Greg's Wanderings

Category: Training

The more I can walk before leaving for Portugal, the easier the transition to hiking 15+ miles per day will be.

  • A perfect day for hiking

    A perfect day for hiking

    We could not have asked for more perfect weather for our most recent Camino simulation hike. Today I was joined by eight others including three repeat hikers from my previous simulation hikes.

    With temperature starting in the high 50s, we were able to complete our 15 mile journey a little before 1 PM and the weather was in the mid 70s when we reached Waterfront Park again.

    As with our previous hikes, we stopped in the Sellwood district for a coffee break and then had a picnic lunch in Hamilton Park along the Terwilliger Parkway.

    Fancy goat house with adjoining chicken coop.

    This time as we were leaving the coffee shop, some locals asked us if we were going to see the goats. They described a house, just a couple blocks out of our path where they had a goat pen in their front yard. We made a little detour and saw the cutest goat pen, which also happened to house, rabbits and chickens in the front yard just a couple of blocks off of the main business district in Sellwood.

  • Trail Crew workout

    Trail Crew workout

    Not all my training is pure hiking.  On Thursday, July 17, I completed my fourth volunteer mission with Trailkeepers of Oregon as we worked to restore trails in the Columbia Gorge that have been closed since the devastating Eagle Creek Fire, which burned over 50,000 acres in 2017.  Eight years later, two key trails remain closed.

    Thursday, I joined a crew of seven working on the Tanner Butte Trail (Trail #410) which has all but disappeared as underbrush has covered the trail and grown tall.  On our crew last week, a couple of our team pushed their way through the underbrush for close to a mile marking where the trail should be with colored ribbon. 

    It was easy to see where our work from last week stopped, as we abruptly hit a wall of vegetation.  The photo below is the “before” shot of what the trail looked like before our efforts began.

    Somewhere in there is a trail.

    The work mainly consisted of using large lopping shears to take down the tall brush.  Then fire rakes were used to pull up some of the underbrush and expose where plants had taken root in the trail pathway.  Then it was work and hands and knees to clip the small brush (blackberry, Oregon grape and other viny plants) from the trail.  We also encountered two trees that had fallen across the trail.  As we had not planned for these, the largest saws we carried were 21” hand saws, which meant each tree (larger around than a telephone pole) took an hour or more for a two person team to cut a gap for the trail.

    After a hard day’s work, another few yards of trail have been cleared.

    After a full day’s work in the sun, we made about 100 yards of progress.  Just six more miles – and several more years – and this trail may be reopened.   I do want to stress that the trail remains closed to the public and the gate at the base is locked.  We were working under the authority of the US Forest Service, which allowed us to pass through the gate.

    If you love the outdoors, I encourage you to consider volunteering for a trail crew or making a monetary donation to help fund TKO’s work.  Cuts in federal funding have left a $500k gap in TKO’s budget for this year.  Any contribution of time or treasure is appreciated.

    One cool thing about our trail crew this time is that we had two women on vacation from New Hampshire who joined us.  They were touring Oregon for a week and one of them worked for a company that awarded extra PTO for doing volunteer work.  It was great meeting them and having them donate a day of their vacation to restoring this trail.

  • July 13 Simulation Hike

    July 13 Simulation Hike

    I hosted my second Camino Simulation hike on Sunday. This time, I had seven others join me. Despite the fact that the forecast called for high temperatures in the mid-nineties, everyone stuck it out until the end.

    This time the group consisted of an interesting mix of Camino experiences. Barbara & Richard are preparing for their third Camino and will be starting in La Puy, France and 500 miles to the traditional starting point in St. Jean. Diane had just returned from her Camino, but wanted to try out some new toe socks to see if they would alleviate the blisters she encountered on the trail. Still others in the group had yet to plan a Camino, but just wanted to see if they could hike 15 miles.

    Fortunately, we had shade for most of our walk. We took two extended breaks to hydrate and eat. The first in a coffee shop in Sellwood and the second in Hamilton Park along the Terwilliger Parkway. Altogether, we completed the 14.7 miles in less than six hours, included 4 hours and 40 minutes of actual moving time. That worked out to a pace of 3.1 miles per hour.

    My Camino Simulation crew crossing over the Sellwood Bridge.
  • Camino Simulation – June 29

    Camino Simulation – June 29

    I needed to start working in some longer hikes that were roughly the same length as what I’ll need to average on the Camino. Since my pilgrimage will be through towns and villages, I decided that an in-city hike would best replicate a day-in-the-life on the Camino. Researching existing routes on the AllTrails app, I found a bike route that I have modified to include some off paved road sections and to incorporate the breaks I would likely include on the Camino.

    After two trial runs, I have now posted this as a MeetUp hike through the hiking group I belong to. I’ve cross-posted it to a local Facebook group of the Portlandia Chapter of the Camino Association of America.

    My first group hike only had two participants, but we had a lovely time. Like me, Carlos was preparing for his first Camino. He was going to start in Porto and would be hiking with his 77 year old mother. Robin, was the Camino veteran of the group. She was preparing for her fifth and sixth Caminos, which she was going to do back-to-back. First, she was also going to do the Portuguese from Porto with her daughter. Once complete, she was going to do the Ingles route solo.

    Robin is hiking 70 half marathons in 70 weeks before her 70th birthday in December. Carlos and I were part of #60.

    Hiking with these two provided a great opportunity to share tips and discuss equipment selection. Coincidentally, all three of us were doing the Portuguese route at roughly the same time.

    The hike was a success and I’ve now scheduled three more events. This coming Sunday, I have 10 people registered to attend. We’ll see how the forecasted high temperature of 90+ affects turn-out.