Hanging Fire

A Short Review

May 21, 2020 Comments (0) journal

A Water Cure

“Sarcopenia is the name given to the condition of age-related muscle loss. After the age of forty, the human body begins to shed muscle tissue. Slowly at first (and there are methods of counteracting the effects for a while), but as the smoke clears from the candles on your fiftieth birthday cake, the process is well underway. You can alter your diet and exercise schedule as much as you like, but time will not be denied.”

I wrote those words six years ago. You can only imagine how the effects of time have worn me down since then! Well, we’re all six years older, right? Perhaps if you are able to counteract the muscle loss with mental gains, if you can get smarter with each passing year, maybe you can achieve some sort of balance, after all.

That’s what I tell myself, anyway. With all the closures of public spaces, including National Forests and National Parks, getting outside is not as easy as it used to be. Almost any trail or wilderness destination is temporarily closed to visitors. The Washington coast is shuttered, more or less. Most of the isolated communities are closed to outsiders, and even after they ‘open’ again, it remains to be seen how many people will be interested in making the trip.

But the Salish Sea is still open, especially if you don’t need to travel to get to the beach. This may be the time to get a water perspective on this mixed-up year, at least until other alternatives open up. There are places here in these home waters that I would like to revisit and still a few (though not many), that I have yet to see for the first time. Maybe a guide book to revise? Maybe.

And if a steady paddle stroke decreases the rate of muscle loss, that’s a solid bonus.