after a while, seemed endless. Luckily the last 4.5 miles two rest spots with piped water: the 3 Mile Resthouse and the Mile and a Half Resthouse. This section of trail was much more crowded. Lots of people doing shorter hikes and a handful of folks like me, pushing out the last 3 miles of the day. I'm not gonna lie: the last 3 miles were STEEP! The last 3 miles were hard. The last three miles saw me trudging along like an extra on the Walking Dead.

But I did see goats.

 
And I did have excellent views.

All in all, it was an excellent experience. I finished the entire hike in 9 1/2 hours.

If I were to do it over again, I'd skip Phantom Ranch and rest on the sandy beach by the river instead. I'd also eat more. I didn't feel that hungry, so when I stopped I snacked lightly. After the hike, I felt pretty worn out and my muscles were like jell-o. Fortunately, the hotel I was staying at had a dinner buffet. I piled up pasta like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters and felt much better. Monitoring my calories more carefully may have helped.

For those in good shape (marathoners, experienced hikers, endurance athletes) a down and up Grand Canyon hike is very reasonable. Take your time, eat enough, bring plenty of water, layer up, and have a light source in case you get caught below the rim at sunset.

Go for it! You won't be sorry.

November Goals

After a rocky October, goal wise, I'm excited for November goals. And as if to match my newfound excitement and motivation, the weather has dropped just a couple of degrees and with it, my sinuses are just a little more clear. So that's promising.

One of the things I ponder when moving from one month to another is what to do about outstanding goals from last month. Is it a sign that now is not a good time to focus on that area? Or should continue with some goals, giving myself a running start? It's a tough call. And the answer varies from month to month, depending upon the reason the goals were not met in the first place. This month, it's a pretty clear decision to me: I'm continuing with a number of the goals from last month. 

NOVEMBER GOALS

1) Work out every day: Good goal. Good to continue. I'm on it

2) Clean eating: Ditto. (the word "ditto" always reminds me of the movie Ghost)

3) Get the damn car fixed Come on, girl! You deserve to drive around in a pristine ride.

4) Finish up the Remaining 2 Online classes: Got to be done.

5) Journal and Blog Daily: Off to a good start

6) Get rid of one thing every day: This is something I've done every November for the last few years. Its a good reminder to simplify and a good reminder to be intentional with the possessions I do keep

7) Daily gratitude challenge: You see these everywhere in November. And for good reason

8) Start teaching POUND: Got the certification, time to spread the love

9) Read and get rid of 5 books: I got a plane ride this month. Should help

10) Get next summer's family trip Booked. Ya gotta do it way in advance!

October Goal Review

Last month was a bit of a crap shoot for me- full of excitement to tackle all the goals, and then sidelined by some pollen and smoke. But I made some decent progress, I think

1) Work out every day: About 3/4 of the way on this one. Some late evenings in October, after a busy day, found me doing lunges with a weighted vest in my bedroom as I got my stuff ready for the next day. And of course, I was putting together a POUND routine for a demo class (next month!!) And then there were days I couldn't breathe. So overall, not bad.

2) Hike South Kaibab to Bright Angel: SUCCESS! Best day of the month! (followed by the sorest 3 days of the month)

3) Halloween gifts for the kids: SUCCESS! Nothing beats a Halloween text video of kids in costume saying "Thanks!"

4) Clean Easting: 1/2 Credit: good for a while, and then I fell victim to Halloween candy :(

5) Get the car fixed: Oh, not yet- soon.

6) Finish up outstanding classes: Half credit. 2 of the 4 done, tackling the next two in November

7) Journaling and Blogging Daily: Journaling (yes) Blogging (no)

8) 4 Handwritten Letter to Friends: SUCCESS! And probably the nicest part of the month

9) POUND certification done: YES! And the demo class is ready to go

10)  Sleep Outside One Night: No. Had planned on it before the hike, but the area was really smoky and ended up happily able to get a last minute hotel room.

One of the nicer things about a long history of setting goals is that my perfectionism has been reined in. So on a month like this, when my success was sketchy, I can look back and say: "Great start, lots to continue on! And it points me in the right direction for November Goals. 

Desert Blues

It's weird.

When I was younger, I would always hear about people with respiratory issues who moved to the desert to get relief. The cold, wet, New England climate wreaked havoc on their lungs, so they'd move to Arizona and breathe easier for the rest of their days.

For me, that's not working.

I didn't move to Arizona for respiratory relief. I moved here for adventure. Which I have gotten in spades. However, for the last several weeks, I have been sniffling and snorting, coughing and sneezing and - quite frankly limiting the adventure side of my life because breathing has become such an issue.

It started around the last week of September, when the weather changed from highs of 110 or so to highs of 99. At first the air was much more pleasant and being outside much more comfortable. (The adventures could start when the sun came up and could continue past 10 am!) But shortly thereafter, the sneezing began. Some plant, it appears, started releasing pollen when the temperature dropped. Some plant that I had not grown up with and was not used to.

The local folks told me that both sagebrush and juniper pollen was high right now. Makes sense. Years ago, when backpacking in Utah, I discovered that I was sensitive to sagebrush. (People were simply calling it "sage", though. And I was so sensitive to it, that I became concerned that maybe I should not eat food with sage in it, for fear of going into anaphylactic shock. No worries, though. Sagebrush and the spice sage are completely different) The desert plant, though, that kicks my butt.

The pollen isn't the worst of it, though. It's also the time of year for controlled burns. In the mountainous areas surrounding me, there have been a series of controlled burns over the past few weeks (as well as a handful of unexpected fires). Smoke has been in the air. And all the symptoms that go with breathing in smoke have plagued me, as well- dry throat, dry eyes, itchy nose and ears, sore throat, dry cough. I've been a mess!

Then it occurred to me that maybe it's not the pollen or the fires, but the convergence of the two- maybe I've been breathing in the smoke from burning sagebrush. That can't be good. ( I knew somebody who once accidentally made a campfire from poison oak. It was bad. He was way worse than I am now.) But still.

The best laid plans of mice and men sometimes are toppled by pollen and smoke! I'll keep pushing through the best I can.

I just keep pondering the irony of the idea that the desert is the best place for people with respiratory issues and my current state.

Oh wait! Maybe it was people with arthritis who moved to the desert!

Fitness Schmitness

Last May, I found and fell in love with a new fitness class. In general, I'm not a new-trend kind of girl when it comes to fitness. I prefer go to the gym: cardio, lift, abs, done. (Or better yet, bypass the gym altogether and go outside!) Spinning, soul-cycle, hot yoga; not my cup of tea. For a while, I just assumed I have gotten too old for the new fitness classes. Then, I discovered Pound!

Pound isn't so much a workout class, as a trip down memory lane. Remember coming home from school and blasting Mtv when your Mom wasn't home to turn down the volume? Drumming on the desk with pencils when you were supposed to be doing your math homework ? Or later- cranking the radio and driving faster than the speed limit as you banged out the beat on the steering wheel? That's Pound.

In Pound, you have a set of lightly weighted plastic drumsticks which you bang on the floor, clap together over your head, reach to the side, reach forward, reach back- the possibilities are endless. But hitting the floor is the most fun. All the while, great music is playing- LOUD. I'm not talking the  dance/house/electronic music that usually accompanies workout classes. I'm talking classic rock, grunge, heavy metal, and some bad-ass rocker-chic empowerment songs. This was my kind of class!

At the end of my first Pound class, I thought: well, that was fun, but I don't really think I got a good workout. I'll just do extra tomorrow.

Then tomorrow came, and I could barely drag myself out of bed to the warm shower to stretch my aching body. Wow! I've never encountered a workout class that works the obliques more. I was as sore as I am the day after a tough mudder. I was immediately hooked.

And so summer passed, and my favorite part of the week was Pound. (Even when they played more top-40-ish songs, instead of classic rock!) I started to learn the moves, I started to get less sore, I started to think that maybe I was a fitness-trend kind of girl, after all. I loved it!

At the end of my work contract, I found another job in another town. My first order of business after moving and getting settled was to find the gym with the best Pound class. To my dismay, I learned that none of the area gyms HAD a Pound class! What was I ever going to do? My favorite part of the week was gone!

I got a DVD from the Pound website. Which was okay- but for some reason had generic, bland house music in the background. Plus, pounding alone isn't nearly as much fun as pounding with a group. Every time I went to the gym to workout (cardio, lift, abs, done), I thought: "Somebody around here really needs to start a Pound class!"

And then I thought: "I'm somebody."

Which is how last weekend I found myself at a class to become a fitness rebel- with Pound certification!

to be continued...

The Artist's Way- Week One

Week One: Recovering a Sense of Safety

I think my favorite aspect of this program is that it embraces silliness. So often in life, we get caught up in our responsibilities: our jobs, our bills, our chores around the house, taking care of the kids, driving the kids to all of their activities, walking the dog, getting our 10,000 steps in, and posting on our carefully crafted social media accounts. All those things we HAVE to do, in order to be a responsible adult.

This program forces you to do things for no other reason than stepping out of that role of responsible adult. What were all those things you did as a kid when you had a few hours of unstructured time after school? Did you listen to a record over and over and over again, memorizing the lyrics so you could sing it at the top of your lungs? Did you draw medieval castles? Did you play guitar? (Or air guitar?) Did you make up dances in your basement? Did you go on endless walks around the neighborhood or in the woods by your house? Did you practice tricks on your skateboard? Did you build a fort or redecorate your room? Those things. Those are the kinds of things that pop up in the exercises at the end of the chapter each week.

Strangely, those silly things end up becoming really profound at the end of 12 weeks.

One of my favorite exercises week one is: Imaginary Lives.  Pretend you have 5 more lives to live. What would you do? And it doesn't matter if you aren't good at whatever you choose. You can still be a lounge singer in your imaginary life if you are completely tone deaf in this one. You can be an accountant if you failed math 3 times in high school. (though why anyone would spend one of their imaginary lives on accountant is beyond me!)

One of my favorite techniques is one I picked up at the Julia Cameron retreat a couple weeks ago: do it fast! Don't overthink things. Set a timer for 3 minutes and write furiously for 3 minutes. (When we allow ourselves a long time to think about things, we often venture out of silly land and into the kingdom of responsibility.) Plus, I found that when I did the exercises this way- fast and furious- I often looked back at my answer and thought "Wow. I didn't know I thought that until right now."  Because those fast and furious answers had a definite aura of truth to them.

See? Silly and profound!

MY FIVE IMAGINARY LIVES:

WRITER Of course. Always. My fast and furious self chose not a fiction writer or a travel writer (as my brain would pick),  bit more of an investigative or research journalist in the vein of Malcolm Gladwell or Gretchen Rubin. Looking around at the piles of books I have yet to read, I see that this type of writing is what I gravitate toward. Even if many of the books are now serving as unread decorations.

ROCK STAR And, of course. Doesn't everyone want to be a rock star? We've even commandeered  the term rock star to mean excellence in ANY field! But seriously- a life of creating and collaborating and experimenting with different styles. And travel. Quite frankly, I'd be happy with the life of most non-rockstar musicians- crammed in a van with the long road ahead and a big bag of snacks.

 SCIENTIST Not a laboratory scientist, but more like a field scientist. Gathering samples of ocean water or living amongst the apes like Jane Goodall. Or a social scientist studying the motivations and habits of us weird humans. I think the only thing that would be really frustrating about this profession is that I find that the more  I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.

SPECIAL EFFECTS EXPERT Kind of a strange one for me, since these are people who spend lots of times indoors and have that pasty skin. But I imagine the chance to collaborate with a team of smart, creative people all working toward the same goal. The chance to think outside the norm. Plus, I really like movies.

TOUR GUIDE: Somewhere cool. Like Rome or Paris. Or  trip leader along the Inca Trail. It would be empowering, I think, to share knowledge about an amazing place with other people. And amazing to see these places over and over again (like that record I listened to in my room after school). Several years ago, I went to Italy with my two best friends and we toured the Vatican. I remember thinking that this tour guide saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel EVERY DAY!  And then immediately thinking that I really picked the wrong major in college! I've never fully gotten over that realization.

Imperfection

A couple years ago, I worked with a guy who was REALLY into Crossfit. He was one of those super extreme type A people who talked incessantly about "the box" and a paleo lifestyle. He was also really good at his job.

Anyway, one of the tools they used at his Crossfit box was the 30 Day Challenge. Each month, the members would pick a challenge that they pursued for 30 days. At the end of the month, the successful participants would get their name up on The Board.

I thought that was a great idea. After all, I am a super-big fan of goal setting and Challenges, be they 14 day, 21 day, 30 day or anything else.

I was not, however, a fan of this guy when he was doing a 30 day challenge.

The first challenge of the year was "No Complaining" for 30 days. A decent challenge- certainly well intentioned and good for self improvement. The challenge went pretty well for about 4-5 days. And then he'd suddenly get really agitated and frustrated. "I have to start over one day one!"

This pattern continued until mid-way through February. He'd start off, do well for a few days, then he'd inadvertently complain about something. And start over on day one. Again and again and again.

Finally, one day I asked him "Wasn't No Complaining January's challenge? How come you haven't moved on to the next challenge?"

"I haven't completed the first challenge" he said. "I have to go 30 full days in order to complete the challenge. Then, and only then can I move on to the next one."

"But that doesn't seem to be working" I responded. "Wouldn't it make more sense to, maybe, keep a journal during the challenge? If you end up complaining about something, then you write it down and include when you complained and about what and what was going on when you complained. Then, you could look for patterns. For instance, if you notice that every Monday morning, you complain about traffic, you may realize that you are leaving the house late every Monday and vow to get yourself organized on Sunday night so you can leave on time. Or if you notice that you complain mainly in the mid afternoon hours, you may conclude that paleo is completely insane and eat some chocolate, already!"  (I didn't say that. I actually said that maybe you need to eat a handful of almonds or some cheese. But I totally THOUGHT chocolate!)

"Well, I can see how that would have some benefits. And that does make sense. But that's not what the challenge is. The challenge is to get through 30 days."

"Is that really the point?" I asked. "Isn't the bottom like to learn and grow as a person? Not just to get up on the board."

"Well, learning and growing is desirable," he said. "But the real point IS to get up on the board."

I tell that story not to belittle my former co-worker, nor to make myself look superior. I tell that story simply because it is very similar to my life last week. Last week, I set a number of ambitious goals for myself that meant a lot to me and are things that I strongly aspire to. And then, last week, a number of those goals fell apart.

Some of the time it was completely out of my control. Like when my computer crapped out on my and lost all the documentation I had on every single patient I had seen that day. And I had to stay and extra 2 1/2 hours to re-do all my paper work on a computer that kept freezing up on me.  Some of the time, I had to make choices between two equally desirable occurrences. Since there is not an infinite number of hours in the day and also since I cannot split myself in two, I had to choose one over the other. And a couple times I was just too exhausted and needed an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

So this week, I am starting anew. Not in a "Oh, crap! I have to start over from the very beginning!" kind of way. More in a "This week is a blank slate and I can get back on track" kind of way. My end goal, after all, is to grow as a person, not to get my name on The Board.

Oh! And P.S.>  There was actually a reason that my friend was so obsessed with The Board. I just didn't know it at the time. He is now a Crossfit coach and he had to successfully complete a certain number of those 30 day challenges without going insane. So all's well that ends well. I'm gonna go eat some chocolate.