Feb 19-20, I led an Outdoor Excursions trip to Big Bear. It was an overnight snowboarding trip, with a very energetic group. The weekend was spent playing games, eating massive amounts of food, and watching the Olympics. Oh yes, and a little time was squeezed in for some actual snowboarding. One of the participants offered to donate to my fundraiser if I gave her a private snowboarding lesson, which worked out wonderfully. I was able to get her to snowboard down an intermediate level run on one edge without falling within an hour. She was so thrilled, she continued to practice for the next few weeks to sharpen her skills. I wish I thought of selling lessons to raise money for the charity earlier!!
Feb 22, I volunteered in Big Bear adaptive ski program again, working with a fantastic older gentleman named Brian who had cerebral palsy. He was not wheelchair bound, and was actually a decent skier on his own. I did have to accompany him to help keep his path clear. He had to ski slowly, and he couldn't easily watch for other skiers as he maneuvered down the hill. He also had difficulty speaking, but as with Molly, he understood dialogue just fine. He spoke very slowly with slurred speech, but if I paid close attention, I found he was very articulate and told some great stories and jokes. It was nice to take things slow, focusing on making good turns and enjoying the fantastic scenery (it had snowed several inches that morning).
Feb 23, I promised to meet up with the participants from my Big Bear snowboarding trip at Hanger 18, to introduce them to the gym. I gave them a brief lesson on bouldering and top-rope climbing. I didn't get to climb much, but spent quite a bit of energy belaying and instructing. My voice was actually hoarse by the end of the evening! The group had such a blast, several signed up for memberships that night. Hanger 18, you owe me!!
The rest of the week I mostly relaxed, but did spend my one weekly evening at Mt. High, practicing telemark skiing.
Feb 27, I went to Orange County to be trained in Cactus Wren surveys, only to find I would not be able to fit the survey work into my schedule. The commute to the sites were just too long, and I was booked with work and OE trips for the next few weeks.
Feb 28 was spent at Mt. Baldy ski area with some friends. With tons of fresh snow, and a full day on the mountain, I got a rigorous workout.
The following week of March 1- March 4, I spent another evening at Mt High, and an evening at Hanger 18. My right knee was starting to bother me quite a bit, so I only did a few easy climbs at Hanger 18, just one or two V0 boulder problems and a couple of 5.9 and under roped climbs.
I had hoped that with getting into better shape, my right knee would work itself out over time. Unfortunately, it had only gotten worse. Something told me it was more than regular aches and pains, so I scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. In the meantime, I tried not to worry about it, and just be careful in upcoming activities.
March 5-7 I went up to Mammoth ski area, spending two full days snowboarding. Fortunately, snowboarding put little stress on the affected part of the knee. It only hurt if I let my board hang on my right foot on the lifts - so I made sure to always support it with my left foot. The snow conditions were amazing, and I spent the days with two excellent snowboarders - giving me the opportunity to really push my limits and snowboard my hardest. We went through thick pine groves, took jumps off powder banks, ventured onto ungroomed and steep black diamond terrain, and went really, really, really fast on the flats. I felt terribly guilty not practicing any telemark skiing that weekend, but it was a blast spending a few days at something I actually was DECENT at!
The following week, March 9-11, I spent in Santa Barbara for work, once again, collecting soil samples. Once more, it was loads of heavy lifting and hiking on steep terrain. With all the physical activities in the past two weeks, I didn't do my regular bike/run after work, just resting at the hotel and heading to bed early. Gotta let the body recover!
The next weekend, March 12-15, was spent on my annual reunion trip with my old college housemates in Tahoe. Two days were spent driving, two were spent having a grand old time in Tahoe. I telemarked the whole weekend, as I had just recently purchased plastic telemark boots. They helped improved my skiing by leaps and bounds - and I finally could link my turns on intermediate runs! My quads screamed every night, and I took falls on every run, but the sudden burst of improvement made me push myself to ski on the harder, longer runs. Fortunately, we only spent half-days at the ski resort, the rest of the time was spent catching up, playing cards, and sledding. It was a rather relaxing weekend, at least mentally!
The following week, March 16-19, I once again practiced tele-ing in the evening at Mt. High, and then spent the rest of the week in Santa Barbara again for work. What a relief that I only had one day of plans that following weekend!
Saturday, March 20th, I met up with my supervisor from Outdoor Excursions, her friends, and some of the other OE leaders, at Snow Valley ski area for Telefest - a gathering of mostly tele-skiers, one snowboarder, and a few randonee skiers. It was a blast. I was very self-conscious how I would look telemark skiing in front of so many other tele-ers, but my practice has paid off. For the most part, I was just as good as the rest of the group, and could keep up with them! It was a grand feeling, knowing all the work (and countless falls!) had finally paid off.
March 21 - 26 was a week of rest. I had x-rays and an MRI done on my knee, as well as follow-up appointments. My doctor was convinced it was a torn meniscus from the location of the pain, but the MRI didn't show any evidence of one. I was somewhat relieved, as it meant no surgery. However, I was referred to physical therapy two weeks from then. Fortunately, it looked like there was no more field work required for the next few weeks, and my weekends were going to be a little quieter.
March 27-30, I travelled to the Bay Area to visit my parents. I went on my first recreational hike of the year on Sunday in Sunol, visiting a lovely area called "Little Yosemite". Spring has finally sprung, and I spent a large amount of time taking pictures of the green hills and all the wildflowers in full bloom.
Midweek was spent in the office, home, and visiting a friend who had come to Riverside for the week.
Friday April 2nd, I spent half a day in Big Bear, for what was probably my last visit to the snow this season. Mt High had already closed its evening operations, so no more weekly tele sessions. It was sad to say goodbye, after getting into the routine of beating myself up on the slopes. Especially since I had finally gotten to the point where I spent more time actually tele skiing than falling! But, I'm glad I had so many opportunities to go, and go cheaply. The largest cost for me doing the sport was the purchase of the plastic boots (but were completely worth it!!). I had lucked out in having friends split cost of gas, procure heavily discounted or free lift tickets through my volunteer work at the adaptive ski program and work for Outdoor Excursions, and snagging cheap skis and bindings.
April 3-4 was spent with friends for Easter, where I promptly made up for all the calories lost in the last three weeks.
The following week April 5-9 was mostly office work and catching up with errands, with two days of light hiking for field work Thursday and Friday. My knee had started to ache again, so I did not climb or run that week, and had to use hiking poles for the field work. I also interviewed for, and successfully nabbed, another part-time job. For the next few months, I will be spending 4 to 8 hours a week monitoring and maintaining cowbird traps along the Santa Ana river in Colton and San Bernardino. It is relatively easy work - more driving than hiking.
April 10, after spending a few hours doing cowbird work, I did another recreational hike in Oak Glen, but took it slow. It was still a decent work-out, as much of the trail had been covered by fallen limbs and trees from the heavy snowfall that year. A large part of the hike was spent maneuvering around the debris, and sometimes climbing or scrambling over.
April 11 was spent with cowbird work, and ride around Lake Perris on a new mount, JD. Jabar, the horse I rode in the Mojave, is currently training for and participating in a whole slew of endurance rides with his owner, so we switched so she could work with him. It was difficult for me, as JD is a much larger, leaner horse, with a unique gait that makes him easily cover a lot of ground. Unfortunately, this gait completely baffled me. It can be best describes a a half-trot, half-canter. A "tranter" if you will. Basically, one end trots, and the other canters. I was all over the place trying to find the rhythm to ride it out - my poor right knee was in agony by the end of the ride!
So, the next few days was rest, ice, and ibuprofen once again. April 14 I did some light climbing for an hour at Hanger 18 - two roped climbs under 5.9. April 15 I jogged for 2-3 miles, which didn't hurt my knee too badly. I've noticed that as long as I don't move it laterally, actively engaging my inner thigh muscle, and focus most of the impact on the hip joint, it hurts much less.
The next weekend, April 16-19, I traveled to Red Rock, NV, for a friends birthday. Two days were spent climbing some incredible trad routes. I only cleaned, and most of the routes were 5.8 and under, but a great experience nonetheless. Saturday was spent in the Lotta Balls and Romper Room area, and Sunday was spent on Cat in the Hat, one of the most famous climbs in Red Rock.
We had fantastic luck in having the Cat in the Hat route all to ourselves, despite arriving late in the morning (around 9am). The two other groups on the climb had gotten into an argument and bailed, and I guess other people didn't attempt the climb because of its reputation for being crowded on weekends and the forecasted hot weather. We got neither - no crowds, and it was sunny but breezy. Just awesome.
The route was a great introduction to climbing multi-pitch with a team larger than two (we had a group of four), being on very exposed walls, and gaining a lot of elevation in one day. I actually got quite nervous on the highly exposed parts, having to talk myself through and paying close attention to my hand and foot holds. Fortunately, the climb is only rated 5.6. None of us took any falls, and one of the guys leading put in plenty of redundant protection, boosting my confidence.
The climbing this weekend also reminded me how it is to hike with a truly heavy pack long distances. I will certainly have to do a lot more of that the closer my Rainier climb is. I may do quite a bit of hiking for work - but mostly short distances with a heavy pack, or long distances with a light pack.
The following week, April 19-23, I mostly worked in the office. On Tuesday I did my annual Work Capacity Test, which is a requirement for US Forest Service employees who may have to work on wildland fires. One can choose from three levels - light, moderate, and arduous. I am required to pass the light, but I chose to try the moderate, since I have successfully passed that level for the previous 2 years (The moderate test is a 2-mile hike with 25 lb pack within 30 minutes). It wasn't easy, but I was able to finish in time.
I had my first physical therapy appointment on April 21st, and not a moment too soon. I had completely forgotten, but a few months earlier, I had signed up to do a 10K mud run with a friend on April 24th in Irvine. Fortunately, my physical therapist said I did not have to bail on it, as long as I limited getting down on my knees, doing a lot of uphill and downhill (as it turned out, the course was mostly flat), and making sure to put my heel down first as I run (I tend to run just on the front of my feet).
The mud run was ok, but I definitely was not in shape for a 10K. I duct taped my knee brace on to ensure it wouldn't come off on the mud pits, and thank goodness, because I needed all the support I could get. I was dying most of the run. My knee ached and my lungs were screaming most of the way. Fortunately, my friend I ran with stayed with me the whole time, inspiring me to finish the race. It definitely made me realize I will have to be dedicated to practicing my physical therapy exercises if I want this knee issue to finally get better - it's just not going to heal on its own.
The rest of the weekend was spent doing cowbird work, and packing for another week doing field work in Santa Barbara again.
April 26-30 was spent doing 10-12 hour days doing vegetation surveys. Brutal mentally, but not so much physically as we only had to hike out to our research sites with light packs. I was so tired I slacked on my physical therapy exercises in the evening - only doing about a half hour of exercises all week.
May 1-2 I spent the weekend working and on a horse camping trip at Lake Perris. I rode JD again on Saturday, and with a little more success. Granted, I had him straight out run or walk, skipping the "tranter" gait all together. On Sunday I gave him a break, and tried out a new horse. Smalli, a tiny arabian mare, is a young newbie to the ranch. We took it nice and easy together, which was just fine with me. We walked most of the time, and I got off and guided her through steeper areas. Even though JD did easier gaits the previous day, my knee was still being troublesome. I've decided I will have to get off the horse more frequently to stretch it out, which is not always ideal, but one has to do what one has to do.
The following week of May 3-7 was spent in Santa Barbara doing veg work again, and this time I was a little more pro-active with my exercises. I also brought my road bike along and was able to fit in two light rides after work (about 5 miles each).
This last weekend, I rode Smalli and another horse Fox. I rode mostly at slow walk, with very brief trotting sessions. I dismounted twice to walk with the horse, which significantly helped with the knee pain. In addition, I bought a large bottle of glucosamine pills, which my physical therapist says may not help right away, but may in the long run. At this point, I'm doing every little thing that can help!
Sunday I went on a hike to the C, and decided I will have to routinely start hiking the steep routes in the Box Springs in the following months. Once my knee starts to noticeably improve, I will start hiking with a heavy pack.
For the next few weeks, I plan to keep doing physical activities after work that my physical therapist approves of (climbing and running on flat surfaces are ok), and do my PT exercises daily.
Hopefully, this knee issue will improve soon. If not, surgery may be an option if no improvement is seen in a month. Fortunately, if surgery is necessary, my doctor says I will be able to fully recover in another month (just in time for the mid-August climb).
I have a feeling that with all the adjustments my physical therapist has suggested, I should have little problem and won't have to resort to surgery. It will just take time. I'm not as young as I used to be, and I certainly haven't been taking care of my knees like I really should have these last few years with all the crazy physical activities I've been doing. It really was only a matter of time things were going to start hurting - now I have to be patient, a little more careful, and more diligent about my form, amount, and style of exercise. I may play like I'm younger, but my body is only getting older!
From left, Paolo, my awesome telemark partner-in-crime, me, Serena, and her husband James (both of which will be climbing Rainier with me for Summit for Someone) at TeleFest at Snow Valley
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