Week 23 - Hikes Not To Do

Last weekend, two girlfriends and I decided to hike at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park, which would have been a great idea except that we got lost driving up there. I will blame it on the fact that South Park Drive is closed* and not because none of the three of us knew where we were going. It would have been a great day for a great hike. Inspiration Point is paved and wide and very easy going for a pregnant person.

Instead, we found ourselves in the parking lot at Lake Anza with the need to be home at 10:00 am (it was 8:45am at that point). In theory there is a path that goes around Lake Anza so we decided to hike the Anza Trail. I will cut to the chase and point out that I obviously lived, unscathed, to tell about it. But it was tough going because the actual trail has either washed away or has turned into 2 inch deep mud puddles. We ended climbing/hiking on rocks or in mud patches among tree roots. It was slippery and gross.

On the map, this would appear to be a perfect pregnancy hike. It's reasonably short, pretty and even. I felt pretty surefooted most of the way, but I actually had to hold my friend's hand at a couple of points to keep from slipping. That was sort of embarassing. It wasn't until I felt as though I could easily twist an ankle or slip on rocks that I thought, "this is a hike that you shouldn't do pregnant". The obstacles were the kind that would not faze a not-pregnant hiker but present a higher degree of discomfort and lack of safety for a pregnant person. Twisting an ankle may not seem like a big deal, but the effects of being bed-ridden or on prescription pain killers (or the likelihood that you couldn't take them) are exaggerated in pregnancy. It's not a challenge worth the trouble to slog through mud and slippery rock.

This week, we thought we'd try again but it was raining like crazy this morning. We'll try again next week.

*Closed to protect the newt populations during their mating season Nov 1-April1.