Fitness trumps thirst on this hike.Byline: THE OUTSIDER By John Rezell The Register-Guard Just past a 40-foot section of the North Umpqua Trail The North Umpqua Trail is a hiking trail that follows the North Umpqua River in Southern Oregon, United States. The trail is about 79 miles long. It is broken up into 11 sections, ranging from 3.5 to 15.7 miles in length. that appears to be obliterated o·blit·er·ate tr.v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates 1. To do away with completely so as to leave no trace. See Synonyms at abolish. 2. on a regular basis by landslides and repeatedly rebuilt, my pup Ridgely and I paused to regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. . By my best estimates - that is, after looking at images of the trail profile I videotaped from the sign back at Swiftwater Park just east of Glide - I figured we were about 10 miles from our start. Deep down in the canyon, the North Fork North Fork, river, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ozarks, S Mo., and flowing S, into N Ark., to the White River. Near its mouth is Norfolk Dam (completed 1944), which impounds Norfolk Lake and has a power plant. of the Umpqua River The Umpqua River (UHMP-kwah) is a river on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States, approximately 111 mi (179 km) long. One of the prinicipal rivers of the Oregon coast, it drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the rumbled over rapids with an invigorating in·vig·or·ate tr.v. in·vig·or·at·ed, in·vig·or·at·ing, in·vig·or·ates To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate: "A few whiffs of the raw, strong scent of phlox invigorated her" view that helped recharge my spirits for the return hike. By the time we get back to the truck, we'll have logged about 32 miles of hiking in eight days as I attempt to get into shape for a planned venture to Mount Shasta. This was an important progress test. With my daughters spending the night at a friend's house and my wife out of town, Ridgely and I had a full 24 hours to play. Something very rare. I decided to save any real altitude training Altitude training traditionally called training at an altitude camp, or now commonly using altitude simulation tents or mask based hypoxicator systems is the practice by some endurance athletes of training at high altitude, usually over 2,500 m (8,000 ft) above sea level, for another week or so to make certain I had a strong physical base. But now, about four hours after we started, I began to wonder just what kind of fitness I had. Let me clarify: I was wondering what kind of fitness I had considering the circumstance. In my zest to get started after the long drive from Eugene, I threw on my backpack and hit the trail. My backpack is equipped with its own water bladder, so that, along with a bottle of Gatorade, should have been enough to keep us hydrated hy·drat·ed adj. Chemically combined with water, especially existing in the form of a hydrate. Adj. 1. hydrated - containing combined water (especially water of crystallization as in a hydrate) hydrous through eight hours of hiking. The problem: I never refilled the backpack after my previous hike. I learned this about four miles into the hike when I drew the two or three mouthfuls of water that remained. Inventory time: plenty of energy bars, two apples and a bottle Gatorade. Good thing I train like a camel, that is, on low fluids. We went for it. Now, back where this column began, at our turnaround. Having downed the first third of the Gatorade, I began to second-guess my logic. A little late, right? We turned around and hit it hard. By the time we got back to Bob Creek, at the base of Bob Butte Butte, city, United States Butte (by  t), city (1990 pop. 33,336), seat of Silver Bow co., SW Mont.; inc. 1879. It is a trade, ranching, and industrial center. , the remaining major obstacle between us
and the truck, I felt pretty good.
Fighting the urge to push it, we lounged for 15-20 minutes at Bob Creek, soaking in the sound of water cascading down the mountain. I downed another third of my bottle. What followed took me by surprise. Somehow I powered up Bob Butte feeling as fresh as the first ascent. From there it was, pretty much, a downhill glide. The final apple took us within about three miles, and a mile later, we polished off the fluids. When we got back to the truck, we had completed seven hours of hiking. Sweet. Fitness was kicking in. Of course, at the time I didn't know our Mount Shasta hike would be canceled. No problem. It helped me find enough good training hikes close by to fill a summer of columns. - John Rezell, aka, Raz, can be reached at eugenemeraz@att.net. Invite him on an adventure. |
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