Klamath National Forest/Marble Mountain Wilderness
6/6-6/7/19
BW=193
I am an experienced backpacker, having done lots of wild rigged hikes and much of the Eastern Sierras. This was, by far, the hardest hiking I have ever done.
After threatening to go backpacking since February, I finally decided to abandon work and head up into the mountains.
Since for some reason other people like to plan ahead and get their gear organized, I was solo. I dig solo hikes, but it's also a little nerve-wracking because you really need to go slow, plan and think ahead.
I have always loved the Marble Mountains in way Northern California, about two hours from me, but until today we've always gone to the northeast corner and done the Lovers Camp/Frying Pan & Sky High Lake Loop.
So I decided to head in from the south through Klamath National Forest, first weekend in June.
While I won't say it was a mistake, it was very invigorating!
After a quick 45 minute detour up the wrong Forest Service road, I finally arrived at the Trailhead. I was a little unsure if I was in the correct spot since there was no sign, but the topo map confirmed I really was in the right place. The lack of a sign is what better writers than me call 'foreshadowing.'
I arrived pretty late and hit the trail (Little North Fork) just before 4 p.m. I figured to get about 5 or 6 miles in and camp near Smith Cabin in the southern Marbles.
What I did not know at the time was that the Island and Wallow fires in 2017 had ripped through this area and hammered the trail. Badly. And while anything is possible, it appears, almost certainly, that I was the very first person to walk the trail since mid-2017. I was unquestionably the first person to do it in 2019.
If you are not an experienced backpacker, you may not realize what happens to trails when they get no maintenance and no traffic. In short, they are not trails anymore. They completely disappear. And if there's any water nearby, that three foot wide spot often becomes even thicker than the stuff on either side.
And remember, there was a fire. There were hundreds of trees burned and down everywhere, and at least 60 of them were laying across the trail, if they hadn't eradicated it completely.
So to say that I did not make it six miles in would be a gross understatement. I actually think I maybe got three miles in three hours. This was backpack parkour mixed with mystical orienteering. In three hours I lost the trail no less than four times, and it took from 10 to 30 minutes to find it again. On average it was more subtle than a normal game trail.
By the time I found a flat spot that wasn't on the edge of a cliff, it was time to set up camp. It was still directly in the middle of the trail, but like I said, not much traffic. I hadn't even reached the Marbles.
Got up and hiked in four more almost comically wicked miles into the Marbles, and ran into a giant valley that had been hammered by fire. The trail was nowhere to be found, as there were several acres of destruction.
So I bushwacked through thick dead branches and brush, while the hillside slipped away. Did I mention this is the mountains? Where you are already always standing on a steep side slope and then going either steeply up or down?
After two hours of knowing almost exactly where I was on the map, but unable to get across a ravine with a stream in it due to losing the trail or having it wiped, I admitted defeat and set up a day camp for a nap by the river (North Fork of the Salmon I guess?).
Anyway, this got long, but I woke up and decided to get out the way I came same day, before I forgot all the subtle nuances of where exactly the trail was. Plus I still had to bushwack back a mile to the trail, such as it was.
So, roughly 14 miles of “trail,” and probably 17 total including hopeless wandering. 13 hours of hard hiking and almost exactly 24 hours to the truck and back.
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 2
200 x 5 x 2
200 x 4 <--didn't think I had it
Trap Bar Deadlift
135 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2
365 x 1
390 x 2, "fail" 3. I'm proud of myself for being older and smarter. I could have got it, but I am determined not to let my form budge an inch, so I missed it.
315 x 3 (low handles)
Did I go kayaking again yesterday? I sure did. We are having gorgeous weather, so I am starting work at like 6 am and leaving at 230 to get outdoors. Also, I am getting pretty lean, people - including gym strangers - are coming up to me and commenting on how I am looking good and lost weight. Very nice but I need to ignore them for a few more weeks, I already eased off on my diet discipline once I got to this ~15% BF, want to finish strong.
Lower back has a twinge, feels minor but elected to skip working it today.
15 min incline treadmill
Bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
135 x 5
155 x 3
185 x 8,6,4
135 x 6
Man am I bad at volume and short rest.
DB Curlz
25 x 10 x 2
25 x 10 <--last 5 were sad cheat curls
Incline DB Press
60 x 10
60 x 6
This may be the second time ever I did an upper body day. Easy.
There are many precise, engineer-types on this forum, but I am not one of them. Regardless, I have almost 15 years of weight history, largely thanks to logging 99% of my workouts.
Looking back on the past four months, I have really made some incredible progress, and I wanted to remind, well, me of it. I have consumed basically every article on diet and maintaining mass on the internet, and I'm realizing that losing 20+ pounds of fat is actually not that common. Of course, keeping it off is even less common, but I'll fight the next battle when I'm done with this one.
Two days shy of 16 weeks I've lost 28 pounds, or an average of ~1.8 pounds a week. I feel pretty confident I added back a little of my old muscle mass as well (re-newbie gains). I definitely got stronger, though not by very much, but I was already fairly strong for some dude. I'm power cleaning, front squatting and push pressing above body weight every workout for sets even on the long diet, and I'm back within 10 pounds of body weight on my press. Not bad for a 40 year old taking no sups.
I'm already right at ~14-16% BF (by eyeball anyway,) I don't have any visible fat pockets and look lean. If I'm right, I'll quit in early July at right about 11-13%.
While I can't exactly say I have enjoyed this process, I am noticeably more energetic now in all facets of life, and it's fun to actually look good naked. I did consider during my backpacking trip that even with my pack, I probably weighed less than I would have without it prior to the weight loss.
One Arm Snatch
bar x some
75 x 1
95 x 1
115 x 1
120 x 1 <--woohoo
PC/FSx3/Pressx3
135 x 1
165 x 1 <--press felt strong
PC/FSx3/PP
195 x 0 <--missed the clean, sat on my ass
195 x 1 x 2
195 x 1, fail PP
Get skinny and everybody wants to talk to you. I've basically been a monk in the gym for four years and now everyone wants to chat me up. I'm not really stronger, I just look the part now. Funny.
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Klamath National Forest/Marble Mountain Wilderness
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