Medical Adventures #5

For Mr. K, who never misses a beat.

August 2023: RunningBarb Can’t Run

We spent the next few months at home. During this time my fitness continued to decline, to the point where I could only bike short distances on flat terrain, and I was not able to run at all. My mind determined that I was going to jog, even slowly, but my body just wouldn’t do it. I affirmed my decision to try a new cardiologist when we got back from our next trip. Clearly I had to do something. 

We were planning for our upcoming adventure in August. It would involve hiking a few mountains in the Adirondacks, a bike trip in the Midwest, and lots of fun stuff in between. 

The Adirondack Park is home to 46 mountains over 4000 feet high. If you climb all of them you get to call yourself an “Adirondack 46-er.” If you don’t know, you don’t know, but if you do know it’s considered kind of cool. Mr. K was a 46-er, having climbed most of them as a child, then finishing them off with me. Many of the mountains do not have an established, marked trail, rather there is a “herd path,” cut by many feet travelling to the same place. At this point I was a 33-er, with 13 to go. I planned to knock out a few on this trip. If I was lucky we would nab around seven to nine. That would place me pretty close to the end.

The first group we set out to do was located in the northwest section of the park. There are four out here. Typically people summit Donaldson, Emmons, and Seward in one day, then do Seymour on a separate day. We headed out one August morning to finish the first three. We drove out to the trailhead, several miles down a rough gravel road. We started at 7:30. It felt like a good beginning. The first segment was blazed and easy to follow, and not particularly steep. The climbing would come later. 

After hiking in around five miles, we began the gentle climb to the base of Donaldson. There were no longer any blazes, but it was not difficult to follow the herd path, and we could always check with the GPS. At one point we needed to cross Caulkins Creek, and we got a little turned around, but eventually picked up the herd path again. We slowly made our way up and eventually found the cairn that marked the turnoff for the peak. We headed up that way and eventually spied the marker telling us that we had summited. High five! One down, two to go! I looked at my watch. It was 1:30. It had taken us five hours to go around a little more than six miles. Maybe not such a good start after all. I felt a little concerned. But we still had a lot of work to do. We passed over Donaldson and slogged over to Emmons. And a slog it was, with knee-deep mud. Slow going for sure. But we got to the top of Emmons. Next we had to go back to Donaldson, go back down to the cairn for the turnoff, and go the other way for Seward.

When we got back to Donaldson I looked at my watch again. It was 4:30. It had taken us three hours to get to Emmons and back to Donaldson, a distance of around two miles. Yikes.

Normally when we are in the Adirondacks and it is that late we are pretty near to getting out of the woods. We always leave lots of time to be out before the sun sets. We don’t want to be caught on a trail-less mountain in the dark. 

For sure, the last of the three, Seward, was out. We would be lucky to make it off the herd path and back on the main trail before night fell. We high-tailed it out of there as quickly as possible. Which – was not very quick. My legs, once again, had no energy. I tried to step carefully over the slippery rocks and concentrate on where to place my feet. I did not feel good about this. One wrong step and I could twist my ankle. We were in the backcountry, far from the road, without any cell signal. And it was my fault for being so slow.

When we reached the creek we again fumbled with the crossing, but eventually found the trail. I was determined to be off the herd path before dark. Although determination and ability do not necessarily correlate.

Finally we were back at the cairn at the edge of the marked trail. I knew that this path would be easier to follow since it was wider and its signposts were visible. I was no longer afraid of being lost in the woods. We were prepared for “what-ifs,” with headlamps and flashlights. After a few more hours more of slow trudging, we were back at our vehicle. It was just past 8:30. The 13 mile hike had taken 13 hours. This was an average pace of an hour per mile. 

There are spots in the Adirondacks where taking one hour to go one mile is not crazy. Parts are killer steep, there is serious mud, you have to climb up wet slabs of rock with almost nothing to grab on to, and often you are actually climbing up streams that include all of the above. But to average a mile an hour over the entire hike? That’s unheard of. We threw everything into the van and made our way out of the woods. I was pretty relieved when the pitted stone road changed to asphalt, then later when we turned in the direction of the guest house where we were staying. 

Okay, so we gave up on Seward, but RunningBarb didn’t end there! We also had plans to climb Haystack, Saddleback, and Basin, three mountains accessible from Johns Brook Lodge (JBL), a beautiful old bunk house tucked away in the park. Maybe I just had a bad day with Donaldson and Emmons. And RunningBarb never gives up! To get to JBL you need to hike in three miles. This means you are closer to the three mountains, so your hikes are shorter. I had made reservations for us to stay there a couple of months earlier.

Hiking to the lodge was relaxed and comfortable. I didn’t have any discomfort and did not have to stop. My legs were working fine. I thought this was a good sign for the next day’s hike. We arrived in the afternoon, and I took a dip in the freezing cold Johns Brook. Later we ate dinner, which was served by the lodge staff a’ la Phantom Ranch. It was fun to be around the other hikers and hear their stories. Lots of folks had bigger plans than we did, but I felt energized for the next adventure.

In the morning we ate a good breakfast and were on our way. As is the case with a lot of this mountain climbing business, the early parts were relatively flat and easy. Soon we arrived at Slant Rock, where the real ascent began. I took my time. We were only climbing one mountain today, and it was only a total of around 9.5 miles from the lodge to the summit and back. Much shorter than the 13 of the previous hike. But as I kept moving it was becoming harder and harder. Soon I found myself climbing up one of those rocky creeks where you could barely find a place to put your foot. People wearing heavy packs were passing me as though I was standing still. How can they move so fast? I was getting nervous, because I did not have good control of where I was putting my feet. Again, it was like my legs had no power.

With one mile to go to the summit, I gave up. I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I was slipping. I was losing confidence. It was not a good situation. With a ton of disappointment Mr. K and I turned around and went down.

With my failure at Haystack, there was no reason to try Saddleback and Basin. There was no way those were happening. Looked like my 46-er days were over. Okay, I just have to accept this. I mean, not everyone becomes a 46-er. Most people don’t. That’s it. 

The next day I hung out at the lodge while Mr. K climbed a different mountain. I made the best of it: I was in a beautiful place, surrounded by friendly people, and was safe and sound. Maybe RunningBarb was just getting RunningOld. 

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