The Mt. Whitney Day Hike

Brutal! The trail itself wasn't too difficult -- just LONG -- and the altitude past 12,000 ft affected me. Fatal mistake: not spending enough time to acclimate. We originally had planned on spending 3 nights at Whitney Portal (8200 ft) before starting the hike to acclimate but we were unable to get a campsite for all of those days and had to plan accordingly. BF planned the trip and after having gotten the permit in February for a September hike, found that mostly everything was full in early July when he looked! I didn't realize it was that popular. What we ended up doing instead was staying 1 night in Bishop (4200 ft) because all the hotels in Lone Pine and Independence were full and spending one night at Whitney Portal. In reality, we got to Whitney Portal in the late afternoon and since we planned on starting the hike in the early morning, we really only spent about 12 hours at 8200 ft.

NOT ENOUGH.

After we picked up our permits and checked into the campsite, we were informed that there was "high bear activity." The ranger told us that we were not allowed to open our bear lockers after dark and that we needed to store anything scented in there (food obviously, but also cosmetics, and even dirty laundry). She said that some bears had been following hikers and that if you set your pack down, a bear might steal it since they associate them with food. There was even a report of a bear growling at a few hikers. Yikes! I was really nervous about this, especially since we would have to grab our packs and food in the dark before the hike at 3 am.

We woke up at 3 am and started hiking by 4 am. The weather was mostly pleasant throughout the hike, ranging from 40-50 degrees. We used headlamps and started at an easy pace. I thought 4 am was early but glancing up, we could see scattered groups of flickering lights along the side of the mountain. I later heard some people had started at midnight! The first two hours in the dark were uneventful... one foot in front of the other... we barely spoke to each other and the sound of footsteps became meditative. By the time we reached Outpost Camp (10,400 ft) the sun had risen and we could see our surroundings. We are slow hikers and were passed by many. I already started feeling the high altitude towards Trail Camp (12,000 ft) which is only the halfway point (6 miles in). We had planned on refilling our camelbaks at Trail Camp using an advanced water purifier. Some advanced system... it didn't work! BF had tried it back home and it did, but we tried it at least a good 5 times before giving up. At this point, I was already thinking, "Oh well, no water... I guess we can't continue on..." Hah.

Luckily (or unluckily for me), some nice hikers let us borrow their water pump and we were able to get 2 more liters of water. Next up, were the "97 switchbacks" to the Trail Crest. Everyone had told me these were horrible, but they were surprisingly not as bad as I thought they would be. I ended up counting them, which I liked, as it gave me something to focus on and break up the work in chunks (just like in swimming!).

I had been having some negative thoughts up to this point, and later told BF that I would have been perfectly fine with turning around earlier and having to face everyone saying that we didn't summit. That is how bad I was feeling. But when we got to the Muir Trail junction and a hiker who had come from the summit told me, "Almost there! Just 2 miles to go!", I felt renewed. 2 more miles? Who can't walk 2 more miles?! That's nothing! Worse case scenario - it will take us 2 hours.

Oh how wrong I was.

Those last 2 miles to the summit were miserable. Parts of the terrain were rough - boulders and loose gravel - which just made for slow travel. The altitude started to affect me a lot by this time and I had to take frequent breaks. I had a pounding headache and was starting to feel a little nauseous.

We finally reached the summit at 2:30 pm (told ya I was slow!) and checked out the impressive view. We ate a bit, signed the register, took some photos, and then started the 11-mile hike back to Whitney Portal.

I already knew we'd be hiking in the dark again but I had no idea it would take us as long as it did. By the time we hit Trail Camp (halfway down), it was almost 7 pm and the sun was starting to set. Shortly after, it was dark again and we were back to using our headlamps. Mine started fading (I think the battery was dying) which meant I now had to walk in front so BF could help shine light for me.

By this time we were tired and cranky. In retrospect, it would have been nice to look at the stars and soak it in, but I wanted to be finished as soon as I could. My feet were achy and my headache hadn't gone away. There were other hikers on the trail still which was comforting at least and we even passed a couple going UP around 9 pm! Maybe they were trying to reach the summit for sunrise?

We finally, FINALLY!, reached the trailhead at Whitney Portal around 10:30 pm. What a grueling, long day! That was the longest hike I've ever done to date in time (18.5 hrs), distance (22 miles), and elevation (14,500 ft). It took us all of 10 minutes to change and jump into the tent for a snore-fest. Although I'm glad I did it, and I suppose it is some kind of "accomplishment", I feel that is one hike I will never need to do again. :)

Hiking and Camping ETL-Style

I ended up packing too much food for the 4 day trip, but I didn't want to be hungry and cave into SAD food, so I was prepared! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had been borrowing a friend's dehydrator to make travel-friendly camping food. As far as the dehydrator goodies went, it was a success all around! I did a lot of experimenting and attempted dehydrating lots of vegetables. This is what I tried:

vegetable	instructions	notes
green beans	Dumped a bag of frozen green beans on the trays	crunchy! I like them on their own but they might be good with some garlic or other spices mixed in.
peas	They were too small to fit on the trays (they'd fall through) so I put foil over the trays and then poked small holes in the foil to allow the air to flow through. Used petite frozen peas from Trader Joe's with zero seasoning.	Tasted as expected - like dried peas!
red and yellow peppers	Sliced red and yellow peppers into thin strips, then put them in the dehydrator plain	Crunchy and tasty! Good on its own without seasoning if you like eating sweet peppers plain (I do)
onions	Diced an entire yellow onion and put the pieces onto the trays directly	It made the house smell nice (if you like onion!) but I wouldn't do this one again. I realized later I can easily buy dried onion at the bargain stores for cheap so it's not worth the effort.
kale	De-stemed and roughly cut without seasoning	Didn't make these for snacking but for soup mixes so I didn't try them plain

I ran out of time, but I had also wanted to try carrots, tomatoes, and beans. In the end, I used the dried vegetables to make my own soup mixes. These are the two I made:

Soup Mix 1

• dehydrated onion (can also use dried)
• garlic powder
• kale (crush and crumble with hands)
• dried sliced shiitake mushrooms from Asian market
• zucchini chips
• dehydrated peas
• spice mix from Penzey's

Soup Mix 2

• kale chips (curry-flavored)
• sundried tomatoes, chopped
• garlic powder
• dehydrated peppers, cut into smaller pieces with scissors
• zucchini chips

They were both great! The curry flavoring on the kale chips was enough to flavor the rest of the mix in the second soup mix. When it came time to eat, I used a Jetboil to make hot water, added the water to some of the mixture, and let it sit for a few minutes. It was great comfort food.

I also brought an array of other things to supplement the dried stuff:

canned no-salt beans, apples, bananas, homemade larabars, nuts and seeds, dried figs, zucchini chips, bag of frozen vegetables, roasted garbanzo beans, baby carrots

We stayed in a hotel the first night, which had a microwave and fridge, so I had a dinner meal of frozen vegetables and beans. BF had Jack in the Box. On the trail, I consumed homemade larabars, figs, brazil nuts, and roasted garbanzo beans. I didn't take any dried vegetables with me and think that was wise because since I was burning so many calories, I need to replenish them quickly, and eating the massive amounts of vegetables necessary to get that many calories would have taken a really long time. We're already slow hikers and didn't want to take longer breaks than we needed. The other meals (in the car) and at camp were the soup mixes, combined with some baby carrots, canned beans, nuts or seeds, and an apple. Surprisingly, I didn't feel as hungry as I thought I would (all the fiber?) and was able to stop eating with what seemed like very little food (and I was satisfied!).

I'm happy with how I did on the camping trip. In the past, I've caved and claimed it was "too hard" to eat this way on the road but it wasn't really a problem this time. Even with my SAD-eating BF eating fast food for almost all of his meals! With a little extra prep and planning, even I was able to stay true to ETL (so you can too :) ).

Refreshed and renewed

I had a fabulous time in Hawaii.  I didn't overeat, but I didn't stay entirely true to ETL.  I expected this, so I'm okay with it.  I did manage to eat some very delicious vegan meals though:

fresh coconut!

I drank the coconut water inside and then a child who couldn't have been older than 12 whipped out a machete and went to town on it, scraping out the meat to eat.

vegan tofu wrap (tofu, brown rice, vegetables) - this was probably my fave lunch on the island

I also managed to cook a few times in our condo so I had plenty of veggies and beans.

The last day, I made an orange-pineapple-banana smoothie from fresh fruits I picked up.  The blender was no Vitamix but it did the job. 

Kauai is awesome for hiking and this we did do!  We managed to fit in part of the Kalalau Trail (to Hanakapiai Falls), 8 miles RT, the "Sleeping Giant" hike (4 miles RT), and the Nualolo-Awaawapuhi loop (11 miles).

I checked this morning and I gained... but only 1/2 pound!

It'll be gone before the week is out.

Weekend Update: Camping

I went camping over the weekend, which was a first for me in many, many years. I was pretty worried about what I'd be able to eat during the trip, especially since I already knew what everyone else was bringing: burgers, sausages, chili (with meat), corn bread, cookies...

I'm pleased to say that I did okay while at the campsite. I brought vegetables to cook, canned beans, chopped salad and fruit. I got some strange looks while eating the chopped salad but I didn't mind. I ended up having some SAD food but it wasn't horrible.

I should have felt good about staying on track (I did) but I have to admit that I messed up shortly after that. On the way back from the campsite, we stopped at a diner-style establishment and had lunch. I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't order well at all.

And then when I got home, it just spiraled downward. I started snacking and eating and eating...

In retrospect, I think I was just TIRED and I was eating to "do something" and stay awake. I was also avoiding doing the chores I had to do because I was tired and didn't have energy. So I ate.

What I should have done is taken a nap and then reassessed when I woke up. Maybe I would have felt more energetic if I had done that. I'm sure I would have at least been thinking clearly.

I'm glad I recognized this (even if after the fact) but today I am feeling physically terrible. I am bloated from the sugar and salt and slightly nauseous. I am not even hungry for food.

Return from Tahoe

I'm back now... a few days later to posting than I originally wanted. I actually returned Saturday evening, but the events of the last few days have made things rather crazy around here. First - the actual trip...

I'm proud to say I think I did fairly well for being away! I mostly ignored my family's comments about my "weird eating" and stuck to eating frozen vegetables, beans, and fruit in the little hotel room we had. Luckily, it was equipped with a microwave and small fridge. No, I wasn't ETL-perfect. On the days I snowboarded, the day generally consisted of a breakfast of 1/2 bag of frozen vegetables and peas, a lunch of a peanut butter + banana sandwich on whole wheat, and a dinner of 1/2 bag of frozen spinach with more mixed frozen vegetables, and 1/3 cup of lentil soup poured on top. The lentil soup definitely had way too much sodium but it was all I could find in the local grocery store. I had to dilute it with water. The rest of my companions had fast food every night we stayed in. We spent the last night at a fancy restaurant, where I strayed somewhat, eating bread and fish. I did also make sure to order vegetable sides -- delicious but probably had too much salt and oil.

I was getting lots of rest too, feeling very good overall (besides the bruises from falling!) and my pants even seemed looser.

Then we came home.
And it was back to the stressball life.

I spent most of Sunday doing homework for a class I'm taking. While in Tahoe, the Boy found out his condo was leaking into his neighbor's. We later learned that the damage to his condo is quite extensive and trying to be the gracious girlfriend, I of course offered to have him stay with me while his home is being repaired. This should be an interesting test... now he will see just how crazy I really am with my early morning workouts and truly "weird" eating habits. But I figure if things develop into something more serious, this is a good way to see if we can handle each other.

And finally for the biggest stressor... on Sunday my sister sends me a strange text message asking questions about a guy I dated last year.

Her: "Does he own a road bike?"
Me: "Yes - why?"
Her: "Because this guy at my superbowl party looks a lot like him..."
(Minutes later)
Her: "Oh it IS him! Maybe I will chat him up!"

Hours later, she calls me on the way back from the party and gives me the scoop. Her friend just bought a place and decided to hold a superbowl/housewarming party and coincidentally his new roommate is ... the former boyfriend. But not just any former BF either. This one broke my heart and trampled on it. Strangely, while my sis and I are talking, the jerkhole in question sends me a text message.

He says he ran into my sister and how random it was and hopes I'm doing well. Typical. So as not to be rude, I send him a message back, "small world!" to which he replies "Maybe we could catch up if you want?"

Hmmmmm.

It bothers me that this whole episode bothered me at all. I thought I was over him and had moved on. Heck, I'm dating a great guy right now! Yet I couldn't put it out of my mind.

And so what happened? I ended up bingeing. I am kicking myself now as I write that. I wanted to numb my emotions with food, which of course, never works.

Now I am somewhat calmer, but worried that my episode has put weight back on. Well, only time will tell... Scale Day is tomorrow.

Snow Time

Leaving today for a snowboarding trip that will last to the end of the week.  I plan on ETL-ing as well as I can.