I seriously regret doing the Angel Island hike. It's been almost 4 weeks and I'm still struggling. The night time is the worst: I sleep in semi-delirium with quaking ache and fatigue as if suffering from an acute vial infection. Then, when I get up, it's one-day-up-one-day-down pattern. One day I vegitate and I feel a bit better the next; then I do little something, and the next day I crap out again. It's a struggle and I'm again sick and tired of being sick and tired.
It was pretty warm last Wednesday. The Indian Summer must've arrive early and the temperature went up to 100F in Sacramento. I woke up feeling shitty again, and when that feverless feverishness did not dissipate, I hopped on the car and drove to SF for the walk across the bridge. Maybe a day trip will end the struggle, like the trip to Banff did for the struggle after 5 mile hike last month, I figured.
It was uncomfortably warm 90F on the Golden Gate Bridge. So much for escaping the Sacramento heat for the cool fog. I parked by the battery on the west side of the southern end and walked to the middle of the bridge and then came back. I ended the day with 9000 steps.
Well, that didn't work. My delirious nights and up-and-down days continued. Maybe it takes a multi-day trip to end the struggle.
Just what was I thinking, doing 6 mile 700 ft hike when my limit is 4 mile 600 ft? During the cross-country trip in 2017, I backed off from all hikes longer than 2 miles. The memory of spending months in bed after climbing Telegraph Hill in 2009 still weighed on me then. Now that I can do 4 miles, I didn't back off from any during this year's Banff trip except for the real steep ones. The success of Banff trip -- yes, it was a success despite relatively short 8 days of struggle after I returned -- must've given me a fresh confidence and I slacked off on my vigilance.
This could've been another disaster like the Telegraph Hill. I'll have to double my discipline and stick to my limit of 4 miles/600 ft hiking or 12 miles of biking.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Angel Island
I keep going back in time. Like a comatose patient who woke up after 12 years. I wasn't in a coma; I moved around a lot. More than ever, in fact. From Santa Clara to SF, and then to Seoul, twice. Then I traveled with my new wife across the US to NYC in 2017, journeyed to Oregon last year, and then to Banff and Glacier this year. It wasn't exactly a stasis in darkness. But it's true that my life was abruptly fractured in 2008. I've been struggling to get back to where I was before since then.
On the other side of that fault line lies Angel Island. In july 2008, my sisters were visiting and I took them there for the best view in the whole SF Bay Area. The next day, I went back to the dojo, rolled with the boys and then I keeled over for good after that. So coming back here has been a long time goal of mine. It would be a milestone that means that I returned to the pre-illness days, at least symbolically.
The hotel price in SF plummeted for the Labor Day and I decided to take advantage. I was a bit apprehensive -- I just got out of the 8 day struggle after the trip to Banff after all. But I wanted to make it to Angel Island before weather turned wet and this was a good opportunity. I should be able to handle 4.8 miles as long as I take it slow and easy, I figured. All those hiking I did during the trip to Banff must've boosted my confidence.
I got to Tiburon with 10 minutes to spare and I still had to park and then get to the ferry dock. I ran and I still was late. Luckly it was day after Labor Day and the empty ferry was in no hurry. I got up to the deck, relaxed and soaked up the view in the sun.
On the way up on Sunset Trail, I took the fire road by mistake and ended up on Northridge trail on the other side. By the time I was there, I already walked 3 miles and there was no turning back: it was Mt. Livermore or bust. The 4.8 mile hike turned into 5.9 mile in total.
And yes, it was good to be back. The sun was in and out of the fog on the way up and then the fog cleared up soon after I arrived. I was lucky: this time of the year, the fog usually doesn't burn off till 2PM. I had my bagel, soaked up the view for 30 more minutes .
I came down 2.2 miles of Northridge Trail in 75 minutes. Substract 30 minutes for 3 breaks I took, that means I must've done it at 3 mph! That's my hiking pace when I was healthy. The hiking poles took the brunt of the downhill impact, so I let the gravity do the work. Still, 3 mph was way too fast and that probably contributed to the aftermath.
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| Angel Island, 2008 |
The hotel price in SF plummeted for the Labor Day and I decided to take advantage. I was a bit apprehensive -- I just got out of the 8 day struggle after the trip to Banff after all. But I wanted to make it to Angel Island before weather turned wet and this was a good opportunity. I should be able to handle 4.8 miles as long as I take it slow and easy, I figured. All those hiking I did during the trip to Banff must've boosted my confidence.
 |
| Angel Island, 2019 |
On the way up on Sunset Trail, I took the fire road by mistake and ended up on Northridge trail on the other side. By the time I was there, I already walked 3 miles and there was no turning back: it was Mt. Livermore or bust. The 4.8 mile hike turned into 5.9 mile in total.
And yes, it was good to be back. The sun was in and out of the fog on the way up and then the fog cleared up soon after I arrived. I was lucky: this time of the year, the fog usually doesn't burn off till 2PM. I had my bagel, soaked up the view for 30 more minutes .
I came down 2.2 miles of Northridge Trail in 75 minutes. Substract 30 minutes for 3 breaks I took, that means I must've done it at 3 mph! That's my hiking pace when I was healthy. The hiking poles took the brunt of the downhill impact, so I let the gravity do the work. Still, 3 mph was way too fast and that probably contributed to the aftermath.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Epilogue
Dishes pile up. Recyclables pile up. Things pile up and you can't do anything about it. You wait for a break and then you go grocery shopping. Next day, you are knocked out. When you get back up again, you do the laundry. You have to prioritize and take care of the most pressing needs first.
After getting away with a week long trip to Oregon last year, I was hoping that I'd get away with this one too. No such luck. But the post-trip struggle lasted only 8 days, much shorter than usual 3 weeks. A sign of improvement? After 19 days of registering more than 10,000 steps almost everyday, it has to be.
It's also a sign that I'm not out of the woods yet. Sure, I did a lot more in this trip than I did on previous ones. But it still wasn't exactly a backpacking trip; it was a moderate trip that consisted driving and easy day hikes. No healthy person would struggle with ADL for 8 days after a trip like that. No healthy person would struggle with ADL for 8 days after any kind of trip.
Here is the tally of the hikings I did in this trip:
After getting away with a week long trip to Oregon last year, I was hoping that I'd get away with this one too. No such luck. But the post-trip struggle lasted only 8 days, much shorter than usual 3 weeks. A sign of improvement? After 19 days of registering more than 10,000 steps almost everyday, it has to be.
It's also a sign that I'm not out of the woods yet. Sure, I did a lot more in this trip than I did on previous ones. But it still wasn't exactly a backpacking trip; it was a moderate trip that consisted driving and easy day hikes. No healthy person would struggle with ADL for 8 days after a trip like that. No healthy person would struggle with ADL for 8 days after any kind of trip.
Here is the tally of the hikings I did in this trip:
- 8/5, McKerricher State Park, 1.5 miles
- 8/6, Trinidad Head Trail, 3 miles
- 8/7, Upper Cascade Head Trail - 2.5 miles
- 8/8, Sol Duc Falls Nature Trail - 1.6 miles
- 8/12, Nairn Falls - 2 miles
- 8/13, Agnes Trail to Mirror Lake - 4 miles
- 8/14, Bow Falls Trail - 1.5 miles
- 8/15, Johnston Canyon Trail to Upper Falls - 4 miles
- 8/18, Mystic Falls Trail - 3 miles
- 8/19, Augur Falls Trail - 2 miles
- 8/21, Rubicon Trail - 4.2 miles
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