Training Log Archive: Bash

As a longtime fan of mountaineering books and films, I was excited to see El Capitan up close. If you've been to the Banff Festival of Mountain Films a few times, you've probably seen it on the big screen.



After 'Bent's class today, we hiked up to the base of The Nose, probably the most famous rock climbing route in North America. This trail didn't appear on the hiking maps we had but we saw a path leading into the forest in the right area and guessed where it went. I'm sure the park is trying to keep tourists away. It doesn't deter anyone who knows about El Cap. We ran into a few other people wandering around its base.

The photo from the bottom of the wall doesn't show its scale at all; it's almost a kilometre high!



Two very relaxed deer kept an eye on us.



There were a few abandoned ropes hanging off the wall and some informal trails through the trees but there wasn't any garbage or abandoned gear on the ground. It looks like the area is treated with respect.

Climbers typically take 3-5 days to ascend 900 meters (3,000') to the top but a new speed record of 2 hrs 19 mins 44 seconds was set last month. We saw two climbers today at The Great Roof. If you look back at the photo of the entire wall, you might notice this tiny dark spot near the top of The Nose.



'Bent tried his hand at free soloing and made it up exactly one move. :) He could have gone a bit farther but it's not safe to scramble around the base of a rock wall without a helmet - not that it would help much.



Speaking of free soloing, someone said they spotted climbing superstar Alex Honnold - who made the first-ever free solo (no ropes) climb of El Capitan in June - in the cafeteria at our hotel. I kept an eye out for him for the rest of our trip but no luck.

We drove a short distance up to Tunnel View, one of the most famous views of Yosemite Valley. We didn't have great lighting but it was pretty.

Track for our walk up to the base of the Nose. We also hiked to Bridalveil Fall and a few other short walks although I'd turned off the Ambit by then. The track also shows our drive to Tunnel View - oops!

I rented a "bike" from Yosemite Valley Lodge, where we're staying.



It was single speed and I had to brake by pedalling backward, which is a skill I've apparently forgotten from my childhood. An extremely upright posture was required. It was a surprising amount of work! Still, any bike is better than no bike.

Mountain biking is strictly prohibited in Yosemite. Riding is only permitted on roads and paved bike trails. I explored all of the bike trail system and did a couple of the nicer sections twice. There were some terrific views that I hadn't seen from the road. Time includes photos and sightseeing breaks.



There are some spectacular, large trees but sadly, a number of them are dead or dying.



Half Dome never gets old.

'Bent and I hiked up from Yosemite Valley to spectacular Glacier Point via Four Mile Trail, which is actually longer than that. It was a steady climb with a mix of autumn forest and amazing views. It was a little smoky from forest fires but it improved as the day warmed up.











That's El Capitan across the valley.







Glacier Point can also be reached by vehicle but it wasn't too crowded today, even though it was the last day of the year that the road would be open. I'm sure it's crazy in the summer.

We had just enough time before 'Bent's dental course to trek up to Sentinel Dome for an even higher viewpoint (2476 m/ 8123 ft). I could have stayed up there all day!









Clouds were rolling in quickly and our view started to disappear.

But we spent so much time gawking and taking photos that we had to run the 1300 m descent to the valley so 'Bent could get to school on time! The trail sign said, "Running is dangerous" but it also said, "Biking is prohibited" so we decided to interpret that as a deliberate distinction, i.e. we weren't breaking a rule. Just in case, when we met other people, we hiked past them. We ran through a chilly layer of fog and the afternoon was cloudy. Perfect for school.

As a good wife, I grudgingly agreed to accompany ‘Bent to a dental course in Yosemite. :)

It was a rather spooky Hallowe’en but it’s all good now.

Back to Dr. Thumbs-of-Death for more foot torture. My calf was still sore from Thursday but he inflicted pain on some other areas today. It feels like there's been a lot of progress after two treatments. The newly sprained ankle on my other foot prevents me from having any delusions of running fitness and good health.

Ontario Orienteering Championship Long course
Tyandaga/Sassafras Woods

Yes, I know. I'm supposed to be taking a break from running to deal with my foot injury but I'd already paid for this one race and it was pretty short so I told myself I would hike most of the course. Naturally, I didn't. That's why I dropped out of Raid The Hammer; my will power in such matters is feeble.

It was a cool, late fall day with some vibrant autumn colours, especially in the undergrowth. It was perfect for orienteering, once I'd warmed up.

I looked back at my training log and noticed that all but 23 minutes of my orienteering this year took place on snow! My last race was the Eliminator in early March. So I felt rusty today.

I often mess up the first control on a course and I did it again. I totally forgot that the start triangle was up the trail from where we started so my route to #1 was not what I'd planned - probably less distance but I spent more time in slow terrain. It was a 30-60 second error. After that, things went pretty well. I was running at a decent pace and making reasonable route choices.

That all changed as I was running from #4 to #5. I was on a flat, wide trail, focusing on stable weight shifting of my injured right foot: heel, big toe, heel, big toe - just like Dr. Bell taught me. Then CRUNCH, I cranked my left ankle hard because I wasn't thinking about it at all. A brief but enthusiastic stream of profanity ensued as I hobbled down the trail in pain. A grandfatherly-looking man with a map came around a bend toward me and I couldn't tell from his expression whether he'd heard me. Whoops.

I left the trail early and veered too far east between #5 and #6, losing 2 minutes due to the extra distance in rough terrain.

It was a pretty good run for me and enough to defend my Ontario championship. Goose and 'Bent ran Peak-2-Peak together in the same area and finished tied as the top Masters! Great to see so many friends out.

Long Course 3 - Splits