Aconcagua 2009 Expedition

Sunday I kept to my commitment for a nice long training hike.  I loaded up my pack with about 30 lbs of water in various 1-3 liter jugs plus other stuff to the tune of 45+lbs total including the pack and headed for Rancho San Antonio park & Black Mountain.  Unfortunately, I ended up getting stung by a honey bee on the way there (bounced off the car side mirror and landed stinger first right on my arm).  It’s still a bit swollen and itchy, but since I didn’t seem to be having a dangerous reaction I decided to tough it out and continue with going on my hike.  I parked along Moody road in Los Altos hills and started walking around 12:00 pm.

I also made the mistake of watching stage 9 of the Tour in the morning, and thus paid for it with 93+ heat for the entire hike…  a good portion of the trail was in shade, but it was still hot, and much worse in the exposed areas of the hike. 

 

Black Mountain trail overview with mile markers

I completed the 10.4 mile round trip in just under 4.5 hours (2400′ elevation increase), stopping only twice for maybe 2-3 minutes to refill my camelbak from water bottles and to grab some honey stinger energy chews (the BEST!!!).  My legs felt good on the way up, but I was most happy with my knees and how good they seemed on the way down.  My training and workouts seem to be really helping both with my endurance and joint tolerance (not to mention overall strength).

Overall, it was a great hike… glutes and shin muscles are still a bit sore, and one blister on a toe (not to mention the bee sting), but otherwise great!  Having myPolar RS800CX Multi on, made it a great exercise in monitoring my breathing and effort versus heartrate, and distance and pace.  I am hoping to get another hike in the next two weeks, with some extra weight up past 50 lbs and a total of 5-6 hours of hiking.