Story:
I have been to Mount Sizer twice before.
I have been to Mount Sizer twice before.
The first visit changed my life; I performed so poorly on the hike that it frightened me into changing my life dramatically. I dropped 40 pounds, and started hiking a LOT to exercise. (See EveryTrail trip 233107).
The second visit - a year later - was a test. Would I perform better on this (long, challenging) hike? The good news was that I did. I was still the slowest member of our group, but I was happy about my progress. (See EveryTrail trip 582071).
So now, it has to be an annual event. Am I improving or just getting old?
So when Rich organized a visit to Sizer, I had to go. I was a little worried about it, though. A cold had knocked me out a while back, and I'd gone almost a month without any serious hiking.
The "Shortcut" to Sizer is one of the steepest hike in the Bay Area. (Don't believe me? See the list here: http://sammydee.net/blog/steep-hikes) The "done thing" is to keep track of your time from the creek at the bottom to the Ridiculously Tall Bench at the top. The first year it took me 105 minutes. Last year just 65!
This year ... 75. Hmm.
The hike down Blue Ridge has some great views, but is pretty uneventful. The most striking photo-ops of the trip are along the Jackass Trail, where the skeletons of thousands of trees destroyed in the 2007 fire remain.
Finally we had to ascend back up to park headquarters - a 1500 foot climb at the end of a long hike. The climb along Poverty Flats Road was a killer for me. I lagged badly behind and felt very bad about my progress. Despite my attempts to monitor my heartrate, I had to stop numerous times to rest.
Still, we eventually made it.
SO ... was this test a Pass or a Fail?
I actually felt good about my time going up the Shortcut, so I was quite surprised to discover that I was slower this year than last year. On the other hand, I was quite depressed while climbing up Poverty Flats, and had convinced myself that I was failing badly. But comparing times for the total trip from last year to this year, we finished the trip in an hour and 15 minutes less time than a year before.
By comparing timestamps on my photos from last year and this year it seems that last year it took us 2 hours 32 minutes to get from the Poverty Flats creek crossing back to HQ, while this year it took just 2 hours and 1 minute.
So ... I don't know. Apparently I was a little slower on the Shortcut but a little faster on the Poverty Flat climb. Mixed results ... I guess I'll have to do it again next year!
Tips:
Coe is an unforgiving place. Take plenty of water. On a cool day I drank nearly 3 liters of fluids on this hike, and still weighed 5 pounds less at the end than I had at the beginning. In rainy season prepare for two creek crossings which can be a bit tricky. Carbs have a bad reputation - bring LOTS. You'll need energy to get through this.
Coe is an unforgiving place. Take plenty of water. On a cool day I drank nearly 3 liters of fluids on this hike, and still weighed 5 pounds less at the end than I had at the beginning. In rainy season prepare for two creek crossings which can be a bit tricky. Carbs have a bad reputation - bring LOTS. You'll need energy to get through this.
We all found ticks crawling on us after Jackass. Check frequently and use repellent. I tuck my pants into my socks, too.
Comments (7)
Wonderful pictures. Credit to your photography skills!! Thanks for sharing! Jack. PS - I, too, have a D7000 w/18-200. You have good taste in cameras!!
by kozik on Apr 13, 2011
Finally, another Nikon fan! I recently got an 18-105 after my 18-55 had an unfortunate encounter with a granite slab in desolation wilderness and I love it. I keep my 55-200 in my bag when I expect to need more zoom, but most of the time the 105 is enough.
by chris on Apr 11, 2011
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