What an adventure on the White Salmon river!

Super fun time--all smiles!

One of the girls said, "This is the best time I've ever had in my life!" Then later, added, "This is the most fun I've had all summer." I think we all agree. Our guide, Paul, was awesome. The guide company, Wet Planet Whitewater, was professional, helpful and fun all wrapped in one. Our trip include several Level 4 rapids, one 25' cliff jump and a 12' drop in the last rapid. Exhilarating.

Since this was only my second experience with whitewater rafting, I decided to share my limited knowledge of --

What to expect when whitewater rafting:

1. You will get wet.
2. You will get cold.
3. You will have to paddle.
4. You might fall out of the raft. Your guide will train you on what to do in common emergency situations.
5. Your gear will be provided for you, including wetsuit, booties, lifejacket, helmet, fleece (optional) and dry jacket.
6. You may want to supplement with neoprene/smartwool socks to go under the booties. Also, a tight-fitting rashguard underneath the wetsuit can help with warmth. Swimsuits are optional as the wetsuit/booties are all washed EVERY time, but recommended as there are only a handful of dressing stalls.

The reasons behind the getting cold part has to do with the fact that whitewater comes from snow-packed hills that melt and travel swiftly down the waterways. The temperature of the White Salmon was around 42 degrees.

Although the air temperature was near 80 degrees, this did little to provide warmth while in the raft. Your feet will be submerged in a few inches of water which stays in the bottom of the raft. It is likely that your feet may be the coldest part of your body. If you are a particularly cold-blooded person, you might consider wearing a low-profile fleece hat under your helmet for added heat retention.

If you have never been whitewater rafting, late August/September is a great time to get started. In fact, there are trips on the Tieton River off US HWY 12 that only run in September, and Wet Planet Whitewater is the guide service of choice. 

Good luck!

Hiked a much longer hike (2.5hrs instead of 1.5) so it only makes sense that the calorie burn was much higher 1000+. Better scenery including a beautiful shot of Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Rainier from Silver Creek trail

Lots of time to visit, although my heart was pumping and I was panting like the dogs during one section of trail. Determined to keep active even when my schedule goes crazy in two weeks. One thing my sister admonished me to do was to find time for myself. Self-care is difficult, but necessary. I also need to be more assertive about delegating instead of doing it all myself. This will be a welcome challenge.

View of Mt. Rainier from base of Osborn Trail

Tried to get the camera phone to work at the top of the trail, but nope. Bonus: this trip was faster AND burned more calories than the last one.

My attempts at being more active have been successful. If I am sore (too sore to exercise) in a certain area of my body, I simply substitute a different activity for the less-sore regions. Skipped the Insanity workout this morning for that reason. Will go jogging instead. Try for tomorrow for the Max Interval Plyo workout. Part of the recovery this week will also include a massage pending my therapists availability- Yeah!

Large calcified tendon

Note the absence of calcification

My body has healed from the calcification I experienced last November. Regular strengthening exercises, magnesium supplements and adequate hydration are now part of the routine. Quite honestly, the doctor at Tacoma Orthopedic was shocked to see no evidence of the deposit which was so large nearly 4 months previously. The body can heal itself if we work within the parameters of natural healing.

Although I have to listen to how my shoulder is doing, by using activity modification I can usually avoid any serious problems.

So, knowing that the traffic wouldn't be great between Tacoma and Olympia, I scheduled to leave Tacoma by 4pm. When my daughter's ride didn't meet me until and hour later, we were stuck in the middle of something resembling this:

Transit Blog
The post from the above mentioned blog was from back in 2010 and let's just say the traffic from Exit 124 on I-5 in Tacoma to Exit 114 Nisqually is HORRIBLE. There are lane merges, lanes that end and basically, the parking lot you see above. The traffic blog site explains:

Traffic has gone from bad to worse near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  Over the past five months14,000 soldiers have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the base is set to expand by 50% more soldiers by 2016 (from 23,000 to 36,000), bringing the total number of soldiers, civilians, and dependents at JBLM to well over 50,000 people.  This Redmond-sized contingent of people mostly reside off-base along a narrowed stretch of I-5 (SR 512 to Nisqually)with no HOV lanes and only skeletal (at best) transit service.  Travel demand has increased markedly and tempers are short, prompting nervous press releases from WSDOT announcing “immediate actions” that amount to little more than signal timing improvements.  Everyone knew this storm was coming, but the scale of the backups seems to have caught base officials as well as WSDOT off-guard.  This may now be the single worst traffic area in Washington State.

I usually avoid this 10 mile stretch of road as it can take upwards of and hour to travel it at its worst. Alas, I needed to travel from Tacoma to Chehalis to Morton and this was the logical route. Can't say I'll sign up for that again. They at least need an HOV lane, with or without a toll for under the minimum, like Hwy 167 (Valley Freeway). It's not that I'm a fan of tolls, but I would gladly pay $.50-$2.50 to travel at freeway speeds in the HOV lanes. They also need to re-engineer the off-ramps an on-ramps. They are terrible in this stretch. The exit only lanes need to be marked for 1/2 mile, not 2 miles. Grrrr! There are lots of other great suggestions on the blog, but none that I'm aware of have been implemented.

I'm getting nervous about commuting to school in September. Fortunately, I do not have to travel the dreaded road previously mentioned.

So, today's Core Cardio & Balance workout netted 164 calories. Seriously! Not even worth getting in my workout clothes and the 37 minutes it took. I can see my body needs a break, but when you're a numbers girl-that's me- these things matter. A lot. Went on the same hike out of Ashford with a couple of friends and the two dogs. We were faster this time, so it's not surprising we burned a few less calories. Fortunately, with an hour and a half of mostly vertical hiking we still came in just over 700 calories. That's what I'm talking about, a true accomplishment. I can be proud and feel good about that.

Adding valued to my life

My first kayak trip at Taidnapam.

Activities I've tried in the past 5 weeks:

• Kayaking
• Insanity (currently on day 33 of 60)
• Daily jogging
• Hiking in Ashford (with the dog and new friends)
• Rock climbing at indoor gym (in Vancouver, BC)

Purpose for increasing activity:

• Muscle strength
• Muscle definition
• Cardiovascular endurance
• Lose inches
• Lose weight
• Gain sense of accomplishment

Results (so far) of my efforts:

• Lost inches off chest, waist, thighs
• Gained muscle definition in upper arms, back and shoulders
• Lost weight
• Increased muscle strength, stamina and cardiovascular fitness

What do I like the best/worst?

BEST: Hiking wins the calorie burn and sense of accomplishment, with the bonus of being somewhat social and exercising the dog.

WORST: Probably kayaking. While it is exhausting, because my craft is designed for the river, it is difficult to maneuver (read as frustrating) and takes a bit of time loading and unloading it. Lots of time not sweating, just waiting to sweat. Second worst: Insanity. I am only finishing Insanity because I made a commitment to myself to finish it. I like the moves and the burn and so far, Shaun T. is not as annoying as Tony Horton on P90x. I don't like the stretching after 5 minutes of exercise or the recovery week. Seriously, 188 calories burned for the Core Cardio & Balance workout. Not to mention THE SAME EXACT VIDEO FOR 5 DAYS IN A ROW. BORING. I reserve the right to jog and/or hike everyday during recovery week. This is what I normally do so the recovery portion will just be my Insanity workout that is acting as the recovery.