Beacon Rock
Prep For Hiking Season
Having grown up in Washington state, I knew about Beacon Rock and assumed I would hike up one day. Then, we moved to Arizona for 20 years. When we returned to Washington, remodeling our new tiny home near Mt. Rainier took all of our time.
I finally decided that NOW was the time to hike up Beacon Rock.
To prepare for the summer hiking season, I was walking several miles each day, plus exercising, and thought I would be fine for taking on Beacon Rock and other hikes in the Pacific Northwest. I didn’t realize that I was strengthening my calf muscles with all sorts of exercises, but not STRETCHING the backs of my legs, and that would lead to problems. I am a fairly active person, doing my own yard work and house remodeling, but I hadn’t put any effort into stretching. As we age, muscle strengthening and stretching become more important. The two must be done together.
My husband and I took a few steep hikes on Vashon Island. I had been on steep hikes before, and not had any foot problems as a consequence. After taking on 3 steep hills in an afternoon (short distances from the forest down to beaches and back up), I fell asleep - happy that all was well.
“Bee Stings” On Soles Of Feet
I awoke in the middle of the night, thinking that ants were biting my left foot - or bees were stinging me. It was the oddest sensation. Not truly painful, but definitely unpleasant. I remembered a few friends who were very active hikers and tennis players who had battled plantar fasciitis. Surely, it wouldn’t be that??
I contacted my doctor and told her I needed to see my physical therapist promptly - for yet another tune-up. He took care of my shoulder after I disturbed it when tearing out our ceiling. He took care of my knees after they got annoyed when I was ripping out old flooring. He keeps this old body (I am nearing 70) in shape so I can keep going.
He checked out my foot. Yep - plantar fasciitis. My calf strengthening and other leg exercises had given me strong legs, but had tightened the entire length from sole of foot to knee on the back side. I wasn’t in balance - the back side of my legs were far too tight. I was fine walking on flat trails, but those short steep hills really stretched the area from the sole of my foot on up the back of my leg. That caused inflammation to the plantar fascia (on the bottom of the foot) - plantar fasciitis. Fortunately, we had caught it early. Normally, it causes heal pain. I had no heal pain - instead, the arch on the bottom of my foot felt like I was getting bee stings.
I had been wearing good quality hiking boots and shoes when out walking and hiking, but I ran around in socks or barefoot when inside my house. No more of that, he said. He sent me out for shoes with very good arch support. He also put me through a series of stretches and exercises to take the pressure off the bottom of my feet.
One other thing - it happened only on the left foot. I lead off with that foot. Due to a bizarre neurological event years ago, I am slightly weaker on my right side, and tend to compensate by having my left side do all the work. Hence, only my left foot was affected. Part of my new maintenance plan is to remember to work out the right side so it doesn’t fall further behind.
“ It takes a lot of work to age well.”
Most people lose muscle strength when aging. A young person can be a couch potato and still have strength. As we age, we need to do MORE exercise just to maintain, yet many do less. Aches and pains don’t mean we should slow down or stop doing what we love. Aches and pains are symptoms that inform us of which areas need a tune-up. As I learned from my physical therapist, it takes a lot of work to age well.
Beacon Rock
After a few months of stretching, wearing Birkenstock sandals around the house, and following through with exercises, I was able to hike up Beacon Rock without any issues. I was happy that no “bee stings” developed afterward.
The key is to NEVER STOP doing what we love. Don’t give up when pain develops. See your doctor to rule out injury. Then follow up with a good physical therapist who can teach you how to strengthen and stretch so as to be able to continue being as active as possible. Injury, he told me, is often due to unbalanced muscles, lack of strength, improper shoes, lack of stretching - or other things that can be addressed.
The following are photos taken from the Beacon Rock hike. Every step I took was a blessing. My visits to the PT had paid off.
Click to see larger image.
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