Category Archives: Hiking

My Cinderella Moment

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My poor little foot is finally healing properly because I FINALLY stopped re-breaking it since I didn’t know it was broken. It hasn’t been easy due to the fact that I HATE inertia coupled with the fact that I am an outdoor girl who NEEDS to keep moving. But I did and now I’m nearly ready to resume full activity.

The lingering issue is that my shoes might have contributed to the break. They had a lot of miles on them and had lost their cushion-y gel protection, which meant I needed to research and purchase new athletic shoes.

This is where Cinderella enters stage left…

There are SO MANY new brands. Asics had been my go-to brand for a decade, but I needed something more cushy and supportive, but NOT orthopedic, oh hell no.

I tried on all sorts of shoes…Hoka, New Balance, more Hoka, different versions of Asics-in all price ranges, until finally FINALLY, the nice person at Roadrunner suggested Brooks for high mileage walking. Hmmm, this was a new one, I had never worn Brooks, but research revealed they’re a great brand.

This is my Cinderella moment. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. It’s not a glass slipper but I’m more than satisfied that I’ll be able to hit the ground running as soon as my next x-ray. Plus, they’re CUTE, right?

Introducing my new Brooks. I’m not sure why the style is called “Ghost“, do you?

Vermillion Cliffs

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I love this place, too…

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona near the Utah state line.

Known for its colorful swirls of slickrock, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a sherbet-colored dream world filled with fantastical rock formations.

You just can’t take a bad photo surrounded by this kind of beauty.

#wordlesswednesday

Badlands

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Forbidding and embracing at the same time. Stark and pure, I love it.

In the Anza Borrego Desert, there’s an area known as the Borrego Badlands. Once undersea, today it’s a maze of hills and arroyos which reveal a hidden treasure of native palms, remote springs, and mysterious concretions.

Foot Fetish

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Due to a communications mixup, I didn’t get to see the new podiatrist until today.

Lemme back up…about a month ago, my foot started to hurt after a long walk. At first I thought it was a stress fracture, but there was no bruising.

Pretend doc that I think I am, I decided it was a joint or tendon injury: extensor tendonitis and possibly capsulitis of the second metatarsal. I wore a boot in the house, iced it, soaked in epsom salts, taped it up with KT tape, and did a lot of stretching.

Refusing to give in to the pain, I forced my poor foot to go on long walks that were excruciatingly painful.

Finally, this morning, I got an xray and waited for the doc. Actually there were two of them that came in to see me, ‘cos I guess it was a slow Monday. They asked me what happened and I gave them both the benefit of my ZERO years of medical school.

I was pretty chatty and finally, one of them broke in and said, “How’d you like to look at the xray?”

I said, “Well, you could have shut me up about five minutes ago haha”, but he said he liked listening to my diagnosis, even though I was totally wrong.

The xray left no doubt as to what the problem is IT’S a COMPLETELY BROKEN stress fracture at the base of the toe and not healing because I kept re-injuring it.

My initial diagnosis was correct! I should have gone to medical school for real, oh well, too late now…

I hate my feet, I really do, they’re tiny but completely deformed from too many years of ballet and toe-crushing pointe shoes, in addition to breaking every toe multiple times because I’m CARELESS. I call them my fat little trotters.

I can’t walk anywhere for two weeks, I have to wear a hiking boot in the house, I can’t go barefoot at all, and I had to promise to actually and truly wear the boot so I wouldn’t be forced to have an aircast up to my knee. In other words, my foot needs to be completely immobilized.

On the plus side, they told me I had the softest feet they had ever seen, (which was only slightly weird) and they loved my high arches–from an anatomical perspective. The docs said I should see the rest of the feet THEY have to look at all day, and in that regard, my feet were a PLEASURE. LOL. AND that my sunny disposition cheered them both up because they were having a not-so-great Monday. We spent a lot of time laughing which made me happy, too.

There’s a SLIGHT chance I’ll have to have surgery in January, but only if it doesn’t finish healing correctly if I disregard their expert advice.

That’s my Monday, I hope yours is less fraught with injury!

I Like Big Rocks and I Cannot Lie

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I never liked that song by Sir Mix-a-Lot ‘cos it seemed sexist and disrespectful but I love hiking and I love big rocks. I also see what appears to be the head of a dinosaur.

#wordlesswednesday

Summer on Mt. Rainier

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I didn’t actually take these pics. My son did on his solo hike, but they’re so beautiful. He had multiple bear sightings, too.

Lake Mowich

#Mt.Rainier #PNW #WashingtonState #Seattle

Super Flower Blood Moon

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This is a great explanation of what’s happening from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, one of my favorite places to hike with lots of mountain lion and coyote sightings.

Tomorrow, May 26th, 2021 the Earth, Moon, and Sun will be in such a configuration that the Moon will be completely covered by the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.

This is known as a total lunar eclipse. But what do all the adjectives mean?

The term ‘super’ comes from the Moon appearing larger due to its position and the phase it is in. The Moon will be at a point in its orbit that corresponds with its closest approach to Earth, known as perigee. The Moon must also be a full moon. These factors together mean the Moon looks bigger to us, and thus super.

The term ‘flower’ signifies that this eclipse is happening in the springtime in the northern hemisphere.

We use the term ‘blood’ because the Moon will appear red. Not all sunlight is blocked from reaching the Moon. The light that does make it to the Moon passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters blue light and leaves red light, casting a red shadow on the Moon. In my SoCal area, the eclipse will reach totality at 4:11 a.m. and lasts roughly 14 minutes.

If you’re located elsewhere and interested in if you will be able to see the eclipse, check out this link: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2021-may-26

Will YOU be getting out of bed to check it out? (I will, I’ve set my alarm to 4:00 a.m.)

Moose in Grand Tetons

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What a beautiful boy! He was almost completely camouflaged, resting in the cool grass, enjoying a late afternoon snack. Those antlers are magnificent, aren’t they?

I could have stayed there for hours, watching him in silence, but I had to go. He didn’t seem too concerned and kept eating and eating.

Forest Wisdom

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“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you,
and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while,
and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean…”
John Muir

Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Daley Ranch Hike

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Only about twenty minutes away in Escondido, there’s nothing like the Daley Ranch nature preserve for an array of views on a mostly clear, sunny day.

My favorite ceanothus in blue.

This ranch house that we see today was built in 1925 as a summer cottage for the Daley family.

Visit http://daleyranch.org/ for all the facts and other interesting info about the land that was designated as a conservation mitigation bank to be preserved in perpetuity.