Hiking vacation in GSMNP - Photos

One week ago I tested my body with some short sprints on turf, just 7 sprints ranging from 30m to 60m, 80-90% effort.  And it reaffirmed the fact - there is NO parallel exercise.  There is nothing that uses the hams and hip flexors quite the same way.  Despite the small workout, my hams were sore for 5+ days, and I could still feel the soreness at the start of the hiking trip.  

We left Friday evening for Fontana Lake, 180 mile trip, put the boat in after midnight on a sketchy earth and gravel ramp at Almond, NC.  Fortunately, it was dry, would have been dangerous if wet.  The lake is low, down 40' from full.  With the heavy load, I had to use low range 4x4 with hubs locked and back down super slow.  We didn't get to bed til after 2am, as I boated several miles to the center of the lake where cell service was the best and I could get reliable internet.  It was cold, clear, in the 40ºs.   

In this complex lake, knowing the shear depth of the lake and trusting my instruments, once I get into the open water, I can cruise at night virtually blind, fogged windows etc...  But we had a full moon and that helps a lot.  

Day 1, we did a mostly flat 6 mile hike at Forney Creek, actually saw a few other people, which is rare in this extremely remote part of the park, only easily accessible by boat, but it was Sat.  

Day 2, took it easy and walked a few miles to the ghost town of Proctor at the end of Hazel Creek, no one there.  We also walked around the dam and went in the visitors center on the last day it was open. 

Day 3, the big hike.  In years past, this was the 'short hike' but now, it was a maximum hike. The hike up the Appalachian Trail from the lake at Fontana Dam to the Shuckstack tower is about 8.5 miles round trip, it has a vertical climb of 2400'.  I remember running up this trail 20 yrs ago with Scott S. and summiting in about 75min.  Today, with numerous short rest breaks and the need to patch a heel blister, it took 2x as long, about 2.5 hrs.  The weather was perfect, sunny mid 70ºs at the lake, low-mid 60ºs at the tower.  The climb was tough in places, about 28% grade.  My HR during the steeper climbs stayed in the 130-150 rang while Roya's was 110ish.   The fall colors were awesome, approaching peak above 3500', about 10 days away from peak at lake level. 

 

To get from the lake up from the boat took a serious steep climb up a driftwood strewn bank to the paved road coming across the dam.   I've always done this to save the extra mile of walking across the dam and back, and provided a hidden place to leave the boat for 5 hrs.  Roya did not like the climb. 

We got to the tower and had it to ourselves for 45 min until another couple arrived just as we were leaving.  It was spectacular as usual.  I was hungry, ate 4 Kind bars with hot tea at the top of the tower. 

Going down took almost as long even without breaks.  It was harder on the knees.  I definitely had some knee pain and weakness on both by the time it was over.  

Roya didn't want to climb down the steep back to the boat so she elected to walk the half mile across the dam and meet me at a 'beach' below a tourist overlook picnic area.  That set up an unfortunate circumstance.

I get down to the boat OK, motor over to the pickup spot and Roya is not there.  I assumed maybe she went to the toilet at the visitors center at the dam.   So I get on the toilet in the boat, and from the window, I hear her yelling from the dam, telling me to come up.  I couldn't really understand what she was saying.  That was the last thing I wanted to do at that point but I did, I put my shoes on and ran up the bank, thinking she might have some problem.  When I get there, the problem has abated and she said she was delayed because of a bear on the walk path.  I was pissed.  What was I supposed to do about it?  She along with 2 tourists scared the bear away so that she could pass.  By the time I got there, the issue was over and I painfully ran up there for no real reason.  She was upset that I was upset.  Well, at least I DID respond and go up.  I was more worried that she may have been accosted or approached by a redneck, walking alone across the dam at dusk. Oh well, she got over it.

Day 4, did some light hiking up to the Cable cemetery and went for a wonderful swim in these exceptionally clear and clean waters.   Water temperature was higher than normal for this time of year, 71º.  Cool and brisk for swimming but with full sun and air temps in the mid 70ºs, it felt great.

I am continually astonished by this place.  The only lake where I've ever been on a weekend and seen almost no other boats, maybe 2 over the whole day.  A true wilderness experience and such a pristine environment.  It's quite an ordeal to get here but well worth it and I hope to return every year.  Sometimes I wonder if that would be my last hike to Shuckstack.  I know I've likely taken my last hike to other more distant peaks, High Rocks - 15 mile round trip, and Clingman's Dome from Forney Creek - 25 mile round trip and nearly 5000' climb.  

I'll be back on the bike this week but no more attempts to run for at least a week.  Recovery is everything at this point.  

Still maintaining a decent weight, around 143.  My diet has lapsed a bit and this week's blood work will be revealing.   

short sprints on turf, bike climb, concerts

First exercise in a week.  Today went to the track and first did a full warmup, drills, and some short sprints.  I probably did more than I should for first time out in a long time, but I did most with the brace.  

Hoka trainers on

Stretches, drills, bands

All sprints on turf - 85% effort

50m stride

50m - 3 step rolling - 7.91

60m - 3 step rolling - 8.90

60m - standing start - 9.18

50m - 3 point start - 8.10

2 x 30m accelerations

I did the first 4 sprints with the brace on.  It all felt pretty good.  Need to take it slow and see how the knees respond.  They will either adapt or not.  Not particularly optimistic, but no significant pain although a lot of noise in the joint. 

I then did a relaxed bike climb, trying to keep my HR mostly below 170, unlike last time where I was over 170 for 11:13.

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 25:19

Avg speed - 5.6 mph

Max HR - 174

HR over 156 - 17:38

HR over 170 - 3:25

Avg HR - 157

Plan is to try to run once a week on turf, or short hill.  See how it feels.  Should keep the brace on.  Am pretty light due to all the stress of performing I think.  Now that Roya is here, I'm eating ok, but still eating a lot of Kind bars, fruit, nuts, and a little chocolate.  

Going on a hiking vacation to Fontana in the Smokies Fri- Tues.

141.5 lbs after workout.  Fat scale says my BF% is holding steady at 12.3%

CONCERTS FINISHED - free at last

Concert season concluded last night at MTSU and wow, what a relief.  The "big one" - Sewanee Monday night was a success.  Just under 100 attended, and I got through it pretty well.  The mental gremlins got me briefly in a few minor mistakes, but minimal and finished all pieces strong, most were near flawless.  Successfully walking away from the Rameau at halftime was a major accomplishment.  Kept the mistakes undetectable as I powered my way through the pieces with no stops, refusing to get rattled.  I held it together, received a stand ovation in what may have been the first Faculty Guitar Recital ever held in the historic landmark All Saints Chapel in the 160 yr history of the University.  The pressure was big, 90% of the people there were hearing me for the first time.   If I had blown it, it would have been difficult to ask to play there again.   One woman in her 70s said it was the best solo concert she'd ever seen on campus. 

 Played MTSU last night, was tougher.  Felt a little tightness in my forearms.  Shouldn't have played 2 nights in a row.  But it went well.  

It's really all mental.  I probably over practiced for Sewanee, put in at least 5 hrs on the day of the concert, but I really needed it to go well.  Of course, over training has been my thing, for better or worse.   

Check out the poster below, guess how old that photo is?  False advertising.  

Bike sprint, back home

Badly needing a workout, I got back to Sewanee in beautiful weather, mid 70ºs dry and clear.  After unpacking the car and taking my plants out, I hopped on the mtn bike for a 2.5 mile sprint.   It was hard.  Out of shape, been a while since a serious bike workout.  My HR pretty much stayed around 168 for 9 min.

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:11

Avg speed - 13.4 mph

Max HR - 170

HR over 156 - 9:34 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

HR over 170 - 0:07

Avg HR - 161

Even though the perceived effort was hard, the HR wasn't as high as my hard rides of the previous weeks, one where I was over 170 for 4:12.

Have gained a little weight, living on Kind bars, fruits and nuts.  Not bad, about 144-145. 

 

walks, short hill sprints, water running, FL concert, music

In FL, at my parents place tonight.  Last 2 nights I spent in a nice hotel with a private pool side patio.  I played a concert last for a good crowd.  We donated the ticket sales to a guitar scholarship fund, raised $800.  Concert went OK.  They thought I was just brilliant, but I had some gremlins and brief memory slips.  Overall it was OK, best of the 3 I've done.  It's crunch time.  The big one is next, a week away.

On my morning walks, I've done a few short hill sprints, about 30-40m and they felt ok, no pain.  It reminded me that there is nothing but nothing that quickly pushes the body and HR like sprinting.  Before the end of the month, I'm going to try to start doing a running workout of some type, just brief, probably up a hill or turf with the offloader brace.  We'll see how the body adapts.

Last night I hopped the fence and did some water running and swimming in the pool about 1am.  It was still about 80º outside.  It was great.  I did 15x split squats with just 20lbs in the fitness center.   My glutes were actually sore next day.

This week, I'm not teaching private instruction and going to Murfreesboro for a short day on Thurs.  6-8ish.   I'm really going to be practicing guitar more than I ever have in decades this week.  I hope my hand health holds out.  It did pretty well in the concert, no significant numbness, just the usual fatigue.  Playing the Rameau variations reminds me how actually athletic music is.  If you don't have the physical part, you can't be expressive and nothing else works.  When playing music of this difficulty, not even hours of practice can prevent mental mistakes due to stress, doubt, etc...  So, that's another element.  And of course, it's not good enough to just play the notes, it has to be expressive, varied, creative. 

Work starts tomorrow when I get home, should be mid-late afternoon.  I have 3 days in a row, Sunday 10:30 playing the entire service at All Saints - this could be a big crowd.  Monday, All Saints concert; Tues, MTSU concert.  Then it's over for a while.  Planning a hiking boat trip to Fontana the following weekend.  Looks like sunny and beautiful weather all week, mid 80s, then turning cooler on the weekend, lows hitting the 40s.  No rain.  

At my concert, I met Pamela Bauer, the daughter of a swing era guitarist Billy Bauer, who played with the most famous and influential jazz musicians of the era.   I had never heard of Bauer, and he wasn't as influential as other swing era guitar players (like Django R. and Charlie Christian).  She gave me a card with this photo.  She must have been at least 85 yrs old, which would have made her ~ 8 when this photo was taken of her dad (N.Y. 1949)... sitting with the single greatest jazz musician of all time.  (In terms of instrumental brilliance, innovation, and influence, his work is studied by jazz players as much as Bach is studied by classical players).  Pretty cool.  

If you don't know who the guy is with the sax and the cig, you're culturally deprived.  

Billy Bauer with Bird, NY 1949

Can't believe I actually bought a seat for my lute. 

weekly bike climb, lifestyle issues...

 Did a hard climb today, needed the exercise.  Maybe too hard.  This one was much harder than last one in terms of effort and HR.   I stayed off of the lowest gear as much as possible.  It was about a minute faster than last time but way more stress on the body and CV system.

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 23:09

Avg speed - 6.2 mph

Max HR - 184

HR over 170 -  14:49 

HR over 180 - 3:19

Avg HR - 165

It was a tough day as Wed night I only slept 3 hrs due to a new fingering I was working into the Rameau piece, and worked all day Thurs, and got 6 hrs sleep Thur night, got up before 7 to start practicing for a performance for a 9 am Music class in Sewanee.  The performance was substandard and sorry I agreed to do it so early.  I got back and fell asleep immediately for 2 hrs, got up and did the climb.  After rest I started practicing with the help of some coffee.  Instead of eating a proper meal, I ate poorly, quick snacks - like fruit, nuts, and chocolate, just didn't want to spend the time preparing the meal.  I eventually did - arugula salad with chicken breast.  

I wonder if doing these high HR climbs is damaging or beneficial.   Last climb was a minute slower but HR was really much lower:   today's HR over 170 was 14:49 vs 3:34 last time.  Over 180 was 3:19 compared to max of 177 last time.  Avg HR was 165 vs 154.  Avg speed 6.2 vs 5.9 mph.

Concert Mon, but it's just a short program (40 m) at noon.  Will go to hotel in Franklin TN Sunday night.  Then to Florida next weekend.  This Monday or Tues after my concert I will hopefully do some exercise, might be my last opportunity.  When I get back from FL, one week to the big concerts.

Weight still ok, mid 143s after workout.

Bike climb, concert

My posting here will be sporadic as my concert tour has begun.  I'm presently in Clarksville, TN getting ready for my first concert tonight.  

I did the bike climb last Friday up Roark's Cove.  I was really trying to keep my avg HR down and not go really hard and I did.  About a minute faster than the one a week before but a slower avg HR.

Roark's Cove bike climb

Total time - 24:06

Avg speed - 5.9 mph

Max HR - 177

HR over 170 - 3:34

Avg HR - 154

As I once said, I know colleges by their concert hall or by their track.  This college, APSU, I've done both.  

APSU is the track where my masters career actually started with a 100m race back 15 yrs ago in 2011 at a early season college meet in March, called the 'APSU Spring Fling.'  The first outdoor meet I had run since high school.  I ran 12.56 at age 50.  (Interestingly, I ran faster at age 61 in '21 - 12.43).  

The following year I returned to race there in one of my best meets as a masters, running a 55.14 400m / 24.94 200m.  It stands as the second fastest 400m of my masters career, and second only to the 55.11 I ran indoors at Vanderbilt 3 yrs later.  

I've performed at APSU twice in their big grand concert hall, but tonight I'll be in their smaller recital hall.  

The guitar feels really good today.  I've prepared pretty well, so just like racing, it's really just mental from here on.  Remaining confident, expressive, and not over thinking and letting doubt distract from the flow.  

This is the first time I've ever used FOUR different instruments in a concert:  

Lute - renaissance dances

Guitar - mostly Spanish stuff (Traphagen)

Guitar tuned in G - for the Rameau (Ruck)

Guitar in 'Turkish tuning" for Koyunbaba (Turrentine)

Kinda ridiculous but this is the only opportunity to actually play my full program before the big concert at All Saints in 3 weeks.  My other concerts are either short or involve travel and I can't take the lute.  

Still doing my strength workout every morning (except today), and going to try to get one hard bike workout in a week.   All this is over on Oct 20.  

Bike Sprint

 One of my fastest, hardest 2.5 mile mtn bike sprints.  I think this was my second fastest.   I needed it.  A lot of butt time and a few extra lbs.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:36

Avg speed - 14.1 mph

Max HR - 175

HR over 156 - 9:49 (inc 1 min recovery at end)

HR over 170 - 4:12

Avg HR - 166 

I hit the turnaround at 5 min flat, about 5 sec off record pace.  It was hard, standing up most of the hills.