No turning back now. We're all in. August 29, baby!
Ok, phew, now that I've dispensed with all the 21st century cliches and exclamations of joy, we can get down to brass tacks (oops, another cliche, more 20th century this time!). Here's the deal, our Grand Canyon permits came through. Bam!
If you remember, Molly and I elected to sign on with a trekking company when we were unable to secure hiking permits on our own. We put a deposit on Wildland Trekking's 4-day Rim to Rim hike last fall and amped up our training with every confidence they could prevail in the lottery system and score the necessary permits.
They scored big. We learned this month the two of us, a guide, and up to three other hikers will be traversing the 23.9 mile Rim to Rim route from Aug. 29 - Sept 1. For so many months, as I've walked neighborhood hills or snowshoed the local mountains with my trusty pack, the trip has seemed distant. At 35 lbs, the pack pulls on my shoulders and significant pain sets in about 4 miles into a workout. But I've returned home each time, dripping in sweat, buoyed by the notion that I had plenty of time to build more endurance, add some muscle to my upper body, and work on my core stability.
Now, I am faced with four short months. This shit just got real!
And I'll tell you what made it even more real this past Tuesday: Much to my delight, on a second lap up a steep dirt road at the end of my street, Linus and I became one. Linus, that's my pack. She's a dusty blue color, not unlike the security blanket carried by Linus in Peanuts cartoons. I noticed I was moving faster on the second climb than the first, perhaps because my muscles were plenty warm now. My legs were loose, my hiking boots good and broken in, and so I was moving easier than I had yet in this training process. I slowed my thoughts, and moved away from processing the day's events and challenges, to consider the rest of my body.
Under my cap, my hair was starting to soak with sweat. My neck was unnoticeable, none of the usual nagging strained muscles. My shoulders ... Wait a minute! My shoulders were strong, Linus was hugging me, comfortably wrapped into the shape of my torso. I was moving faster because seemingly from one step to the next I was walking with Linus, rather than dragging her cumbersome self behind me.
She and I have yet to spend back-to-back (heh heh, good pun!) days together out on the trail. But now that I consider this past week, I think four months should be just about right to work in that kind of training.
You go, girls!
Ok, phew, now that I've dispensed with all the 21st century cliches and exclamations of joy, we can get down to brass tacks (oops, another cliche, more 20th century this time!). Here's the deal, our Grand Canyon permits came through. Bam!
If you remember, Molly and I elected to sign on with a trekking company when we were unable to secure hiking permits on our own. We put a deposit on Wildland Trekking's 4-day Rim to Rim hike last fall and amped up our training with every confidence they could prevail in the lottery system and score the necessary permits.
They scored big. We learned this month the two of us, a guide, and up to three other hikers will be traversing the 23.9 mile Rim to Rim route from Aug. 29 - Sept 1. For so many months, as I've walked neighborhood hills or snowshoed the local mountains with my trusty pack, the trip has seemed distant. At 35 lbs, the pack pulls on my shoulders and significant pain sets in about 4 miles into a workout. But I've returned home each time, dripping in sweat, buoyed by the notion that I had plenty of time to build more endurance, add some muscle to my upper body, and work on my core stability.
Now, I am faced with four short months. This shit just got real!And I'll tell you what made it even more real this past Tuesday: Much to my delight, on a second lap up a steep dirt road at the end of my street, Linus and I became one. Linus, that's my pack. She's a dusty blue color, not unlike the security blanket carried by Linus in Peanuts cartoons. I noticed I was moving faster on the second climb than the first, perhaps because my muscles were plenty warm now. My legs were loose, my hiking boots good and broken in, and so I was moving easier than I had yet in this training process. I slowed my thoughts, and moved away from processing the day's events and challenges, to consider the rest of my body.
Under my cap, my hair was starting to soak with sweat. My neck was unnoticeable, none of the usual nagging strained muscles. My shoulders ... Wait a minute! My shoulders were strong, Linus was hugging me, comfortably wrapped into the shape of my torso. I was moving faster because seemingly from one step to the next I was walking with Linus, rather than dragging her cumbersome self behind me.
She and I have yet to spend back-to-back (heh heh, good pun!) days together out on the trail. But now that I consider this past week, I think four months should be just about right to work in that kind of training.
You go, girls!
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