For the first time ever, I hiked the Grouse Grind today at Grouse Mountain in North Van, BC. It was tiring as hell and it took me almost 3 hours to finish. The average person takes 2 or two and a half hours. The very athletic and outdoorsy person takes about an hour to get to the top of the grind.
I was doing alright the first 15 mins and then when I got into the first quarter, I was really thinking about turning back. I learned how out-of-shape my body is today. Even though I lift weights and do push ups and sit-ups regularly to keep fit, it isn't good enough because I do not do as much cardio as I should be doing. To do the Grouse Grind, you really need to be in top shape. It's not even all about muscle...it's about will-power, how strong your lungs are and how much your legs can withstand when climbing high trails and steps.
On a good note, my coordination was good and I did not have any trouble at all climbing high steps (aside from my legs cramping out on me a few times). I did take a lot of breaks tho...it was way too tiring. The humid weather didn't help either. I can't remember feeling a breeze even once while I was on the grind...
When I was in highschool I used to be one of the fastest runners in my P.E. class in the 10th grade (5 years ago), but I haven't really done any running since then. I think it's time for me to start running again and get my lungs stronger.
On another good note, there were a bunch of fine girls on the grind today. I saw this one girl, she was pretty fast and in top shape... had abs and everything. I think she had a 6 pack..she was fine as hell from top to bottom...
Even though I swore that this would be the first and the last time I'd ever do the grind...maybe I would reconsider doing it again. Everyone should experience the Grouse Grind at least once in their lifetime. As much as I didn't want to do it, it was still a lot of fun...
Has anyone ever hiked the Gross Grind down here before or gone hiking at all? Share your experiences...
Edit: Oh ya...I didn't hike back down the grind after I got to the top...I just paid $5 and me and my friend took the sky-ride back down.
I was doing alright the first 15 mins and then when I got into the first quarter, I was really thinking about turning back. I learned how out-of-shape my body is today. Even though I lift weights and do push ups and sit-ups regularly to keep fit, it isn't good enough because I do not do as much cardio as I should be doing. To do the Grouse Grind, you really need to be in top shape. It's not even all about muscle...it's about will-power, how strong your lungs are and how much your legs can withstand when climbing high trails and steps.
On a good note, my coordination was good and I did not have any trouble at all climbing high steps (aside from my legs cramping out on me a few times). I did take a lot of breaks tho...it was way too tiring. The humid weather didn't help either. I can't remember feeling a breeze even once while I was on the grind...
When I was in highschool I used to be one of the fastest runners in my P.E. class in the 10th grade (5 years ago), but I haven't really done any running since then. I think it's time for me to start running again and get my lungs stronger.
On another good note, there were a bunch of fine girls on the grind today. I saw this one girl, she was pretty fast and in top shape... had abs and everything. I think she had a 6 pack..she was fine as hell from top to bottom...
Even though I swore that this would be the first and the last time I'd ever do the grind...maybe I would reconsider doing it again. Everyone should experience the Grouse Grind at least once in their lifetime. As much as I didn't want to do it, it was still a lot of fun...
Has anyone ever hiked the Gross Grind down here before or gone hiking at all? Share your experiences...
Edit: Oh ya...I didn't hike back down the grind after I got to the top...I just paid $5 and me and my friend took the sky-ride back down.
so here I am 5 miles to go without water in 90+ temperature.