Training: March 27 – April 2

Week Total: 25.2

March 27 ~ 5 miles
I made a deal with myself that if I didn’t get a sub job, I would hike at least 5 miles that day. I also made the deal with myself that if I’m hiking 5 or more miles that I will always carry my backpack. So I head out for camp Run-A-Muck, the perfect 5 mile out and back hike. It’s sunny when I leave but that is short lived. It’s mostly rain and mist flurries along the ridgetop. I encounter a millipede who makes me grateful for my “speed.”

March 28 ~ 1.7 miles
In an effort to multi-task, I call Vicky of Etna’s Hiker Hut. They will be around this summer and need a volunteer to help at the Hut and I’ve helped them find a volunteer in the past. Anyone interested? Mid-July through August and you must pass my rigorous interview. Alas, it is a short walk because I scurry home for an early Warriors game.

March 29 ~ 3.3 miles 
The draw of reaching 10 miles pushes me past three. It’s another speed walk so that I can get to washing 14 dozen eggs asap. A car comes rumbling down the road towards me. It’s Bill Stambaugh, owner of Camp Run-A-Muck and beyond. No wonder my sign from the main road gate went missing. This sad old man likes ripping them down.

March 30 ~ 0 miles

March 31 ~ 3.1 miles 
I don’t want to go. I’m mopey and annoyed. But dang, if I don’t go it’s just going to make this weekend that much harder. The drama runs through my mind as I go back and forth on the flattest ground I can find. I need quick miles because the Warriors game is starting soon.

April 1 ~ 2.5 miles 
I have a full day of chores in town so I’m not sure if any hiking miles will materialize. But luckily, I connect with the Bob and Emi Taylor and they come up for some morel hunting. We get in a good cross-country, steep-climbing hike but no morels. Even though we have lots of madrone the forest is too overgrown. I could be out hiking more miles but I’m done for the day.

April 2 ~ 9.4 miles 
The easiest way to get bigger miles is to head down the mountain to the valley flats. But that leaves all the climbing for the end of the hike. It’s a pretty fast hike down and I find lots of small and wondrous things to photograph. The construction/demolition continues up the road for me so I have to dodge numerous big and fast-moving trucks. There is definitely a sad element to this hike. At a hiking speed, I can see all the dead amphibians, reptiles and arthropods along the road. I mourn for the loss of the newts, lizards, snakes, millipedes. Newts used to be very prevalent on Robinson Creek Road where the road follows the creek. With the increase of traffic mostly related to pot growing, I’ve witnessed a decline in the newt population. So when I find a rare one squashed on the road, it deeply affects me. I finish off the hot climb by dipping my face into a cold stream near our home.

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