Today I made the drive into Utah. I'm staying at the Willard Bay State Park for the night. The photo is the view I have of the Great Salt Lake. During my drive today I saw a pack of fox eating a dead cow, gross. I also oddly enough saw a cat cleaning himself on the shoulder of the freeway not 7 feet from 70 mph traffic! Crazy cat! The steering in my car is squeaking pretty badly, I hope nothing bad happens to it! The right rear brake has an occasional squeak too :-( It's amazing what 900 miles or so can do to a car with amost 250K miles on it... Anyway, looking forward to a restful night sleep under a star filled sky. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
After 21 years I'm heading back to Colorado to hike some 14,000' mountains including the state highpoint of Mt Elbert. Currently I'm passing through Oregon with lots of raptors flying overhead. The weather is good and I'm feeling great! Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Here is a link to all of the photos from this hike. Several weeks ago Curtis called me and asked if I’d like to hike Mt Adams with him and a few others. Having recently passed on a similar opportunity I said that I’d love to join the group. We met up at the Trout Lake Ranger Station and I learned that our group had swelled to 9 people. We got our permits and headed to the TH. By 1pm we were on the trail and beginning our adventure. I quickly found myself pulling away from the rest of the group and I had to try to keep that in check. I was after all hiking with a group, not solo. I eventually settled into a groove and found myself waiting up for the rest of the group several times along the trail. I felt badly for getting so far ahead, but taking shorter strides isn’t the easiest for me. We got to a point where the snow was starting to get more consistent and we had to get up to a ridge. Heading up to the ridgeline were a set of steps kicked into the snow that were very well defined. At the top, the steps were melting out to the point where I felt that they wouldn’t last much longer. Turns out the next day they were so bad that people were detouring around them. By this point the other 8 in our group had separated into two groups of 4. I waited on the ridge for the first four and I heckled them from above To our east some clouds were starting to form and they looked a bit dark. I decided to try and slow my pace so we could stick together a bit better in case the weather got bad. We traversed the ridge and continued to gain elevation as he headed towards Lunch Counter for the evening. At the first campsites the easterly skies were getting darker and some clouds started rolling over the snow fields and I waited for the first 2 of the group to get close enough where they could see me and where to head to. By this point Curtis had started placing some snow wands so that the others behind had a good general idea of which direction to head in. As the first ones got close to me I headed up a bit further in hopes of find a spot to camp that would leave us with minimal elevation gain in the morning. To my delight the highest reaches of Lunch Counter had lots of available campsites and even running water! No melting snow for water. Within an hour the whole group was together, well minus one whose legs were so sore from the gain that he opted to head back down to the trailhead. He probably turned around near 8500’ or so I think. The rest of us set up our tents, ate some dinner and explored the immediate area until finally retiring around 9pm or so. We got up at 4am and I felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. I took a few aspirin, had a Clif bar and drank some water. Everybody else was getting up and shortly after 5am we were ready to head up to the summit. I started up in my normal pace minus my poles in exchange for an axe instead and quickly found myself above the group again. With the route being rather straight-forward and the skies rather clear I just continued up at a pace that was comfortable for me. I soon found a “trail” and it was much easier going since others had made good steps and my calves were not getting wiped out on the steep ascent. I got up to the flanks of Piker’s Peak and the group was further down, but still in sight and were once again starting to break off into 2 groups. To the east the sun was starting to rise on the mountain and it was so beautiful. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be on the side of this awesome mountain at such an early hour and to feel like I had it all to myself. I kept pushing myself forward and finally started the last push to the summit. The snow was crusty, the skies getting lighter and there was a slight breeze in the air. Eventually the summit and a small portion of the old lookout were in sight! I got to the summit and looked at my watch, it showed 7:00am. I made the summit in just under 2 hours and it felt great. I was all alone and I loved it. I explored the summit area a bit before setting my pack down and taking a short nap on the old lookout. After about 30 minutes on the summit a few more people arrived and I moved to they could access the summit and took a few photos for them. Shortly before 8am the first of my group showed up to join me. We bantered back and forth and over the next 45 minutes to an hour as the rest of our group trickled up. Of the 8 who left camp this morning, everybody made it to the summit. For some this is in preparation for a climb up Rainier, for others it was something to do, and for me it was a goal. It was my first volcano hike and I loved it. The only bummer part was that there were low level clouds and haze which prevented a look at all of the neighboring volcanos. After some photo ops including a group shot on the summit we started to head down. Two others who were at the summit decided to tag along with us as we descended to the first glissade chute a few hundred feet below the summit. It was short, but a good chance for everybody to get prepared for the long on below Piker’s Peak. Curtis gave a few newbies some pointers and they were off! One by one they followed me down until we regrouped at the bottom. As I traversed the trail from there I took off for the summit of Piker’s and a view at the north side and the top of the glacier. The berschrunds were really cool. They were about 10 feet wide and about 10-15 feet deep. I kept my distance and admired them from afar. I rejoined the group at the top of the long glissade chute in time to hear the first one down to say “Later bitches!!” and he took off down the chute. Others went down and I waited for the end because I wanted to give everybody else a chance to soften it up before I went down. Finally it was my turn, I took off my sunglasses and replaced them with my goggles. I wanted to go fast and I didn’t want to get blinded or lose my shades. I quickly gained a lot of speed and I used my axe to help keep things under control. I was still cruising and got airborne a few times and I was having a blast! Soon I realized I was catching up with another from our group who was descending in a much slower but comfortable pace for his liking. I hollered ahead and he found a good spot and bailed off the glissade chute to let me pass (thanks Bill) I was cruising again and getting more air! At one point I launched out of the chute and onto the still firm suncups. I got back into the chute and soon found myself down with the rest of the group who were laughing and sharing about their rides down the mountain. Bill caught up and we all walked the rest of the way to camp. Everybody broke down their tents and such while Curt and I ate a quick lunch before we were ready to descend the mountain. We took advantage of short glissade opportunities along the way and were soon out of the snow and back on the dusty trail. We were back down to the car by 1:30 and we exchanged stories with Larry who’d had his own fun night in the back of the truck at the trailhead overnight. By 2:00 Curt and I hit the road and stopped in Trout Lake for a not so quick burger and a slight detour (nice navigating Curt) and we were on the highway heading home. It was an amazing trip and with the exception of one comment in the parking lot about my speed, nobody seemed to mind that I was ahead of the group for most of the trip. I did learn a few things on this trip. First is that I either need to do hikes like this with people who hike at a similar pace as I do, or I need to learn to slow my pace down. I do have a comfort zone that I like to have around me when I’m on the trail and it makes it hard for me to slow down too much. I will say that had the weather gotten bad I would have most certainly stayed with the group. The safety of myself and my fellow hikers is the most important thing to me. On the way up when the other 8 split into 2 groups a person from each group did have a radio and they did keep in contact. This was an excellent experience for me and I am eager to learn more so I can be a stronger mountaineer and to be able to try to challenge myself on bigger mountains. To the members of our group: Curtis, Bill, Chuck, Jake, Brad, Matt, Colton and Larry, thank you for sharing this fun trip with me, I really appreciate it.
Last week I went to the doctor and ended up getting scheduled for an MRI on my lower back since I've been having problems with pain in my right leg for the last seven months. The thought was Sciatica, but I wanted to be certain since the pain was not going away. A few days after the MRI I got a call from the doctor's office and sure enough, I have a herniated disk in my back. Today I went back into his office to review the treatment options that I have. Having gone the Cortizone shot route years back with my knee I opted to not get the Epidural that was recommended so instead I'm on an oral anti-inflamitory commonly referred to as "Mobic" and will be going to physical therapy. In a month if I'm not feeling and relief from these two I am to schedule another appt and we will review further options at that time. He didn't mention not getting into the mountains or taking it easy, so I plan on still hiking and living my life in the way that I enjoy. This week my trip into the mountains will be to volunteer at the forest fire lookout on the top of Red Top Mt. I try to get up here once a year and stay at the lookout for the local Forest Service Ranger District. In exchange for 2 days of "work" I get a free Northwest Forest Pass which covers the cost of of trailhead maintenance and the services that some provide (ie. restrooms, trash removal). Staying at the lookout isn't really work, it's more or less a few day getaway on top of a 5600' mountain with a few that would cost millions if it were in the city. It's kind of like my own little vacation spot for 2 nights. I do have to keep an eye out for any sign of a forest fire and check in with the Ranger Station on a regular basis. I would say that I get more benefit from this arrangement than I give back to the Forest Service. With that said, look for photos to come on Tuesday or Wednesday and maybe even a video if there ends up being enough good stuff to film :-)
I decided to take this week off from hiking and take care of stuff at home and around town. Last Tuesday I went up to DeRoux Peak with less than perfect weather. To sum it up, the weather started out not too great with light rain. Once on the ridge the rain increased a bit and the winds started to pick up. As I traversed the ridge the rain turned to snow and the wind speed increased. The visibility dropped drastically at the summit and I only stuck around for a few minutes before heading back down along the ridge. Here are a few pictures and the video, enjoy. Oh, here is the full set of photos.
Recently there seems to be some concern over my solo hiking, so I thought I would take a few minutes to address them.
In hiking there are a few different groups of people, but not limited to: The Lakebagger: they seek out the lakes in the mountains, whether the easy to access or the high alpine lakes secluded from society. The Waterfaller: they enjoy seeking out the beautiful waterfalls and strive to find one that hasn't been seen before and to be able to name it. Then there is the Peakbagger, the group that I fall into. Aside from rock climbing, this can be one of the most dangerous group around. From the occasional off-trail route finding, cliffs to circumnavigate, ridgelines than constantly offer elevation gains and losses, there are the weather elements that can change with little or no notice.
Included in the suggested "10 Essentials" of hiking, peakbaggers like myself arm ourselves with additional tools to asssist us in reaching our goal in a safe manner including our return. Those tools are (not limited to) education, experience, instinct, and judgement.
Education: I belong to an online chat forum dedicated to hiking. On this site many folks post their hiking/climbing trips which typically include route information, current conditions (ie. snow, trail damage, etc) these are often accompanied with photos. Also on this site is the opportunity to message with fellow members to get other information (beta) that may not be posted including gear that may be needed. I use this feature quite a bit so that I know what I'm getting myself into. I also talk to folks who know my skill level and can suggest or "non-suggest" a place that I could go. I also use a good mapping software (National Geographic's TOPO!) to help me map my trips and my proposed route. Weather! I check the forecasts often before a trip so that I know what I may encounter on the trail, or if I should leave a hike for better weather conditions. I will say that weather forecasting in the Pacific Northwest is a tough science and proper clothing including extra is always suggested, and is also a part of the "10 Essentials"
Experience: Over the years I've learned where my tolerance levels are at. I stick to these tolerances like glue, especially when I'm on the trial alone. Basically that amounts to how steep of a slope am I comfortable on, terraine type, weather conditions, legnth of trip and stuff like that. When I'm with friends I may push those a bit in an effort to enhance my skill level, but I only do this with a few select friends who I've hiked with many times and whose judgements I trust.
Instinct: Some of my trips during this time of year require a lot of instinct. Many trails are still partially or completly covered with snow and route finding can be a challenge. During these times instinct plays a big role. I look for signs of where the trail might be, are there cut logs around that would indicate a trail, does a slope look might it might have characteristics of a trial beneath it? Keeping a keen eye out for signs (for areas that have them). Understanding that a trail probably won't go straight up a steep slope, rather it will switchback (zig zag) up the slope. But is the slope to steep to ascend with snow? Is there a risk of an avalanche? Sometimes I have to go off-trail to get to my intended destination in order to avoid a sketchy slope. Another part of this is when I pack my gear, do my insticts tell me to pack certain gear that I might not carry? Like an ice axe, shovel, snowshoes or rain gear. So far my insticts have served me well and I trust them completely.
Judgement: This kind of ties everything in together. Recently I went on a trip where I turned around due to the snow conditions and a steep slope that I would have to cross. My instincts told me that I should stop and head back down. I didn't have the gear for this kind of a slope and my experience told me that the light snow covering would make the slope slippery and very unsafe for me to attempt to cross. A few years ago I was on a trip with some good hiking friends and we were heading up a slabby rock slope and due to the moisture and moss growing on the rocks I decided to not continue any further, as it turned out I wasn't the only one who felt this way. The two who felt comfortable with the slope decided to turn around and keep the group together.
All the preparation, knowledge and stuff don't guarantee a safe passage, accidents do happen. About 3 years ago I was out with a friend and we had turned around before a summit due to not ahving good route info and not the right gear for the upcoming trail conditions. On our way down I slipped and started to slide down a very steep slope. I did have my ice axe with me and attempted to "self arrest" (stop myself) and I had almost come to a complete stop until my elbow hit an expose rock causing my hand to open up and I let go of the axe. I ended up sliding down more and falling over a rock pile and eventually with the help of my arm, I was able to come to a stop. I ended up with an injured shoulder that kept me out of work for a week and a scar on my elbow that I get to look at whenever I want. As soon as I had stopped I yelled up to my buddy so he knew I was ok (relatively) and he soon joined me after a 5 minute climb down to my location. This route is one that I would never try by myself! Also I did not have one key piece of equipment that could have prevented all of this in the first place, crampons. They are basically spikes that I can secure to my boots. I now own a pair and have used them once so far, but if I need them I've got them.
The listed items are by no means a complete list of what hikers/climbers use, it's just bascally a general idea of what I do to prepare for a trip. To sum this all up, I do appreciate the concern that friends and family have when I go out on my solo hiking trips. I pick routes and destinations that are safe me me to solo and during weather conditions that will allow for a safe ascent and descent.
I want to get back home after every trip and be able to see/talk with my friends and family. Hiking is a refuge for me in my life and something that I enjoy very much and hope to continue doing for many years to come whether it's in Washington or wherever my life takes my living arrangements.
On Monday night I headed out from Seattle for the trailhead so that I could get an early start on Tuesday morning. On my drive along the Teanaway Road many deer and elk crossed the road ahead of me and then stared at me from a distance as I passed them. They must have been wondering what lunatic would be driving into the mountains so late at night. I found a flat spot at the trailhead parking lot and laid down in the back of my car for a nice evening’s sleep and looked up at the sky and saw the stars shining bright. I awoke early to a breakfast of orange juice and a handful of mini blueberry muffins and by 6:30 I was on the trail.
Usually I have a tough time getting started as my legs are a bit tired and the first mile or so is typically a struggle. Well today was no different, actually it was quite a bit worse. My legs felt really weak and fatigued like I had already hiked 14 miles in wet snow. I pressed on looking forward to the first junction of the trail. After 30 minutes I was wondering where the junction was for the Jungle Creek Trail. I knew there was heavy blow down right at the junction, but I had been there recently and figured I recognize the area. With my fatigue and light rain that was starting to fall I was seriously considering heading back to my car and driving home. After crossing the creek a few more times I realized that I’d already passed Jungle Creek Trail and knowing that part was behind me I slowly started to regain my “second wind” if you will, or in this case my first. The trail started to switchback up the side of the valley and I soon started hitting patches of snow. By the time I reached the ridgeline the snow was steady and the winds had picked up too. The rain fluctuated between light sprinkles and a steady drizzle, thank goodness I had brought some rain gear! Once at the junction for the Koppen Mt Trail I had thought about heading back down as I was cold and a bit wet. I took a short break under a tree and had a small snack and found some Gore Tex gloves in my pack and started to warm up enough to make me decide to press onward toward the summit. The snow wasn’t soft enough for my snowshoes and some of the side hill traversing would have made them more of a hindrance then anything else anyway. Up and down the ridgeline I went until I was finally below the summit block. The winds were strong and the rain was a steady light drizzle. I dropped my pack under a tree and headed up with my poles and small camcorder. Scrambling over loose rock and snow patches I finally reached the summit and all of her winds! The summit itself was free of snow and I quickly found the summit register. I found that I was the first person to sign it for 2010 I stayed up there for about 2 minutes then headed back down for my pack and the trip back down to the car. The snow was marginally softer but I opted to not use my snowshoes anyway. By now my feet were rather wet, not cold, but I could feel water squishing around and I couldn’t wait to get to my car and get my feet dry once again. As I descended through the snow and to the “dry” trail, my thoughts turned to the missed intersection with the Jungle Creek Trail. I wondered what I could do to make it harder to miss this crucial junction despite not having any tools to help clear the debris. Once I got to the area I first tried to bend some branches out of the way but that effort was futile as they would always snap back into place even when I tried to hold them back with something. I decided to try and break as many of the branches as I could even though I knew that some trail crew would be along soon to clear them. Forty five minutes later I had cleared many of the branches and made one of the signs visible from the trail and I felt good about the work that I had done. Oh, I forgot to mention that as I started to clear debris the sun started to shine and the clouds were clearing. Just my luck… oh well, I had done a good thing on the trail and it felt good.
A short time later I found myself back at my car and relieved my feet of my wet boots and socks. It was only 12:30pm and I had summited a 6000 foot peak and did my part to help maintain a trail, it felt good and I drove back to the freeway with my sunglasses on feeling good about myself.
Here's a link to the complete set of photos, right HERE. Ok, so last night I slept in the back of my Subie on a foam matress and bedding at the TH and got an early start today (6:45am) The trail started out in a nice thick forest and gained elevation rather quickly, like Tiger Mt Cable Trail quick!
The GT map shows the first section of trail gaining 1K feet in .8 miles. Well the .8 miles is a bit short of actual. After about .8 mile I reached a logging road where I followed it to the left for about 30 yards then found the trail on the left once again and proceeded up more, gaining elevation quickly again. I had stopped along the logging road for a view of a goat across the valley, he's in the video :)
I headed further up the trail and eventually reached the junction with the Easton Ridge Trail and turned left up the Domerie Divide Trail. Soon I got a view to the west .
I started to hit a few snow patches but nothing to get too worried about. Finally I reached the top of the ridge but couldn't find the trail jct marker, oh well. I headed south along on top of heading towards Baldy and Domerie. The snow was firm enough that I didn't need the snowshoes yet.
I stayed a bit below the ridge and soon passed over Baldy which didn't seem too significant. I continud up to Domerie and the clouds were wisping over the ridge and plummeting down the east side towards Lake Cle Elum. I spent a few minutes on the summit with limited views before heading back north to eyeball Thomas.
After the trail jct the route drops about 200 feet into the forest where the snow was deeper and softer. I donned my snowshoes and made decent time through the flats then quickly the ridge got steep and narrowed as it climbs towards Thomas. Finally I reached the summit and the views to the east were grand!
I put on a dry pair of socks and 20 minutes later I headed back down. By now the clouds were clearing and the views everywhere were getting better. The climb back up the ridge from the flats was a bugger, I was tired and the snow was even softer now too.
Finally back at the jct I soaked in more views.
Back down the trail I finally removed my snowshoes near 4600' and made my way down the steep trail to the footbridge where I stopped for a few photos of the man made waterfall.
I met a Ranger and chatted her up for a few minutes before heading to my car and heading home. What an awesome day to be out in the mountains!
So lately I've been trying to take care of myself and do more to get settled into my new apartment. My kitties are adjusting and seem to like the new place with it's views and increased space over recent apartments we've been in.
Work has been filled with a lot of changes. For the last year different departments have gone through restructuring and some of the branch libraries are now closed on Friday and Sunday's. Well recently the changes have hit my department. Three new people are in the department along with one being our new boss. After 3 1/2 years of working at the library change is hard to adjust to.
Summer is right around the corner and I'm trying to solidify my travel plans. I have vacation time set up from July 3-14 and the library will be on furlough from August 30-Sept 6. so that gives me another week off. Previous plans of traveling with my sister and niece have fallen through so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do. I know that I want the time off to include some time in the mountains, possibly in Wyoming and Colorado, but I'd also like to visit family and friends back home in Michigan too. The tough part for Michigan is the cost of airfare and car rental while I'm home. Any travels to the Rocky Mountains would be done in my own car.
The hard part about traveling back home is when it's time to leave and come back to Seattle. I love living in Seattle and having the mountains and water so close by, but my family and friends are back home. I have a large family and I hardly know any of my niece's and nephews because I've always lived away from home since they've been born. I have friends there too who I've known since elementary school and they are some of the best people that I've ever met. I do have some great friends here in Seattle too, so sometimes I get really torn between both places.
I do know that right now I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I do have a good job that has made it possible for me to get out of debt. The mountains are less than an hours drive away and Puget Sound is literally 10 minutes away and the shipping canal is 5 minutes from home. I keep in touch with friends and family back home through the internet and phone calls and it's wonderful. As I get older though I'm going to have to decide what is more important to me, living in Michigan with friends and family, or the mountains and friends that I have here. Also I have my biological sister and niece out here too. Without them I would have never moved out here. They have both helped me out in life in more ways than I could ever dream possible. I have been able to watch my niece grow up for the last 6.5 years and it has been wonderful to watch her grow up into the great girl that she is today. For now, I keep living my life for today and am grateful for everything that I have.
I've been really bad at keeping up with my blog the last few months. I've since moved and have gone home to Michigan for about 4 days, took some additional vacation time and have gotten back into the swing of hiking. Here are a few videos from recent trips.
I just realized that I hadn't posted anything in almost 2 months!! Well this one will be short as it's late in the evening and I need to get some sleep. I will say that I went for a hike today not too far from home. I took very few pictures and of those none really looked worthy enough to post. I did make another hiking video of the trip, so I'll post that instead. Enjoy!!!
So my last post was just photos and no words. So this time I'll add a few thoughts and of course some photos.
School is going pretty good. My classmates and I are having some frustration with the internet portion of the class, but that'll iron itself out over time I think. For now though I have my first draft due tomorrow for my first full essay. The topic is our experience with the education system and our thoughts on it and also our experience with reading.
The essay will be 750-1000 words. My draft is mostly done and we'll see how the editing process goes. Otherwise, work is.....well it's work! It has it's ups and downs and extreme challenges, but it pays the bills and keeps food in my kittie's tummys, and mine too.
Haven't been hiking lately but I've kept my shutter finger busy. Yesterday I bought a new monopod and today I got the battery grip for my camera that I ordered last week. My next photographic purchase will be a while as my next item will cost me a few dollars, a 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens. Basically all of that means that it's cost me about $2,000, yikes!!!!!!! I'll stow some cash aside for it while I build my savings.
So that's life lately. I hope that you enjoy the photos!!! :-)
The other day I ventured out in the rain and took some video with my handy little camcorder. I found that I really enjoyed getting out in the grey damp air and seeing life through a different perspective. With the animals and the music, I feel like I'm taken somewhere else. I hope that you like them.
