garcia trail and mt. baldy: a training update

being aware of every single muscle in your body is a very strange feeling. before mt. wilson, i didnt know half the muscles in my legs existed or that my whole body can hurt that much from walking up a mountain. (makes you wonder how strong our ancestors must've been before the evolution of transportation..) im guessing that is how most marathoners feel after their 26.2 miles run, something i still cant wrap my head around. but somehow i became more determined to keep going, we already were behind on our 6 weeks SoCal peaks training schedule!

since the boys couldnt go with me the next week, i decided to go out to a short trail in Azusa called the Garcia Trail. a little less than 3 miles, but an elevation gain of ~1500 ft! zeroing in on my weakspots, the goal for this short hike was to build endurance and work on my walking technique. (like i havent been walking for the last 31 years of my life, you'd think i'd get it by now). in reflecting upon my last hike, i realize that when im tired or in a hurry, i tend to walk on my tiptoes. as much as it feels nice and relieving in that moment, my calves really reminded me for 4 full days that i took the "easy way out." i endeavored to walk with my WHOLE foot the entire way and make it to the cross and back. this is also my first lone hike! and my wildly illegal wildflower pickings.. totally forgot it was illegal and frowned upon.

the next weekend, i got a chance to test out my new found walking mantra: use your whole foot Ann! (and happy to report: no more pain since!) C, J and i set out to conquer Mt. Baldy (or technically Mt. San Antonio).  stats: 11 miles, 4000 ft. elevations gain, peak at 10,064 ft. it will be our first hike to experience the highest altitude yet. the hike itself was beautiful although literally bald (my favorite thus far!) and while it was a challenging hike, we all deemed it not as difficult as Mt. Wilson. shortness of breath was more apparent here, and for C, a very real and sudden hit of drowsiness during that last mile push to the summit. (signs of AMS.. uh oh). the view up top, well it was AMAZING. stretches of the pine valley below, the city beyond that, and supposedly on a clearer day, you should be able to see the Pacific. this trail was very adventurous: waterfall, creek, a bit of rock climbing and a bit of rock sliding (for me only.. have bruises and scratches to prove it). the devil's backbone portion was thrilling: everything from trying to descend on small granite pebbles, to steep, sharp drops on the mountain side with a very narrow trail path. definitely not for the faint of heart. 

 

one of the best things about this hike was the realization that hikers are such friendly people. we met new friends on this trip and were showered with stories by older hikers about their adventures: B with her 30 days John Muir trek (30 years ago!) and convincing us to think about doing Mt. Kilimanjaro! and L and wife, 75 and still trekking up Baldy, jokes about having to wait for us youngin's to catch up and refusing to accept that his recent heart condition is due to old age! it's actually hard to find hikers that will stay with you and viceversa or maybe we just stink? jk. but we happenstanced upon two awesome buddies that stuck with us through our entire loop, we'll call them CS and DG. they kept with our pace (slow and steady wins the race!), provided entertainment and good conversation, as well as encouragement when we needed it. perhaps that newness of friendship kept us all distracted from our tired leg muscles? or perhaps it was just a happy coincidence to find such spirits to keep company with in future adventures? whatever it was, we were happy to have met such cool people with such a fun outlook on life!

check out the whole album here.
so three down, two to go! and in my determination to keep conditioning my legs for our full 22 mile trek, me and a couple cousins caught an awesome deal for 6 weeks of Fit Body Boot Camp. we'll see how that goes considering my main form of exercise has been soothing and peaceful Hot Yoga for the past 3 years... dont underestimate the power of the namaste though, yoga breathing techniques and meditation has helped me much on these training hikes! keep on trekking on, friends.. i sure am!