Mailbox Peak 2.0

Today I decided to take on Mailbox Peak for a second time. The weather at the start was overcast with rain threatening. Temperature was in the upper 50's. There was 4 of us taking the trek. Beside myself I was joined by The King of Ireland, Donal, his good woman, Natasha, and a Kiwi named Phil(?).
My legs felt good, and I had a lot of confidence that this would be finished with a relative amount of ease. That being said, at about 1 mile in I began to think to myself, "Why exactly have I made the conscious decision to spend my Sunday putting myself through hell?" For some reason I lacked motivation today. It is probably the first time that I had faced that. I know that it is good for my last major training climb, but Mailbox is not fun. I learned that last time, and seemed to have forgotten rather quickly. Nonetheless, I pushed on, and Donal and I managed to reach the summit in a respectable 2 hours and 40 minutes. The peak was fogged in, and there was no view to be had. After a quick bit, it was time to embark on the worst part of Mailbox. The trip down.

Donal and I managed to keep a decent pace on the way down, taking advantage of any shortcut we could find (Sorry WTA). In the end, we managed to get to the bottom in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Pretty good time. My knees and quads are sore, but it was certainly easier than last time. Of course that is like saying hell felt a couple of degrees cooler today.

I think my major training for Rainier is done. In my last 2.5 weeks I have climbed Mailbox Peak and to Camp Muir twice each. That equates to just under 30 miles hiked, and almost 20,000 feet of elevation gained - just going up. 40,000 feet of elevation up and down. Time for a beer.

Muir - Take 2

     Yesterday I headed up to Camp Muir for the 2nd time in 5 days. I felt nervous at the start, knowing exactly what I was up against. The guides decided on a firm cut off time of 5 hours to turn around for anyone that had not yet reached Muir. Knowing that it had taken me 6 hours and 20 minutes the previous Tuesday, I was slightly more anxious. We were told that the pace would be quicker than the last trip to Muir, which Justin filled me in on, so I knew it would likely be faster than my previous trip.
     At 9:15 AM we headed out of the parking lot. The lead guide was going so fast, he might as well have been jogging. I was terrified. If this was the pace, then I am saving my energy and turning back. 15 minutes in the guide stopped and indicated it was time to adjust clothing if anyone was too hot. Also, "That is not our pace. That was just to get a good sweat going." Half of me was relieved, and half of me wanted to punch the guy.
     My last entry chronicled the trip from bottom to top, so all I really have to offer this time is the results. Last trip: 6 hours 20 minutes up and 3 hours down. This trip: 4 hours 55 minutes up and 2 hours 30 minutes down! All I can say is that I feel great. Last time I got to the parking lot and wanted to puke. This time I felt like I got stronger the closer I got to the bottom. I was full of energy. This morning I woke up and didn't feel tired or sore. I actually felt like I could do it again - if I REALLY needed to. I will pass on the chance today. The guides indicated that it would be a good idea to get to Muir one more time before my climb. I think about two weeks from now sounds good.
    My climb is July 21st and 22nd! It is almost here! Needless to say, I am very excited.

    Here is a summary of my last 11 days of training: 23 miles hiked, 15,000 feet of elevation gain. Time for a glass of wine.

Camp Muir #1 - 10,188 Feet

After struggling to reach Pebble Creek, I decided that it would be best to take a run at Camp Muir before going up with the CFCA group on Sunday. My brother, Justin, and the King of Ireland, Donal, joined me. I packed up all of the gear that I would be taking to the summit to get a good sense of my pack weight. It ended up at about 35 pounds. We started the climb from Paradise, leaving at about 9:30 AM. The weather could not have been better. Blue skies forever, with every local mountain within view.

The first milestone to hit was Pebble Creek. Last time I struggled through the last 1/4 mile. This time, I didn't even break a sweat. Piece of cake. It felt really good to see such an improvement from last time. I guess all my trips up Cardiac Hill are paying off.

The next target was Moon Rock at 8,500 feet. The climb from Pebble Creek to Moon Rock is fairly monotonous. It is basically a hike in a fairly straight line, up a steady incline. It is the first place where you can become a victim of looking too far ahead. Everything looks close. It isn't. Those tiny black specks are people. It is important to just look down and focus on each step. I was still feeling great at this point. I got within 50 feet of Moon Rock and stopped to rest for about 30 seconds as my legs began to cramp a little.

The final goal was the trek to Muir. It should have been about an hour from this point. I took ten steps and both of my quads cramped. Every step I took they cramped more. Just gave me some beef jerky to get some salt in my system, and I downed a bunch of water. After a couple of minutes I felt better. The first 1/2 mile wasn't too bad. The altitude was certainly becoming noticeable. I tried to use the pressure breathing technique every 4 or 5 steps, and it seemed to work pretty good. The problem was that after awhile my back started to cramp from the exertion of the breathing. At about 1/2 mile from Muir I hit a wall. Altitude sickness began to set in. I was light headed and kept cramping up. I very easily could have turned back, but not when Muir was so close. I let Justin go ahead, and I pushed forward. I took it one pole (guide poles to mark the route) at a time. Then I would break for 10-15 seconds, and move towards the next one. I kept telling myself, "Don't look at Muir". 10 steps at a time I finally reached the top. I was too damn tired to even feel the sense of accomplishment. 20 minutes and a sandwich later, and I got to soak it all in. It felt good.

Now that we were done....oh wait. 4.1 miles downhill left to go. I had used every bit of energy to get to the top, and logic would tell you that going down would be easy, but it is no cup of tea. Every step you sink down 12 inches and then have to lift 5 pounds of snow to take your next step. It was a slow go with plenty of short breaks. About 1/2 way down Donal and I threw on the rain pants and took advantage of the snow chutes we could slide down.

In the end, I am happy that I made it, and feel confident that Sunday will be easier. I didn't get too sunburned, except my forearm where I missed the sunscreen. The whole trip took about 9.5 hours, about an hour and a half longer than our target. Most of the delay was due to the extra 45 minutes it took me to get the last 1/2 mile. Justin said that he struggled at the same spot last time, and this time was much easier. Hopefully that will be the case on Sunday.

Pebble Creek

It doesn't look that hard to climb, right?

This past Sunday I had my first experience with climbing on Mount Rainier. I had a chance to join the Climb for Clean Air group in climbing to Pebble Creek at 7,600 feet up the mountain. The weather at the base of the mountain was overcast and raining, with snow flurries and fog at Paradise. Once we reached about 6,500 feet we ascended through the clouds into pristine blue skies. I very much enjoyed the experience which had the feeling of  climbing a mountain more than hiking a trail. I was caught off guard with a couple of the inclines, more because of my expectations of the climb to Pebble Creek were that it would be more flat. I would compare it to climbing from the bottom to the top of a blue run at Steven's Pass - with 30 pounds on your back. Interestingly enough though, it wasn't the steep inclines that gave me trouble, it was the seemingly never ending gradual slope near the top. Perhaps it was the thinner air, or possibly I picked up my pace, but I was wiped out. All in all, I learned a valuable lesson: I need to get in better shape. In fact, when I got home yesterday, I unpacked and went out to run hills near my house. That will now be my routine. Get home from work. Run hills. I don't want to have that feeling I had at Pebble Creek again, looking up at Muir with a sense of dread. This is supposed to be fun! Sunday was fun. If we would have been continuing to Muir I would collapsed. I have procrastinated enough. I have until July 19th (I am officially on the 2nd climb now!) to get my butt in shape. Plenty of time.

Here are more photos from Sunday:

Just below "The Chute"

Just above the clouds

Looking down towards Paradise which was socked in by fog

The trail towards Muir

My home computer crashed, so I haven't had as much time to blog, so to update everyone that is following my progress (BTW: Thank you to all half dozen of you!) I reached a major milestone last week. I eclipsed my minimum donation amount of $3,750! As I have never been one to be satisfied with the minimum, I have now upped my fundraising goal to $4,500. If you are interested in making a donation, please visit my personal page at www.tinyurl.com/keggert. Also, we have dropped the price of our CFCA t-shirts to only $10! I also have 5 shirts signed by legendary American climber Jim Whittaker that I am going to be selling for $50. All donations for the shirts will be matched by Microsoft, so the total donations will be $20 and $100 respectively. The website to buy shirts is www.chari-t-shirts.org.

Thank you for all of your support! I am starting to get very excited!

Dinner and a Mountain

The View From the Top of the Oyster Dome

 The Oyster Dome: 6.5 miles round trip, 1,900 foot elevation gain.

     The Oyster Dome was in many ways my favorite hike yet. For some reason, as I hiked, I kept thinking about it like a dinner at a nice restaurant. The beginning was like a bad appetizer, too heavy for a first course. The grade was steep, and the scenery was bland. At about the one mile mark, the salad course is served. A nice Caesar salad. The view improves, the hike becomes more manageable, but it is nothing that I haven't seen or done before. No wow factor. At about 2 miles the steak arrives. You think you know what to expect out of a cut of beef, but you come to realize that this is Kobe beef. It is rich, fulfilling, and every bite is enjoyable. The forest becomes dense and lush, the streams become plentiful, and terrain becomes varied and unique. However, as good as it is, it does start to wear you down. It is very rich. The hills start to get steep and you start looking at your plate trying to figure out how in the world you can finish, at least without throwing up. One last incline and you push the plate away. You did it. Now it is time to rest a bit as you anticipate the big finale. You have heard great things about the dessert.
     You rise in a semi food induced coma. The trees all start to look the same, and the path wanders aimlessly. Is it going to be worth it? You know it will. Even though you know it is going to hurt. The forest begins to brighten as you can see the finish ahead. Dessert is served. Think something along the lines of Cherries Jubilee from El Gaucho, with a table side flambe service. Quite the spectacle, and worth the wait. I could only describe the view as spectacular. Sit back on a rock, loosen your belt, and enjoy the calming atmosphere.
     Just when you think you couldn't have anything more, the waiter brings you a little white box with a handmade truffle inside to take home. In the case of Oyster Dome, this little treat manifests itself as a nice little side trip to some bat caves. These caves lie at the bottom of the cliff you just left. Comprised of massive boulders that have fallen from above through time, the caves are dark and mysterious. Just like the truffle in your little white box, the thought of what lies inside is both intriguing and a little scary. For the adventurous at heart, take a bite, explore a little.
     When you arrive back at your car, you come to the quick conclusion that the effort was warranted, you are fully satisfied, and you look forward to returning.

Redemption

Last Friday I attempted to hike to the top of Mt. Si, and was only able to make it 2 1/4 miles up before turning back. It took me roughly an hour and 15 minutes to reach that point. Today I decided that I would take another crack at it. I was getting to the top no matter how long it took me, but my goal was to reach the top in under 2 1/2 hours.  This time I opted to take the climb alone. I felt like I needed to prove to myself that I was capable of the climb, and I wanted to set my own pace the whole way. I brought my iPod and attempted to get myself into a zone. I was timing myself, but left the watch in my backpack so I wouldn't be obsessed with the clock, and allow it to change my pace. At 2 miles I stopped for a quick break and checked my time. 45 minutes! At the 2 1/2 mile marker things got a little tougher. The trail was covered in snow and ice. It was not a good day to forget my Yak tracks. I pushed on and continued to find a good pace. As I climbed up the last steep embankment, I could see the top and quickly made a dash to the summit. I couldn't help but let out a "Hell Yeah!" to myself. Now was the moment of truth. I looked at my watch and saw that I finished in 2 HOURS!!! I think if I didn't have to contend with the snow I could have knocked another 10 minutes off. Sitting down on a rock never felt so good. Fifteen minutes of sharing trail mix with the birds and chipmunks, and it was back down to the bottom. I have to say that I am proud of what I accomplished after my failure last week. Here are a couple of shots from the hike.

Wallace Falls

Why have I never heard of Wallace Falls before? What a wonderful hike. It was the same group as last Saturday, Emily, Caitlyn, Kylie, Justin, Coen, and I. None of had any idea what to expect. The weather was overcast, with an occasional sun ray peeking through the clouds. It was a little chilly, but we were better prepared for the "riders" Kylie and Coen so they wouldn't get cold hands and heads. The start of the trail is a little ominous. You are welcomed by an eerie buzz of the overhead power lines, and then hike about 1/4 mile down a flat trail through some clear cutting. As soon as we reached the real trail head we were greeted by the roaring Wallace River. It proved to be a great companion as we hiked. There is something soothing about the roar of a river. The forest quickly became dense and damp, moss covering nearly every limb. Only about 1/2 mile into the hike you come across the first waterfall.

The trail consists of mostly flat areas and gentle climbs, with the occasional steep incline. Nothing that Caitlyn couldn't handle.

There are a series of very nice bridges that cross creeks and the river at various points. The girls loved each and every one of them. Eventually we came across a small shelter that is set up as a picnic area, and were greeted with the roar of the middle fall. Here is the view.

Very cool. A bit further up the trail brought us to the top of the middle falls and to a panoramic view of the valley below. Caitlyn led the way, and set the pace up the steepest part of the trail. I kid you not that we all had to struggle to keep up with her. She is 5! What a hiker!

From that point there is another 1/2 mile to the upper falls, but the girls hit a wall. Coen was ready to go home too, so we didn't push it. With about 1.5 miles until we were back at the trail head, Kylie decided that she was going to walk, and walk she did. Our 2 year old hiked the last mile and a half. Occasionally she would get to a step or root that she couldn't get down or over by herself, but she refused any help. She can be a stubborn little thing. She must get that from her mommy ; ). With about a mile left to go, Caitlyn said she couldn't hike anymore because her side hurt, do she rode the last mile on daddy's shoulders. 15 pounds in the pack (since Kylie was walking) and a 50 pound girl on my shoulders. That was a workout! It also started to rain for the last mile. Not too hard, but enough to get us wet. The big trees above also seemed to collect the water and drop giant drops on us. The kids were all troopers, and nobody complained. In fact, Miss Kylie was grinning ear to ear and jumping in every puddle as she proclaimed "Walk!".
Finally we got back to the car just in time for the sky to really open up. We stripped off the muddy shoes and socks from the girls and ventured home. It was a great hike. I would highly recommend it to anyone!