One of the hardest parts of training for hiking or trail running is the downhill legs, the front part of your quads that provide the braking action. I usually hit a few trails in the spring and run downhill, trashing that particular part of the quads to get that first round of pain out of the way. After that initial shock, they recover well and it’s off to the races.

This year I’ve spent a lot of time on the bike trainer, and my aerobics and general leg strength are in top form, at least for a 68 year old. I considered that Phase I, which culminated in participating in an 8 person team for the Great American Ride (virtual ride across America, over 3700 miles). Over 17 days, I logged 959 miles with one day off and one day for skiing (our team finished 4th overall, and 2nd for 8 person teams). I felt as fit as I’ve been in years because of the consistency of targeted training.

*Snow at 4900’ below Mt. Wow, Mt. Rainier*

Phase II began after a two week vacation, providing good rest for the bod and a break from training. This of course gets me back on the trails and getting in elevation gain and loss for those particular muscles other than biking. I managed a slow trot on my first outing with not much elevation for a 9 miler…so far so good.

And then I wanted to hit Rainier and try the Boundary Trail at the Nisqually entrance, checking out this longer route to Mt. Wow, which I failed to summit in 2019. Parking a short distance up the road after entering the park, I walked to the Boundary Trail, located right at the entrance. The weather was fine, even on the warm side on this mid May Wednesday, and the Boundary Trail (BT) is on the steep side. It ends at a saddle and from there I proceeded up a ridge toward Mt. Wow, dropping into a bowl and proceeding a short ways before turning around on snow covered slopes at 1 PM. This was more of a scouting trip than a serious attempt.

*Rocky outcropping on the ridge leading to Mt. Wow, Mt. Rainier*

The ridge has some particularly steep sections and some maneuvering around rocky outcroppings, kind of a full body workout. Once I regained the saddle I started trotting down the BT but couldn’t go too fast because of the grade. On it went, with hopping and scooting over fallen logs with the legs starting to get a little quivery. “Oh” I thought, “I’m really trashing those downhill quads, this will be a great session.” I realized I was in for some recovery pain when I leaped off a log rather than step over it; my legs collapsed when I landed, the braking muscles giving up the ghost with no juice left in them, leaving me squished like an accordion on my butt. I chuckled at this, and decided not to leap off any more logs and try to save my legs as much as I could for the remaining distance.

The aftermath was one of the most painful recoveries I’ve had in years. The day after I was walking like an old man, and the second day I was limping around and wondering how I was going to negotiate the two steps into the house. The quads were painful to the touch. So here it is, 4 days later, and I’m finally ready to hop on the bike and try to work some of the kinks out. BTW, the elevation gain/loss was 4,000’ over 11 miles total, nothing to brag about. But that was such a good workout I’m thinking of returning this coming week and doing it again, this time with the thought of summiting Wow. Hopefully this trashing will not be repeated.