I’m a little upset at myself for only going to this park for the first time last year, after living in the area for so long. I guess I was intimidated by the crowds (managable if you go early enough), the distance (not as a far of a drive as I thought), and the reservation system. This year they dropped the reservation system, which makes it much easier for me to make last minute trips down there.
I had gone to Mt. Rainier earlier this year and put some (mostly black and white film) pictures of that on the blog. My birthday recently passed and I took the day off work to go there again. Since it was a weekday, I wasn’t too worried about crowds, so I took it chill and arrived there around noon. I got a parking spot without issue and hiked Naches Loop trail.
I intentionally picked an easier hike because I wanted to focus on photography.
Lately I’ve been more gentle with my body and not pushing it as hard as I usually do. I had a minor epiphany when I recently realized that for building strength, working until failure each set is not as effective as working until you still have 1-3 reps left that you can pump out in perfect form. Most of my exercise these days is Iyengar yoga with walking and the occasional hike sprinkled in. I previously had this mentality that the harder and more strenuous it feels, the better the workout is. I’d go too HAM during my yoga sessions and feel significant muscle fatigue for the next two days, then spend the time sitting on the sofa and lamenting how weak I am.
And since I don’t hike often enough, I’d get destroyed on some of them then spend a long time recovering. Recently I hiked Mt. Si cold turkey and I spent days feeling extremely sore. It was not fun, haha. I remember thinking “I’ve done Mt. Si cold turkey before and not feeling destroyed after; what happened?!” Oh the joys of aging.
I started folding that concept into my yoga sessions, getting out of strenuous asanas with a little bit of gas left in my tank. I’ve had this goal of increasing the frequency of my yoga sessions from 2-3x a week to almost everyday, which I’ve always thought “gee that would be nice to do” but never wanting it enough to make the necessary sacrifices. The idea is me going less hard would make me feel better the day after and encourage me to do consecutive sessions. So far it hasn’t happened much yet but I do notice my recovery is a bit better! Baby steps.
So back to my original point, Naches Loop is definitely one of the more easier hikes I’ve ever done. It’s 3.5 miles with only a 600 feet elevation gain. But 3.5 miles is still no joke for me, since I’m mostly sedentary at home on the day I work. I was feeling satisfyingly tired afterwards. I still thought it was well worth the drive there and back. I mean, come on, look at these views!!!
The weather could not have been more cooperative.
Taken with HP5, developed with Xtol 1:3 on the same day. I was finishing a HP5 roll in my camera before I put in the Ektar 100.
I’m going to see if I can sneak one more Rainier trip to enjoy the fall colors before it gets too cold and overcast.
I want to hike Summerland but I don’t think I’m quite ready for it yet, physically. I could do it tomorrow but since I’m in my must-bring-the-film-camera phase, I’m still looking into easier hikes where I can take it chill and enjoy taking pictures without rushing through it.
Years ago I used to go on these longer hikes and not enjoy it as much because I spent half of my energy rushing through it, trying to finish the trek within a “reasonable” amount of time. I rarely stopped and just enjoyed the scenery. I’m going to try and do that more. This attitude towards hiking shall be good practice for cultivating a better attitude towards life.
