The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: 14-206

"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!

Friday, July 25, 2014

14-206

Now there is a high quality school mascot!

I drove to McCarran Airport in Las Vegas this morning to take Sarah, Chloe, Abigail, and Nathan to their flight home to Florida and Willyne to hers to Boston to begin her odyssey west with Becca to Roosevelt. When each of them got boarded on their flights I watched and waved until their planes were tiny dots in the sky and then reluctantly headed to the car. I think it took me all of 3.2 seconds to miss them.

Tortoise especially appreciates his walks at times like these, so he headed over to the Pecos-McLeod Trailhead where the Flamingo Arroyo Trail begins an 8.6 mile path along the path of a wash that has been turned into a storm control ditch. I followed it until I reached the US 95 trail (which literally goes along the side of this busy freeway for around 3 miles. When I reached Twain, I switched to city sidewalks to return to my starting point. I passed the school pictured above when I had about a mile left to drive to the trailhead from the airport, and of course, had to stop!

The walk totalled 5.03 miles with 141 feet climbed in 1:42:33 hours. Tortoise rating was 5.9, but the distance qualifies us for our sixth Benjamin Category Override to an even 5.0 rating. It was 97 degrees and humid (just rain already!) so I will agree with the override. :-) Please click below for a map and more pictures ...

Cheerio!

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyFitness

The path and sidewalks are nice, but I would suggest some signs. The path often switches sides of the wash or the highway without warning. There are imprints in the pavement every quarter mile that say "Neon to Nature" 1/4 mile. You have to count them as you go to know how far you have come or how far you have left to go.

2014 Stats:

589.59 miles walked, which is 58.90% of my 2014 goal.

185:42:42 hours walked, which is 59.33% of my 2014 goal

27,404 total feet climbed

94,192 calories burned

56.55% of the year has passed

I've walked 47 consecutive non-Sundays since my last missed day on May 31, and overall have walked on 166 of the 177 non-Sundays thus far in 2014, a 93.79% 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:

sarahJuly 31, 2014 at 9:51 AM
Miss u too dad!!! Thanks for an awes summer :)
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UnknownJuly 31, 2014 at 6:50 PM
It was the best!!!
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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 :-)