A wonderful Wednesday
31 Aug 2023 09:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nwhikerIt was a great day, with one nasty spot.
First the hike. We got out early and made good time on the trail. The last 1/2 is where a good bit of the 1000ft elevation happens, it's done via stairs mostly. So stairs, then an up but less steep switchback series up with lots of roots and many many rocks. Then the falls. This is the 3rd of a series of four waterfalls, and the drop is about 100ft. With dh for scale.
It was really great to be out in the mountains, even if the weather wasn't perfect. I mean, I know I get to my wildland park, with trail and trees etc, but nothing is comparable to the painful scrambles of a real hiking trail!
The sour note. We were coming down the final bit of steep trail (before a trail intersection). At that point, the only place we could be coming from was the falls. We met two women, both thin and fit, and we moved aside to let them pass (uphill has priority!). One of them asked me "Did you get to see the falls?" Get. Get. I blurted something like, yes, they were great but OMG, the crash. If you are thin, maybe that comment sounds like a throw-away one, but as a fat woman, what she was asking implied that my failure to reach the end of the trail I was coming down was enough of a possibility that it merited asking about. That maybe I'd seen the stairs and decided to come back down with just a half mile to go? While wearing, I'd add, hiking boots that have seen many a mile of trail. It just fucking hurts, it's othering, because she'd never say that to a thin person, indeed the question was directed at me not dh. It's the same type of thing I constantly encountered while cycling, people would call out "good job!" when I was riding the goddamn same ride they were. Encourage the fatty, right? Anyhow, it left a sour sheen on an otherwise awesome hike.
In my dreams, I'd hike in an Escher world where the trails only go up and I never have to go fucking DOWN. I hate downhills with a passion. They hurt. Up is usually just a matter of setting my pace, but down is painful hips and knees, the fear of falling and the tension that creates. I've always hated downhills, and it's not gotten any better as I've aged, LOL.
After the hike, we headed home for a bit, then went into Seattle to meet Anne-Chloe and we went to a Kamelot concert. It was great! I love love love live music, and it's our first concert since probably 2019. We masked up, fingers crossed we don't catch Covid. The energy was great, the music wonderful and even my hike-weary knees couldn't stop me from some jumping, ugh. We didn't get there early enough to get up close, so we retreated to the elevated above the floor bar area. Didn't get seats, but Anne-Chloe and I managed to get to a spot where we could see. Why are most of the people who attend metal concerts 6ft plus tall burly men? (Usually with beards, but that's irrelevant to the fact that they aren't transparent!) We were standing behind a woman (seated) who clearly didn't want to be there, she spent most of the concert surfing Instagram and on her Band of America account, apparently checking out transactions. My one gripe? That the (three tall burly bearded drunk) guys to our right had chairs right up front of the bar wall and stood up most of the time anyhow, keeping the people behind them from seeing.
They played a few songs from their new album, but mostly older familiar ones, and people were clearly enjoying themselves, it was great.
First the hike. We got out early and made good time on the trail. The last 1/2 is where a good bit of the 1000ft elevation happens, it's done via stairs mostly. So stairs, then an up but less steep switchback series up with lots of roots and many many rocks. Then the falls. This is the 3rd of a series of four waterfalls, and the drop is about 100ft. With dh for scale.
It was really great to be out in the mountains, even if the weather wasn't perfect. I mean, I know I get to my wildland park, with trail and trees etc, but nothing is comparable to the painful scrambles of a real hiking trail!
The sour note. We were coming down the final bit of steep trail (before a trail intersection). At that point, the only place we could be coming from was the falls. We met two women, both thin and fit, and we moved aside to let them pass (uphill has priority!). One of them asked me "Did you get to see the falls?" Get. Get. I blurted something like, yes, they were great but OMG, the crash. If you are thin, maybe that comment sounds like a throw-away one, but as a fat woman, what she was asking implied that my failure to reach the end of the trail I was coming down was enough of a possibility that it merited asking about. That maybe I'd seen the stairs and decided to come back down with just a half mile to go? While wearing, I'd add, hiking boots that have seen many a mile of trail. It just fucking hurts, it's othering, because she'd never say that to a thin person, indeed the question was directed at me not dh. It's the same type of thing I constantly encountered while cycling, people would call out "good job!" when I was riding the goddamn same ride they were. Encourage the fatty, right? Anyhow, it left a sour sheen on an otherwise awesome hike.
In my dreams, I'd hike in an Escher world where the trails only go up and I never have to go fucking DOWN. I hate downhills with a passion. They hurt. Up is usually just a matter of setting my pace, but down is painful hips and knees, the fear of falling and the tension that creates. I've always hated downhills, and it's not gotten any better as I've aged, LOL.
After the hike, we headed home for a bit, then went into Seattle to meet Anne-Chloe and we went to a Kamelot concert. It was great! I love love love live music, and it's our first concert since probably 2019. We masked up, fingers crossed we don't catch Covid. The energy was great, the music wonderful and even my hike-weary knees couldn't stop me from some jumping, ugh. We didn't get there early enough to get up close, so we retreated to the elevated above the floor bar area. Didn't get seats, but Anne-Chloe and I managed to get to a spot where we could see. Why are most of the people who attend metal concerts 6ft plus tall burly men? (Usually with beards, but that's irrelevant to the fact that they aren't transparent!) We were standing behind a woman (seated) who clearly didn't want to be there, she spent most of the concert surfing Instagram and on her Band of America account, apparently checking out transactions. My one gripe? That the (three tall burly bearded drunk) guys to our right had chairs right up front of the bar wall and stood up most of the time anyhow, keeping the people behind them from seeing.
They played a few songs from their new album, but mostly older familiar ones, and people were clearly enjoying themselves, it was great.
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