Day 3: Hiking In The Rain

July 8, 2014July 7, 2014 ~ JodiLea

Monday, June 30th: Juneau

The adventurers woke up feeling fine and hungry. We met the gang at breakfast and at last were able to eat a full meal ;-).

The ship got into port a little earlier than expected, so we decided to check out the stores in Juneau for a while. Our shore excursion was not until 12:30. Outside is dense fog, gray pea-soup thick fog that makes you want to stay in and read by the fireplace. NOT the kind of weather for hiking and riding trams up mountains, which is exactly what our excursion is.

Unfortunately, the excursion I really wanted was voted down. I wanted to do the dog mushing one. You got to meet the female winner of the Olympic Iditarod competition and learn how to drive a dog sled. You also got to meet the dog teams and play with the puppies. Who would vote down that? My hubbies family, that’s who. I’ll be a sport and go along, even though riding a tram up a steep mountain is not a person afraid of heights’ idea of fun.

[Remind me to tell you about our hot-air balloon adventure sometime…]

Well, the tram ride was nothing scary at all. The hike, however, was not the ‘leisurely walk in the mountains’ that was advertised. I knew I was in trouble when our guide, Betsy, handed out walking sticks. By the time we had hiked up the side of Mount Roberts, my stick was my new best friend. I would not have made it out of there alive without him!

I did not wimp out, and I made it up and back without any side-adventures. I had to take a photo of Juneau from the tram before it began its decent. Why? To show my daughter and granddaughters that Grandma still got gumption. In case they were starting to worry about me.

I was never so happy to hike back down the mountain and get into the crazy tram to get back to the ship! Betsy was a fun and knowledgeable guide. She taught us about the plant life we saw along the way, encouraged us, took us to a place to have all natural ingredient teas and little cookies. We also got a peak at the parks ‘bear cam’ and watched adult grizzlies catching salmon. I love watching grizzlies on TV.

Since it drizzled rain all day, we were tired, hungry and scruffy looking returning to the ship.

I noticed they have a lot of diamond jewelry stores in Juneau. I, luckily, did not have time (or the energy) to shop.

Day 3: Juneau

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014 ~ JodiLea ~ 2 Comments

Monday, June 30th: Juneau
The adventurers woke up feeling fine and hungry. We met the gang at breakfast and at last I was able to eat a full meal ;-).

The ship got into port a little earlier than expected, so we shopped in the stores along the main street. I noticed they have a lot of diamond jewelry stores in Juneau. I, luckily, did not have time to shop. Outside there is dense fog, that gray pea-soup thick fog that makes you want to stay in and read by the fireplace. Sprinkles of rain added to the dreariness of the day. NOT the kind of weather for hiking up mountains, which is exactly what we were going to do today. JuneauFromTram

Unfortunately, the activity I really wanted was voted down. I wanted to do the dog mushing one. You got to meet the female gold medal winner of the Olympic Iditarod competition and learn how to drive a dog sled. You also got to meet the dog teams and play with the puppies. Who would vote down that? My hubbies family, that’s who. I’ll be a sport and go along, even though riding a tram up a steep mountain is not a person afraid of heights’ idea of fun.

[Remind me to tell you about a hot-air balloon adventure sometime in the future…]

Well, the tram ride turned out to be very mild and nothing scary at all. The hike, however, was not the ‘leisurely walk in the mountains’ they advertised. I knew I was in trouble when our guide, Betsy, handed out walking sticks. By the time we had hiked up the side of Mount Roberts, my stick was my new best friend. Too bad I’m not coordinated enough to snap pictures while hiking with a stick…

Betsy was a fun and knowledgeable guide. She taught us about the plant life we saw along the way, encouraged us, took us to a place to have all natural ingredient teas and little cookies. We also got a peek at the parks ‘bear cam’ and watched adult grizzlies catching salmon. I love watching grizzlies – on TV.

I did not flake out, and I made it up and back without any side-adventures. Still, I was happy to hike back down the mountain and get back into the tram.

: Aerial View of Juneau

I took a photo of Juneau from way up high in the tram, before it began its decent. I wanted to prove to my children that Grandmas are tough. It happened to be a magnificent view as well.

We blended in well with the other weary and soggy adventurers returning to the ship.

TTFN,

Jodi

Sometimes Spontaneity is NOT a Good Idea

October 21, 2013 ~ JodiLea ~ 4 Comments

Last weekend, my BFF and her hubby flew in from Missouri for a visit. While they were in the neighborhood, and had not seen Lake Tahoe in person, we planned an overnight excursion and booked a suite at the “Rustic Cottages“, in Tahoe Vista. We could not have found a cozier or friendlier place to be.

While exploring around Lake Tahoe, we were at a ‘Vista Point’ and saw Emerald Bay with its castle and private island. My BFF and her hubby are hiker’s, bicyclists, and campers. Once we found out that there was a trail you could hike down and tour the castle, those two were practically drooling.

If you know me, and some of you do – you know that mountain climbing is a really bad idea for clumsy and directionally challenged me. But you know how it is. Everyone else wants to go. And they are looking at you with pleading eyes.

Wanting to be spontaneous and fun, I hiked with them on the trail down the mountain to the bay. The trail was not straight down the mountain, so, it took a l o n g time to reach the shore below. The park ranger that took our $10 (?!) parking fee, told us that it was a mile long hike to the castle.

She lied.

The mountain or the bay could have been a mile long, but the trail had many switchbacks and you could only see the section you were walking on unless you leaned over the edge. I was fine with that information passed from hubby. I did not have to see it for myself – I’m not from Missouri.

The castle was very cool, but I could not enjoy it fully because I had started to realize the danger I was in.

I knew I used all the carbohydrates in my body. And that was walking downhill. I would not be able to hike back up, unless I had some fast sugar and something to eat.

I won’t go into the details about insulin to carb ratio’s, or use any medical terms here, but the bottom line is that low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is way more dangerous than high blood sugar. At least in the short-term.

That being said – I always carry a little juice box in my purse for when I need to raise my blood sugar in a hurry. However, four ounces of apple juice was not going to get me back up that trail, and our snacks were in the car, along with my bottle of water. After digging through my purse, I found 2 packages of ‘Smarties’ candy. Whew! I sucked on them as we began to climb.

It was embarrassing how often I had to find a place in the shade to rest. The high elevation in Tahoe did not help. It was a struggling and torturous climb for me. After absorbing the Smarties, I felt better and I could pick up my pace, but it was a brief repast.

Half-way into the ascent, I felt the symptoms of low blood sugar – I was nauseous, hot, shaky, weak, and irritable. Luckily, I kept myself from panicking. My BFF came to the rescue – by dumping out her purse and finding little boxes of ‘Nerds’ and a banana ‘Laffy-Taffy’. BTW: They tasted wonderful, even when eaten for medicinal purposes. And they probably saved my life. At the very least they saved me from seizure or coma.

I did make it up to the parking lot, and got home to blog another day. I am still kicking myself for not thinking things through. Diabetics that are ‘brittle‘ like I am, can’t be very spontaneous. It sucks, but that’s how it is.

Every meal, snack and activity has to be planned and prepared for. My daily supplies (insulin, needles, glucose monitor, and juice) must be calculated out for the expected itinerary, and packed with me when I travel. This girl can never ‘pack lightly’ again. I did not have enough juice/food with me, because I did not factor in a long hike that day.

Thank God I was not by myself!

Wait. a. minute…

If I was by myself, I would not have gone hiking in the first place… 😉

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photo credit: bunchofpants via photopin cc