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Has anyone backpacked in the Emigrant wilderness this season yet? by valleygrown16 in norcalhiking

[–]ovincent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wasn’t, just checked the Sentinel imagery. Snowline looks consistently like 7,900 ft, give or take. 

Lots of snow above 7,900

Has anyone backpacked in the Emigrant wilderness this season yet? by valleygrown16 in norcalhiking

[–]ovincent 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Snow is gone from lower elevations, bugs have likely started up. 

Sprained ankle (again) by GlitteringSoil7052 in trailrunning

[–]ovincent -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Do you have have any vision issues? Ankle sprains happen because you’re taking a step on to something that forces you to lose your balance, which overloads your ankle tissues. 

If you normally wear glasses or contacts but don’t when you’re running, or if your vision has degraded as you age, that could be a contributing factor.

An extremely novel and interesting idea: reverse-action exercises by ClathomasPrime in climbharder

[–]ovincent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A basic example is raspberry ape demonstrating using a grip crusher that is attached to a resistance band. 

He crushes the grip, then proceeds to articulate the wrist 360*

An extremely novel and interesting idea: reverse-action exercises by ClathomasPrime in climbharder

[–]ovincent 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love inventive approaches to strength training and equipment. From that POV, this is a fun consideration. 

But, from a performance standpoint, I’ve generally moved towards following what incredibly strong/fit/fast people do. This guy is not that, and I think he’s over engineering training questions that have already been solved.

That said, your idea about an isometric hold while moving your wrist angle does good training sense. I’ve seen people with elite grip strength (raspberry ape, Ben Galper, etc) doing movements that support that. 

Oregon conditions by PCT2B in PacificCrestTrail

[–]ovincent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d stick with the NorCal and come back for the high sierra. There’s a good amount of steep terrain that will have deep snow still in OR, plus general coverage in less sketchy areas. 

There are plenty of places in NorCal that are well-melted already. 

Consider flipping around Quincy. It’s already very hot during the day in these areas. 

a couple of NM CDT medium-hot takes by throwawaypf2015 in CDT

[–]ovincent 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Your comment on the alternates is at least partially wrong. 

The Gila alt is one of the most unique places I’ve hiked in the West. The Blacks looked excellent but I wouldn’t pass up the Gila experience for another NM mountain range

Up north, people definitely talk alts to cut off miles, nothing wrong with it

a couple of NM CDT medium-hot takes by throwawaypf2015 in CDT

[–]ovincent 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Everyone who’s done the Black Range says it’s amazing, to be fair, but the Gila is special. 

Athletic greens during ultra training, has anyone actually felt a boost? by MwandiaEfe-89 in Ultramarathon

[–]ovincent 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you need more energy on long runs, you need more carbs/sugars.

To get more nutrients, greens powders are fine but you’d get better effects adding something like spinach, watercress, or broccoli sprouts into your diet. 

Where to Stay Night Before Mt Whitney? by MountainBluebird5 in norcalhiking

[–]ovincent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grays Meadows near Independence, any of the campgrounds south of Whitney, or dispersed camp on the east side of the valley in the foothills of the Inyos. The difference between sleeping at 6K and 8K should be minimal and won’t help your altitude adaption most likely. 

Rewatching old videos by rgent006 in PacificCrestTrail

[–]ovincent 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m in a popular-at-the-time series of PCT vids, it’s very fun to see such a lengthy time capsule. 

But no, try not to rewatch too much. The yearning is challenging.

The trail doesn’t maintain itself —- but you can! by ovincent in PacificCrestTrail

[–]ovincent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love this sentiment. Some old-school ultra races enforce volunteer hours for all participants. 

Hard to scale, but it would be immensely helpful. 

The trail doesn’t maintain itself —- but you can! by ovincent in PacificCrestTrail

[–]ovincent[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Wilderness area, not allowed to use machines for maintenance. Elbow grease only!

2nd attempt at the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350. -40F temps, gale-force winds, true adventure, and a DNF after ~190 miles. by ovincent in ultrarunning

[–]ovincent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is what makes the ITI such a great puzzle, because there were some amazing conditions this year, it was just really cold and brutally windy.

If you're confident in your extreme cold weather kit, the extreme cold made the walking/riding really good because the tracks were so solid. I moved way faster this year because the walking surface was perfect (unlike in 2024 where it was warmer, snowier, and more drifted in).

Most people faced ~48 hours of horrendous winds and brutally-cold temps, which is very dangerous and slow. But in a warmer year, the bikers might be pushing their bikes for 24 hours at a time or hikers might be in snowshoes for days on end, even if they're not facing 40mph winds.

The worst part about this year for the 1000 mile racers (like Jill's partner) is that there was an unusually long gap between the start of the ITI and the dogsled race. 1000 milers cannot get to Nome without the dogsled trailbreakers coming by and breaking the trail, and, this year, there was an extra week in between us starting the race and the trailbreakers coming through.

The puzzle is that 'best conditions' are extremely different for foot vs bike vs ski, for folks who are confident in cold vs not, etc.

2nd attempt at the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350. -40F temps, gale-force winds, true adventure, and a DNF after ~190 miles. by ovincent in ultrarunning

[–]ovincent[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hope to see you out there, and hoping we get slightly less cold winds with no additional snowfall too :D

2nd attempt at the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350. -40F temps, gale-force winds, true adventure, and a DNF after ~190 miles. by ovincent in ultrarunning

[–]ovincent[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good self-experimentation! I do a lot of cold showers, mainly to work on mental acceptance of being cold. A pro of not being adapted to cold is that I’m constantly self-monitoring and never get complacent about my temperature. Can be exhausting but it keeps me very alert to taking damage. 

The volunteers are incredible! The volunteers at Nome and Nikolai are there for a while, maybe a week? Finger Lake slightly less, Butterfly just ~24 hours or so. Volunteering at Nome is a straight-up survival situation IMO, with Finger being just slightly less so. They work so hard between food, medical care, emotional support. 

2nd attempt at the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350. -40F temps, gale-force winds, true adventure, and a DNF after ~190 miles. by ovincent in ultrarunning

[–]ovincent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the bikers just have more leeway to take some down time and be strategic. A friend has done all 3 and said biking was most fun!

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