Thursday, October 16, 2008

In Preparation

I awoke this morning with a strong urge to get outside for the better part of the day. Needing some extra motivation to stay awake, I blasted some music from my computer, cleaned around the house, finished reading The Wild Muir, filled my water bottle, and hopped on my bike.

I took the American River Trail up to Watt Ave., then back down the trail, over the river and through my school, downtown to the Central Library on I St. In all my years living in the area I have never been to another library in Sacramento aside from the dinky one right here in West Sacramento. I applied for and received my library card, did some perusing and made some notes of what to look for tomorrow, and finished my bike ride home.

21.5 miles! I know it's not much in comparison to many other bikers on the trail, but for just being on a mountain bike with road tires, I made really good time and, aside from the lingering tension in my thighs, I feel GREAT!

But I'm feeling pretty well not just because of the after-effects of exercise(sweet sweet lactic acid buildup!), but because I decided, while on the bike trail, that I'm going to do some hiking up in Desolation Wilderness on Saturday.

I will rouse at 4:30am, pack some bars, a notebook, and my field guide. I hope to be to the Wright's Lake area just before sunrise at 7, and head into the Lyon's Trailhead right at sunrise, into the Southwestern edge of the Wilderness, to some lakes just at the base of Pyramid Peak. This will be my first solo hike of any significant distance. I anxiously await the day!

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