Tripping the green fantastic
"Yes we CANnabis!"
This is not medical cannabis advice.
No, I wasn’t high when I hiked this trail, or high when I wrote the article. I was high on Nature, and at 9000 feet of elevation. I used to hike this trail while high, quite often, many years ago. Now I’m pissed that it’s legal, (like when Homer said he was gonna blow marijuana smoke in Chief Wiggum’s face, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it!) and the USA might be growing the best weed in the world, and there’s a dispensary on every corner, and now I have responsibilities, etc…god dammit…
But it was an awesome hike nonetheless, and it was fun to reminisce and revisit a stunning trail. And maybe my stoner friends will enjoy the trip and itinerary.
This particular trail is the 2.5 mile Osha Trail. There are miles of trails in this area that are all amazing. I live in a great mountain town, but Cloudcroft is another 1500 feet higher, and brings another quality to the forest.
This is supposed to be a health/fitness/rehab blog, so I’ll visit some sports training at this location. Then we’ll go back to the funny stoner culture.
Altitude in Sport Performance
Alamogordo and Cloudcroft are actually an ideal location for highly competitive sports training. There is a physiological benefit to training at higher altitude (Alamogordo is 4500 feet), and sleeping at even higher elevation, (Cloudcroft is 8900 feet).
I met some Olympic running athletes years ago who were living and training at this location for this benefit. They ran in Alamo, and slept in Cloudcroft. Some studies were showing that the body would produce more red blood cells sleeping at a higher elevation, hence better performance.
Health wise for myself, this hike was amazing. Maybe just happiness around so much beauty. No phone (except to take pictures, and answer a call from my 2nd born needing me to drop off the brownies he forgot at home). No hard workouts, just a hike, possibly the most healthy manner in which to exercise. There is a difference between health and vanity workouts. This one might give me longevity and better mental health. Vanity workouts might give me bigger muscles.
Cannabinoid receptors
I’ve often wondered if there is a link between exercise and cannabis addictions. We frequently hear about professional athletes using cannabis. Doesn’t seem healthy or in line with their chosen profession. This is also very common in younger athletes. Is there a correlation between the two?
Our bodies produce their own endocannabinoids, and have receptors for them, to regulate various bodily functions. Outside cannabis will also react with these same receptors. It’s almost as if Nature or God engineered these two together. Like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Isn’t cannabis in the Bible? That’s a rumor I’ve heard. Please, religious and cannabis friends, comment for my education.
I’m a little skeptical of the NIH these days, but found this quote on their website, “Some recent studies demonstrated that plasma levels of endocannabinoids are notably higher after physical activity and might be associated with the long-term beneficial effects on neurophysiology, namely, mood, appetite, mental health, memory, as well as cognitive processes [10,11,12]. Interestingly, some studies indicate that physical activity significantly increases the expression of cannabinoid receptor CB1 (CB1R), a cannabinoid receptor that widely occurs in the striatum, and endocannabinoids, such as anandamide, which both might be correlated with the attenuation of neurological pathologies…”
I think we need to be careful with these speculations. As someone with past/current addictions to both cannabis and exercises, I could be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (hmmmm, peanut butter…)
Ok, back to the stoner lifestyle. In my early twenties, I lived in a cabin at this high elevation, and had some plants growing out on the back balcony facing south. Oh how glorious those babies grew at 9000 feet of blazing New Mexico sun. Forget the fact that it was illegal at the time, and growing could have gotten me in serious trouble. Funny how things change in our lifetime.
Remember when Homer thought that Lisa’s saxamaphone would make a great pipe?
Don’t those pine trees look like giant buds!?
Now, being that this is health newsletter, it is supposed to be a good example of healthy living. I must revisit my number one reason for not smoking weed anymore, and that is paranoia.
Speaking of paranoia, can you image riding that train on a wooden bridge 60 feet off the ground? I read somewhere the bridge used to sway while trains were on it. Can you image that sphincter puckering maneuver?
I was able to hike this trail during the week. Not another soul in sight.
This coming weekend is a different story. It’s a biker weekend. Within the last 5-10 years, the bikers not only think they’re cool revving loud engines, they also think they’re cool blaring classic rock as loud as possible. And there’s a lot of them.
They will ruin the serenity of that location, but only for a short while.
Consider switching from The Simpsons to watching South Parks’ definition of biker weekends, for reference.
Looks like an amazing hiking trail. Pics are great. I’ll skip the trip!