BlakeBlog

One Small Step for (A) Man…

So I went pseudo-running this morning. Pseudo-barefoot. Meaning that I ran on a treadmill and I wore a pair of Merrell uncushioned, zero-rise shoes. I aspire to running truly barefoot through the streets, but that was too much for today.

I did a whopping ½ mile at a leisurely pace. Just long enough to feel my calves start getting tight. Then I quit.

Despite this lackluster performance, I actually felt pretty good about it. I got off the couch (or, more accurately, out of the office chair)—inertia's a bitch. I quit before I went too far and hurt myself—another thing I struggle with every time I resume a sport. And, running's something that will undoubtedly help my aerobic capacity—something I'm acutely aware of now that I live at 4,000'.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right?

I Slept on a Banana and It Was Great!

Fourteen years ago, back in April of 2000, I moved from the Washington, DC-area to California. Because I was eager to start my new job I traveled to California in advance of my furniture, spending over a week "camping" on the floor of my bedroom. I had a good Eddie Bauer down sleeping bag (remember when Eddie Bauer made camping gear?), but needed a good sleeping pad, so I bought a Therm-a-Rest LE (Luxury Edition) self-inflating pad. It worked great that week, and I used it with great success on all my camping trips since then.

Now, in April of 2014, I've moved again--this time to Reno, Nevada. And, once again, there's been a week or so where I've been camping on the floor of my bedroom waiting for my furniture to arrive. However, unlike last time, that good ol' Therm-a-Rest LE just wasn't as comfortable any longer. Maybe it's a 14 year-older me, or maybe the Therm-a-Rest isn't as supportive as it once was, but my lower back would get very stiff while sleeping on the old pad, to the point where I couldn't sleep more than about five or six hours before waking up from the discomfort.

With a couple of days to go before my furniture was to arrive, I decided it was time to upgrade the old sleeping pad. In my casual browsing of the web over the years I'd become aware that the Big Agnes inflateable pads had become very popular, but in researching them I found that Therm-a-Rest had come out with a new line of NeoAir pads that folks were raving about even more.

I wanted to get the Camper version, as weight (and to some degree size) isn't as important to me since most of my camping is done while motorcycling or four wheeling. However, the Camper wasn't in stock at any of the local stores so I decided to get the XLite, which is the light-weight version intended for ultra-light backpacking. I figured that I'd likely start doing some hiking and camping around Lake Tahoe, so a lightweight pad would be useful--and also immediately available to relieve my aching back while I camped in my bedroom!

The sales guy at REI warned me that the pad would make "crinkly" noises as I shifted around on it, and suggested the Big Agnes pad instead, but I wanted to try the XLite and I'm glad I did. It was great! It's two or three times as thick as my old pad, so it can conform more to my body and support it better, yet it rolls up into a cylinder that's less than half as long as my old pad and it's much lighter, too. I noticed the crinkly noises when I first unrolled it, but once it was inflated those noises mostly went away and I slept great on it.

Yes, it doesn't "self inflate" like the old pads, but it took only 20 breaths to fully inflate and I probably ended up letting out five of those breaths while adjusting the firmness. (I deflated it to the point where I just started bottoming-out on the floor, and then added one more breath so I didn't touch the floor at all.) I slept on my back and my side in equal comfort, and the pad did a good job of staying in place throughout the night.

Material technology has come a long way in 14 years, and I'm quite impressed with the NeoAir XLite.

 

First Hike of 2008: Santa Teresa County Park, Stile Ranch Trail

Michelle, Pilar and I made it out for our first hike of 2008 on Sunday morning. Last year we only went hiking once (oh, the shame!), but this year we have the best of intentions to get out more and explore some of the nearby places we haven't been to yet. It can be challenging to keep a six-year-old enthused about the adventure, especially after a little scraped knee and rising temperatures with little shade. Fortunately the wildflowers were still in decent bloom, so it became Pilar's job to find all the new ones, and it was my job to take their pictures. Both tasks were quite enjoyable. (Click the flower to the left to see the rest of the shots over at Flickr.)

Pilar also took it upon herself to count all the mountain bikers as they passed; I think the final tally was ten, although I'm not sure she counted the guy who was pushing his bike up the hill.

We took Stile Ranch trail, which winds up a moderate hillside until you get a fairly good look at the southern portion of the valley. According to the map at the county's website there's a portion of the Mine trail that you should be able to take to get you from the end of Stile Ranch trail over to Fortini trail. This would make for a nice two mile loop, but when we got there we found that that portion of Mine trail has been closed. (Kudos to Michelle for hiking ahead and scouting out the options.) Disappointed, we reversed course and walked back to the parking lot at the Stile Ranch trailhead.

Even though we didn't get to walk our planned route, it was great to get out and spend some time in the fresh air and sunshine. Let's hope there are plenty more occasions as well!

Doug Ritter Reviews the Outdoor Retailer Summer Show

Doug Ritter, the man behind the excellent equipped.org website, has posted his review of the recently concluded Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show. He highlights several new water filtration devices, some new knives and flashlights, and a couple of interesting multi-fuel stoves.

Standing out, however, is the SPOT Satellite Messenger device. Take emergency alerting capabilities like a PLB, but then also add the ability to trigger canned email messages that include your current GPS coordinates with an "I'm OK" message. Also add the ability to automatically update your position on Google Maps every 10 minutes and you have a pretty interesting device. I could easily see using this device to keep loved ones well informed about your location and progress while "vagabonding" (traveling without a fixed itinerary). Doug points out a few items of possible concern about the device as well, so be sure to read the in-depth review.

Hiking Long Ridge Open Space Preserve

I got out for my first hike of 2006 today. I picked a fairly easy and close hike in the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although I forgot to bring along a camera, I did bring my GPS receiver so that I could log my hike.

I started at the trailhead on Skyline Boulevard across from the Grizzly Flat Trail's parking area at about 8:15 AM. The path from the trailhead leads down into the valley until it T's at the intersection of Long Ridge and Peters Creek trails. From there I went right onto Long Ridge Trail and continued on Long Ridge Road until it ran into Peters Creek Trail. Turning left on to Peters Creek Trail, I followed that back to the intersection with Long Ridge Trail, then headed up out of the valley back to the trailhead.

The entire hike took two hours and was 4.2 miles long. The largest climb was early in the hike, starting right after I turned onto Long Ridge Trail, climbing 260 feet up in about a tenth of a mile. That got the ole heart pounding! In total I saw about 400 feet of elevation change.

There were a lot of mountain bikers out this morning; I must have passed at least 20 of them (some more than once). I also came across a park ranger, slowly rolling along the trail in her pickup. All were friendly, but I kind of wished for a little more solitude—I mean, I hike to get away from the masses, not to find more. I didn't see any large wildlife, either, probably because of all the people that were on the trail.

In all, it was a great first hike for the year and I can't wait to do more.