Up Greg/Ranger: 43
Down Front: 25
I was mentally into getting out after work for some fresh air, but once I got on the trail, I physically was not at all into it. I was low on energy overall, my achilles was feeling iffy and the test shoes I was wearing were feeling heavy and more like a hiker than a trail runner (more on the shoe later).
From the first step, I knew it was not to be my day, so I just took it easy from the get go and then bonked hard a few minutes above the cabin. Fortunately, I had thrown a gel in my pocket at the last minute and I scarlfed it down, but it took a while for the sugar to reach my system. With the bonk and my seemingly degrading achilles, I contemplated just turning around and heading home for dinner, but ultimately just ended up walking most of the upper 1/3 of the mountain.
Once on the summit, I felt a little better, but was eager to get down and eat some dinner, so I headed down the front side, taking some interesting new routes that I had never done before, but it was very steep and dense which ended up costing me some time I am sure (but fun to see new scenery).
Test shoes, Scarpa Blitz Boa.... I will not go into detail, but let's just say that the shoe is a klompy/klunky hiking boot, intended to be a trail runner that looks like a low top hiker. Easy on/off, but the Boa lace system is not for me, as it is impossible to get a custom fit like you would with a normal lace. When I cinched it down to a point where I thought I had good tension and foothold, I had uncomfortable pressure points in some areas, where in other areas, the shoe was too loose and my foot would slide around descending steep terrain. Perhaps some of it has to do with the shoe, but I think I will stick with a normal tried and true lacing system (although I have always liked the Salomon laces).
