Thoughts on hiking solo

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.

A rainy Koppen Mt summit

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.

5/11/10 Mt Baldy, Domerie Peak and Thomas Mt

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!