Interesting To Cows

Clouds Rest has always been one of my favorite Yosemite hikes and has been the subject of some of my more memorable outings over the years.  It was my first hike in the Sierras outside of Yosemite Valley and (with Half Dome) my first hike of over 25 miles.  It had been a few years since I had last been to the peak, so I decided on it as my destination for my first trip back after breaking my ankle 14 weeks ago.

Its almost exactly 200 miles from Mountain View to the Sunrise Trailhead (on Tioga Road just past Olmstead Point).  This was my first long drive since my injury and my first time above sea level in 3 months.  The drive didn't bother me at all, but the elevation gain was bothering me a bit over the course of the day. The weather was nearly perfect and there were zero mosquitoes.  (On prior trips on this route, the mosquitoes were bad enough to make standing still impossible and I've been snowed on Clouds Rest in the summer). 

My ankle held up admirably today-  Almost no pain for the first 12 miles or so.  The final mile or two descended a series of rocky switchbacks that tended to hurt my knees even before the injury.   For this section, I just slowed down and made sure I was leading with my good leg on the downsteps.  Once back on flat ground I was able to pick up the pace again and finish without issue.  My stamina didn't fare nearly as well- I'm relatively out of shape and had to stop frequently on the uphill sections of the back half of the hike.

Pics and commentary are here.

For my third broken ankle recovery outing I headed down to Butano State Park along the Pacfic Coast between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay.   BAHiker.com gives this park a less-than-glowing review, but I found it to be quite enjoyable.  Not as impressive as Big Basin (mostly due to Big Basin's waterfalls) but a definite number two for local redwood forests.  The ridgeside slopes in Butano tended to be very gradual allowing you to see much further than in Big Basin's comparatively steep and narrow canyons. 

My ankle held up well for about 7 of the 10 miles and was causing me a rather substantial amount of pain on the back end of the trip.  Downhill still hurts much more than uphill and I still am missing quite a bit of range of motion.  I held an average 2mph pace for the outing for the first time since returning to the trails.

Pictures and commentary are here.

I headed up to Castle Rock State Park yesterday for my second hike since breaking my ankle 3 months ago.  It was about 30 degrees cooler than my last trip up to Skyline Blvd and quite pleasant under the tree cover.  (Out in the sun it was still a bit warm).   The hike itself was a 6 mile lollipop loop, half of which had a good view of the San Lorenzo River watershed.  My ankle held up reasonably well, though the ridgeside portions of the route were fairly rocky and uneven.  I'm feeling much less sore today than on the day after my first hike.

For the rest of the summer I'm hoping to get out twice a week- once midweek and once on the weekend.  This weekend's destintation will be out to the coast to Butano State Park.

 Pics and commentary are: here