I get a walking workout every time I leave this casita.  Seriously! Both coming and going!

 

It does a body good.

 

I expect to become mountain goat buff soon!

 

Going Out

 

It all starts with the steps…

 

Then there’s a precipitous drop of 20 feet or so in elevation from the steps to Cat’s driveway …

Then there’s the drop in elevation from there down Cat’s driveway…

 

And finally there’s  a drop from there of about 20 feet to Calle Estaban Salas….

Esteban Salas is relatively flat and probably about 1000 feet from where I connect with it to the main road,

but it ascends some as I walk toward the main road…

and then there’s the two-block long major ascent (estimated 18 % grade) from the main road to the mini mart where I pick up miscellaneous groceries…

 

 

So, on the way out, it’s not terribly challenging except for the mini mart hill, which is a daunting but achievable challenge right now.

(The descents sure would be daunting and dangerous if it ever froze around here, but it never does…)

 

Getting back is another story

 

Fortunately, the ascents are broken up (except for the last 150 feet or so) by relatively flat spots, but by the time I get back up the casita steps I’m sweating and my heart rate is up around 100 beats per minute, which isn’t dangerous but it’s nearly twice my resting heart rate.

Because I walked a lot before I left Washington — upward of 7k+ steps most days  and frequently passing 12K steps per day — my body was prepared for the greater challenge of a higher altitude and greater elevation grades, fortunately.

It ain’t easy, but it’s entirely do-able.

 Tillie Mae would be sooo proud of me!

 

But the walk to and from the minimart is only about 2400 steps!!! 

It just feels like I’ve climbed Mt. Olympus!