New Hike

View from the trail

Today I was determined to find a geocache and the one I was looking for was supposed to be on this little trail near the irrigation ditch, however I didn't have exact coordinates. As I was driving towards where I thought the trail was, I came to the trailhead of another popular trail system in this area. There is no parking at the trailhead itself, so I decided to turn down a side street and check it out. I hadn't see the other trail, so I figured that the geocache would have to wait for another day (actually, I saw the trail on my way out of the area so I will be easily attempting that geocache soon).

I walked up to the trailhead and decided to give it a go...put my headphones on and started moving out. Little did I know that the trail was going to be very steep, so quickly, I was heading uphill quite steeply and decided to take of my headphones and just enjoy the hike. I felt so out of shape as I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and I was stopping at the top of the little hills to catch my breath and take pics. There were a lot of other hikers, many with their dogs and it was a lot of fun. Due to time constraints, I only went a little over a mile out (had to find a turnaround that I would be able to see on the map later) and about 500 ft in elevation change but it was a good first hike for that area. I also discovered that there are a few geocaches on the trail (although poison oak might be an issue for me in that regard too). My muscles were pretty smoked from the climb and the descent (sometimes coming down is harder than going up), and I am sure I will feel the new muscles I have built over the next few days.

I am looking forward to getting up there a few times a week if I can, until the poison oak becomes an issue, and know that it will be a great addition to my workout regimen. I saw a lot of people that were doing the same trail with no heavy breathing and some were even running up the trail so I know it is just a matter of determination and practice.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Walking Lunges Kiss Ass (Literally)