Today was my cardio day, so I was going to report how I happily jogged two and a half miles and did 8 15-second sprints.

I was wrong.

I jogged a mile to the park. I rested for a minute or two, then started the first sprint. Two seconds in, my left shin hurt like crazy and I had to stop. It still hurts, although not nearly as badly.

So either I pulled a muscle or had a cramp. Either way, it hurt bad enough to not finish the workout. So in the end, I jogged a mile & walked a mile. Better than nothing, I guess.

All I know is I had better be feeling better by TRT on Sunday.

Well, we finally did it. This past weekend, we went backpacking! The Sacramento Backpackers Meetup group did a short (3-mile, overnight) backpacking trip to Fordyce Creek, just past Eagle Lakes. We left the girls with grandma and took Gregory.

My pack weight ended up being 50 pounds in the end. Angel said her pack was 25 pounds, but it doesn't seem like it would be from what she had (sleeping bag, sleeping pad, snacks, clothing). Gregory carried his essentials.

So away we went. The trail was rated easy, but I'd rate it easy to intermediate. There were quite a few steep portions, and with 50 pounds on my back I felt every inch of it. I wish I had some pictures of our packs, but that's ok. What I do have are some pictures of Gregory on the dayhike we did the afternoon after we arrived at camp.

Here's Gregory climbing over a log.


He had a blast balancing rocks across a creek. He was doing great using the hiking pole to balance!



In the evening, we all made up a story around the campfire, with Gregory telling us all about a frog that got eaten by a werewolf. The next morning before breaking camp, I took Gregory to the top of a large rock, where Angel took our picture.


He was pretty wore on the way back, but he did a good job finishing the task. Gregory was asleep within a few minutes of driving in the car.

So what would I change? I think that trying to fit the three of us into a 2-man tent was a bad idea. It was great until I left to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. When I got back, Gregory was in my spot and I had to pick him up and move him before I could sleep. Once moved, all he did was toss and turn all night, shoving elbows & butt into me and Angel.

In the end, the trip was a rousing success. Gregory got to see things he'd never seen before, including a live rattlesnake that was posing no danger to us (it was about 40 feet away, moving the opposite direction). We also crossed a beaver dam twice.

My next big hiking trip will be on Sunday, where I do the first of the Tahoe Rim Trail hikes. 12.2 miles, Kingsbury Grade to Spooner Summit!