The Season Is Over

This morning, I couldn't even breathe. Take a deep breath, and the sharp pain caused chest spasm and contraction. I swallowed naproxen and waiting for pain to subside so that I can breathe again. 

I didn't count on the problem getting worse. I thought I could ski for the rest of the season with discomfort. But the skiing yesterday must've irritated the injury and inflamed the site overnight despite sleeping well with minimal pain. It's one of those pains that takes your  breath away.  I think it's safe to say that the season is over. When the pain subsides, I'll be driving east to NYC.

(It's been 30 minutes and Naproxen is already working; I can now breathe a little deeper).

Goodbye, South Lake Tahoe

Stay at one place too long, it becomes home. I made a reservation at Econo Lodge in Reno for tomorrow night because I was going to ski Northstar tomorrow morning. Which meant I should be going to Northstar this evening. Instead, I was on automatic pilot on the way back "home" where i was sleeping since I arrived in South Lake Tahoe 10 days ago. 

The parking lot of Tahoe Tube where Tesla chargers were located did become home. And it did feel like coming home whenever I came back after skiing and dinner. 

The sense of home is primeval. We are programmed to put the stake down, raise the family and then die. It's the central piece in Samsara. It's the place you have to leave to liberate yourself.

Leaving, nonetheless, makes you feel wistful, even if it is the home of 10 days, the same way I felt in Colorado in 2021. Back then. I spent only a few days in Divide commuting to Colorado Springs. This time, it's whopping 10 days. 

How about the home of 8 years? On the way to Northstar, I had an impulse to take I-80, the road that would've taken me back home to Sacramento instead of drive through Truckee downtown. The place was only 2 hours away. Yet, I was wistful as if I left there forever. I hope I won't dream about it night after night. That's what I did in 2000 when I left Santa Teresa, the home of 15 years. 

So, I wrapped up South Lake Tahoe by skiing Heavenly for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I'll now ski Northstar for a few days before trekking north to Whistler. I might first have to wait in Reno for snow storm in BC. Whistler got rained out a week ago and its snow is not in the best condition; It needs a fresh coat of powder to make it worthwhile for me to drive North a thousand miles. And Reno is the cheapest place to wait out.

A Broken Rib?

I'm still coughing. If  the past is any indication, it'll last a while. As if the cough weren't enough, I injured my rib. I was swinging down Ellie's Swing in Heavenly yesterday and something caught one of my skis. I feel l fell downhill face down. The pole got stuck on my rib cage and I ended up with what I thought was a bruised rib. There was some pain, but it wasn't bad enough. I finished the day just fine.

I was looking for a sports bar to watch 49ers game this evening. The chill and excitement conspired together and I ended up coughing uncontrollably as I was getting into the car. I felt a crack on my rib and now I'm in pain. I can't twist my torso at all. Just what you need when you are sleeping in your car.  It was a pain enough to crouch and climb on to the back of my car. Now I can't wiggle around to make yourself comfortable. Can't blow my nose or cough without a struggle either.

I'll continue with the trip for now. I'll just have to be careful not to fall again -- another fall will kill me. If I fall again, then I'll probably stop the trip and head east to NYC.

Coming down with flu or Covid

Just great. My trip just got started and I'm coming down with something. The back of my nose is sore, a telltale sign of respiratory infection. And fatigue and ache to go with it. I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope that it won't last more than a week.

I meant to get vaccinations. I postponed it because I would struggle with packing and moving after vaccination. I planned to get vaccinated in South lake Tahoe instead. In fact, I have the appointment set up for tomorrow evening after skiing. Now I may have to cancel that.

Today is my day off, so I'm not in distress. I'll be checking in to Econo Lodge and rest till tomorrow morning while watching football game. It's a wildcard game been 49ers and Eagles. If I don't improve tomorrow, I'll have to skip skiing and just hang out in South Lake Tahoe till I get over it 

Heavenly Day 1

Little did I know that they now require $20 reservation to park on the California side. Ski resorts these days try to make money off parking, as if the lift tickets nearing $300 is not enough. I parked anyway and plugged in to Tesla charger. I got away without a ticket. Maybe I won't get as lucky the next time. I doubt if they patrol for unregistered cars though.

Up and down Ellie's Swing and Little Dipper all day long. They were perfect for moguls practice. For bonus, I rode down Gun barrel with style, well, at least till I got tired half way down, to return to my car. I think I'll be done with moguls by the end of the season.

It was a hard skiing today for almost 5 hours. Add 2 hours from yesterday, I should be pretty tired. I'm not. I took a rest for an hour I'm the evening and I feel like I could go another round. But I think I'll take a break tomorrow. I planned to take a day off after every 2 days of skiing and I'll try to stick it for now. But then I may change my mind tomorrow morning and go for a morning skiing for a couple of hours if I get bored doing nothing. I can't check into a hotel till the afternoon and there isn't a whole lot I can do in my car. 

I'll be around South Lake Tahoe till the 14th at least. I'm still waiting for my key l keyboard from Amazon that I'm picking up at Whole Food here. Then I'll move North to Northstar, spend a few days and then on to Whistler. So, I'll be spending at least another week around Lake Tahoe.

On the Road Again

Nothing ever last forever in this life. And chapters tend to be written about the places that you lived. Mine certainly does. Chapter 1, Korea. Chapter 2, North Carolina. Chapter 3, The Bay Area. Chapter 4, Sacramento.

We came to Sacramento in 2017 after 8 months on the road. Now that chapter of 8 years came to close, and I'm back on the road again, homeless. I stuffed so my belongings into a storage yesterday, did the move-out walk through with Dexter this morning and then drove to Kirkwood. Thus started my life of ski bum for 3 months. Now I'm at the parking lot of Tesla supercharged in Meyers after skiing 2 hours and then gorging on a burrito that weighed in at 2 pounds. 

In 2017, I was with my then-wife. This time I'm alone. Maybe that was why I felt nostalgic and maudlin. And feeling old too. Well, I'm old; I have received my Medicare card last month. But feeling old often does not have to do with being old. It's the feeling of being on the death bed more than anything else. The fatigue from moving and packing for the life in the road may have something to do with it. And having no home to go back to. Once I got on the slope, however, the melancholy quickly disappeared and I was grinning. The sight of white hills have that magical quality. And it proves what we are nothing more than our 3 pound universe.

Speaking of fatigue, the 8 years made a huge difference. In 2017, I wasn't even able to load the car with the stuff we were taking on the road. We had to then take 2 days off in a hotel to recuperate I got it all loaded, probably twice as much stuff this time. Then I drove to Kirkwood and skied for 2 hours. That's how far I came.

That is not too say that fatigue is no longer an issue. It still is. I skied for 2 hours 5 days ago. The packing for the move after that was a struggle. The struggle lasted till I got on the slope this afternoon. That was an excess fatigue accompanied with drained feeling that is a signature of CFS. It's not the complete depletion. But the feeling of excess fatigue was still there even if it wasn't completely disabling as it used to. It's the final 5% of CFS. That deleted feeling then disappeared when I got on the slope and now it feels more like regular, comfortable post-exercise fatigue.

Anyway, my plan is to spend a week out two skiing Kirkwood, Heavenly and Northstar. Then I'll drive North to Whistler. Another week there and then I'll scoot over to Colorado and spend a month there. February will come to close then and I'll start trekking East to NYC. I don't know how long I'll spend in NYC yet. I could spend a year before coming back to the West Coast. But I have the storage contact for only a year, so I may have to come back and take care of it. We'll see how it unfolds.

Struggle after Skiing #5: Seasonal Pattern or Mistake?

 I'm getting there. I'm straighter and turning quicker. And I was able to ski both Castle and Lower Dynamite nonstop from top to bottom.  A huge improvement compared to the last time I had to stop and rest 6 times to complete Castle run. The snow being softer, not crusty like the last time, probably helped. But standing straighter certainly made the runs less tiring. Now I just need to add some more style.

The Sierra weather turned clement on Thursday, so I went up on Friday 2/9. I skied about as much as the last time, for the total of 5 hours, and I was less fatigued afterwards.

I figure it'll be the repeat of the last time: watch football on Sunday, crap out Monday, and then I'd be back on my feet. No such luck. I continue to have bad days. Maybe it was the bike repair work. I finally got around to put sealant in the new tire. Then I installed the bike mirror the next day. They were both minor works, but still an exertion. Then yesterday, I walked 6 blocks in the afternoon and did 2x8 pushups in the evening. I'm paying the price today.

I usually get weaker after #4 or #5 in January. It could be just the continuation of that pattern. Or it could be that I did too much after skiing. Can't tell which. One thing for sure, one week of probation is still valid. I'll have to lay off any exertion for a week the next time. If I struggle again, then it would be the seasonal pattern. If not, then it is the exertion in the days after skiing.