What can I say. Wow, what a day. I didn’t sleep well, but got up and was hiking by 5:50. I used MIO Energy for the first time. It has caffeine. I felt I was going to need it.
The day started with a difficult 6 mile climb. It took me hours. It was so steep I would count 30 steps up and then wait to regain my breath. Repeat a million times. It was rocky and uneven too. I ascended from 6500 to 8000 feet. At the end I was so out of it I missed my turn and continued up the wrong trail for another 0.2 mile before I realized it. That was a total waste of my precious energy.
Then came the 7 mile downhill. This was similarly uneven, rocky, and steep. I had to plant my poles each step to slow myself down. That took even longer. I descended from 8000 to 5200 feet. By then I should have been done for the day, but…
At the bottom was the Gila River. It was delightful. The river meanders and the trail switches from side to side. You have to make numerous river crossings. Most are ankle deep, but a few were mid-thigh. The water was cool and refreshing, but now I have wet socks and shoes to put on tomorrow. Also one of the other hikers fell in. So far I haven’t. I’m only a few miles upstream and have crossed over a dozen times. I hear that there are over 85 crossings. At least I don’t have to worry about water to drink.
I was trying to get my 20 miles in for the day, but I finally had to stop out of sheer exhaustion.
Hey Brian – Enjoying hiking along with you from my spot in Austin! Hope it is going well, blister healed and plenty of energy with no pain! Keep up the good work! ~Debbie Taylor
Hi Brian!
Mom asked me to poke my head in about the plantar fascitis and some of your wrist and hand pain. My favorite stretch for plantar fascitis is for first thing in the morning. Before you put any weight on it for the first time that day, stretch the fascia by putting one foot up on your knee, flex at the ankle, and the gently stretch by pulling your toes backward toward your shin, and hold. Then do the other foot. The other one that brings a lot of relief is massaging the bottom of a foot with a ping pong ball.
Kinesiotape ( kttape.com)also has a great taping to support the fascia, and you can keep it on 24 hours a day, bathe with it, etc. I found the classic stayed a lot better on my Achilles tendonitis better than the kttape pro did, I frequently wore for 3-4 days at a time, and stays best if you clean the skin with alcohol before applying. A roll is only about ten dollars, and you can find it everywhere, including Walmart and christmas tree shoppe, if Kathy can get it to you by your next mail point.
Part two!
Mom said the carpal tunnel was acting up again. Most important thing is keeping wrists in neutral position, so make sure the height of your poles are adjusted so when you strike your wrists are neutral with thumbs pointed up, and making sure arm swing is as straight back as possible so you aren’t torquing through wrists and shoulders.
Kttape also has a taping for this(I feel like a walking advertisement!), but you would have to reverse the instructions on the video (there are printable pdf instructions) because its for a tendinitis along the back of the hand: so first piece front of wrist to back, second piece around the wrist back to front, and then then long piece from the palm of the hand down the inside of the forearm.
Happy trekking, and don’t hesitate to find me on Facebook as Serena Speedi if you have more questions!
~Vanessa
Thanks!