Dealing with Corona Virus

I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility. -Jack Kerouac-

I saw a great viral post today on FB about how we are all not in the same boat but we are in the same storm.  Let me tell you about my boat.  I have seen enough in the news to be terrified of this latest version of the Corona Virus - Covid 19.  Doctors and nurses dying while treating myriad cases of patients with serious pneumonia is enough for me to want to keep my body and its asthma history at home.  Knowing that the virus has now become a top killer in our country has to get one's attention.  Otherwise, I can't complain.


My line of work is directly tied to the massive governmental relief operation, so I am fairly certain I'll have a job.  Our grocery store is struggling with inventory, but my family has found a way to stock not only food but fresh produce (and toilet paper).  We've used a number of restaurant supply options and brought home entire boxes of avocados, bunches and bunches of bananas, asparagus, broccoli, yams, and other produce.  So, we are doing relatively well compared to folks in Texas who line up in cars for blocks and blocks awaiting food distribution, or the 20 million folks who've had to file for unemployment.


And I'm doing well in exercise too.  Freed up from the daily commute, I've picked up about two extra hours in each day.  I've been using this to log 20+ miles per week in trail runs, some track work, and jogs on my favorite local footpath.  I've also made sure to go for walks even on my non-running days.  I'm slowly working my way into better shape, but it gets harder with each passing year to recover from months of sloppiness.


My Corona Virus passage is not unique.  I'm in a boat that is skipping across the biggest waves but has a defect that may, at some point, cause it to sink.  Not taking on water, but still subject to peril.  It is unnerving to think about things like whether a will is updated, or whether my wife would have a copy of the password to my IRA.  We're managing, but we have to be vigilant.  This is our current lot.

Even in this moment of "social distancing" and shelter-in-place, we still have freedom if we choose to find it.  Mary and I bolt for the doors and walk a quick 1-2 miles during our lunch breaks during the week.  This merely holds serve and keeps us at something like the level of activity we would normally have.  We don't want to be those folks in the FB memes who talk of gluttony, substance abuse, and obesity as being a natural reaction to our current constraints.  We want to get out, stretch our legs and expand our limited horizons.  We strive to make the most of this trying time.


So, I've been hitting the trails.  King Canyon loop is probably getting sick of me.  This stretch of East Bay Municipal Utilities District land has felt the soles of my shoes for years now.  Beautiful spring wildflowers, turkeys, deer, coyotes, and other fauna are my familiar friends.  But I'm not sure if they are getting used to the other folks coming through in this time of shelter-in-place.  The trailhead parking lots were so crowded that they were closed off, folks still line the nearby streets and walk to gain access to these open spaces.  I used to pass 4 or 5 people in a run, now I pass 4 or 5 people every ten minutes.  It is good to see them out there, and I wonder how much time these same people would be spending in the outdoors if nature was more of a priority in their lives. 


I got a new pair of New Balance trail running shoes and I love them.  They have Vibram soles and felt dreamy in their maiden voyage, a 9 mile run through the Redwood Regional Park.  My biggest complaint was that the soles had such good traction that I actually think they caused more right patellar strain on the downhill runs because they stuck so good in the dirt.  I think my legs were used to a little slippage.

Yeah, that right knee has always been a little more sensitive than the left knee, but here's to hoping it will keep me moving for a few more years before I have to settle for yoga or swimming.  I plan to keep motrin' along until it gives out on me.


Today, Mary and I explored a trail that runs on private ranchland above our house.  The hill has looked down on us for 7 years and we've never thought of challenging it.  Our boys have made the hardscrabble climb up the steep landslide scarred slope that faces their middle school.  They call it the "flag hill" because the rancher used to keep an American flag up there.  But there is a long trail that runs the whole ridgeline to nearby Orinda and has great views in most all directions.  Today, Mt. Diablo was in full view and we could actually see across the great Central Valley of California all the way to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  The trail was lined with California poppy and other wildflowers.  A bottle of wine and some beet salad made for a great lunch.  The desert was rock hopping with my 10 year old daughter.


So, I'm sweating off a couple pounds, trying hard to keep a diet that is somewhat close to vegan, and enjoying springtime in Northern California.  Feeling about as unnerved as one can be as one who "can't complain."  I want to say "this too shall pass" but that is the unnerving thing, will it?  I hope.

New Year, New Opportunity

I've been gone for a while.  A promotion at work, back surgery, and 4 kids are what's been keeping me busy.  But I am looking forward to a springtime of outdoor activity in the Bay Area and beyond.


I decided to write again because I have news.  I switched to a vegan diet in the beginning of the year!  My son was prompted by his health teacher to make improvements in his life and he made the switch over a year ago.  But since I'm the middle-aged guy with a father who died of heart problems at 42, I figured I should give it a try.  My dietary switch worked very well.  Two aspects to consider are that my total cholesterol dropped 22 points and I think I have become a faster runner.


The running part is not as objectively quantifiable as the cholesterol, but today I ran a loop that I have run often over the years and saw improvement.  I had not run in three weeks and had run only sporadically before that, and yet I came within one minute of my personal best on this particular loop.  This, despite stopping for a photo and running in deep slippery mud for certain stretches.  Normally, when I get back into running in the usual fits and starts, I am slower for weeks before I start to improve.  But here, I wasn't even looking for a personal best and wonder if I could not have beaten it if I had not tried.  So, it is really great news for me and it does support the notion that vegan is not a downgrade for your health.


For vegan purists and animal lovers, I have to be candid, I still plan on elk hunting this fall and after Vegan January I may well grab a chicken sandwich or a spare piece of bacon.  But I honestly believe that, forever for me, I will not be ingesting as much animal-based protein and fats.


Anyway, happy to be back on the trail again.  Big Sur Marathon is only three months away!


Dan

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-yosemite-opens-fires-20180815-story.html

Almost a Wilderness Trip

Mary and I finally got away on a last-minute hashed together effort to explore the woods again.  Aware of the Perseid Meteor showers this week, we resolved to get our out-of-shape selves into the Desolation Wilderness.  Far from the madding crowds, far from the bright city lights.  We set out to wash our faces in starlight.

Originally planned as a 7:00 a.m. departure and a hike into the Rockbound Lake area, we settled for a 1:00 p.m. departure and a stop short at Buck Island lake.  Driving about 3.5 hours from Moraga, we hit the trail much later than hoped and shortened our distance to 7ish miles in and then back out the next morning.  It almost seemed like too hectic of a plan.  How does one enjoy the wilderness when the coming and going subjects oneself to the famed red tail lights of California?  But, I must say, I found my Zen.  If only for a moment, I was happy to be there...then.

Well, temporary Zen, perhaps.  Our dispersed campsite was on a rock outcropping by a big old broken cedar (?) across a lake from the end of the "Rubicon Trail", a famous place (?) where off road vehicle enthusiast's subject their otherwise pavement bound machines to the primitive wilds of the earth.  Jeeps and other 4 WD vehicles clamber over boulders well into the evening.  Aided by those roll bar topping lights, the purpose of which previously had always escaped me, they clanked and grinded gears well into the night.  Where the track they were driving on meandered in our direction their lights pointed right at us.  Our campsite was, to borrow a term from the Urban Dictionary, "Lit" from top to bottom.  We had light beams both shining straight at us and reflecting up at us from the lake.  I felt like Julia Louis-Dreyfuss character in "Christmas Vacation" when Clark Griswold turned his exterior Christmas lights on.

But I must say that it was entertaining listening to a guy curse at his stuck Jeep from across the small lake.  Sound carries almost as well as light across open water.  And it all just reinforced my love of cheaper hobbies.  We continued to watch in amusement as we ate dinner.  Turkey sandwiches and Pinot Noir, now that is more like it.

Mary got tired early and I can't say I blame her for wanting to turn it in.  I spent entirely too much of the twilight, turned low light, trying to figure out the how to operate my camera on high ISO settings, necessary for night photos.  But once I did I started taking some good night shots (see attached images).  I snapped and snapped away.  I started figuring things out after many missed shots including some images that had potential, but look too grainy, pixelated, over exposed, or underexposed.  I am going to have to do my homework on how to better capture shooting stars on my Canon 60D.  But even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.  After seeing countless meteors rain from the heavens only to escaped my camera's pixels, I think I caught one.  See if you can find it in the night images attached.

It was a mild dry night, so we left our tent's rain fly off.  Looking up through the screen, we could see shooting starts at least once per minute.  A few little critters moved through our site while we slept, but none of the Sierras mischievous black bears.   My first night sleeping outdoors is usually a restless affair, but I slept fine on the soft ground when I wasn't screwing around with my camera.

Up early, a quick cup of tea and some oatmeal, and back on the trail.  We moved fast, turning a 3 hour hike in, into a 2 hour hike out.  That's what 10 degrees cooler temperatures and a net drop in elevation over 7 miles would do. 

Overall, I consider this a pleasant trip.  You'll hear boomboxes coming from the road across Loon Lake when you first head in and, as discussed, more disturbing off road vehicle noises at night.  I would definitely recommend getting an earlier start and pushing a few miles deeper into the Desolation Wilderness area.  Some online posts said that our initial destination of Rockbound Lake wouldn't even have been enough to get away from the noise, so plan an initial ten mile hike, which shouldn't be too tough on this generally sand, gravel and pine duff trail.

Summit Day on Summit Trail

Back from the dead.  After a crazy busy stretch I finally have a chance to do two things together, hike and write about hiking.


Mary and I celebrated National Summit Day by hiking the Summit Trail from the South Gate entrance at Mt. Diablo State Park.  As we went to bed the night before we noted a "smoke" advisory on our IPhone weather app.  We were not disappointed.  We got up at first light and drove under a hazy grey layer of smoke at about 3,000 feet above us.   Arriving at the South Gate of Mt. Diablo State Park, we found the gate to be locked, as we expected at 6:15 a.m. (it opens at 8).  We drove back down the access road to a spot where we could legally park without being either on the road surface or on private property (we think).


The reason why one must leave early is because all it does is get hot up there as the days goes on.  The more climbing you can get in before that sunlight gets direct, the cooler you will stay and the more enjoyable the experience.  We enjoyed a cool breeze drifting down our side of the mountain in the early morning, which felt great.


The trail climbs directly from a grassy area through a forest of holly, oak, and bay laurel, before moving to an area of madrone and slash pine(?).  Poison oak can appear anywhere, so be sure to stay on the trail if you do this hike.  Deer and turkey move freely about, and coyote scat appears on the trail.  I found a giant pine cone with nuts still in it, the squirrels must be slacking at their jobs!  Not sure if they were of an edible variety, I left it.  I then replied to the cooing of a mourning dove.  Peace.


Perhaps not even two miles up the trail we came to a campground that had running water and even functioning showers.  We enjoyed the fresh water, but had brought enough for our needs even without it.  The first of the mountain bikers climbed past us here.  I am not even sure what trails they can ride on, but they became more and more frequent as the day went on.


Taking a fortuitous wrong turn after the campground, we arrived at Sentinel Rock and relaxed for a snack.  The morning light was still at a shallow angle and helped light up our photos and our smiles.


Getting back on the trail, we encountered a few more hikers and numerous mountain bikers.  Mary noted that she only saw one other woman, day hiking up from the camp ground with her husband.  We ascended onto a ridge with sweeping views to the south and west.  Underneath the grey layer of smoke we could see Mt. Tamalpais in the distance.


Because of a medical condition that arose, we cut our trip short.  We did not make the Summit of Mt. Diablo for National Summit Day.  Discretion was the better part of valor.  We are back at home and were very happy to cover a little over half of our stated 14 mile objective.  It was a better morning than most Americans had today, in terms of hiking and being outdoors.  Every day in the woods is a good day and the journey is always more important than the destination.


Mary and I both felt relaxed.  That was a good thing.  School is starting up soon enough and we'll be right back in the thick of it before too long.


Until Next time...

Backpacker Magazine

Some of this should look familiar!

https://www.backpacker.com/trips/san-francisco-top10-dayhikes

The Boat Life

https://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Family-of-13-on-sailing-adventure-aboard-43-12524821.php

Lafayette Reservoir Upper Loop

Super Bowl Sunday, the greatest game on earth, the championship of the planet, and the best place to get your yearly dose of unbridled commercialism all in one sitting.

Or, don't sit!  After dropping my boys off for their Super Bowl parties, the girls and I went for a hike on the Lafayette Reservoir's upper trail loop.  "Its only about 4 miles," Mary had told me, "We'll surely be back in time to catch the second half."  I figured that she knew what she was talking about, and didn't bother to question her sources and methods.  I just put the girls in the car and we hit the trail.

We unloaded at the trailhead near Campolindo High School.  It was just before 4 p.m. and the sun loomed high in the sky.  After crossing through the gate, we headed left on the trail and began an immediate steep climb on the fire road/trail that circumvents the Lafayette Reservoir from the hills surrounding it.  It was challenging for an 8 and 10 year old.  But we have now taken the girls on enough of these hikes, so they understand that climbing up hills is no longer an opportunity to negotiate. Just about the time my leg muscles began to ache, the top was in sight.

And then it wasn't.  This trail is full of false peaks, those little baby hills that obscure the greater climb to a higher summit beyond.  I have seen enough of these in my journeys to know better, but such hills can be a psychological nuisance to young hikers.  With one foot in front of the other the girls figured out a way to make it work.  We made to the top in 10 minutes or so and located the bench for a quick rest.

Without having consulted my GPS, I think this hill was the highest on the trail. It offered sweeping views to the east and south.  I could see Mt. Diablo and Las Trampas in the distance.  The hill sits atop an open space that is like a nest carved out in the middle of suburban sprawl.  The Reservoir sits at the bottom of this bowl shaped open space.  It was still very much in the distance from our first perch.

And then there was a second hilltop, and a third.  This hike is a mess of ups and downs.  It could be a metaphor for life, or perhaps for bipolar disorder.  There is very little flat and a whole lot of steep.  It is really one of the best trails I have seen for interval training (even better than the Kings Canyon Loop).  Like the switchbacks on the return run at Kings Canyon, they are almost the perfect size hills, just big enough to exhaust you, then flat on top for recovery, then a good downhill to work the hamstrings.  I would recommend this trail to any area runners or people looking to get in shape for long hikes.

Somewhere in those hills we lost track of time.  More accurately, I would say that we were falling behind schedule.  You see, the hike isn't really 4 miles, it was more like 5 (+??), and we were only a couple miles into it and the shadows were getting longer.  I should have know this because I have done this hike before!  But it has been some time, and I have hiked a lot of trails.  Coming off travel to Sacramento I did not do my usual map check and mission planning.  I had been a bad boy scout.

We dropped down to the dam, a ceremonial halfway mark.  We were greeted by five dead trout at a fish cleaning station, and the proud fisherman/daughter pair who had hauled them in.  I observed that the fish were all of similar shape, about 14 inches long.  This prompted my inquiry as to whether they were recently stocked.  The fisherman replied yes, he been nailing them all day with power baits and had a great Super Bowl feast ahead.  I resolved to get my girls out there when the opportunity presents itself.  Crossing over the dam we observed pelicans out on the water and in the sky.  Inga thought she saw a whale, but it was just ducks.

As the sun hung real low in the sky we stopped briefly at a kid's playground on the far side of the dam.  The apparatus was an attractive nuisance and the girls didn't want to leave, but we had miles to go.  We then began our ascent in earnest.  Somewhere halfway up the first big hill out of the reservoir, we heard an owl and Mary thinks she saw it take off and fly away through the oaks.  Nearing the ridgeline again, the girls started verbally expressing their fatigue.  Inga wanted to be carried and I agreed to do so briefly.  Of course, this only prompted Fiona to chime in and she's getting big enough that I can't rightly carry her very far down the trail.  As darkness began to set in we stopped for a few opportune silhouette photos.  The stars opened up in the night sky.

We finally made it back to the car after dusk.  We had no flashlight but the waning moon gave us enough light to see the shiny reflection of our car, now the only one left at the trail head in front of someone's driveway.  Arriving home just in time to catch the last quarter of the Super Bowl was just right.  Not a waste of a whole day, but also catching the key moments in the exciting end to the game.  Eagles Won - Markeys Too!

Happy New Year?

Wow, what a stretch.  I don't gather there are a lot of folks following this crazy attempt at cyber-prose.  For those who dare to read, I have had a roller coaster ride of life experiences since my last post.

For starters, I landed a new job.  This new job requires a lot of travel.  The good news is that they gave me a high powered laptop (Google Earth is now much more fun!!) but the bad news is that my laptop has all kinds of security measures that prevent me from blogging, or even checking my web-based email.  Since my weekends have been all about my family, for 4 months I have been unable to sit down and do any meaningful writing.  I had a lot of great hikes, trips, and things that I wanted to post here, but each day brought new appointments, trips, meetings, and deadlines.

There, I got the excuses out of my system.  I started this blog because I have wanted to communicate about what interests me.  You can see that if you have done any reading.  I want to maintain that effort, and I hope to ramp up my content to match my current level of activity.  This should be much easier now that I have stolen my daughter's laptop and brought it with me to my lonely hotel room.  Also, I have spent so many nights in a hotel that I have what I call Goldmember Status.  This is really a cheap consolation prize for being away from the people you love, but it does come with free high speed internet.  At this rate, I am racking up enough points to earn a few night's in Tahiti.  Should that happen, I promise to blog about it.  But I am not holding my breath.

So, let me address hotels.  The rooms pretty much suck even when they are well kept, but hotel staff can be awesome and that mitigates the loneliness.  A couple quick grievances.  I will never understand why all hotel rooms have these high speed blower heating systems.  Even when one turns the heat up the room is cold because of the wind chill factor.  Another thing is hotel cleaning. It is clear that they use the same bucket and scrub brush to wash everything in all the bathrooms on one's floor - because the curly little hairs that keep randomly appearing on various surfaces in the bathroom are new each day, and they are not mine.  (EWWWWW!)  So, no matter if one stays in the same room, a hotel will never feel like home.  I now have to promise my wife Mary that I will never gripe about her long dirty blond hairs in the home shower drain!

I got a break from my hotel last week.  Mary had an out of town trip scheduled, so I asked my boss If I could work out of my home base to ensure that we didn't lose any kids while she was out of town.  Boss said "yes" but then wife's trip got cancelled, so we got the bonus of some good time together.  I caught up on laundry, got some home cooking, and did some yard work.  I also took my scout troop on a trip to Yosemite on the weekend.

Our troop's annual Yosemite trip is pitched as "snow camping" but in Yosemite Valley at Curry Village(!) one cannot be sure about the weather until arrival.  The Valley elevation is about 4,400 ft., which seems to coincide with the snow level predicted by weather forecasters damn near every time we go there.  In four years of making this trip we have seen big snow, light snow, sleet and freezing rain, and no snow.  This year it turned out to be no snow.  We arrived on Friday evening and pitched camp to dry air and wet ground on the Upper Pines Loop.  Snow did fall on the tents on the first night, but it did not accumulate and overnight temps were milder than predicted.  We had some young scouts in the troop with nervous moms at home, but the weather was relatively balmy and the scouts had little trouble getting out of their tents in the morning and making their own breakfast. 

Because of the government shut down, there were no park rangers manning the park.  But one got the feeling that there were still folks around to address emergencies and the cleaning staff did tend to the toilets and such.  I don't want to write too much about the politics of a shut down, but I am happy to say there is absolutely no logic to it.  Regarding which employees work and which get furloughed, there are distinctions in the federal ranks.  One can be essential, non essential, exempt or non exempt.  Some folks are on special allocations so they are not dependent on these giant omnibus budget bills, they continue working in spite of the theatrics on Capitol Hill.  These distinctions are in and of themselves, an absurdity because if there is no money to pay for operations, then there is no money to pay for operations!  An employee can work but the lights can't be turned on.  But I digress.

The boys got geared up and ready to hike.  We hit the Mist Trail heading up to Vernal falls.  The boys proceeded with good pace considering many of them were clad in the snow boots we advised them to bring.  After pumping our quads up the steep pitch on the lower part of the trail, we arrived at the gate just beyond the big bridge.  It was closed due to threat of falling rocks.  Having seen the Yosemite search and rescue video put on by the Yosemite Conservancy each summer, I knew better than to take a bunch of scouts up some slippery and icy rocks.  So, unlike the foreign tourists who danced around the closed gate, we turned right and proceeded up the John Muir Trail, a "long cut" that leads around a side canyon before rejoining the Mist Trail at the top of Nevada Falls.  After hiking only a couple miles total, we broke for lunch.  My son proceeded to knock a large rock off it's perch.  The rock tumbled perilously down the hill and across the switchbacks we had just climbed up.  By the Grace of God, there were no hikers down there, although we never did see the rock come to a rest, and were not comforted by the sound of the rock crashing in the distance below.  Because of this, my son was sent back to camp early.  I had a good talk with him that evening.  He struggles with his nervous energy like many an adolescent, but there is no excuse for creating danger.  After only a few hours, the scouts made it down the hill and cooked dinner.

The Park is beautiful in the wintertime.  There are fewer people and for photography buffs the clouds can do magic against the granite rock faces.  I have never really experienced a bone chilling cold there, but you definitely want a comfy sleeping bag, as temps can drop into the single digits at night.  We experienced lows in the teens on Saturday night.  I am pretty much to the point where I don't even like to go during the peak summer months, so winter is a refreshing time of year to experience a less frenetic trip.

The next day was a quick up and out.  We drove back through an abandoned Park gate and onto Mariposa.  It wasn't long before we hit our first traffic on Highway 99.  Like most trips in California, I knew it would end that way.  But it is only January and I have already visited one National Park, so I remain optimistic about the things that 2018 has in store!

Lime Ridge Open Space

Just a few quick notes on this spot.

I thought I would get a quick run in during my son's swim meet at the nearby Concord Community Park Pool.  Beginning on roads, I found a cut-through into the park from a side road along Kaski Lane.  What I found was a compact open space park dirt trail.  Very hemmed in by development on both sides, but still offering a bit of tranquility and outdoor experience.

One lady warned me about a coyote up ahead, but I never saw it.  I did ask her if it was foaming at the mouth, my smart-assed way of querying her about her apparent sense of alarm over a small wild animal.

At the top of the hill, I looked off to the southeast to see Mt. Diablo.  I noticed a paraglider up in the sky.  He had one of those rotor backpacks on and a giant red parachute.  A few minutes later, as I came back around, the pilot had come much closer, and it was apparent to me that he was coming in for a landing on my trail.  So, I got out my camera and filmed.  Not something one sees every day!  I said "Hi" to him and checked out his gear.  He told me he had gone up and around Mt. Diablo.  I was surprised to learn how much those things can climb under power.

It would have been helpful to have studied a map prior to running.  Some trails don't provide a loop, but force you to run out and back.  This might be a challenge for folks who aren't into climbing hills.  I was more worried about time, so I cut through off-trail to arrive back at the trailhead where I started.  Got some dirt in my shoes and burrs in my socks, but no poison oak or snake bites.

There was one hill in the middle of the park that offered expansive views to the north and west.  I think it would be a pleasant destination for folks living in the area to take an evening hike after dinner.

I think I ran about 2 miles within the open space, and tacked on a couple more on nearby roads.  After I got home and studied the maps it looks like there are a lot of ways to link this trail with other runs in the area.  Definitely not a wilderness or hiking experience, but a very solid nature walk for locals or a link for folks looking to make a mostly off trail run through the area.

Looking back at start of hike toward trailhead.

Views to Briones in the east.

Marine Layer over Suisun Bay

Mt. Diablo

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