Getting a bit boring, isn't it.
All this trail talk, that is.
Well, I'd talk about my writing, but the short story I'm working on is going absolutely nowhere. I'm not certain why. I have two characters pov's I have to bounce back and forth between--ok, well they are the same character, but they're not. Try figuring that one out. And no, it's not time travel or my usual dimensional shift stuff, well not really. I think the problem may lie in the fact that one of the characters is more fleshed out than the other. The writing group meets tonight, I think--last I heard we didn't have a place to meet--so, if I haven't managed to write at least a couple pages, maybe this will be my discuss a problem night.
Ugh. Anyone who thinks writing isn't difficult work should try it for a while. Sometimes, just like any job, it is easy. Then there are those times when you wonder why you ever thought you could do this, and why you even bother. Of course, you bother because you can't not write (great writing there, hunh). If you're not writing you become impossible to live with. Ok, well some of us are impossible to live with even when we are writing, but the reasons change. :-)
And back to the trail.
This weekend, tomorrow morning last I heard, my hiking partner and I head back up to the Upper Arroyo Seco trail. This time we will do the entire 10 mile loop from Switzer Picnic Area to Oakwilde Camp and back. I checked the books, despite the rangers claim that this is an easy trail--trust me it's not, I've walked easy trails--the part we walked last weekend is classified as moderate. The part we have yet to walk is difficult (of the type not requiring occassional use of such tools as ice axes). I'll find out why tomorrow, but my guess is the added complication of the elevation changes along with the rocks and probably more washed out trail. As far as I know though, there shouldn't be any more creek crossings, so less chance of getting wet. Will I survive? Yep, no doubt in my mind. My hiking partner, on the other hand, I'm a little worried about. He could surprise me though.
And a week later I get to hike my first desert trail. Well, I think that's a correct description. I really have no idea what to expect, aside from rocks. I'm not even certain of the distance. I'm a mountain girl, after all--of the pacific northwest variety. I can honestly say that I have never hiked a trail that wasn't completely enclosed by trees, usually with needle and leaf strewn paths (sometimes difficult to find paths) or wet sandy gravelly and crunchy paths. And quite often filled with white granite or grey river rocks and boulders that require scrambling over. I have a feeling that I will be completely out of my environment. Will I survive this hike? Absolutely no idea. I'm certain that my hiking partner this weekend will leave me behind before I even get my footing though. Ah well, that happens sometime. It's good for the ego. I must remember to tell myself that when I am eating his dust and wondering where the heck he disappeared to. :-)
Well, I'd talk about my writing, but the short story I'm working on is going absolutely nowhere. I'm not certain why. I have two characters pov's I have to bounce back and forth between--ok, well they are the same character, but they're not. Try figuring that one out. And no, it's not time travel or my usual dimensional shift stuff, well not really. I think the problem may lie in the fact that one of the characters is more fleshed out than the other. The writing group meets tonight, I think--last I heard we didn't have a place to meet--so, if I haven't managed to write at least a couple pages, maybe this will be my discuss a problem night.
Ugh. Anyone who thinks writing isn't difficult work should try it for a while. Sometimes, just like any job, it is easy. Then there are those times when you wonder why you ever thought you could do this, and why you even bother. Of course, you bother because you can't not write (great writing there, hunh). If you're not writing you become impossible to live with. Ok, well some of us are impossible to live with even when we are writing, but the reasons change. :-)
And back to the trail.
This weekend, tomorrow morning last I heard, my hiking partner and I head back up to the Upper Arroyo Seco trail. This time we will do the entire 10 mile loop from Switzer Picnic Area to Oakwilde Camp and back. I checked the books, despite the rangers claim that this is an easy trail--trust me it's not, I've walked easy trails--the part we walked last weekend is classified as moderate. The part we have yet to walk is difficult (of the type not requiring occassional use of such tools as ice axes). I'll find out why tomorrow, but my guess is the added complication of the elevation changes along with the rocks and probably more washed out trail. As far as I know though, there shouldn't be any more creek crossings, so less chance of getting wet. Will I survive? Yep, no doubt in my mind. My hiking partner, on the other hand, I'm a little worried about. He could surprise me though.
And a week later I get to hike my first desert trail. Well, I think that's a correct description. I really have no idea what to expect, aside from rocks. I'm not even certain of the distance. I'm a mountain girl, after all--of the pacific northwest variety. I can honestly say that I have never hiked a trail that wasn't completely enclosed by trees, usually with needle and leaf strewn paths (sometimes difficult to find paths) or wet sandy gravelly and crunchy paths. And quite often filled with white granite or grey river rocks and boulders that require scrambling over. I have a feeling that I will be completely out of my environment. Will I survive this hike? Absolutely no idea. I'm certain that my hiking partner this weekend will leave me behind before I even get my footing though. Ah well, that happens sometime. It's good for the ego. I must remember to tell myself that when I am eating his dust and wondering where the heck he disappeared to. :-)
4 Comments:
In any group, Zara,
One person is always the engine and another the caboose. But in any group, there should always be a 'sweep' -- the person that remains behind the slowest person, hiker, whatever.
Anyway, I feel confident your hiking partner next weekend will not abandon you; going so fast you lose your locational bearings in the quest to find him or her. Just don't stop to smell the flowers! (Or a desert's equivalent of a flower.) ;-)
:-) True. Oh so very true.
Though I think we used to refer to the caboose as a lagger.
At any rate this lagger needs a good poke in his caboose with a cattle prod. ;-)
We should have been well on our way by now. With luck, we just might make the trailhead by noon.
So, Zara, was your hiking companion up for the hike? How far did you go -- the shortened 1 mile or the lengthier 10 mile loop? How did you do -- was it easy or difficult, enjoyable or boring, etc? And where are the photos...?
The photos are in a newer post--you've probably already seen them.
It was great. I loved the hike and the scenery. We started out at approximately 3300 feet elevation, dropped down to about 1900 feet (1400 ft elevation difference), and then hiked back up. The only semi difficult part was hoofing it back up those 1400 feet. (My hiking partner still thinks it was 700-800 feet--I should probably tell him what he actually did.) We had to go faster than we might normally have done because we were loosing light. Which means I had to stop a few more times than I would have liked, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.
Mount Lowe Railway will be the next local challenge. And after that, when we are certain the danger of hidden ice has passed, we will see how many attempts are required to conquer Mount Baldy.
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