Herculean Effort

So I’m sit­ting at my desk on my lunch break right now. My legs are so stiff and sore I’m a mix of a pen­guin and a pirate with two peg legs when I try to walk. My hands still smell like camp­fire smoke some­how, despite dozens of wash­ings. I have ran­dom scrapes all over, and the blis­ters on my feet have blisters.

Despite that, though, going on the hike to Sykes Hot Springs with Derek N, Alex K, Jef­frey K, and Wei-​Wen C was pretty awe­some. It was about 10 miles in, going up 3,000 ft and down 2,000 ft in the process. (Our guide­book called the trail “the ele­va­tor” because it is con­stantly going up and down hills.) It took us about six hours each way with full gear.

The springs them­selves felt amaz­ing after the hike in. If not for them, I don’t think I would have been able to make it back out. I def­i­nitely got a sense of accom­plish­ment after fin­ish­ing the hike back to the car. (And I prob­a­bly had the light­est pack, too. Thanks to Derek N and Alex K for tak­ing the big ones!)

Even though I went into zom­bie mode the last cou­ple of miles and could barely lift my feet over the rocks on the trail, I made it back. The half-​marathon and even Half Dome seem within reach now. (In com­par­i­son, Half Dome is about 8 miles long and 4,800 ft up, or about twice as steep.)

Now, I’m more men­tally pre­pared for the chal­lenges to come, and I can’t wait to get some prac­tice in once my blis­ters heal up!

Tags: Alex K, Derek N, Jeffrey K, Wei-Wen C