Life of Wry

One thing Memorial Day Weekend is, they say, is the kickoff of the summer season. I’m not sure that’s what the creators of Memorial Day intended, but there it is. For Jim, the weekend’s been a lot about work, as he’s got a huge subsidence project going on which means a lot of data gathering in a lot of places all over the county, so he was gone a lot. For me, it was the end of a densely packed week and I was looking forward to a lot of time spent reading in the backyard. I always say that but somehow never accomplish that lovely goal. I did this day!

Plunked myself here…..

and here…..

Evidence:

And made great progress in a book I’ve been wanting to read for months… Matthew Perry’s memoir about addiction. What a read.

Again, maybe not what the Memorial Day planners had in mind, but a super lovely (if sad) day of reading.

Training for the Dolomites. You do what you can in flat Davis…

We’re trying to get some hikes in at some of the regional parks within a reasonable drive from Davis, but those hikes are, so far, few and far between. My usual walk around the creek will have to suffice on Davis days. I sweeten the pot by bookending that walk with a bunch of trips to the top of this parking garage.

A couple shots from today…

The parking garage, about a block and a half from our house on the northeast corner of campus:

So.. I typically go up and down 5 times on the front end of the 4-mile walk and again on the backside. My app tells me it’s about 30 feet per trip, so in my ten trips I’m climbing a whopping 300 feet. We’ll be averaging 3000 feet a day, so I better find more hills to climb.

Here’s a shot through campus today (west side of the Quad):

How I spent three hours of my day today….

That black thing is not a fashion accessory.. it’s a heated rice bag. The staff comes around and changes them every half hour or so. Off camera, I’m also fiddling with a heated rice bag in my right hand, per instruction. Keeps blood moving, I guess. My right arm has to stay put for the entire session, as it’s hooked up to machines via a needle in my arm and a tube that flows to and from it. I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on here, because I don’t look, but it has something to do with extracting blood, separating out the platelets and returning the blood. I keep my blood, they keep my platelets. This is different than giving blood, where you leave the place a pint down. The advantage of giving platelets is that you feel completely fine afterwards because you have everything you came with… the thing you loose is time (and a little bag of yellow stuff they use for cancer patients, mostly. If I continue to give platelets, I’ll make an effort to understand exactly what I’m doing.

About the weirdest hiking boots I’ve ever purchased….

I have about 100 theories right now explaining my lost nails and blisters, and twice that many (it seems) potential solutions.

At the top of the solution list is new boots… boots with more room for wide feet and more adjustments to prevent those wide feet from sliding. So… I bought those funny looking Altra boots for their famously ample toe box. While at REI, I also bought some socks that promise blister-protection. And learned from the otherwise very busy boot clerk (REI is having a huge sale this week and the place was packed with boot buyers) some handy lacing techniques that ought to stabilize the heel and hold my foot in place on the downhills (both of them, actually). For the time being, I’m retiring my Keens and Lowas. Fingers crossed for these weirdo Atras.

AND a bevy of foot paraphernalia arrived today — all kind of treatments and gadgets that purport to address my current and future foot problems. Certainly the low tech moleskin will help, and perhaps the funny little silicone toe caps… we’ll see. Maybe the goofy toe socks? Other stuff too… stay tuned for a report on any successes.

AND I had a session with the masterful Hideshi today, who assured me my achilles will not sever. He unleashed a torrent of electricity and ultrasound at the epicenter of my problem right tendon, then taped it, and holy moly it feels great. He reviewed with me the best strategies for ice/heat — the whens and wheres. (Right… I always forget ice and heat.) Tendinopathy at bay for the moment. So things are feeling more positive on that front.

That’s my foot report.

~~

In related news, Peter told me today he and Eli were successful in getting a permit for the John Muir Trail this summer — the trailhead they wanted on the day they wanted. This, after numerous attempts over several months. I am hoping (against hope) that Peter gets his gear game on and pulls all of this together in a timely way (he needs new boots, for example, and time to break them in before July.. not to mention a new bag, a new backpack and bunches of clothes).

That kid will be busy this summer. He’s attending 3 conferences (and presenting papers at all three) and is going on two significant hiking trips. The JMT will be ~220 miles of backpacking over a two-ish week period, and 3 weeks after that, he and Maya will join us in the Italian Dolomites for 8 more days of hiking (approx 75 miles). I learned today he injured his hand when he lost his grip while rockclimbing (bouldering in a climbing gym). Hoping he’ll see a doctor asap.

Gosh.

The thing about these? I don’t have to say another word and everyone knows what this post is about.

Since I’m pretty sure I’ve yet to blog about our trip to England and Scotland five years ago, here is a shot taken on May 20, 2019..

I have nada to blog, so I’m On This Day-ing.

This soft, cuddle-worthy bundle of lips and lashes was anything but sweet. I mean, she looked sweet, but swore like a sailor! The sounds that came out of her…. hilariously discordant.

These photos were taken on May 19, 2003.

This appeared to be a playdate with Chenoa. Looks like the snacks may have finally kicked in …

Love these kids.

I’m pooped. So here’re the facts:

Started at 12:25, finished at about 4:55 –> 4.5 hours; 8 miles.

Pauses along the way to look at views, figure out our route (which we lost at one point and had to back track about 1/2 a mile), and such, and about a 20 minute stop in a patch of shade under an oak tree that was mighty refreshing.

I think we figured something under 1000′ in elevation gain. If that.

It was in the low 80s but felt hotter due to shadeless exposure most of the day. In fact, I experienced early signs of heat exhaustion (chills).

And.. body report: legs overall good (though by end weary… not sure why I had issues.. maybe the heat thing), no knee issues, but terrible achilles issues. My tendinopathy is flaring (nodules/bumps along right tendon), super painful. Also, these boots (the high ones) are giving me issues.. such that I may lose 1-2 nails after today. Plus I got two blisters. Feel shitty about all of that and worried for August.

If return, do it in flower bloom season. Could be boggy in parts. Also, watch out for poison oak in the ravines.

We saw Beatman and Phantom falls, as well as Ravine Falls and sorta a fourth in the upper part of Ravine ravine.

My camera somehow got stuck on the vibrant filter setting. Over exposed all my photos. I tried to fix them… but they’re still mostly weird. Here are the best ones from today.

That, above, is Beatman Falls.

Above: That was a lake we came upon about halfway through the hike, just after Beatman Falls and before a descent into Ravine ravine.

Below: so much of the hike looked like this. Until you got to the ravines.. then steeper hilly, rocky, bushy, some oaks, poison oak, water… etc.

Above: nice rest stop. Shortly after this, we’ll hike another half mile or so to Phantom Falls, then the 2 miles back to the car.

Above: that wee trickle is what remains of Phantom Falls for the season. Look to the right.

That’s most of it. A good, if tiring, day (for me… Jim was fine).

As seen from my desk, through the window screen as she/he perched on a boulder in the garden about 20 feet away…

I’m no Chuck Babbitt. He’s an experienced professional with exceptional bird shooting skills, and has the equipment to back him up. I’m an amateur with an iPhone 13, but I still like my fuzzy, lo rez pic.

His/her breast is more peach colored, and may not be a Robin Red Breast at all. She/he was kinda skinny, too, not as full of figure as Robins I’ve known before (not too many).

Later in the morning, a Scrub Jay landed in this very spot. T’was a nice day for colorful birds!