juan de fuca - do it!

it is sort of my style to be worried and anxious before a big event and hiking the 47km juan de fuca trail was no different.  a friend and i had planned to do it over 4 days over the august long weekend and when i was doing my researches on the interwebs, i kept coming upon sites saying 'it is really hard' or 'don't kid yourself, this hike is TOUGH,' or other doomsayers going on about how hard it would be.  this did nothing for my confidence that i could not only handle the hike, but actually enjoy it too.

but (but!), i was absolutely fine, the hike was certainly challenging at parts and there was a lot of elevation gain over the course of the 4 days, but listening to the ocean and camping at some gorgeous sites made all those heart rate rising hills worth it.

this was my itinerary (because this is what i wanted to know before i did it):

day 1 - botanical beach to little kuitche creek campground (14km)

• this day was by far, the toughest for me.  it was 14km to the campsite and i felt like i had to have a little chat with my legs each time i wanted them to take a big step up a rock.  there are a lot of boardwalks and fun bridges made out of the trees, but man, some of them are BIG steps for short legs.
• i also had a bit of a shriek when we came across a garter snake that didn't even have the courtesy to get out of my way when i nearly stepped on it, eek.

day 2 - little kuitche creek to chin beach (12km)

• this day was more challenging, but i didn't feel like i had to motivate my legs to keep moving, they just did.  camping at the beach was stunning and my hiking partner was absolutely exhausted by the end of the day (and with a sore knee after a fall on the slippery rocks) so we spent our evening sitting in the gorgeous evening sun, watching the water and staying out of the wind by sitting amongst the driftwood.
• and we saw sea lions!  and they were cute!  and rather awkward when trying to move along the rocks.
• it was so nice to wake up in the morning and take our time making coffee and breakfast over the stove before strapping our backpacks on and heading out along the beach.

day 3 - chin beach to bear beach (12km)

• listed on the government issued map as 'most difficult,' there were a lot of switchbacks and hills as you dance along the coastline, but again, i felt strong and capable of the cardiovascular and muscular fitness even though i was fretting about how difficult 'very difficult' would be.
• i have to say, we were both thrilled to see the sign for 'bear beach' when it appeared and we knew there were no more switchbacks in our future, yippee.
• out campsite on bear beach was beautiful and quite secluded, which was great.  we named our site doreen after a buoy that had washed up nearby and had a campfire as we sat by the ocean.

day 4 - bear beach to china beach (9km)

• back to 'moderate' difficulty, this day was a breeze and i felt a little disappointed when we reached the final kilometre marker.  it was the only day when we saw a lot of others, mostly day hikers, but i felt proud that we were carrying all of our gear and had the filth and dirt to go along with 4 straight days of hiking.  and we managed to reach the west coast trail bus pick up point with a few hours to spare and time to eat the remaining food that we had.  but i must say that i packed well and estimated the right amount of food.

a few other thoughts on this hike.  i wouldn't want to do it without the absolutely perfect weather that we had.  i suppose even if you couldn't have the benefit of the beautiful sunny skies that dry weather would be a minimum to make it really enjoyable.  i had hoped to see more sunsets, but we were often on the side of a point that blocked the sun setting over the water.  and besides, we were in bed before 9 each night!

there are lots of streams to collect drinking and cooking water and campsites were not over crowded and apart from one bear cache malfunction and many tries before successfully hanging out food, we had almost no issues.  a few minor blisters that 2nd skin took care of and some taped toes and we were good to go!

it was so nice to be out in the middle of 'nowhere' without mobile phone reception and not a care in the world past finding drinking water and estimating how much fuel we had left in the stove.  being sweaty, dirty, and without a shower for 4 days on end was just what i needed to gain some clarity and confidence and i am thrilled that i did this hike and can't wait for an opportunity to do something like this again.

mish mash on a friday afternoon

in perusing my regular blogs (over there on the left),  i found a link to a vso study on why the images of poor, starving ethiopians during the live aid campaign have caused negative implications in the stereotype of africans.  now, this is not revolutionary in idea, but it is good to see research collected on the lasting impacts of that media campaign.  after a full read, i do think the research is biased in that it is totally poo-pooing on the media and on western views of developing countries while also saying that we have so much to learn from them (which may, or may not, be true, but it seems a bit cheeky to push that so much towards the end of the report when that wasn't the stated focus of the research).  but, it is worth a read.

and i should send it to the next person who tells me they want to go to africa to volunteer in an orphanage.

in other news, i have found a travel partner to join me in south africa, my mom!  yay.  i am even more excited about this trip now!  so much to sort out before then, but lots of time to do it.  should we visit the wineries, should we go to the district six museum, should we go up table mountain, should we go to simons point for breakfast and to see the penguins, should we visit my friends in the townships???

and speaking of trips, i am all packed and ready to go for the juan de fuca trail...  i have two sets of insoles for my hiking boots in hopes that one of them will avoid my crying due to foot pain and i bringing along a bottle of extra strength advil, which seem to do the trick.

i just need to pop out and see if i can find some 2nd skin and then i am off to victoria!  eek.

inflamed, not fractured

i spent 4 hours in the urgent care clinic yesterday and, after a kind visit from a friend who works near the clinic and utilising the wireless in the waiting area to get some work done, i finally had my foot x rayed to see if i had a stress fracture.  and the good news is that my bones are in one piece.  the bad news is that they suspect i have plantar fasciitis.

and when i googled it, the phrase 'very painful condition' came up often, great...  but it makes sense because i was hobbling around this past weekend and hadn't experienced pain that affected my mobility so drastically.  call it a learning (and humbling) experience.

and even though i am not thrilled about having an inflamed plantar fascia, i was happy to hear that i did have something wrong with me because then i felt like i wasn't wasting the time of the doctors, nurses, and emergency room staff and i was impressed with how quickly i was able to get x rays taken and read and a diagnosis made.  and it made me think that if this had gone down in the us there would be a substantial bill to pay and i might have opted against x rays because i do not have health insurance from my employer at the moment, which would mean i would have had to cancel my hike for fear of exacerbating a fracture.  scary.

my next steps are to rest my foot this week, make an appointment to see a podiatrist, and wear my birkenstocks (thank god for birkenstocks!).

have you had this or know someone who has suffered from plantar fasciitis?  any tips on what to do or not do to decrease the inflammation?    or prevent it in the future?  or how to complete a 4 day hike without pain next week??

ouch. and eek.

icy cold on a hot summer's eve

here i am again, sunday evening.  home alone.  and thrilled.  honestly.

one of my recent issues that has contributed to the wobbly moment has been the pressure i have felt to make the most of the summer months in calgary.  to take advantage of every opportunity to get outside and socialise.

and like last weekend, i feel as though i have managed quite fine.  a solid run followed by beers on the patio of one of the city's best pubs with far too many laughs between friends, a luxurious morning sitting on my own patio with coffee and a smoothie while reading my book, a saturday afternoon at the calgary folk fest listening to adorable boys play their guitars from the big rock beer gardens, and a sunday of huevos rancheros at my local breakfast spot with some mountain equipment co-op shopping in preparation for the juan de fuca trail next week and a walk in my community with an iced coffee.

but (and this is a rather large but that could alter the course of my next few weeks), i am currently sitting on my couch watching pvr'ed tv and am not cleaning my house or going for a run because i am icing my foot and ankle.  i have no idea what i have specifically done to it, but i know that it is a recurring injury that i normally keep in check with good running shoes, but wearing cowboy boots last weekend seems to have exacerbated the situation.  and standing in rubber flip flops yesterday was exceptionally painful and i am my worries continue to grow that this will not be cleared up by this friday, which is when i fly out to vancouver island.  eek.

sunday evening

normally, i detest sunday evenings.  call it a case of the sundays, but lately the thought of having to face another week while hanging out at home alone watching pvr'ed tv has made me cringe.

but this evening, i am feeling quite content with my weekend after a rather lame week.  a solid 7km run followed by drinks with an old friend on friday night accompanied by encouragement to go to law school.  breakfast and great chats on saturday morning and then my posse and i hauled ourselves to the nashville north tent at the stampede where i lasted until the wee hours and only left when my feet were too sore for anymore dancing.  then a sunday morning hike with a lovely lady and an afternoon with tours of my mom's garden and a vietnamese sub (because i have no food in my house!).

my wobbly moment continues, however, and i had to give myself permission to opt out of a work stampede party last friday without any guilt or remorse because i just was not in the mood to make merry and pretend that i was happy to be at a bar.  there is not one thing i wish i could change and if there was, i would be working my arse off to change it.

i have yet to hear back about my most perfect job and part of me just wants to the universe to show me where i need to be and what i should be doing.

but in the meantime, i continue to prepare for my hiking adventure and that means soaking my poor cowboy boot feet tonight and finding time to get my buns back up those stairs, hopefully this time without stopping.  menu planning, airport pickups, and a little mountain equipment co-op shopping and i should be ready to go.  it is nice to have something to look forward to!

i list

shamelessly stolen from k.

I Am – blessed.  which is really not a word i used very often, but i was thinking the other day that i really am blessed.

I Want – to understand how to help others without being condescending or patronising.

I Have – rather big feet for my stature.

I Wish – i could do more.

I Hate – very few things.  and try not to use the word 'hate' in my daily life after i once said i 'hated' a song and my friend called me on it and said that was a lot of negative energy to put in the world.  i agreed.

I Fear – loosing control, having surgery, blood tests, and birds when they flap their wings when they are taking off.

I Hear – the din of my cubicle farm.

I Search – for comfortable socks and underwear.  and myself on google.

I Wonder – where i will be in 2 years', 5 years', and 10 years' time.

I Regret – nothing.  there is a lot i wish never happened, but i don't regret it.  if that makes sense.

I Love – my family.  they are the funniest people i know.

I Ache – when i eat chocolate or ice cream.

I Always – use q tips to clean my ears.

I Usually – do not get enough sleep.

I Am Not – sure what i want to be when i grow up.

I Dance – like a white girl.

I Sing – at home when i am alone and wonder if anyone can hear me.

I Never – wear mismatched socks.

I Rarely – just have one glass of red wine.

I Cry – when i am really happy.

I Am Not Always – punctual, even though i wish i was.

I Lose – my cool when i feel as though i am being manipulated or forced to do something against my will.

I’m Confused – about climate change.  and carbon capture.  and if we are really doomed no matter what we do or don't do.

I Need – to have my hair coloured.

I Should – eat more regular and balanced meals.

I Dream – in bollywood, sometimes.

I Hope – that my trip to toronto is lots of excitement and fun.

I Feel – a bit useless today.

I Appreciate – my family more now than ever before.

first day in the bay city

i love this place! and to save time writing and instead do important things like sleep so that i am rested up for another busy day tomorrow, here you have a bulleted list:

• i've only walked through one cloud of marijuana smoke since arriving
• the BART transit system is rather easy to navigate and the trip from the airport to my hotel was effortless, which is always a relief (but who puts carpet in public transit?!)
• there are a lot of good looking dudes in san fran and most times, i have no idea whose team they play on
• i had a delectable cupcake from kara's cupcakes in ghiradelli square, where i also got to sample some of the famous ghiradelli chocolate
• dinner was lovely (wild salmon, asparagus, mushroom, tomato, and artichoke heart pasta) and gave me another dairy stomach ache (this dairy thing is really getting out of hand)
• there are A LOT of hills in this city
• the twirly whirly road is really cool
• when i needed a caffeine injection to get me up and down those hills, i stopped at boulange de polk for a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, it was magnificent
• there are some really cute little boutiques in the russian hill/nob hill area of the city and i know i would be a frequent visitor if i lived here
• because the flight this morning was westjet's inaugural flight to sfo, i got a lot of free stuff. who knew that westjet has their own lip chap?
• i forgot that american beer sort of tastes like water until i ordered a pint. i could probably drink 10 of those to match my 5 at home!
• my bird's nest of hair compared to many of the people on the streets of san francisco
• there is an anthropologie within 3 minutes walking distance from my hotel (which is also great!), which could be potentially dangerous

mizuno creation

thanks to the expertise of heather, i got myself a new pair of shoes that will hopefully alleviate my bruised toe issues and make me go really, really fast.
they are also a neutral shoe and i have been running in a stabilising shoe, so i am curious to see how this affects my running and my foot/hip issues.

and by the way, heather ran the police half marathon today, so go over and say congratulations!

have you seen my legs?

i am not sure what has gotten into me (well, there was that slight funk again last week), but i have been a bit of a running machine lately.

i accidentally ran 16.7km on saturday afternoon this past weekend. it was an accident because i only intended on running 14km, but took a wrong turn and wasn't exactly going to turn around after running 8km, so just kept going. it was awesome. the best part of it was that it was my muscles that were screaming and not my lungs during the tough bits of the run, meaning that my lungs are well accustomed to the altitude, dryness, and aerobic activity.

what makes me so impressed with myself is that i ran alone and didn't plan on it, just sort of did it. i have never been a very self-motivated runner, no matter what and how i have tried, so this was quite a feat.

and last night i ran 8km, a nice, easy 8km at that.

i am on a running roll. let's hope the running continues, but the funks stop.

and does anyone know any treatments for bruised toes? is this an indicator that i need new shoes? or a new pair of feet? ouch.

it's all true

borrowed from this lady, here are 10 things about me that you may not have already known.

1 - most people are surprised to learn that by nature, i am an introvert and shy, sometimes painfully. although i do enjoy public speaking.

2 - things i love include writing, learning new cities, q tips, david suzuki, the smell of scotch tape, earl grey tea, chocolate fudge cake from nairobi java house, kofi annan, alberta beef, barack obama's smile, the smell of pine trees, music that almost makes you cry, going out for breakfast even though i don't like most breakfast foods, airports, novels, daytimers, creme brule, medium or dark roast black coffee, that feeling that you get two days after you've used your muscles, french red wine, tulips, buying clothes, and receiving mail both electronic and snail. that list is not exhaustive.

3 - i could tell my sister anything. while i wouldn't tell my brothers anything, i could be anyone or do anything with them.

4 - my recent love life reads like a soap opera drama. do you know anyone who actually went to an airport expecting someone to arrive only to find out they had never bought a ticket for the flight? well, now you do.

5 - i have really big feet for my size. i would quite like to trade them for a more user-friendly pair.

6 - i want to be famous. but not in the celebrity way. in the way that i am known for something. and i google myself regularly.

7 - my newest canadian hero is louise arbour. she will soon be the executive director of the International Crisis Group.

8 - i am neither a cat person nor a dog person, i am both. and i don't think you should have to choose between them. my dog has one eye and my cat sleeps on my bed every night. my brother says that although you are never supposed to talk about a girl's weight, my cat seems to have lost her waist line in recent years. that is also true.

9 - blueberries are my favourite berry.

10 - if i won the lottery, i would go back to uni and study my little heart out. i would also travel around the world, staying in the cheapest as well as the most luxurious hotels i could find. i'd drink san pelligrino exclusively and provide numerous microfinance loans to people in canada and abroad.

wear socks

if i have to eat the cheese pizza on a trans-atlantic air canada flight one more time... but at least it was better than the chickpea curry!

i am home and calgary decided to welcome me here with english weather!! what is going on? i have been bragging about how warm and sunny my hometown has been while it has been grey and rainy in england and now i am eating my words.

so far, i have bought some lovely shoes to go with a dress named pheobe and had my toes taken care of at yet another vietnamese pedicure assembly line they call a nail shop. (here is some advice, when it is hot in london and you are taking the train to a job interview and you do not want to arrive hot and sweaty cause you've had to walk from the station, wear socks. even if you think that by not wearing socks you might actually be less hot and sweaty. even if the only socks you brought are thick, sports socks because you were not packing smart. wear them. because otherwise you cut your feet so badly in your black boots that you have to stop and buy socks!! and they will only come in packs of three and will cost far more than a pack of three socks should because you are in london paying for them in pounds, but you will have to buy them and go out on to the bridge over the river thames and put them on, looking a bit silly. it will also be at this time that you will look at your own feet, notice the open flesh and cringe at the damage you have done.)

for some reason, it is easier to come home when i know when i am leaving again and this time it will be mid-october and instead of going back to london, which was the original plan, i will be going to kenya! i have been offered a 6 month internship there and will be working with the international orgnization for migration's health and human trafficking programme in east africa. i am looking forward to going back to africa, seeing the eastern part of the continent, and actually working in the field that i have been studying for years! i have no idea what to expect at this point, but i do know that i need to make a doctor's appointment, get chest x-rays, have a TB test, book flights, get a visa, do some shopping, learn as much as i can about my new home and my new place of employment...

but first, my cousin's wedding and lots of laughter and fun country times!

sore feet

i went for a hike yesterday to the nearby hills and came back extremely exhausted and with very sore feet, but it felt great and i had a fantastic time. sheep, stone fences, views of the ocean, wind mills, caterpillars, old fancy english cars out for a sunday drive, and old farmhouses. but perhaps the best part was the excellent company!

itchy feet

my grandma had all these superstitions about what different itches meant and i have had itchy feet all day! no, it is not athlete's foot or any other abnormality.

has anyone heard of what itchy feet is supposed to mean? i would guess a long trip in the near future, but i am sorta hoping for great success or happiness.

bottled inspiration

why, why, why must steve and the conservatives bring up the gay marriage thing again in this election? they ran with that on their platform last time, they lost, the party that won passed it, and now they want to go back and change it? it is a democracy people, might as well get used to it - you don't just go back and change things again and again. otherwise why don't we get rid of the gst and pull out of nafta while we are at it?

i managed to find my inspiration to get working on term papers. i love when you come across some interesting information and can't write it down fast enough. i forgot how i love to pour through articles and pile the books up on the side of my desk as proof of how much i have accomplished. i think my brain works better when i take off my shoes and put my feet on my chair. i love shoes but i take them off at any chance i get.

yesterday i learned that if you live in your own tiny room that has rather sound proof walls, you can chew gum and make smacking sounds as loudly as you like. i have never done this before because i hate listening to other people chew, but it was actually... sort... of... fun. and seemed to help me concentrate.

nobody likes a stinky foot

i love pilates, especially the tightness and soreness the next day. i tried a class here yesterday and it consisted of swinging our arms around our bodies like we were bored little kids for 10 minutes while being reminded to breath in and out. then the teacher tells all of us who have not done the class a minimum of three times that we must only do the exercises half way, all while she wanders about the room with her little aerobic microphone on. what a waste of a pound forty five. and to make the whole experience even more distasteful, the mat that i was using smelt like feet. (smelled or smelt? i get this grammar rule confused) i am officially a yoga mat snob and really don't mind.

in other news, i bought a basil plant so that i don't have to throw the last half out of the package of basil because i cannot manage to eat it quickly enough. how much basil can one person possibly eat in a week? i will name him sherlock and i hope that he and penelope thrive in the windowsill. as long as they are not watered too often. i also bought a parsley plant because they were on some buy-one-get-one-cheap dealy and everyone knows how i love a deal! the parsley plant is yet to be named, suggestions are welcome.