Getting in my Palouse pains

Maybe this old man wasn't ready for this simple steps challenge

Sam Painter changes out his shoes during a 22-mile walk on the pedestrian path west of Moscow, Idaho though the verdant Palouse Country. (Photo by Jerry Painter)

After walking for about 17 miles on a paved pedestrian/bike path between Pullman, Washington and Troy, Idaho, my son and I sat down on a bench to get a snack and drink. It was then that my right hamstring decided to stage a violent protest after I stood back up.

The muscle tightened and screamed in pain. I did what most any red-blooded American wimp would do, I yelped, “OWWWW!”

First, let me explain what all this walking thing was about. My son Sam’s workplace in Pullman has an informal “steps” contest. The company divided people up into groups that periodically have physical contests to encourage fitness and health. Even though he is currently on paternity leave with a recent baby, he still wanted to support his workgroup and contribute. In order to do this, we left the house at 3 a.m. and planned to walk until 3 p.m. to get him a heaping pile of steps.

Now comes the part where I offer up all my excuses why my body decided to revolt partway through our walk: I was tired from a previous workout, my body doesn’t like walking on hard pavement, and I’m just a wimpy old man.

My son had announced the long walk, just as I got back from a 36-mile, fairly hilly bike ride (more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain). “That’s OK, I’ll just get to bed early,” I told him. But getting up at 2:45 a.m. to leave at 3 a.m. for the walk didn’t allow my feeble legs a whole lot of recovery time. Clearly my body is not in Ironman shape.

I also wasn’t expecting the toll that walking on hard pavement would have on my legs and feet. After about 12 miles, my feet began to complain a little, especially after rest stops. My body clearly prefers soft backcountry trails to hard asphalt paths. It could have something to do with six decades of big miles already pounded into my joints.

The bike path we were on passed through the fun town of Moscow, Idaho and continued east toward Troy. The route takes you through the famous Palouse country with its rolling green grain fields, topsoil reputed to be more than 100 feet deep, and forest-topped high points. Sam calls the country “The Shire” because it reminds him of where the Hobbits live in “Lord of the Rings.” The views do give off that vibe.

Along the way we talked about past adventures, future plans and some of the curve balls that life throws at you. He bragged about his 2-year-old pushing his strider bike for 4 miles. It gives me reason to stay in shape another decade to join him on a long tour bike ride.

After I stood and yelped “OWWWW!” at about mile 17, I massaged, stretched, rubbed the nastiest spots and stretched some more. “Give me a moment to ease back into it,” I told my son. From the sideways glance he gave me, I must have looked like a crippled sloth after being flattened by a truck.

It took me a quarter of a mile of walking to get back up to a reasonable speed of more than 2 miles per hour.

Our wives called to tell us they were driving into Moscow, Idaho to run some errands and could meet us for lunch. At our new speed (courtesy of crippled grandpa Painter) we wouldn’t make it there by lunchtime.

We continued to hike back toward Moscow and stopped about a mile or so from town at a highway landmark. The ladies picked us up and took us to a local Mexican restaurant at about 1p.m.

Our final mileage for the day was 22.5 miles.

I found that the next day I wasn’t particularly sore, so I wonder if I had an electrolyte issue.

I’m thinking I sabotaged my son’s big miles with my previous day’s ride.

On that ride, I rode a bike from Colfax, Washington to the Snake River near the Lower Granite Dam south of town. Very little of the ride was flat. I was passed every so often by huge trucks hauling grain to a silo/barge loading station along the river. But for the most part, traffic was light out on the country roads.

The interesting animals along the route were deer, pheasant and quail.

The Colfax/Pullman/Moscow area features several fun hiking trails and parks. Most take you up to the top of hills overlooking the surrounding Palouse. I’m sure I’ll be back for more adventures and pain.