Ain't What They Used To Be

I fancy myself a fairly fit &  healthy guy but I've never been a fitness guru, let alone a gym rat for any significant amount of time. I have always been active, involved in various sports & aside from the occasionally engrossing show, never watched much TV - hell, I haven't had cable for probably five years & in that time, I doubt if I've turned a TV on more than a dozen times. 

The closest I ever came to being a fanatically, die hard, workout junkie was in '04.  Had a pretty good routine - plenty of cardio, weight training & Bikram yoga (yoga in a really hot room). I felt great, probably looked as healthy as ever & was mostly conscious of what I was eating....never been a fast food or junk food guy & mom always had tremendous, fresh fruits & veggies from her garden nearly every meal. I kinda feel like living on the farm taught me to eat well from an early age.  

Anyway, since I've gotten here, there's been plenty of down time & the opportunity to really streamline my diet further, due in part to what's available. I also make an effort to put in a couple good workouts a week, I walk everywhere (a handful of cab rides due to frigid temps or late nights at a bar downtown) & hit the trails every weekend.  Although I only do a serious hike about once a month. I've also been bustin out 150 push-ups a day, so I feel like I'm in decent shape. 

Regardless, a couple years ago as the family was gallivanting through Europe, Scott (younger brother) & I decided to take a hike into some mountains behind our cabin in Stryn, Norway. The whole trip had been epic up to this point & I'm always up for a nice walk in nature & I had a sneaking suspicion that the views from high up on the mountain would be even better than the ones kicked back in a chair on the front porch of the cabin sippin' some suds. Long story short, we never quite made it to the summit as we ran into a precarious snowfield & weren't necessarily equipped to make a final push to the top. Plus, I'm pretty certain something could have gone terribly wrong, even though it was a picture perfect day & all the factors were in our favor. Unfortunately, this also meant tremendous instability on & beneath the snow with way too much threat of an accident to risk going all the way. 

 

Feeling adventurous outside of Stryn, Norway

As we weighed the options & made one last ditch effort to find a possible access route to the top, we were scampering rather feverishly as the day grew longer & our sunlight wasn't going to last forever (summers in Norway are great for many reasons but the fact there is sunlight for something like 18 hours just add to the appeal; do yourself a favor & visit!) and we hadn't exactly planned on making an entire day of it, so our rations were pretty much non existent. In my haste to find a route, I was looking ahead & around rather than down, where I was planting my foot. 

 

Situation we faced w/snowmelt, rocks & fancy footwork

Now I'm not sure if paying attention would have helped in this case but either way, I wound up stepping on an extremely soft patch of snow, my leg crashed through & I wound up tweaking my left  knee pretty bad between what looked like, from my vantage point, a couple of quite hefty boulders. Given my frenetic pace & the tricky games gravity can play, my momentum insisted on carrying me forward, while my immobile leg said otherwise. I can definitively say I heard a pop but I do know that whatever happened, hurt something fierce & the hike down was torture (but I was a trooper & strapped on the ski's the next day for some July 3rd skiing adventures)!

 

Seriously simple, yet majestic beauty

Back to present day, I occasionally feel some pain in my knee when I've done some serious hikes & it usually only happens when I'm heading back down & the pace is probably quicker than I should be moving. Well, as I made my way outdoors & into the mountains again this weekend, I was not only able to soak up a little sunshine, work up a good sweat, scramble some serious vertical terrain & inadvertently muck up  the knee once again. It just so happened, on my way back down, I planted my left leg rather quickly after twisting my right ankle in a loose rock. 

 

Video about half way up

About the time I realized I should really get moving

The 'easy' path that gave me so much trouble

Eye of the Tiger?

Views were great, regardless of losing daylight

                                              

 

Near the top, contemplating continuing or heading down

I obviously know better than to stay out too late in the wilderness (especially one I am relatively unfamiliar with) but it was such a gorgeous day w/so much to explore & snap pictures of that I allowed time to slip away from me. When I realized the sun had nearly dipped behind the range to the West & I'd chosen a new route down, which meant unfamiliarity, I was hard pressed to make good time so as not to have to face some of the impending possibilities of maneuvering in unfamiliar territory at night.  

Needless to say, the hike down became ever more arduous with every step but I was fortunate to have brought along a walking stick to aid my efforts if such a predicament were to arise. As the sun made it's descent behind me & the westerly mountains, my pace remained just quick enough to make necessary progress while the unknown path seemed to be working with me, as it was a fairly gradual grade, for the most part. I think it's actually used quite frequently bike mountain bikers (like the one I'd seen up there about a month before) but it still was no walk in the park & if you've ever done any hiking around amongst even mildly serious terrain, you know eventually you'll run into some steep grades, which is exactly what I encountered on numerous occasions. I felt fortunate as I'd had the foresight to not only wear extra clothing but also pack some edibles for consumption along the way....thanks mom, Cara & Leah for a few of the goodies I enjoyed - there's certainly something to be said for a well timed Snickers & granola bars!

Halfway down I stumbled upon a large cemetery w/a view

I've obviously survived the 'ordeal' but certainly need to figure out what causes the discomfort in the knee....maybe it's an after effect of the Norway incident, maybe it's just the fact my body has been battered throughout years of sports, exercise or simple wear & tear but they're ain't what they used to be. This might be something I have to deal with for the duration of my time over here, as there are plenty of great mountains to hike around & explore that I really don't want to miss out on b/c of a bum knee! I have been to the doctor a coupe times since getting over here (once for the mandatory physical exam & once cause of some serious congestion), so I could always look into checking out the affordable health care system they have in place here in Korea....

The home stretch....hello civilization!