Running in Monterey

Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.

I'm in Monterey for the quarter, taking classes at Stanford's marine station. It's an amazing place to get out and run as I gear up for the Boston marathon on April 16 (just got my plane ticket today . . . getting stoked). 

I love the progression of runs that start out in Cannery Row, continue on down the coastal trail, and then go along the scenic "17-mile drive" toward Carmel. I start out weaving through the crowds of pedestrian tourists that concentrate around the aquarium, which soon turns into weaving through the packs of casual bicyclests along the coastal trail that looks out onto the sheltered Monterey Bay, until I make my way around the point, where it's less populated but I continue to follow along the seemingly infinite stretch of turbulent, rocky shores. This is my favorite part, passing by the surfers of Asilomar that make me crave my surfing stint in Santa Cruz and sites such as "The Great Tidepool," the fabled Doc's favorite collecting site in Steinbeck's Cannery Row. 

Unfortunately, I think I pushed it a little too hard on my long run last weekend. I luckily never encountered running-related injuries while training for my first two marathons, but this means I'm not really sure how this should affect my training plan. The fact that I'm experiencing some pain in my foot that make me think I should take a little break from running, so yesterday I went on a long bike ride instead. Hopefully I'll be fully back in the game again soon. 

Sport climbing at Pinnacles National Monument

East Buttress of El Cap

I've also gotten to take some advantage of the lack of any sort of winter here in California and gotten some climbing in. It seems so strange to me that Yosemite is still so climbable in February . . . 

Snake Dike

Got up to Yosemite last weekend for some last chance climbing in the valley before winter really settles in. It was such a beautiful time to be there: the sun was out, the temps were climbable (probably hovering around 40 degrees during the day) and it felt like we were the only people in the park. The main event was climbing "Snake Dike" (5.7 R), the notoriously run-out route to the top of Half Dome, Yosemite's most iconic formation.  

We woke up at 5am, had breakfast, packed up and quickly got going on the 6-mile approach to the base of the route. We passed waterfalls and enjoyed some stunning views along the way--I was so happy to be in the valley again. After only minimal trial-finding delays, we made it to the base of the route around 10:30am. 

The start of the route

I admit I started feeling intimidated by the climb once we started racking up to get going--I can't say that I particularly enjoy long run-outs, and on this route there is up to 75 feet between bolts. But once I saw how easy the climbing was (the super long run-outs are mostly 5.4) and felt the solid granite, I relaxed and enjoyed it for the adventure that it is. 

Blake on the third pitch

Me leading up the notorious run-outs

My calves were burning after the long hike and eight pitches of friction-y climbing, but at the top of the route we still had the "endless third-class slabs" to walk up to the summit. 

Anne on the endless slabs

It got so windy as we neared the summit! The valley decided to give us just a little taste of the alpine experience : )

Battling the wind

On the summit of Half Dome

After the summit we descended down the other side and made the nine-mile hike back to camp. I was so ready for dinner and my sleeping bag by the time we made it back. 

After all of the easy, poorly protected climbing on Snake Dike, we decided to climb something hard but well-protected the next day on our way out of the park. The perfect fit: top-roping "The Generator Crack", a heinous offwidth that can seemingly only be climbed through pure struggle, blood and bruises. It was a colder day, just around freezing, but we quickly warmed up through the physical effort. 

Trying to figure out what part of me will fit into the Generator Crack

Just a tight squeeze to go

Fall in Yosemite

Picnic in El Cap Meadow

"Moby Dick"

Lots of Granite

Sunset in Tuolumne Meadows

Cathedral Peak

The view from Cathedral

Descent from Daff Dome

Descent from Pywiack Dome (with Cathedral in the background)