Trail Tip: Better Bow Knot Improves your Footing & Performance on the Trail

A hiking buddy taught me this tip and I’ve noticed a significant difference in how my hiking shoes perform on the trail.

This 2 minute video contains one of our very favorite trail tips.
The secret to learning to do this quickly and effortlessly  is to loop the lace around your thumb, leaving enough space to easily pull the other loop through.   Be sure and watch the whole thing, as there is an important caution.
Enjoy!

Wrist Stretch for people who use Trekking Poles

I end most of my Yoga classes with this gentle and effective wrist stretch.    This  subtle movement lengthens and “tractions” the joint.  The radius and ulna bones in the healthy forearm articulate.   Creating  s p a c e  in the wrist joint and lengthening the space in the forearm enable better articulation and function.  Keep in mind:

• Less is more.
• Purposely work shorter/smaller than your brain wants to.
• Forget about the Destination – Focus on the Journey.
• Invest the time to feel the subtlety of this movement.
• BREATHE!
• Allow this movement to bring mindfulness to your hand, wrist & forearm.
• Learn it so that you can use it when you need it.

A good friend and I filmed this one morning so we  could share it with AdventureBuddies!  After a long day at the computer or after a rigorous hike, try this and relieve tension/tightness/stress in the wrist joint.

Be loving and gentle with yourself    Try it and let me know what you think?

Trail Tip: ALLERGIES

My ENT doctor strongly recommended something that has changed my life and significantly reduced my allergy response to CA    Nasal Saline Spray:

• non-addictive, non-invasive, simple stuff
• spray as many times a day as I like
• I put a spray bottle everywhere – my car, my bedside table, my purse, my hiking pack
• Spraying after a hike is HUGELY helpful (as well as during)
• I’ve reduced my intake of OTC allergy medication to almost none, even in peak season
• I’m happier!
• I got the Walgreen’s generic brand in both sizes.

Very Important:  Spray outward towards your cheekbone, not straight up your nose.   Click for  More allergy tips on this blog.

Trail Tip: Blue Jeans on the Trail?

3 reasons why we think blue jeans are TERRIBLE for hiking:

1. If the bottoms get even a little wet or damp, they wick up your legs.
2. Wet jeans stay wet.  When compared to the lightweight hiking pants, there’s really a huge difference in drying time.  Even a light morning dew can create wet pants for hours.
3. Most jeans are somewhat form-fitting.  This means that the leg has to work harder at the knee joint.  If you meet resistance with every step, it’s not efficient.

Falling is BAD: Ice & Snow Safety Balance Tip

A dear friend with Multiple Sclerosis  (who lives in MN) shared a WONDERFUL tip yesterday.   She keeps a set of YakTrax on a pair of shoes (in her case – slip on boots for ease of application) in her car so that when she arrives at a client’s home, she can safely walk in and out.  This is brilliant!

From another friend:   Jayah, I finally got a chance to use those slip-on crampons yesterday at Sugarbowl.    They were great!  Walking in an icy and snowy  parking lot is usually the most dangerous part of a ski day. 

Click on image below to see which model of YakTrax we recommend.

I slipped in the parking lot on the way to cross country ski.  I landed on my hip on the hard pavement.   I’ve been a YakTrax fan ever since.  Note about sizing – Order a size larger than you think so you can more easily put them on your heavy walking shoes/boots.

Hiking with Trekking POLES in the desert

2 AdventureBuddies, 2 sets of poles.  Our annual Winter/Spring desert hiking trip this year found us in Sedona.   Our first stop was Phoenix to help some folks learn about using poles via the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center.  Then onto Sedona to enjoy some hiking on terrain that’s very different from our local mountains.   Using poles in the desert is the most powerful and efficient way to navigate rocky, steep terrain.   We especially appreciate our long foam grips &  gloves as we explore this glorious terrain.

Click on any photo to enlarge (esp #1) and press back button to return to post.  See the hole behind me in photo #3?   Look at photo #9.

Above are views from Bear Mountain, Bob negotiating rocky trail and an overhang at Long Canyon.

If you follow this blog, you will know that I LOVE cairns.   I have a new hobby – cairn topping (or cairn enhancing) ha ha!   We explored 3 days – Bear Mountain, Doe Mountain/Fay Canyon & Long Canyon, following Cairns to stay on the trail.

• Bob and me on Bear Mountain
• Cairn on Bear Mountain – the townhouse of all cairns!
• Bob and his trekking poles on the top of a rock cliff at Long Canyon
• A pretty, colorful rock in a creek-bed in Long Canyon
• A canyon wall in Long Canyon
• Bob looking thru the hole of the overhang

At Long Canyon, we got to the “end” and climbed up on a rock for lunch.  Bob went to explore the easiest way down the cliff.  When he returned, I gleefully noticed it was starting to  SNOW.  I was so happy eating my sandwich watching the snowflakes.   Bob said “We’re LEAVING, NOW!”   He knew immediately that we did not want to be walking down on wet rocks.  Good and fast thinking, Bob!

Weather can manage our outdoor experiences.  We knew the forecast and, even with a slight possibility of rain or snow, we were well prepared with gear.  45 degrees and wet is a recipe for hypothermia.  We had full head-to-toe Gortex gear – NO bluejeans for hikers!  On again, off again, gear changes, but we were comfy, dry and safe.

Trail Tips for PoleHikers: Mountain Lions and Ticks

Here’s a great article on what to do if you are ?lucky enough? to sight a mountain lion.   Article is from the University of CA Police Dept.

We try to sprinkle all kinds of pole & trail tips into our seminars.  We ALWAYS miss something and recommend that you either subscribe (just click on the upper right corner) to this blog or periodically visit to see what’s new.  If you subscribe, you’ll get an email when we make a new post – it’s easy and not spam!

Also, we have a tick post for hikers (search ticks on this blog), but this is an article reminding us how important it is to be aware!

Winter FungusAmongus Hike and Trail Tips

Early Rains brought out some amazing FungusAmongus and the newts were crawling!

A wonderful (and well known) balance exercise is to turn your head and look around while walking.  This skill makes spotting gems on the trail easier, BUT make sure your leader is calling out obstacles and hazards in the trail.  Ultimately, we’re each responsible for ourselves, but it’s nice to have good trail communication.    When I call “LOW Branch” or “Banana Slug in the trail,”  I like to hear my sweep acknowledge the hazard.  That way I know that everyone heard it.

Mt. Tam was so amazing I went back again this week.  What a change from Wed to Sat.  But big winds changed EVERYTHING.  Fungus were dessicated.  Trails were like Green & Yellow Brick Roads with the yellow fir needles and broken branches covering everything.  This is why we don’t hike when there’s high winds.  Wow!

As always, click on any photo to enlarge.  The lake scene above is as close as I could get to a trio of hooded mergansers – my favorite winter visitors!

Trail Tip for Hikers: Ticks

A dear friend is fighting late stage Lyme.  It’s devastating and she’s fighting for her life.  Some top tips for avoiding ticks:

• After hiking, BEFORE getting into your car, do a tick check with your buddies.
• Be careful because unseen ticks can end up in your car for a later attack!
• Check your hairline!
• If you’ve been walking in grass (good idea to tuck your pants into your socks if you’re not wearing gaiters), then an outer layer check is not enough.
• If you’ve been exposed to poison oak, remove clothing inside out and put directly into the washer.  Even though you’ve checked for ticks, check again.

Notes from Tick Talk with Dick Davis

Western black legged ticks carry Lyme disease.  In California, less that 2% of ticks are infected, as compared to 80% in New York.  The lower infection rate is due to blue belly and alligator lizards, which have blood that contains a substance that removes the Lyme virus from ticks feeding on them.  If ticks are moved within 24 hours, Lyme disease cannot be contracted.   If you are bitten, collect the tick in a ziplock and put it in the freezer in case you have to have it checked later on.   The county health department can identify the tick.   If it is a black legged tick and you get Lyme symptoms, send the tick to a facility that can diagnose it (like Stanford Medical Center.

When hiking, walk either in the middle of the trail or on the downhill slope.  Ticks hang out in grass and shrubs next to the trail, on the uphill slope.   They also like stumps and dead tree branches, so stay away from them.   Ticks can’t jump and crawl slowly; they hang on foliage with two arms outstretched, waiting to grab a passing creature.  They feed on mammals, reptiles and birds.  Don’t sit in tick infested areas.  Wear light colored, slick clothing and make frequent visual examinations to see if you have a hitchhiker.  Ticks don’t like to climb down, so if you have long pants over your boots, they probably won’t climb down to get inside your pants.   If you tuck your shirt in your pants, they can’t get on your stomach.

Most California doctors can’t diagnose Lyme disease, so if you get suspicious symptoms find an expert.  The treatment is to get powerful antibiotics for at least 30 days.

Summer Flower Power

As the summer flowers bloom, we are both delighted and careful to check for ticks.  Crawling around in the grass to get photos means checking carefully afterwards.

If you’re not wearing gaiters, tuck your pant legs into your socks.  Check yourself and your buddies.   Check again before you get into your car.

Make sure your shirts and jackets are not loosely hanging all over the place.  If you have to tie a jacket around you, zip it up, roll it up and keep it tight.  You don’t want unwanted hitchhikers as you move thru brush.

Click on any photo to enlarge.  Pictured here are Leopard Lillies, a Morning Glory, a grass and a Mariposa Lilly on Mt. Tam & Clarkias blanketing the hillside like a huge pink carpet on Mori Point in Pacifica.

 

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