Here is a personal tidbit to start the New Year. I think you will enjoy it. My folks recently visited my friend Ed Kondrot, MD in Phoenix for micro current stimulation for my dads macular degeneration. My parents knew that Ed and I were to take an extremely rigorous backpacking trip into the Havasu Indian Reservation in the Grand Canyon the following week. Its a trip I have longed to do for 30 years. (I am now 56.)
Of course, my folks, being my parents, were worried that my 80% raw, 99.5% vegan (minimal dairy) diet would leave me incapacitated and unable to make the arduous trip in and out of the canyon in the searing heat. Ed told me on the way down the canyon that my parents begged him to get me to eat a sane diet. Talk to him, Ed. He wont listen to us. He does not have enough protein. Maybe hell listen to you. Try to get some sense into him! We both laughed hard.
I was very amused that my folks, to this day, question my dietary preferences. Its especially amusing considering the benefits they have seen from the significant changes that they made on my suggestions.
So, how did the vegan do? We made it to Supai village (six miles and 3,000 feet down) in less than two-and-a-half hours. The campground was another 2.2 miles away (which we made in less than one hour). My feet were chafed and I was not sure about our next days plans to tackle a 16-mile round trip to the Colorado River and back. However, the next day, I decided to accompany Ed as far as I could, thinking it was a leisurely walk down a creek bed. We had no idea what we were in for.
My feet seemed to do better as I went along, now wearing sandals designed for creeks. We descended down a treacherous 200-foot wall on chains and bolts nailed into the rock face. We crossed the creek more than 15 times, climbed up rock faces with ropes pegged into the cliffs. We walked (inched, is more like it) along ledges on cliffs only two feet wide and 200 feet high. (Ed laughed, If only your mother could see you now!)
Having made it the eight miles to the Colorado, we played in the crystal waters of the creek before turning back. Like kids, we swung from rope swings into the creek. Then scaled the cliff back to the campsite.
The following day, well bruised, after 24 miles of some of the most technical hiking I have ever done, I donned my pack and trekked the 8.2 miles out of the canyon (over 3,000 ft. elevation gain) in searing heat over 100 degrees.
I like to eat gourmet when I backpack, so I carry a lot of extra food weight. While a treat, it can be heavy. My pack weighed 10 pounds more than Eds. We are about the same height, weight, and age. We made the last six miles in four hours flat, which included scaling the rim on the hottest day of the year. With that extra weight, I was only two minutes behind Ed. Not bad for two old men (one vegan) who watched the youngsters ride horses or helicopters out!
On the ride back to Phoenix, I called my mom to wish her a happy 83rd birthday and relieve her of worry that I might have required an emergency evacuation. Three days later, my sore muscles were recovered enough to do it again!
I hope that you take care of your body the way I suggest in these pages. If you do, your body will help you accomplish the impossible! It does not have to be the Grand Canyon. For some, just walking up the nearby hill with little pain or limitation is just as grand.