A couple Images from Day 3 of the Trek

The day was cold and damp. 2C in the valley, and colder up top. It had rained during the night and the early morning. The trails were steep and slick. We walked through damp clouds most of the day, looking forward to the stop at the local refuge where we could get hot wine, coffee and cocoa, along with a generous helping of myrtle berry (blue berry) tart. We wondered if we would get a view of anything but grey gloom, when suddenly, for just a few minutes while we ate our lunch, the sun came out.

The Fez breaks through the clouds for a moment
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A brief moment in the sun--Mont Blanc
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With this cross the mountain is blessed
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Training Schedule

Did I say less strenuous?

I could have sworn I heard her say 1 workout a day, 5 days a week, and a hike or equivalent activity every other week. I need to get my hearing checked. Or maybe she realized that my schedule was about to get a lot more hectic and she wanted to make certain I had plenty of choices for my exercise routine. At any rate, not a single off day is listed on the calendar. Ok, I have the feeling that Fridays might be my day off, since what is scheduled is pretty much my every day walk, aside from the pack weight.

So, training for the next few weeks is meant to be a post trek cool down of sorts, while still keeping in current trekking condition or better. Compared to what I was doing before my vacation, this is a cool down. This month is also the start of keeping my metabolism up, trying to shed a few pounds and drop a few inches. 40 pounds would be about right, though I imagine more than 20 or so before the end of the year would be unhealthy. If I make it back to skinny, I will post a photo. Maybe I should post a before and after....

Sometime between now and the end of the year, perhaps sooner, I should pick another trekking goal to work toward. Even if it is just a place holder until something firm comes along. Or, even if I am unable to take a trekking break next year. You need a good 6 months of 3 workouts a day, 5-6 days a week to get into excellent condition. A schedule like that means you pretty much have no life.

Ya know, I actually have no idea what is playing on the tv these days. Does anyone know what the latest popular shows are for the "relax at home" after work or school crowd. Lately, the most I catch is a few minutes of the scifi channel (usually Star Gate reruns) just before I crash on the couch, or, if I get a late start in the morning, I might catch the last few minutes of Conan O'Brian and the first few minutes of the 4 am news. Couch potato I am not.

I'll post my current workout schedule as soon as I get a chance.

For now, lunch time is over and I have to get back to work. Day job calls.

Update on Photos

Finally, I have finished downloading 3 weeks worth of photos, all sorted by day.

It didn't take this long to download and sort through last year, because my camera broke after only a few days of shooting. This year there were no problems, other than wondering if I had brought along enough memory to supply both my needs and my travelling companions. He seemed to constantly be running out of memory.

Now, as soon as my schedule permits, I will start going through the photos, one by one, to see which I will post. Hopefully, I'll be able to start the culling this coming weekend.

And, lo and behold, my trainer has contacted me. The training schedule will be back up and running soon. It will be a little less strenuous for a bit, but will ramp up again.

Home again

We arrived at the airport very, very, very late Saturday evening. By the time we got home it was early Sunday morning. A few hours sleep and it was off to my roomie's mother's house in San Diego to do laundry and pick up the pets. I'm still not completely unpacked, but at least all the smelly stuff is clean and fresh.

Here it is Monday afternoon and I am back at work. Thankfully, the day job is a little slow today, but maybe that isn't as good as it sounds. I do need the time to get back into gear again, though much of it is coming along instinctively. I admit to having started cleaning up the work e-mail a couple of days before we flew home. But honestly, I only did about an hour a day while everyone else in the chalet was still sound asleep. Still, I have to admit that I am tired and will gladly hit the bed early tonight--like as soon as I get home, if allowed.

I will be posting photos as soon as I get a chance to go through them. This could be a bit, but I promise they will appear.

We thought the group would be full, but there were a few cancellations, so we ended up with 14 members. 14 exhausted but happy members by last Friday evening. I would happilly recommend my guide and the trek to anyone who is interested. Just make certain you are in shape before you go. The climbs are steep and rugged, both uphill and down. The food is filling and good, and the wine is plentiful. You are likely not going to lose weight on this trek, but you won't gain either--unless you opt not to hike at all.

I now know what -7C feels like. No, I didn't hike to that peak. I took a cable car. It was nearly 13000ft. However, we did have mornings where we started the day at 0 or 2C, which means, yes, it was colder up above.