Walkabout

I joined a local hiking group for a jaunt up to the highest peak in the Santa Monica mountains. The Sandstone Peak trailhead starts about 6 miles from PCH near the LA and Ventura County border. Or as we called it during my surfing days, County Line. There were about 80 people in this slow moving caravan, everyone rolling with the undulating trail with relative grace. It wasn't terribly technical, but there were enough steep, rocky up and downs to make things a little dicey for me. Going up is much easier than going down.

The size of the group and social nature of the hike required frequent stops. I like to socialize as much as the next guy, but it's difficult for me to stand around for too long, so I decided to part company and go my own way. The entire loop is about 7 miles, but I cut it a little short, doing about 5.5 miles. I could have finished the entire loop, but I'm still a little hesitant to push it just yet.

My back held up fine, getting tight, but never causing any pain. My neck, however, is becoming a serious problem. By the end of the hike I couldn't turn my head to the left and my right wasn't much better. My chiropractor said it's common for people who have lumbar surgery to experience neck pain. When you change the mechanics of the spine it creates a ripple effect, but this is usually transitory. However, he did say my level of pain, and the fact that I'm not responding to his adjustments, isn't common. I'm ecstatic that I can walk with no low back pain, but this neck nonsense is interfering with sleep and making it difficult to drive. I certainly hope this is temporary, because I'm not ready for another flight to Germany just yet.