Climb for Heroes, April 12 2015

posted in: Photos, Trip Report

I signed up for this event late, but due to the generosity of some family members, I was able to meet the donation requirements. I knew this event supported a great cause, which I wrote about in a previous blog entry (The Heroes Project 2015), but it didn’t really “hit” me until I was on the mountain, hiking amongst and talking to the veterans. I am thankful that I was able to support this event and hope to do more at similar events in the future.

The highlight of my day was meeting Private First Class Isaac Blunt on the summit of Baldy.  He took the time to talk to me – we spoke about our mutual interest in hiking Kilimanjaro some day, as well as our excitement over being fathers to young kids. To learn more about his story, click here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-heroes-project-60-minutes-lara-logan/

If you’d like to donate to this great cause, donations are open until May 1st: The Heroes Project 2015

In regards to the hike itself, I did not have a good day hiking. This was my first moderately strenuous hike since I starting deadlifting again. I need to find the balance between lifting for strength and not having it affect my hiking; I have not found it yet and struggled on this hike. I have a strenuous hike coming up April 18th, so no legs or lower back work for me this week.

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Geek Stats

  • Mt. Baldy via Devil’s Backbone || Distance: ~10 miles RT || Duration: ~6 hrs (slow pace, long break at summit)




Gear

I was able to get out with some new gear, some of which I hope to use on my High Sierra Trail hike (70 miles) coming up in June. My pack, including food and water, was about 18 lbs when I left the house.

Notable Gear

  • Deuter Airlite 28
    • Awesome pack so far, has performed as expected.
    • Great size for day hikes.
  • GEIGERRIG Hydration Engine and Nano Drink Tube
    • My first time using a hydration bladder in 6 months. I stopped using them due to the difficulty of cleaning them. Before receiving this system, I had decided to only use them only if I needed to carry a large volume of water.
    • This bladder can be turned inside out, making cleaning & drying much easier.
    • The nano drink tube is easier to route than a normal drink tube.
    • I plan to use the Hydration Engine, Nano Drink Tube and Virus Filter on my upcoming High Sierra Trail hike.
  • Hydrapak Stash (full review)
    • Two months of continuous use and performing like a champ!
  • Oboz Bridger BDry
    • Very comfortable.
    • They compare favorably to my Salomon Quest 4D GTX.

2 Responses

  1. Brad
    |

    I find that if I do my heavy leg exercises towards the middle of the week I usually recover enough for a hike on the weekend. But if you are just getting back into deadlifting you would have D.O.M.S ( Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) anyways which can last several days to a week until your body starts getting used to activity again. I hope you enjoyed the hike. I know the feeling of struggling, I just got over pneumonia the week before the hike as well.

    • TheHikingGeek
      |

      DOMS will last 5-7 days if I go heavy on legs. I’ve never gotten used to it and it generally doesn’t diminish over time. I did heavy squats consistently for about a year and my body never adjusted. Lately I’ve been doing goblet squats with high reps. I think higher reps may be better for hiking anyway. For deadlifts, I’ve found that I recover better from higher weight and lower reps. I’ve tried to ‘take it easy’ before a hike, doing sets of 12 and have paid for it dearly.

      Despite struggling, it was a fun and sobering day – the type of day that makes me thankful for those around me and thankful for what I have.