Kings Canyon Backpacking Day3 no.1

In the early morning on the third day, Mr.N was doing a funny noise (bubbling sound?) when he breathed while lying down. The noise scared me. However, when he got up, the noise was gone. Retrospectively, this was the first sign we should have taken more seriously. If it had been a high altitude sickness, he should not have had appetite but he ate breakfast as usual. I thought that it might be a cold, because once I had a cold that drove coughing only when I was lying down. He said that he was okay, but I should have insisted to go back to the track. Besides this, the lake was very pretty under the morning sun. It reminded me of a piece of Bruckner. I did laundry in the lake. The water was super cold, but comfortable. The air was crisp and cool.

After breakfast, we decided to proceed the trip. First we walked on the "inconspicuous saddles". The lake we camped became smaller and smaller as we ascended, meaning the view was magnificent. I offered to carry a tent, which we shared, however, Mr.N refused. We walked slowly.

Then, a little before noon, he asked me to carry the tent. I was happy to carry it and some other his stuff, but this gave me some anxiety because he had never asked me that kind of things, even when his backpack was much heavier than mine. I reached the Potluck Pass (~11,000 feet) first and left my backpack at the top and came down to him and tried to carry his backpack, but he refused. I had never seen him struggling or slower than me on a trail. I was hoping that we could finish the next pass and reach to the LeConte Canyon at 8,000 feet so that his symptoms would be better. 

３日目。

朝目が覚めて、MrNの息の音がおかしいことに気づいた。横たわって寝ている時に息をすると妙な音がする。ストローで水の中に泡を立てているような音だ。うーむ。風邪か？

しかし起き上がるとその音は消えた。

後で思い返すと、これが最初のサインだったのだ。この時にこのサインをもっと真剣に考慮すべきだった。

もしもこれが高度障害だったらば食欲もないはずだが、MrNはきちんと朝食も食べたので、我々はちょっとした風邪かということでとりあえず少し歩き始めることにした。後で思い返すとこの時が引き返すチャンスだったのだ。

そして少しずつオフトレイルの山を登り始める。キャンプしていた湖がどんどん小さくなって行く。綺麗な景色なのだが、MrNの容態が心配だった。共用のテントを持とうかと提案したがMrNは大丈夫だと言った。しかしその後昼過ぎになってMrNからテントを持ってもらえないかと言って来た。もちろん持ったが、これはまずいかもと思い始めた。

そしてなんとかポットラックパス、３５００メートルに到着。ここから早く下って２５００メートルまで降りたいなと考えていた。そしたらMrNの症状が良くなると思ったからだ。 

続く。。。

Exercise After COVID

The pandemic. 

COVID changed people's exercise routine. A lot of people exercise less since the pandemic began. 

Many reasons can be listed for that. 

First, people started working home. People used to commute by walk/bike no longer do. Even people who commuted by car, they still lost opportunities to walk from parking lot to their desks.

Second, gyms got closed. Many cities ordered gyms to close. People who would work out with treadmills, heavy barbells or any machines no longer access to them. People can't swim without access to pool. A lot of people stopped gym memberships. Not only gym closure made people lose physical access to exercise equipment, but also lose motivation of exercise. Most gyms provided classes and social opportunities. Those occasions motivate people to exercise. Social exercise clubs, such as running clubs stopped their activities.

Third, due to social distancing, people started doing chores online as much as possible. This prevents people from walking. 

In my case, most affected point is #2. The gym. Mid-March 2020, city of Boston prohibited gyms to stay open. So I left my gym. At the gym, I used to swim twice a week, attended barbell classes once or twice a week, and used a rowing machine once a week. Every visit I needed access to something I don't have at home. After the closure? For a couple of weeks, I couldn't do much exercise. It was not fun. 

My solution was to get a barbell set and subscribe exercise program streaming. At the gym I used to take a class called BODYPUMP. This is a class invented by a New Zealand based company Les Mills. Now, I have access to all the classes Les Mills provides. They have 15+ different kinds of workout. One of them is BODYPUMP. The gym I would go only offered BODYPUMP, but now I do CXWORX, in addition to BODYPUMP. CXWORX is a program focused on core. Since core is the most important part (core part, literally) for any kinds of exercise, it is really good I discovered it. I love Les Mills programs. Besides that, I also do GLIT cardio and BODYCOMBAT, these are cardio workouts. At the gym I used their barbells, now I have them at home. Now I don't need to go back to a gym even after pandemic. I know that some people say they don't feel fun or motivated working out at home alone, but these Les Mills programs are quite different. They have elite Les Mills- certified instructors: they are really really good forms and great teaching skills even via videos. They keep encouraging people via screen: I feel like I am in the live class. Also Les Mills offers many different version of workouts. For example, BODYPUMP new version is released every 3 months. Now the newest is BODYPUMP116. On the stream, I can choose from BODYPUMP86 to BODYPUMP117. The same thing for other 15+ programs. Yes, there are SO many workouts I can do. 

Although I am really satisfied my move to Lesmills Ondemand streaming, I admit that I miss live classes and swimming at the gym. It is nice to see other people are suffering in the class. That grow camaraderie among participants, because most of the participants in the class are regulars. Also, in live classes, BODYPUMP instructors can mix up menu of the training. In the streaming, if I chose BODYPUMP115, I need to do from track1 to track10 all from BODYPUMP115. Instructors have special App and they can make their own class: for example, warm up track from BODYPUMP111, squat track from BODYPUMP98, chest track from BODYPUMP115. Each BODYPUMP class consists of 10 tracks: warm up, squat, chest, back, triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulder, ab, cool down.

Now the gym is partly re-opened, but no classes. Most gyms limit a number of people at one time.

Someday normal gym structure comes back.....some day.

Kings Canyon Backpacking Day2

<Japanese version is after English: 日本語は英語の後にあります＞

While we were backpacking, we saw many day hikers. Most of them had fishing poles. It seemed that the area was popular for fishing. It reminded me of tenpula of sand borer my friend fished in the ocean back in my graduate school days.

I had a little hard time breathing because I live at sea level and the trailhead was at 10,000 feet high. Then it was uphill from the beginning. I decided to walk slow although I knew Mr.N had to wait for me. The plan for the first day was only 4 miles, so we arrived at the campsite around 5 p.m. or so. The Bishop lakes were beautiful under the high mountains. To prepare for the next day, we went to bed early.

On the second day we climbed the Bishop Pass. It was steep and I was out of breath. Luckily we were still on trail. Then we descended to a point where we left the trail. The first pass we climb off trail, it didn't look so bad. Actually I thought that it would not be hard at all. However, once I started ascending, it was very tough. Also Mr.N was faster than me and he went ahead in the invisible distance. In retrospect, I think that he might hike too fast. He was waiting for me at the top and finally I caught up with him there. The view was magnificent but we had to start descending. We accidentally took a harder route (as always). Off trail is always hard, but harder for n00bs like me because I don't have a good sense to find an easier route. We had planned to climb more on the day but we decided to camp near the lake. The lake was attractively blue and clear. Watching sunset and rising star was very nice. 

 １日目。

バックパッキング中、たくさんのデイハイカーに会った。デイハイカーの多くは釣竿を持っていて釣りをしに来ているようだった。川や湖で釣った魚、美味しいんだよなーと思いつつハイク。

大学院の頃の同期の友人が毎年釣りに行って大量のキスをラボに持って来て天ぷらパーティーをしたのを思い出した。キスの天ぷら美味しいよなぁなどと思いつつ釣りしている人のところを通り過ぎる。

とはいえやや息が辛い。海抜０メートル在住で突然３０００メートルのところをハイキングしだすと普通のトレイルでも息があがる。しかも初めからわりと急な上りだ。最初の日のプランは４マイルだけだし、息をあげてまで速く歩く必要もないのでゆっくり歩くことにした。（MrNはバックパッキングということでワクワクしているのがズンズン先を歩いて行った）。

最初の日のキャンプはビショップ湖で。湖の向こうにはビショップパスがひかえている。山＋湖は常に美しい景色を織りなす。夕暮れの湖で夕飯を食べ、次の日に備えて早めに寝袋へもぐりこんだ。

 ２日目。

ビショップパスへ登る。わー。きつい。かなり急な登りだ。息がきれる。やはりまだ２日では高地順応ができていない。ただしまだトレイルを歩いている。まだオフトレイルではないのでその点では楽だ。そしてパスの頂上へ！その後は下り。数キロ降ったところからトレイルをそれていよいよオフトレイルへと入って行く。遠くから見た感じでは行くところはそれほど難しいそうには見えないが。。。行ってみるとやはりきつい。岩によじ登ったり、全身の運動になるため疲れも出てくる。MrNは相変わらずズンズン進んで行く。。。。思い返せばMrNはスピードを出しすぎていたのだと思う。。

２日目の予定はもう一つのパスを超える予定だったが、最初のパスについたところですでに夕方だったのでそこの綺麗な湖のそばでキャンプすることにした。湖は真っ青な色で神秘的な美しさだった。その後太陽が沈んで行くと徐々に湖の色も変わっていく。それも綺麗だ。そしてその後は数え切れない星。シエラはどこをとっても美しい。やみつきになる！

Kings Canyon Backpacking Day1

Japanese version is after English. 日本語は英語の後にあります。

On 2016 August 5th, Mr.N and I headed for backpacking in the Kings Canyon National Park. The plan was a 9-day trip, mostly off-trail. I had never packed food for 9 days (I carried food for only 7 days at one time even on JMT trip and resupplied), so my backpack was heavy (~35 pounds). Unexpectedly this trip ended up one of the craziest and nerve wracking one. From today I will post a story/day approximately every other day at least 10 stories. Stay tuned!

We left the Bay Area around 5 a.m. Saturday. First we stopped by the ranger station in the town of Bishop. The ranger who gave us wilderness permits was nice, but a little weird. The permits were printed out upstairs. To pick them up, he ran the stairs very fast. I thought, "Hmm...a little weird." Anyway, we arrived at the trailhead soon. Then we sorted out stuff. I went to the restroom before hitting the trail. The restroom was just cleaned by a ranger and the door was open with a stone. When I got out of the restroom, I needed to put the stone under the door to keep it open. It didn't work well. The ranger saw me struggling and said, "Don't worry about it." He smiled at me. He was very nice. At this point, I didn't know that this ranger would be so important after the hike and that I would even ride with him.

２０１６年の８月にMrNと筆者でキングスキャニオン国立公園にバックパッキングへ行った。9日間ほぼ全てオフトレイルのプラン。

予想に反して、このバックパッキングは今まで一番クレイジーで危険、かつ恐ろしいバックパッキングとなったのだった。

本日からその恐怖のストーリーを投稿していく。

初日。

カリフォルニアのベイエリアを朝５時に出発。そしてまずはトレイルヘッド近くのレンジャーステーション（ビショップという小さな町にある）に寄った。ステーションのレンジャーからウイルダネスパーミット（バックパックするのには許可証、パーミットが必要）をもらい、バックパッキングの準備完了。

トレイルヘッドの駐車場で荷物を選別し出発の準備。筆者はトレイルを歩き始める前にトイレに行っておこうと思ってトレイルヘッドにあるトイレへと行った。ちょうどレンジャーが来ていてトイレを清掃した直後で、ドアが開いており、ドアが開いたままになるように石がドアのところにストッパーとして置いてあった。石を動かしてドアを閉めてトイレへ。そしてトイレから出た後また石を元の場所に戻そうとしたが石が動かず苦戦していると、レンジャーが来て”気にしないでいいよ”と言ってくれた。笑顔のレンジャーでとてもいい人だ。

後にこのレンジャーが重要な人物になるとは想像だにしていなかったのだった。。。

 

 

Backpacking in Baxter State Park in Maine

 In the middle of June we went backpacking in Baxter State Park in Maine. We had been backpacking there, but this time we tried a different trail. We headed for a lean-to at North Katahdin lake. 

From Boston, it takes about 5.5 hours to get to the Baxter State Park. We arrived around noon. The boo point is that non-Maine resident have to pay $15 for the entry. AND you need to pay for campsites (car or backcountry). Maine residents are free of charge to enter the park, AND lower fee for camping. I feel that this is too much difference of fee. Since we plan to go to Baxter three times at least this summer, we bought 2021 pass for $40. 3 time visits would be $45 without a pass. 

We drove to the trailhead. Only one car was parked there. The number plate was customized one saying "HIKER" The owner must be an avid hiker. The trail was easy, mostly flat, but ah, so many mosquitoes. I had to put 100% DEET juice everywhere. The mosquitoes even bit me through pants and T-shirt. So I had to put DEET on my cloths. For your information, my hiking pants, REI brands, are bug-proof. Bugs are supposed to be unable to bite through them. In my case, they can. I don't have any holes on my pants. It is not a one time thing, many incidents happened to me. Bugs can bite through bug-proof clothes. I stopped trusting those bug-protective claims a long time ago.

After 2 mile of hiking, we reached the first lake. This lake was really beautiful. Katahdin mountains are visible right behind the lake. We sat on the shore and had snack. Luckily there were nice breezes at the shore and that made mosquitoes blow away.  There is a lean-to by the lake, and a canoe available there. This would be really nice to spend a night. I thought that this is a good one for beginners as an introductory backpack.

Pretty Lake

Our booked lean-to was a couple of miles ahead, so we continued hiking. After a while, we reached the destination. The hiking itself was easy and pleasant except for mosquitoes. I hiked with wearing bug net on my head.

lean-to

OK for people who are thinking, "What is a lean-to?", a lean-to picture is here. It is nice log cabin. This particular lean-to is only for reservation use, so it is private: some lean-to in the Whites are first-come, first-served and need to share with people, which I don't like it, because of snores. My one-time experience staying at a hut in Intaly during Tour du Mont Blanc, it was not pleasant due to snore all night, farts all night, and stink all night.

As you can see a fire pit is provided here. It is allowed to have a campfire by foraging. Yay! My favorite activity. Again, this lean-to also provides a canoe as well as a paddles and life jackets. The lean-to is by North Katahdin lake, which is a very big lake. After we settled down, we headed for canoeing. It is really nice that the park provides canoe. Then we don't need to bring canoe for 6 miles which is impossible!

North Katahdin Lake

North Katahdin lake is also beautiful. I wish that the Katahdin peaks were visible from the lean-to. The peaks are visible only when you canoe out for a while. The picture in the left was taken while we were canoeing. 

When we reached the other side of the lake, we saw deer. His feet were in the water. We notice it was a male, because there were very small antlers. The antlers seems just came. It was cute. He seemed to come to the lake to avoid mosquitoes. He swished tail alot and jumped a lot to run away from mosquitoes, but it was difficult. There were SO MANY MOSQUITOES!!! Poor deer. We observed the deer for about 15 minutes. I had never seen the deer jumping around so much. This is a rare experience for sure.

deer

After the evening canoeing we started camp fire. Fun!!! The smoke made mosquitoes go away. Then we ate curry and rice for dinner. Japanese curry is the best supper for camping. 

I like Maine's view: not too may trees and mixture of lakes, mountains and meadows. We will come back!