View NE over Red Butte Canyon with Grandview Peak still mostly covered in snow.
Last day before surgery, so I went up Mt. Wire, an old favorite. It's a great lunch run, about 5 miles round trip (from work in Research Park) with about 2,100 feet of elevation gain. On June 6th I had discectomy surgery to remove a bulging disc compressing the sciatic nerve between L5/S1 in the lumbar area of my lower back. I spent one sleepless night in the hospital then came home to recover. This was no knee-jerk decision as questioned by several well meaning friends. For the last ten years I've had moderate-to-severe sciatic pain down my right leg and in the last five months it became unbearable. Over those ten years I've seen no less than six doctors, I've received epidural cortisone shots about three time per year, and I've done way too much 'up-dog-yoga' exercises and core strengthening workouts than any 57 year-old should. Forgive me, but I do more crunches and core workouts in a month than most people do in a lifetime.
My boss implied that I might be fibbing about my pain. A three-to-six week recovery period (away from work on Short Term disability, as suggested by my surgeon) was a sham because he sees me running nearly everyday during lunch:
BOSS: "How in the world could I be so severely impaired that I required SIX WEEKS off work?" ME: "I don't know 'boss-man,' just know this: the only time I don't hurt is when I'm moving." When sitting and sleeping (trying anyway) I'm in total pain. And those conditions (movement relieves pain) are confirmed by my doctor.
So, here it is June 16, a week and a half after surgery, and I'm catching up on my blog instead of going to work. The sciatic pain is 70% gone, which makes me nervous the surgery was failure (I expected 100% from day one), but my doctor tells me its just inflammation that will subside over time. The bigger issue right now is the surgery pain. I feel like I'm broken. There is a deep ache in my lower back that hasn't stopped since I awoke from surgery. Even with moderately strong pain meds I still feel a deep pain and that pain is wearing me down. Chronic pain grows old and it is depressing. I do short walks every day (10 minutes) as my Doctor has suggested, but I come home in more pain than when I started. All I want to do is lie down to take pressure off my back. Again, my doctor says it's just inflammation and it will dissipate with time. I completely understand how opiates can become a dependent. They provide momentary relief but they are not a permanent solution. At my age (57) I thought I would have profound answers for the deeper problems of the human experience, but somehow I feel no more enlightenment now than I did as a teenager. Call it a crisis of faith but life should be joyful.
I'm tired of waiting for relief and I'm more than ready to feel good. Hopefully my next post will about running up a mountain.
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| Gobblers Knob from Mt. Wire. |
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| From Mt. Wire, view south to Thunder, Olympus and Lone Peak (l-r). |
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| Arrowleaf Balsam Root on the summit of Mt. Wire, view south towards the Central Wasatch. |
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| Arrowleaf Balsam Root. View SE from Mt. Wire. |
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| Grandview Peak, zoomed view from Mt. Wire. Yes, terrible photo due to the lack of focus but I wanted to show the snow and the potential for skiing still available on Grandview. |
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| Arrowleaf Balsam Root and Grandview Peak. |
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| Grandview. |
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| Yes, I take and post way too many similar photos. It's my fatal artistic flaw because less is always better, a rule I always ignore. I can't resist posting beautiful landscapes. |
"Cappadocian Navelwort, native to Turkey, an evergreen perennial growing to 10 inches tall and 16 inches wide, appearing in spring."
Without my PlantApp telling me all this we can just call these Forget-Me-Nots. I love how the Wasatch briefly comes alive with color as the snow melts. But it's over all too quickly. By the time I'm writing this the hills are already turning "Boise Brown.'
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| A bee photo-bombing the pic, directly above Grandview. |
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| You know me, I have to complain about something. I've been running this trail now for over 30 years and in just the last three to four years there has been a proliferation of "spider-web" trails, everywhere! What's with the new generation of trail runners? Don't want to get your LuLu Lemon Socks dirty when it's a wee bit muddy? Please stay home if you can't stick to the established trail. |
At one point I was super stoked to give Cottenwood Gulch a try near Labor-Day weekend, but the 2 days I had off were odd-numbered days, and cars are only allowed on even numbered days. I've watched the snow-field you took a picture of melt more and more ever since.
ReplyDeleteI hope you start to feel better, Owen. I think you're still doing way better than most people at age 57. Most of my relatives at that age are morbidly obese, and I'm not exaggerating. Every time I go to a family party and see them it motivates me to eat better and exercise more. I can't understand how they're not desperate to change their situation--not being able to fit in their clothes, etc.
My Dad, I have a lot of respect for him, but I have to say that he's let himself go so badly. He's bigger than I've ever known him to be. If it weren't for the blood-thinners, I think he wouldn't be alive today.
I hiked Mt. Wire for the first time a month or 2 ago, because I saw it in your blog. I hiked up the Living-Room ridge, then south to the summit. I'm amazed at anyone who can run it.
Thank you Spencer. Admittedly I’m a whiner, but this (surgery and rehab) has been much harder than I expected.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cottonwood Gulch, I called the gate keeper at City Creek Canyon and they told me that autos can drive up there every day of the week if they park at the end of the road for hiking objectives. The odd/even thing is only for picnic site reservations. You just need to be vigilant in driving the speed limit which is 15mph. I was shocked to hear that so call them before trying it. The downside is that the gate doesn’t open until 8:30 AM, so kind of a late start for spring skiing objectives, but still fine now for hiking Grandview.
Really?! That is awesome. Well, I must admit that it depends on what kind of user you are. I, personally, can't stand encountering any kind of motorized traffic when I go on a trail with the expectation that I'll be breathing clean air. So the even/odd day rule may be disappointing anyone with a like mind toward that sort of thing. So yes, I'll definitely double-check on that. But yeah, that would have been great to know. Maybe it's for the best that I was kept away. Still, it's on my list to get up there and try it. We may not have another year any time soon where that gulch stays in good-enough skiing condition for as long as it takes for the City Creek Canyon road to open up to vehicles. I've thought of just going for it in winter by doing a loop that starts at Rudy's Flat, goes along the ridge to Grandview Peak, drops down the gulch into the canyon bottom, skins City Creek Canyon down a bit, then re-ascends to Rudy's Flat.
DeleteYeah, 8:30 a.m. is a late start, especially if you're concerned about wet slides.
I was surprised when my wife said that because she's spending so much money on a vacation this year (it's really for her; I hate vacations to the beach), I can spend some money on a new mountain bike. Realizing now, however, that my true passion lies with skiing, I've decided to get a real, lightweight, dedicated touring setup. I can't decide between the Scrapa F1 boots and Scarpa Maestrale RS2 boots. I'm thinking about the Marker Alpinist 12 tech bindings (w/out breaks.) And I'm thinking about maybe some DPS Tour1 skis. Haven't done enough research on the skis yet. But the DPS Tour1 skis look nice, lightweight, and they have a perma-wax option where you never have to wax them.
The idea is to forget about anything resort-related, and only focus on what makes a good touring setup. And this next season I want to learn to transition from up-hill to down-hill without taking my skis off.
Did you get up and do Rice or Mud bowls this year?