This Sunday was my 4th trip to Lena Lake this year. This time I pushed my 30 pound tot to the lake and back with a jogging stroller. It was to be a bit of a break from carrying her up there in a baby backpack. I'm sore today though. Pushing that stroller to Lower Lena Lake and back was a bit like mowing miles and miles of lawn I think. I used different muscles then I use just to hike up with a backpack. I wanted a good work out and I got it.
There is a geocache at Lower Lena Lake and I went looking for it in January but the water level was too high then. I went to Lena Lake again about two weeks ago but did not have my GPS with me. I looked for the cache anyway and did not find it. On Sunday I had my GPS and I looked for the cache and still did not find it. I think the cache is missing.
Next Sunday we are planning to do the Quinault loop as a family hike and then on Wednesday I'm going to do a solo hike in a spot that should help me get into shape for Deseret Peak in Utah. It's the same elevation gain but with less mileage. Deseret peak tops out at over 11,000 feet. I've never actually been that high. I know that I tend to get a bit headachey at just 9000 feet so I really want to be in good shape for the hike up Deseret that I am planning this summer.
We will camp at 7,500 feet the night before I attempt Deseret. I live at only 300 feet so I'm really not used to higher elevations. I usually get pretty out of breath going up hill, I don't know if it's caused by anemia or my six years of smoking from age 15 to age 21 or what. I just know that I get much more out of breath then most people do when I am hiking uphill. I have to go slow and steady and find a pace that I can maintain. Maybe that would change if I started trying to race up hill on my hikes.
Back to my Lena Lake Hike, we all know that going downhill is hard on your knees because you're basically falling down the hill and your knees have to catch you so you can make it a controlled fall. I had that going on plus the baby in the baby stroller was pulling me down hill. My knees are really feeling it today. Our jogging stroller has a brake but it's only on the front wheel where there is almost no weight and as a break it is basically worthless. I might try to put a brake on one or both of the back tires.
Lower Lena Lake is snowfree all the way to the lake with only patchy bits of snow beside the trail about 1/4 of a mile before the lake.