The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 14-109

"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, April 19, 2014

14-109

I finished my last segment of the Hurricane Rim loop today -- the Gould's Rim Trail. Pictured above is Doug and Stefanie heading out to enjoy the beautiful views on their jeep ride home after dropping me off at the trailhead. Thanks to you both!

My walk of Gould's Rim meandered along the winding top of the rim overlooking this wash, heavily eroded from years of flash floods. My car was parked a short distance from the north end of the trail, including that, I walked 3.09 miles with 207 feet climbed in 55:28 minutes. As you might expect, there is a lot of up and down terrain as the trail crosses the hilly rim overlooking the wash. Tortoise rating: 4.6. Calories burned: 480.

There's a map and many more pictures waiting for you when you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

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Views looking east

And west as the trail begins. Straight ahead is Molly's Mountain ...
a notably different view from the one in the Hurricane Valley.

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I chuckled at this warning to mountain bicyclers to pass this section
with care. I hope they see it before they experience it - it's a small
sign placed right at the point of concern.

There is another dirt road that makes this a possible alternate starting point
a short distance after the main trailhead.

2014 Stats:

310.83 miles walked, which is 31.08% of my 2014 goal.
97:32:40 hours walked, which is 31.16% of my 2014 goal
14,503 total feet climbed (just finished climbing the equivalent of Mt. Whitney so far this year)
49,948 calories burned
30.03% of the year has passed
I've walked on 88 of the 94 non-Sundays thus far in 2014, a 93.62% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells me I am on track. I'm sure this is more numbers than you are interested in, all I can say is I'm really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because I don't do them every, every day.

The tortoise is smiling!

2 comments:

RachelApril 23, 2014 at 9:05 PM
Super pretty pictures friend
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UnknownApril 23, 2014 at 10:02 PM
I'm pretty excited to do the whole 21 mile loop in a day ... with scenery eye candy all the way. This thing has terrific views of West Temple, Kolob Terrace, Gooseberry Mesa, the Virgin River canyon between La Verkin and Virgin ... and today's views of Gould's Wash looking into town. Glad to share the joy with you!
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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 :-)