Dissapointing Day on Mt. Si

I decided to take this afternoon off to fit in an extra climb for the week. I opted for Mt. Si, and got Justin to meet me for the climb. The weather was cool and drizzly, but nothing uncomfortable. We set out to see how close we could come to reaching the summit in 2 hours with 35 pounds in our packs. In the back of my mind I felt that 2.5 hours would be a good accomplishment. Maybe I should have worried about finishing the damn hike before setting goals for how quickly I could do it. Literally 100 steps into the climb I asked Justin if it was a bad sign that my legs were already tired. Chuckle, chuckle. At that point I figure that I am just getting stretched out. Nothing unusual. As soon as we reached about the 7/10 mile marker I started to feel a little light headed and nauseous. I stopped to take a quick rest, and dumped one of the gallon containers of water from my bag. As I reached 1 mile I was still light headed. At this point I actually began to feel a sense of fear. It had nothing to do with my current state, but more of a terrible feeling that I was in no way prepared for climbing Rainier in 3 months. I was determined to push on, and made it to about 2 1/4 miles before I hit a wall. That was it. Back to the car. The strange thing is that in all of my training hikes, I have never felt tired, or weak, or dizzy. My legs hurt, but I didn't feel out of shape. My suspicion is that I did not have enough to eat and drink for lunch. I felt dehydrated. The cramping in my back on the way down was another clue. I hope that this was just an off day, and being a little better nourished next time will do the trick. Nevertheless, it is time to kick things into high gear. 4.5 miles today, and another 5.5 miles planned for tomorrow. For now Mt. Si is my obstacle. My mission. I will be there again soon, and I will win next time. Rainier will follow.

Sorry I wasted your time Justin.