Pole-less in Windy Hill

Packing your bags and making sure all is in ready is not fail safe. We left the house at 7:00 am this morning, only for me to discover, half way to the trail head, that I had forgotten my hiking poles. It was too late to return and retrieve them. Well, I've hiked before without poles, so I would hike this time without poles. More on that later... On the up side, at least I remembered toilet paper and, this time, I also brought Cottonelles.

We gathered at the trail head and got ready. Duane's birthday had passed, but he did not escape. He was given a plastic purple hardhat with a silver propeller to wear. I think it really works, don't you? The birthday boy today, however, was Reggie, who got to wear the same jester hat that I wore previously.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. Windy Hill got that name for a reason. It is often very windy and foggy and there is often a view similar to what we saw at El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve last week. But not today. We had gorgeous views of the ocean on one side of Skyline, but than as we began to hike the trail down the east side of the mountains, we had gorgeous views of Stanford, the bay and parts of Silicon Valley.

The trail went down, via a series of switchbacks, from Skyline to Alpine Road - a distance of 5.2 miles (via the red trail on the map). I was enjoyed the scenery, but about two thirds of the way down the mountain it fast became apparent that something was wrong with my boots.

I had put "Superfeet" in my boots. These are a replacement insole that offers more arch support. These insoles are, however, a little bit thicker at the toe than the insoles that come with the boot. That left very little extra room in the toe box and, after all the downhill, my feet were really hurting by the time we reached Alpine Road. I began to realize that my boots were marginal, but that inserting the Superfeet had put them over the edge.

At the same time, having forgotten my poles, I discovered that my lower back muscles and my knees were starting to get a little sore. In a way, that was a good thing, because it really confirmed for me how much better it is to hike with poles. It obviously saves a lot of wear and tear on the body.

Duane was a real gentlemen, of course. He wanted to give me his poles for a while. I just didn't want to think about it, and I didn't want Duane to pay the consequences for my mistake, so I politely declined.

The wildflowers were a pleasant distraction. Duane took lots of photos. (See the Picasa album in the right hand sidebar for all of the photos of our hikes.) In addition, as we hiked we played "Who Am I?" A hiker would think of a famous person, and the rest of us would have to ask yes/no questions until one of us guessed the answer. The winner then got to think of another person, and so on. Reggie, the birthday boy, thought of Val Kilmer, but then misdirected us when he told us that he'd never had a leading role in a movie. Huh? I guess he's never seen Top Gun, Willow, Batman Forever, Tombstone, or The Doors. What's up with that?? When it was my turn to think of a famous person, I switched to history and thought of Alexander Hamilton. I think Duane got that one.

Despite all of the distractions however, I was limping by the time I arrived at the second parking lot. I chose not to walk the last half mile to the first parking lot, so Duane got the car and came back for me. Fortunately, I had a pair of sandals in the car, which I put on and my feet began to feel much better. Clearly it was time to go back to REI and see if I could get a different, larger pair of boots.

After our hike, several of us drove the 1.8 miles back to La Honda for a refreshing lunch at Alice's Restaurant, a popular spot for motorcyclists who like to drive on Skyline.

Pole Clinic & Hike in Sanborn Park

Duane and I packed our gear last night, so we were ready for an early morning start. When the alarm went off at 6:00 am, we showered, dressed and ate breakfast. Duane's getting better about getting up so early on a Saturday morning. I'm somewhat more used to it as I drive our son to school every morning. But still, I dislike eating breakfast so early. I'm just not hungry this early in the morning.

We met at the parking log at El Paseo de Saratoga shopping mall, in front of Le Boulanger. This is one of our team's carpool meeting places. I'm awake enough for a cup of coffee now! After a short wait, we drove over to Sanborn Park. We arrived just as the gates opened, paid our parking fee, and parked our cars.

Sanborn Park is nestled in the hills of Santa Clara County, just above the City of Saratoga. The Youth Science Institute hosts children's summer camps in the thickly wooded park. Since Duane decided that he wanted to do the pole clinic, I decided to do it with him, even though I felt that I needed the hike more than the poles. I went into the pole clinic thinking that poles were optional and that I probably didn't need them.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Our presenter, Jayah, who hikes with the Sierra Club, was very knowledgable and enthusiastic about her subject. She showed us how to use poles and the proper way to adjust and size them for our bodies. Most of the newer poles even include shock absorbers! One of the benefits of the poles include transferring some of the energy and shock from your joints to the poles, thereby saving your knees from some of the stress. It's not a lot, but it might make a difference on a long, strenuous hike like Half Dome. Another benefit is that your fingers don't swell up as much when you have something to wrap them around. When hiking without poles, it is natural for the arms to swing in rhythym with the gait, which pushes blood out to the fingertips where it has to fight gravity back up the arm.

One of the things I have been looking forward to learning about was gloves. Today's pole clinic also featured both regular and fingerless gloves. The trick was to pick the right size of fingerless gloves, which ran very small, so that they would still be the right size when/if your fingers swell so as not to cut off the circulation. The gloves are a very lightweight nylon polyester with synthetic leather grips and padding. I bought both fingerless and regular gloves. It wouldn't be a bad thing to start these early morning hikes with a pair of regular gloves until my fingers warm up. I've also been wondering what kind of gloves we should use for the cable section of the hike. The answer is, it turns out, cheap gloves from the hardware store! What is needed is something with a really good grip that you don't care if it gets cut up or damaged.

After getting equipped with both gloves and poles, we walked off with Jayah in the lead, teaching us techniques for using poles. The poles are adjustable and are lengthened on the downhill in order to avoid bad posture and leaning over the poles. The poles are shortened on the uphill. Uphill is definitely easier than downhill, which appears to require somewhat more coordination, although I'm not sure why. When walking over cement or on a bridge, pick the poles up so you don't dull the tips or get them caught in a crack between planks! Who knew that poles have rules!?

I haven't done much hiking in Sanborn Park. Our son did a science camp there one year. So it was nice to get out and see some of the park's beautiful redwood forests and lush green ferns. Because of the pole clinic, our hike was shorter, but even so I'm glad I went to the pole clinic. I bought the poles that Jayah picked out for me and I learned something new and potentially useful for our Half Dome Challenge.

Rest Day

Well, sort of. I didn't get any exercise in, and it wasn't on our schedule. But I still had a midterm due so I spent most of my time studying, and then taking the exam. Glad that's over!

The more I learn about programming, the more admiration I have for what my husband, Duane, does everyday in his job! And the more I learn that this, though useful, is not something that I enjoy.

Our pole clinic and hike is tomorrow at Sanborn Park in Saratoga. I'm looking forward to the hike, more than the pole clinic. Poles? Do I need them? We have a choice of going on a 3 hour hike and skipping the pole clinic, or going to the pole clinic for 2 hours followed by a 1 hour hike. Frankly, I think I need the hike more than the clinic, but I will defer to Duane.