This morning I was met by Bob Inman himself, for which this route is named, at the start of section "I." We wound our way around through two drainages in seaside Santa Monica, gathering up stairways along the way. The beach was bright with sun and bustling with energetic people out to exercise and enjoy the weather. The even ground and paved path made it easy to get ahead of schedule, even with my frequent bathrooms breaks, which I took for fear that each one would be the last for many miles. The stairways were tucked away and concentrated mainly on the early miles. I wish that I could say that I rushed easily through the latter miles, but I can't. Although I did make decent time over the course of the day, I struggled with foot pounding and pulls in alternating muscles and tendons of my legs. This hike is pushing my physical limitations. At the end of the day, my muscles aren't weak from exertion, and cardiovascularlly, I could be pushing harder. But overall, I am worn thin and will benefit greatly from a couple of rest days once I finish this route. I'm still glad to be out there, pounding my feet against the pavement and seeing what this area has around each corner. Tonight, shortly after dark, I was walking with Dan on a road directly adjacent to one of LAX's landing strips. A plane rushed over our heads, 40 feet, Dan said. It felt like 10 to me. A few seconds later, it landed. That was awesome, in the sense of tremendous power. I haven't had such an experience before.
 |
| One of Santa Monica's stairways |
 |
| Tribute to Starry Night in Venice Beach |
 |
| Walking with Bob Inman - see our shadows. |
 |
| Venice Canal District. |
 |
| Walk Street in Venice, houses oriented towards this. Alleys in back for cars. |
 |
| Front Yard Art Installation. |
 |
| After walking all day I wanted veggies ! |
Ah as I left you after lunch with only 8 miles done I was painfully aware how many miles of walking you had left to complete and how feature-less some of them would be. Today segment J offers miles of soft stuff on the wood chip Veterans Parkway. You can even take off your shoes and walk on the wet sand for a while.
ReplyDeleteI loved the walking in the cold wet sand! That portion along Redondo Beach was such a joy and a surprise, as I don't look very carefully at the maps before setting off each day.
ReplyDeleteAs for segment "I" - yes - the last few miles before the train station were straining with the bright car lights in my eyes and planes overhead, but even in that setting there were things that were novel and in a way wonderful - like the plane just 40 feet overhead, according to Dan, who walked with me those tough ending miles of the section.