I forgot to change my alarm from 5:30 am to 6, but it turned out okay. I felt fine getting up at 5:30. I had fallen asleep a lot more easily last night, though I did wake in the night with some jaw pain. I’ll try taking the pain killers a little later tonight and see if that helps.
My overnight oats didn’t turn out quite how I wanted them to. There was too much water in them. I added some very thick Greek yogurt, but it was still quite watery. Microwaving the glass to heat it worked well though. I just need to figure out my ideal ratio of liquid to oats and I think I’ll be able to transition to doing those for breakfast instead of the Jimmy Deans breakfast sandwiches. Oats will be better for my cholesterol.
It took me a little longer than I wanted to get going, but I did leave the house before 8 am to head out to Hells Canyon. I stopped at the coffee shop in town and treated myself to a latte and a muffin. The drive out was nice. When I got close to my usual turnoff, I could see a lot of snow on the nearby peaks. Probably for the best that I wasn’t headed in that direction.
I had to stop several times to pee, which was a bit annoying. I didn’t think that I’d drunk that much water since waking up. Maybe it was from the watery oatmeal, ha. The muffin was my pre-hike snack, necessary since the drive was nearly two hours.
I parked across from the Eckels Creek trailhead, did my warm-ups, and crossed the street to start up the trail. I did check the permit box, but there were none to fill out.
As expected, the trail was quite steep. I had dressed for cold weather and ended up a bit overdressed on top, with three shirts and a down jacket. I pushed the down jacket off my arms, and then my button down shirt. I left them both off after the first break.
The trail was mostly in good repair for the first mile and a half or so. There were a few stalks of poison ivy trying to encroach on the trail, but nothing I couldn’t avoid. I’m just glad I know how to recognize it without leaves.
There was a warning sign at the trailhead about this being a burned area. I didn’t see any issues with the trail down low, but when it was time for it to cross and recross the creek, the effects were noticeable. I had to do quite a bit of detouring to get to the first crossing, and a very large fallen tree blocked the route ahead.
I took careful steps and made my way to what I was pretty sure was the trail, only to have it lead me directly back to the a second creek crossing. This one was swamped with fallen trees and branches, and I had to step very carefully to get across it without getting wet or injured. I considered trying to make a loop with the next trail up the road, but I didn’t think I quite had time for that long of a hike.
After the creek crossing, the condition of the trail was worse. It wasn’t bad, but it was harder to follow. Less traveled. Less obvious. When it came time for my second break, I felt the call of mother nature and had to climb very far up a steep slope to get sufficient distance from the trail to dig a hole. For the last couple days, I’ve been feeling like I need to poop, but much effort yields only small results. I should have remembered that my body likes a poop with a view, because once I was precariously perched on the slope, my body gave forth with great generosity.
I eased my way back down and decided to try and hike on a bit farther to find the trail junction that I could see on the Gaia GPS map. I had made a mistake in not bringing out my GPS unit. It may or may not have the correct trails, but I could have at least marked my way – and gotten accurate distance. My MapMyRun app decided to have another little fit. It announced 2 miles just fine, not long before I turned around, having not found the promised junction, though I did reach sunshine at long last. But the app insisted that my way back – the exact same route that I’d take up – was less than half a mile, for a total of 2.45 miles on my 4+ mile round trip.
I didn’t get a lot of sunshine on this hike. The angle of the draw and the sun weren’t lined up. I got a little bit at my turnaround and a bit closer to the trailhead.
While I hiked, I composed a song. Another grieving song. I made a recording so I’d remember it, but I think I’m going to tweak it before I post it anywhere. I think I was being overly pedantic with the lyrics in the middle verse when I should just go poetic.
The hike back down was a bit easier than the way up. I knew the trail now, knew what to expect and when. But I also knew that the trail was quite damp and covered in green growth and dead leaves, hence quite slick. So I couldn’t exactly run down. I took my steps with care, especially when I got back to that double creek crossing. My knees protested some of the downhill, but not constantly, so it was okay.
I think next time I’ll try the next trail. This one was okay, but it isn’t calling to me. And there are several other trails along the road to try so I might as well see which one I like best.
After I got to the car, I drove directly to the next trailhead, because that one is across from a boat ramp with a pit toilet. I really needed that pit toilet. There was construction equipment at the boat ramp, but no boats or other people.
The drive home was uneventful. I could feel my legs were sore from the exercise. I only cried a little bit once on the drive. I had cried several times on the hike. That’s part of why I went out there. To cry into the sky and the canyon and know that the trees and the grasses and the rocks were listening.
I stopped at the grocery store in town to pick up more breakfast sandwiches. I’m not ready to commit to overnight oats quite yet. Then home where the priority was eye drop, shower, and food, in that order. I thought about going to the grocery in Council to get bread (I like the selection there better than in Cambridge), but I decided to put that off to tomorrow.
I had a quiet evening doing laundry and reading. I did a recorded follow-along workout for my Move U exercises, which helped me pinpoint some ways I can improve my shoulder exercises. And it felt good. Tomorrow I’m going to write a story. I’m not sure what it will be about, but I’m going to write it. I don’t want to try and write a story while in Chicago, so tomorrow is really my last day to get it done even though it isn’t due until the 31st. And I want to go shopping in Council, so I’d better get that story done by 3 pm or so. 4 at the latest.
