Yesterday Liz Andrusiak commented on my Argentine Tango post asking if I had energizer bunny batteries attached to me. Well, today this energizer bunny got a dose of reality.
On a clear, sunny and relatively warm Saturday in the desert of Southern California, I ventured out for an early morning hike on the well trafficked trail called the Bump & Grind. This particular trail is well known in the Coachella Valley for being a great training hike – one that you take in the beginning of the season to get your legs in shape for some more lengthy hikes into the back country.
The All Trails app calls the hike a “moderately challenging route.” The hike is a 4-mile loop, which has a fairly significant elevation gain of 1,105 feet. I took 9,343 steps and climbed the equivalent of 58 flights of stairs. It took me a little less than 2 hours to complete the hike today.
However, three things happened which shook this energizer bunny a little bit.
One, I took a tumble as I stumbled over a rock protruding in the hiking path. I ended up face down spread out on the path. A scratch or two on the elbows and knees, but no serious injuries as far as I can tell. This happened early in the hike, and then later on I stumbled a couple of more times but did not fall.
What this tells me is that for some reason my feet are not lifting themselves up as much as they have in the past. I may have to focus a little bit more on lifting my feet as I hike along rock strewn paths. Lesson learned.
Two, this trail attracts a good number of hikers. It is a popular trail. Inevitably you meet people passing you from behind or passing you going in the opposite direction. This happened to me today but what shook me was that two individuals who passed me called me “sir.”
They did not call me “bro” or “pal” or “kiddo” or “friend”. No, they called me “sir.” Yikes!
I am saying to myself, do I look that old? Is it my white hair? Is it the slowness of my gait? Is it the fact that I am using hiking sticks? Is it the wrinkles on my face? What could it be that would cause someone to call me “sir”? Egad!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And finally, the third thing that happened that really shook me today was the fact that for the entire almost two-hour hike I was passed time and time again. Or to put it another way, I never passed anyone. I was only passed. And passed many times. Oh my God.
Admittedly, I am 25 pounds over my playing weight. Admittedly I have a brace on my left ankle that helps with a little pain and strength issues in that foot. Admittedly, I have not been hiking as much as I have in the past. I hiked last week, but I have not been hiking religiously. I am not in my ideal hiking shape. And, admittedly I am celebrating the 37th anniversary of my 42nd birthday shortly.
Nevertheless, I don’t think I have ever been passed by every person on a hike before.
Today brings back memories from when I used to run marathons. The first marathon I ran I was passed by everyone for the entire 26 miles. My time was not that bad, but I hated being passed by everyone. I was a wreck psychologically.
What I did in the second marathon and every marathon I entered after that, was I made sure that I was the last person to leave the starting line. I deliberately made sure that no one started behind me. Guess what? No one passed me. In fact, I passed many, many people. My running time was the same as my first marathon, but I felt great when I finished because I was passing other runners all day long!
Bottom line. Today was sobering. It was a comeuppance for the person that supposedly has the energizer bunny battery attached to him.
I think this energizer battery needs to be recharged. Does anyone know if energizer bunny batteries are rechargeable?
yes, you can buy rechargeable energizer batteries on prime..
Walk every day on the treadmill, crank it up so you walk fast..this will prepare you for your hikes..
dye your hair, then you will have. a young appearance!!!! you could dye it blond or pink. that seems to be the color the young folks are going with these days!!!
Neil don’t worry about the fact that people call you sir, that is a sign of respect…or that we are now old.. we are old..
That there Argentine Tango messes with yer foot muscle memory eh! and we tend to drag them more than the average bloke,
Actually the route seems aptly named “bump and grind”. By the look of your knee yesterday , sir, you now know the bump part. Best to stick with the bump and grind of days gone by, perhaps in a 57 Chevy after prom-and get those batteries checked!
Just remember to enjoy life and have fun 🤩. There are so many people who don’t make it to our ages. Please keep telling you stories.
Tonight I tripped and fell down on my side scurrying to the NY ferry. The nice young man who helped me up pointed to the ajar paver Id fallen over – said he had done that too. But I blamed it on not picking up my feet. A young woman complemented me on my graceful fall. I told her I was a skier and learned how to fall without doing myself harm a long time ago. But the pavement was a lot harder than the snow on Vail!