Great Falls

It's an unbelievably warm December day - the temperature is already above sixty when I go out to retrieve the morning paper. I just gotta get outside and enjoy this warm, if gray and windy, weather. The family is still asleep. I decide to take a quick jaunt over to Great Falls park and hike Mather Gorge. Great Falls is an amazing resource just minutes (assuming it's not rush hour) from home.

I get to the park about 8 AM. Not too many people about - just some birders. Unfortunately, the parking booth is manned. Is it really worth it to pay a ranger to sit there and collect five bucks from each car?

I first visit the three Falls overlooks near the visitors center. They've been redone since the last time I visited. Two of them are now handicapped accessible, and all three have expanded guardrail systems. It used to amaze me how open the overlooks were - it would have been very easy to slip off the rocks and plunge down into the gorge. Much too uncontrolled for the developed section of a nearly-urban National Park. Now, with the expanded railings, you'd really have to be determined to fall off at the overlooks. After gawking for a little while I headed down the River Trail, which runs along Mather Gorge. This trail too has been renovated. It's better blazed and easier to follow than it used to be. The trail still has gorgeous views, and, thankfully, no new safety railings.

One reason I chose this locale is I'm scouting locations for Jewish-themed hikes (inspired by some books I've been reading lately) I intend to lead for the temple in the Spring. So I pay close attention to how difficult the trail would be for a group, and I pause between Sandy Landing and Cow Hoof Rock to try out some Mindfulness exercises I intend to use on the hike. Unfortunately, at this location you're only a half mile from the road, and so my focus on the sounds around me was dominated by ambulance sirens along Georgetown Pike. After pausing for a while to take in the Mather Gorge view I continued on to where the River Trail meets the Ridge Trail, then hoofed it back up the Matildaville Trail back to the visitors center. About 3.75 miles, all told.

As I got into the car my phone rang - it was V, calling to see where I was. Perfect timing. She and the boys were heading over to the bagel store and wanted to know if I'd be interested in meeting them. I pointed the car that-a-way and we met up for brunch.

As I was leaving the park, the portion of Georgetown Pike to my right was completely closed off and there were police cars a-plenty about. Could this have been related to the sirens I had heard before during my attempt at mindfulness?

A Kooky Hike at Torrey Pines

Today is the last day of my San Diego trip and as it happened, both my schedule and the weather cleared in time for me to spend some time outside before heading to the airport. I checked out of the hotel a little before noon and decided to try walking over to Torrey Pines State Preserve, which seemed pretty close by. I started off by hiking along a path from the hotel that paralleled the ocean. It turned out that this path was actually part of the Torrey Pines golf course and that pedestrian traffic is not permitted on the course. I was chased down by not one but two golf carts - a supply cart that blocked the path in front of me while the Course Marshal caught up from behind and cordially ejected me from the property.

I continued by walking along Torrey Pines Road to the entrance to the state preserve, a little less than a mile in total. From there I headed straight down the Broken Hill path, which looked like it would head to the beach. I hiked at Torrey Pines when I visited my friend Kris back in the 80's, and I had the same reaction then as now - except for the ocean views, the place kind of sucks. I guess I'm just not attuned to the desert beauty of sage scrub ecosystems. Lots of low scrubby plants. Few trees to speak of. They've made it feel very uninviting too. I know the park service is just trying to protect a fragile ecosytem, but the sheer number of negative signs - "No picnicing!" "No trails!" "Trail Closed" "Plant renewal area - keep out" is a little off-putting.

The other thing about Torrey Pines is that it's made up of a bunch of canyons and peninsulas, so you can't really go from one trail to another. When I got to the end of the Broken Hill trail, which ends abruptly at a, well, broken hill, I had to turn around and hike back about half-way before I could hook up to another trail. I must say, though, that the view at Broken Hill was quite stunning. And I love the smell of the place, which I remembered from my 1980's trip.

After hiking a few trails I decided it was time to find my way out of the place. Because I had been working my way North through the park I decided to work my way out from where I was rather than backtrack. Bad idea. I finally made it to a park exit, but found myself several miles north of where I entered the park. So, my walk back to the hotel covered the orginal couple of miles plus two more miles, which had to be covered on the bike path adjoining a highway. Not fun.

As usual, I was looking to geocache a little bit a part of my hike but this too was a failure. The preceding days had been unusually rainy (I mean real, heavy rain) and so a number of trails were closed. I got about 100 feet away from one cache, but was stopped by one of the strident "Fragile Area! Do not Enter!" signs from getting any closed. I spent quite a few hours at the park, but wound up with only one geocache find.

All I had had to eat all day was a granola bar and some coffee, and I had worked out in the gym before my morning meeting, so by the time I got back to the hotel I was pretty tired and hungry. I hopped in the car and headed to La Jolla where I devoured a Banzai Vegetarian Burrito at Wahoo's Fish Taco.

Was the hike a success? Yes. No. Maybe. New vistas are always good. Hiking during the business day is always good. 60 degree weather in December is good. Sandy trails through sage scrub ... well, it beats working.

Kayaking Mission Bay

I flew into San Diego Tuesday morning so I could be there for pre-meetings for my Wednesday meeting, but it turned out the pre-meetings got cancelled. Sooo, I headed straight from the airport to Aqua Adventures in Mission Bay so I could get some paddling in. Aqua Adventures is owned by Jen Kleck, the only BCU 5 Star Coach (this is a high level kayaking certification) in America, so I wasn't surprised to find that her rental fleet included not just the usual trashy rec boats but also some real sea kayaks. She even had a Greenland paddle as part of her rental gear. I've never seen that before!

Jen and I chatted for a little while - long enough for her to ascertain that I wasn't a complete kayaking moron, so she recommended a loop around Fiesta Island - essentially going all the way around Mission Bay. She also recommended poking out into the Pacific, but I opted not to do this since I was by myself, jet-lagged, and had heard enough swept-out-to-sea stories to be wary. There was some residual wind from the previous day's weather and I had no desire to become a statistic.

I selected a Seda Ikkuma to paddle, which turned out to be a pretty sweet kayak. We don't see many Seda boats on the East Coast. The company is based in San Diego and doesn't really have national distribution. You see some people racing Seda Gliders, but that's about it. A nice boat!!! Maneuverable almost like the Romany, but longer and with less rocker - and more chine - so it's faster. It's lower volume and so less barge-like than myTempest 170. According to the manufactueres' web sites the Tempest 165 is actually lover volume and lower decked than the Ikkuma, but it sure doesn't feel that way.

I launched and headed up out of Quivera Basin. Oh, wait! I had my first cool experience before I even left the basin. There were a couple of harbor seals lounging around on a dock. We don't see marine mammals in Northern Virginia, so I found this super cool. Once out of the basin I headed over to Sea World. This was my only disappointment of the outing. When I paddled here years ago, you were able to paddle up and see the penguins in their "offstage" area. They were incredibly cute, if pretty stinky. Apparently they've reconfigured the park, so no penguin sightings this trip.

I continued up the east side of the bay, through the PWC area which was happily completely devoid of Personal Watercraft. In fact, being a December weekday, the whole bay was pretty empty. I saw a couple of boats out, but not many. The loop around Fiesta Island included one portage - you have to get out and carry the kayak over the Fiesta Island Causeway. This was a little dicey, thanks both to the sandy, rocky terrain and having to carry a kayak across a somewhat busy road, but no worries. I made a scouting trip with my paddle and then made a second trip with the kayak. Once I got back into the boat, since I was in a shallow, protected area, I experimented with some braces and edging to get a better feel for the Ikkuma's handling. Quite sweet. I also too the opportunity, since I was out of the boat, to take off my paddling jacket. It was too warm for two layers! That's a great statement to be able to make in December - back home I'm like the kayaking Michelin Man this time of year - dry suit over about a bazillion layers.

After I finished messing around I continued up to the top of the island, rounded the northernmost point and started to head back around the west side of the island. As Jen had promised, the SeaWorld tower and a tall hotel were easily visible landmarks to guide me along.

I had my GPS with me and was really impressing myself with the speeds I was achieving - up to 6 MPH. "Boy, this Ikkuma is a fast boat," I thought. Eventually I realized I was paddling with a strong ebb tide and that about 20% of my speed was due to tide, not paddler. I made one more stop along the way back to do a little more bracing practice/experimentation. Again, being by myself in an unfamiliar boat in somewhat chilly water I didn't roll. Final mileage, 7.45 statute miles. A nice jaunt.

Back at the hotel I cleaned up and went out for dinner. The combination of jet lag and paddling made me too tired to go out looking for a restuarant so I ate at the hotel, something I rarely do. Well, actually I ate at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, the gorgeous upsale property next door to my hotel. I had some good grilled zucchini and mushroom/truffle oil soup, and mind-blowingly delicious Brook Trout. I was so hungry I devoured the whole meal, plus the complementary home-made potato chips, plus a couple of rolls. I was hungry enough to eat the table linen too but controlled myself. I then proceeded to fail to find the shortcut link between the Hilton and The Lodge, so wound up taking the long way back around the street side.

Death by Exercise

Today I really decided to punish myself with exercise and as a result right now I feel like I'm going to drop.

First of all, I have started using the Concept2 online logbook. This tool allows you to log and track your Concept2 erg (rowing machine, for the uninitiated) workouts online. Pretty cool. But wait - it's also got a ranking feature, which allows you to see how you compare with other rowers. Now, I am not naturally competitive at sports. I've never played team sports, and despite my friends Cyndi and Brian's best attempts to entice me, I've never had any interest in kayak racing. But one click ranking without direct competition, hmmm ... that I could see. So first thing this morning I did a balls to the wall 6000 meter row (actually I kept going beyond that because I like to row for at least 30 minutes, but I only ranked the 6KM piece). I can't say I was very happy with my results - not even in the top half for my age/weight group, but I feel good that I was able to post a not-outta-the-running time. OK, so that was a workout. Then I went about my day, which was unusually busy.

At the end of the day I happened to have a little open time, so I took the opportunity to try something that's intrigued me for a long time - Bikram Yoga. Bikram, commonly known as "Hot Yoga", is practiced in a very hot room. That's all I knew about it.

Well, let me say, it's an experience. First of all, the studio in Falls Church is upstairs in a rundown strip mall. I haven't seen been in a building this schlocky since my grandmother, who lived in a pre-WWII building in Boro Park, died. Y'know, the kind of place that's been painted so many times that the corners are no longer sharp, and let still simultaneously looks like it hasn't been painted in years. Once you get inside, the studio itself is OK, though. No worries.

So I go in and sign up for a single class. You do Bikram wearing as little clothing as possible because of the heat, so I went and changed into a bathing suit. I entered the studio room and was immediately hit by the heat (about 110 degrees) and the smell (the remnants of thousands of people schvitzing in extreme heat). Hoo boy, I wasn't sure I was going to last until the beginning of class, let alone the end. The class included about a dozen students of varying levels of abilities, all dressed more for the beach than for any typical exercise class.

The style of the class was as much of a shock as the temperature. Most yoga classes are slow and relaxed. Bikram is the exact opposite - highly structured, very fast paced, and apparently IDENTICAL every time. The same 26 asana done in the same order, even with the same instructions. Imagine a yoga class taught by Marine drill sergeant in the middle of a desert in the summer, and you've about got it. Maybe this is how the Roman legions kept in shape while the besieged Masada. I mean, the instructor was supportive and I never felt pressured to do more than I could, but relaxation this was not! I did feel a little woozy at one point but pushed on.

At the end of class I staggered out into an unusually warm December night, wishing it was about 30 degrees cooler out - which is very unlike me (I'm always cold). I downed one complete water bottle during class, a second right after class, then had to stop off and get a soda to survive the 5 minute trip home. The teacher told me (with enthusiasm) that tomorrow I'd feel aches and pains in parts of my body I didn't even know I had. He then encouraged me to come back tomorrow, since it's good to keep going while you're still in a world of hot yoga hurt. Fortunately for my soon to be aching body, I have an all day meeting tomorrow followed by a reception (I'll be punishing my body with canapes) and so there will be no Bikram for me for a while.

Fifth Overall

Today's joke was that if someone asked me how I did in this morning's 5K, I was going to respond that I was fifth overall. Of course, with a pace that was roughly half that of the fastest runners, I didn't really finish the race anywhere near fifth overall. I did, however, have bib number 5, and so my answer, while disingenuous, would have technically been correct. I really was fifth overall - to register, that is. My bib number last year was 1024, a good number for geeks, as it's a power of 2, but there's also something cool about a really low number.

This was my second year in a row running the Clarendon Turkey Trot 5K. The race is a benefit for two local charities and is run early Thanksgiving morning. My two experiences with the race were somewhat different. I don't run many organized races and so last year I didn't really know what to expect, while this year I knew the details and even all the turns (all 15 of them!). Last year I had been running pretty regularly and so felt well prepared for a 5 K; this year I've been doing a lot more rowing than running. Last year the weather was warm; this year it was cold (in the 20's when I left the house). Last year I started off the race with my friend Linda (a marathoner - I'm proud to have finished only a minute behind her), while this year I ran on my own. I did see Linda from a distance today during the race (she's easy to spot, as she runs the race every year wearing a pilgrim hat) and she and I bumped into each other at the end. I think I finished ahead of her teenage son, though - ha! Lazy teenagers. I also saw my neighbor Pancho there. Pancho's a fast runner. I'm sure he turned in a good time.

The cold weather was a little bit of a challenge for me. I'm picky about being dressed right for running. I hate being cold, but being too hot really affects my performance. Normally I dress so that I'll be a little chilly out the door, figuring I'll warm up as I run. Today, though, I knew that I'd be standing around for a while before and after the race and so I threw on an extra layer. The layering worked out well - I was able to keep at the right temperature the whole time.

Warming up before the run was different than my usual routine too. I did some stretching at home, then drove to the race (just a few miles from home). I got there about 15 minutes before start time, so I did some dynamic stretching there. Dynamic stretching is pretty strange looking - funny backwards walking, crwaling around like Spiderman, and the like, and so I got some interesting looks.

This year's Turkey Trot drew over 1,500 participants. That's good for the charities the race supports, but unfortunately the race is outgrowing its course, which runs through the narrow streets of Arlington's Lyon Park neighborhood and has, as I have already mentioned, a lot of turns. At the start and at a few other points during the race the crowd was clumped up enough that I had to walk rather than run. For a lot of the race you just had to follow the pace of the people in front of you, as there was no way to pass. The course gets even further clogged by people running with dogs and baby joggers. Between the challenges of the course and doing less running, I know I turned in a slower time than last year. The timer read 32:25 as I crossed the finish line, but I started way back in the pack, so my time is really a little shorter (official results haven't been posted yet). Last year I clocked in at 30:16, so even with some adjustment this definitely was a slower race for me than last year.

The race has a water station at the halfway point, which makes me chuckle a little - most people can make it through a 5K in late Autumn without a water break. What makes me chuckle even more is the house along the route that sets up a beer station - complete with people holding cans of Budweiser out for runners to grab as they go by. A cute touch.

Speaking of refreshments, the race ends at Lyon Park, where there was water, coffee, fruit and pastries - and door prizes (along with the winers' prizes). Alas, I didn't win anything. I availed myself of the refreshments then headed home in time to catch most of the Macy's parade on TV. After I rested and changed I got to work helping Valerie prepare the Thanksgiving meal. A great way to start Thanksgiving day.

Birthday Paddling

I always like the idea of doing something outdoors for my birthday. Unfortunately, my birthday falls in late November and so the weather is usually not particularly accommodating for outdoor celebrations - no pool parties for me. Today's outdoor birthday plan was to help our friends at Jack's boathouse move their docks downriver for the winter, then paddle back. The plan to move the docks got postponed, but I suggested going out kayaking this afternoon anyway. It seemed like a grand idea ... until I tasted the weather. It was pretty cold, and quite windy - prediction of gusts up to 30 MPH. I started to back out of the whole kayaking idea, but I couldn't reach my friends by phone or email, so I figured I'd better go down to the launch point and at least tell them I wasn't going. And just in case the weather seemed better than forecast, I figured it would be prudent to bring along the kayak. I tossed the Tempest on the car and off I went.

I arrived at Columbia Island marina to find Dave & Cyndi already getting changed to go out on the water, with their boats offloaded from the car. I expressed my doubts about paddling in today's conditions, but honestly the water didn't look too bad and they twisted my arm a little bit. Sooo ... the kayak came off the car, the winter gear went on and off we went.

As soon as we launched, before we were even out of the marina, we spotted a bald eagle. A cool way to start the trip. It was a pretty nice trip for wildlife. We saw herons, buffleheads, Canada geese, and even some deer on Roosevelt Island. Mind you, this is all within urban Washington, DC.

The wind was kind of fierce as we paddled up river, but the fetch of the Potomac isn't very long, so the waves were never more than a foot - and were in fact much less for most of the trip. It was, however, serious work paddling up into the wind - at least for me. A couple of gusts were strong enough that I could feel my paddle being lifted up - something I hadn't felt even on the windy Galesville trip a few weeks ago. Sustained winds at that speed could have ripped it out of my hands.

We paddled up as far as Three Sisters Islands before turning around. I'm not sure if the wind died off as we paddled back, or whether it was just that you notice the wind less when it's at your back, but it certainly seemed calmer on the way back - and a quicker ride too, having the remaining wind and the current with, rather than against us.

When we got back, Dave and Cyndi had birthday cupcakes for me! The wind made it impossible to light the candle they had brought, but we each quickly downed a cupcake (once we got off the river and got out of our paddling gear, we started to feel cold pretty quickly) and then all headed for home.

The thing that's most unpleasant for me paddling in the winter is cold hands. I have gone through several sets of gloves over the years, but none ever seems warm enough. Today I borrowed a set of pogies (mitten-like things that attach to the paddle). While pogies are not really perfectly suited to the Greenland style paddle, my hands were warm as could be. I may have to get a pair ...

One thing I can't figure out. The temperature was above freezing the whole time we were out. The thermometer in the car read 36 degrees, a value confirmed by the weather report on the radio. So, how is it that the river water froze onto my kayak as soon as I had it out of the water. Strange.

Fall Foliage kayak trip

Way, way back in January my friend Tom and I put a Fall Foliage trip on the Chesapeake Paddler’s Association calendar. We set it up so long ago that we kinda forgot about it until just a few weeks ago. I did a quick update to the listing to say more than the “check back later for details” that had been there since January. We both fielded some calls. Then Tom headed out on a succession of business trips. With this smooth and thorough level of preparation, it’s completely surprising that we got only a small turnout. We got one last minute dropout, so the group turned out to be only five people.

We had judged the weather, if not the foliage, just right. It was a glorious day. I brought along my dry suit – normal gear for mid-November – but given that it was pushing up near 70 degrees, and that we were paddling a totally calm reservoir, I opted for lighter gear. Good choice – in the dry suit I would have been safe from hypothermia, but would probably have succumbed to heat stroke instead. As to the leaves, we were probably one weekend past peak. The trees were still colorful, though the drive down was actually prettier than the view along the reservoir itself. You know what was a beautiful foliage day? Election Day. Maybe it was just that I was in such a good mood anyway, but that really seemed to be a peak day, at least in Arlington.

We launched at about 9:20 AM and- paddled from Fountainhead up towards Bull Run Marina. As we approached Bull Run we saw a chaotic cluster of rowing shells. Imagine the battle of Trafalgar being reenacted in slow motion by high school students in 8 oar shells, and you’ve about got the picture. It turns out it was the first day of crew practice for a local high school and the coaches had the kids out on the water learning the basics. The kids had very little boat control or coordination but a lot of enthusiasm. Nobody swam, but it was a far cry from the powerful, well-tuned college teams we see in Georgetown.

After a quick break at Bull Run we headed back towards Fountainhead. I borrowed my friend Cyndi’s wing paddle for a while. Wing paddles, which were developed for racing, has a really peculiar feel - totally different from Greenland or Euro paddles. They require a totally different stroke. I’m not sure I’d want to use one on a regular basis, but I’ll tell you – when you execute a stroke just right it puts out a lot of power! I’m thinking that in the Spring I may borrow one for a while to play with.

The total trip was 10.5 miles. This wasn’t a stretch for four of us. Our fifth paddler, while pretty experienced, had never gone over five miles on a single outing before, and so doubled her max trip length! Good for her. She was slowing down at the end, though – I’m betting she consumed some serious amounts of Advil later in the day.

Once we got off the water Tom left quickly. He had gotten back the night before from a business trip to Barbados (the poor dear) and wanted to get home to unpack and unwind. Joan headed out too. Dave, Cyndi and I toyed with the idea of going out for lunch, but ultimately all admitted to each other that we were watching our pennies. Valerie and I already had plans to go out with friends for dinner, so I was just as happy to forego the socializing and keep a few extra shekels in my pocket.