Crime & Punishment

On Sunday, the architect & I did not do our usual Sunday bike ride (he’s still healing), but instead went hiking.

A little background. In 2004, we hiked a lot. We were training for a dayhike of Mt. Whitney. (He made it, I turned around after 6 miles & 3,500 feet.) Every weekend, we were over 8,000 feet, and were doing hikes of crazy elevation climbs and loooong distances.

After that, we were kinda burned out. And I discovered mountain biking. So, we hiked less last summer. Maybe a half dozen times. This was our first hike this summer (I know! we suck!).

So, we were going to do an easy hike on Sunday. Start at Vincent Gap & do a four-mile round trip hike to see an old mine, then off to Wrightwood (I’ve never been there, and I’ve been obsessed with the idea of going for almost 3 years). So, we headed up Highway 2. And the fucking road was closed. So, we did not get to Vincent Gap. We parked at the road closure, and walked around the barrier. We got on the PCT (which I will through-hike before I turn 40), and started hiking. After about an hour, I started having leg failure. The architect decided to go on to the next junction, I turned around, fearing the next junction was miles away (it was less than a quarter of a mile, dammit).

My legs were trembling by the time I got back to the car. The architect appeared 20 minutes later. Not even a stop for Coke & taquitos at Newcomb’s Ranch made the trembling go away. I was fairly certain I was going to be a bit sore the next day.

Ha! a bit sore would have been nice. Welcome, even. All day yesterday, I walked like an 80-year-old woman who’d recently undergone hip replacement surgery. And then, I looked up the hike. 4.2 miles, 1200 feet net elevation climb. Not the sort of thing that should make me question the benefits of standing, walking, or ever getting out of bed again. The only thing that made the pain tolerable is that the architect was also in pain. Not as much as me, but clearly very sore.

I worked a half day yesterday, and then met the architect at his office for lunch. We walked 1.5 blocks to a yummy Mexican lunch place, and for $13, each got a burrito and a Corona. We foolishly agreed that it would be an excellent idea to jog this morning. So we did. We jogged for about 10 minutes. Then, turned around and came home, because, oh my god, the pain.

In 20 minutes, we are getting on our bikes to go to a friend’s for a bbq. Then, later, we will bike to yet another friend’s for yet another bbq, this on one a boat, close to the MDR firework show. Then, we will beg that friend for a ride home in her jeep.

And no more jogging – until Thursday.

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