The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 30

"The Blog Almost Too Boring To Be The Most Boring Blog in America ... for Over 5 Years!"

until it got too many red cards from Wounded Duck and the Boredom Enforcement Committee ... now the tortoise's goal is to get to 10 red cards so he can get Big Dog to drive down and take a good long walk with the tortoise

P. S. This blog listens to its readers. We have the Benjamin Category Override for 5+ mile walks and now, it humbles Tortoise to say he has been named "Lou", by Doug Jr, in memory of Mr. Consistency himself, Lou Gehrig. Tortoise can hardly type the words to think he is in any way comparable to the noble Iron Horse. Thank you!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

30

Completed a 40 day tortoise marathon by walking 1.06 miles in 23 minutes today; Series 2 total 26.57 miles (slightly more than the 26.2 miles that many do in 2 to 6 hours in a single morning!) in 10 hours 59 minutes ... in the true passionately smiling tortoise tradition Series 2 will continue on Monday ...

Plus ... I am pleased to announce Series 3 and 4!

Series 3 will be a longer walk with my good friend Terreeeblay the treadmill most Saturdays. It is tax season, so if all I can do is a regular Series 2 walk some Saturdays, so be it. My plan is to start next Saturday, February 12, with a 78 minute walk at 2.4 miles per hour at 2% grade, which should complete a 5k (3.1 miles). I know I can't increase the length of the walk at the speed I have worked myself up to in Series 2, so I am hoping this lower speed setting will make that walk a stretch, but not a painful one. Just as with Series 2, once I begin I hope to gradually increase what I do in Series 3 each week.

Whatever I do in Series 3 I will count in both the Series 2 and 3 cumulative totals, you can check here at this blog from time to time to see how I do and offer your advice and encouragement. Basically I just want to increase my stamina so I can be a more energetic grandpa and keep up with grandma (more on that in Series 4 ...)

Series 4 will begin in April (after the 15th, of course). One Saturday a month I will replace a Series 3 walk with Terreeeblay with a Series 4 walk in the outdoors. If any of you reading this would like to join me on any of the Series 4 walks you are welcome to do so. I hope to put out a couple possible days for each month for discussion in the comment section here sometime next week. I will only put out days that I know will work for me, then I will make a final decision that includes your feedback as to which of those days works best for you. My early thoughts are:

April: Walk up the La Verkin Outlook Trail (2 miles up and another 2 back down that are pretty steep)

May: Walk on the West Rim trail in Zion Park, at least as far as the top of Walter's Wiggles and possibly a little further

June: Walk all the way to West Rim, including an early lunch at the top soaking in the views

July: Try to reserve a campsite now for a Friday night in the Pine Valley Forest Service campground to get the benefit of sleeping at 6600 feet to get somewhat used to the altitude, then walk up and back on the Forsyth Creek Trail (here is a brief summary of it: http://tinyurl.com/4ngsngq). If you google "Pine Valley Mountain trails Utah" you'll see more, including some pictures. I'm thinking Friday the 8th and Saturday the 9th is our best shot, but let's talk about this.

OK, let me say some more about keeping up with Willyne (aka grandma). She expressed a desire at least a year ago, probably more, to climb Mt. Timpanogos. Life got in the way, nothing has happened yet. She does lots of aerobics, zumba, and more ... she could probably walk up that mountain right now, no problem. As for me, I will need every bit of Series 1, 2, 3, and 4 to even show up in her rear view mirror. With that introduction, I'd like to throw out trying Mt. Timpanogos in August, perhaps the 12th and 13th, again definitely in the idea stage and open for discussion. I hope I haven't waited too long to arrange to do this with her! As a side note, if one of you reading this know of a high elevation camp we could reserve Friday night to be ready for an early morning start there on Saturday, please share it with us! (I'm hoping for a lively comment section here, Terreeeblay likes the company)

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Going back to more ordinary Terreeeblay blog fare, here is what I ate today ...

Breakfast - Medium bowl of Willyne's barbeque ranch chicken salad (inspired by Panera Bread!) with a half King's Hawaiian bun with melted cheese, vitamins, and a pint of water.

Lunch - Medium bowl of spaghetti with Willyne's wonderful tomato, mushroom, and meat sauce and another pint of water.

(Early) Dinner - Medium bowl of oatmeal with yogurt, a banana, and yes, another pint of water :)

No snacks today ...

3 comments:

BenjaminFebruary 6, 2011 at 9:52 AM
I love series 3! Great idea and sign me up for timpanogos. I don't know any camp sites but there is always my house if needed :) I'm sure there are lots because the popular thing to do for BYU students is climb up, camp and then finish early and watch the sunrise.

And I thought July was Whitney not Pine Valley? I'm game for both, lets try and include the Jacksons and Ragozzines
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UnknownFebruary 6, 2011 at 8:51 PM
I need Series 3 and 4 to prepare for Series HC ... named for cycling fans like you. The over 12,000 ft mountains are "beyond category" in this system. :)

Also I have the tradition of walking with my grandchildren and the red wagon in the July 4 parade ... so my current thought on seeing how far we can go on an HC walk by 14:00, then retracing my steps by dark is to tie into Labor Day weekend to maximize the possibility for people to walk with me while minimizing work conflicts.

Do I hear interest from the Jacksons and Ragozzines then? Exciting times!
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UnknownFebruary 6, 2011 at 9:28 PM
Dad the Awes! First, let me say congratulations on your marathon completion, that is truly something to be proud of friend!! Second, thanks for the update on Series 3, 4 and HC...I'm excited to see where these take us.

As of right now, I'll try and be a part of as many Series 4 hikes I can, and am definitely interested in Timpanogos as well. Had no idea that mom was interested in this peak, so that's certainly an interesting twist to things. I know of campgrounds around the base, but I can look into the forest services' websites to see what kind of backcountry offerings they have available.

Benjamin, I sent you a message regarding the requested change from dad to move the Whitney trip to Labor Day weekend instead of the 4th, sorry if you didn't get it. I have talked with Doug now, and he's game for the Labor Day trip.
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Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Segments Hiked

Total lifetime PCT miles hiked: 205.0 out of the 2,650 total.

From 1966 to 1969 segment Tortoise hiked the portion of the PCT shared by the John Muir Trail, covering PCT miles 767.0 to 942.5 (175.5 miles). (While hiking the full 211 miles of the Muir Trail from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney)

Tortoise then embarked on a long career at a desk, interrupted momentarily for a day hike in 1988 up Mt. Baden-Powell as a Varsity Boy Scout coach with his team. That took him from PCT miles 374.0 to 377.9, roundtrip. (There was also a second trip from Onion Valley to Mt. Whitney with the Varsity Boy Scouts in 1989. He barely made it, crying with joy and appreciation when he did. That is a story all of its own).

He returned many years later with these walks. Please click on the date for a link to that day's blog post:

June 14, 2012, hiked PCT miles 565.0 to 566.6 (1.6 miles) on both sides of California Highway 58 at the Cameron Road exit.

October 20, 2012, hiked PCT miles 341 to 342 (1 miles) mostly on the east side of Interstate 15 but also under the storm runoff tunnel just south of the exit to California Highway 138 near Cajon Pass.

February 2013, continued in two segments to do miles 342 to 347 (5 miles).

August 13, 2013, hiked miles 374.2 to 376.6 roundtrip from Vincent Gap trailhead at milepost 74.7 on California highway 2.

February 17, 2015, hiked miles 452.9 to 450.4 roundtrip from Vasquez Rocks Picnic Area.

March 16, 2015, hiked miles 341.9 to 340.2 southbound from Cajon Pass Road, then returned. Partial redo of October 20, 2012 walk ... plus a little more.

April 3, 2015, hiked miles 1089.8 to 1091.9 roundtrip from Echo Summit trailhead to near Echo Lake.

May 12, 2016, hiked miles 206.8 to 204.3 southbound from the Snow Canyon Road gate at the bottom of Mt. San Jacinto, then returned.

August 17, 2016, hiked miles 209.5 to 206.8 southbound from the underpass at Interstate 10 Exit 110 to Snow Creek, then returned.

May 26, 2017, hiked miles 369.4 to 364.4 southbound from the Inspiration Point trailhead on California Highway 2, then returned.

The tortoise may eventually set some kind of record for the longest time to complete the PCT in microsegments. You never know, but we're already at 51 years and counting since his first segment from Onion Valley to Taboose Pass in July 1966 :-)