a girl and a mountain

Ireland Day 5

2011-03-08T23:23:00.000-08:00

A majority of today was spent in the car as we were headed from Killarney up to Galway. We took pretty much the same route that I took a couple years ago. This included a stop to Ballyhahill where our relatives lived back in the day.

I considered heading East over to Limerick as I've never visited the city, but decided to opt for the ferry from Tarbert to Kilrush instead to cut down the driving time. Luckily the rain stopped by the time we got to the ferry so we could walk around on the ferry trip.

It started raining again on the drive up toward the Cliffs of Moher so I was worried that it would be raining when we got there. Luckily there were a couple breaks in the rain when we were there, but patience definitely ended up being a virtue picture wise at the Cliffs. After spending time in the gift shop it cleared up enough to get some decent photos.

Final stop was the Amber Hill Guest House in Galway. I stayed here for two nights on my last trip. It's a cute little B&B style place in the Salthill section of Galway.

Ireland Day 4

2011-03-08T23:17:00.001-08:00

We've been packing every day full so far on this trip and today was no exception. We decided to stay one more night in Killarney rather than packing up and looking for a hotel in Dingle. This meant that we would do both the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula in one day. We started through one of my favorite parts of Ireland - Killarney National Park. Driving through there I just wish I had more time to go hiking through the park.

We stopped in a few of the interesting photo locations along the way and took a detour out to Valencia Island. I was hoping to find a geocache out there, but couldn't quite find the road that take us to the geocache so we headed down the road. After a quick loop around the Ring of Kerry we headed north to the Dingle Peninsula. Inch Strand (beach) allows cars to drive so of course I had to take the rental car for a spin on the beach. Every bit of the Dingle Peninsula was beautiful and I can tell why people say it's their favorite. We ended up having really great weather for the day trip. We stopped in Dingle at Murphy's Pub for dinner before heading back to Killarney.

Ireland Day 3

2011-03-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

I'm currently sitting in the lobby of the hotel waiting for a few pictures to upload. I'm wishing the hotel room had wifi so I could just set it up to upload while I go do something else. Hopefully the next hotel, I will be so fortunate.

I'm sore from today. I probably would have been sore from the horseback ride yesterday but I decided to add to it by hiking up to Ireland's highest point. Corran Tuathail is one of the Macgillycuddy Reeks in County Kerry. I had wanted to climb it last time I was in Ireland, but there wasn't enough time. This time I made sure to plan enough time. It was well worth it and I couldn't have asked for better weather for the climb today. I have to admit, about half way up the section known as the Devil's Ladder, I strongly considered turning back. Going up the Ladder was fine, but knowing I had to come back down had me a bit worried. It was a very steep, skree filled rock scramble section of the climb. I was warned by other hikers that it was dangerous. Luckily I ran into some other hikers that showed me another route that I could come down that would be much easier. I decided to move on since I really wanted to say I stood on top of Ireland.

The cross at the summit was a very welcome sight. I enjoyed taking a few minutes to look for a geocache at the top and explaining to some locals what my Sounders scarf was for. They were quick to ask if I had gotten to see David Beckham play when I said it was for my favorite MLS team. I didn't tell them what a prima donna I had thought he was, but just that he was fun to watch on the field. Walking down from the summit I became known as "The American" and word traveled quickly that people (including the other American making the climb today) needed to talk to me. I enjoyed the fact that hikers earlier had told me not to take the "Heavenly Gate" route as it was aptly named as a trip to Heaven was found more easily on that route - later to have a nice older Irishman tell me that I should take that route. I thought he had enjoyed talking to me up until he told me that. :) The "easier" route down was still steep and narrow, but every bit of it was worth it.

Now I'm hungry.

Ireland Day 2

2011-03-06T11:45:00.001-08:00

Day two of the trip feels like ages ago. I do remember waking up earlier than I probably wanted to after getting some much needed sleep. I was okay with getting up early as today my mom and I would head to Tralee to visit the Equestrian Centre there. Mikey and Alice, our wonderful guides, took us on a fun horseback ride. We started on the beach, and headed down to the city of Camp. I wonder if that's where my friends the Camps come from? Maybe not. Anyway, we took a horseback stroll through the village up the hillside where we got some great views of the area. We came down a really fun trail through the trees and across a stream and finally ended up back at the beach. This is where I got to take turns galloping my horse Monster (his personality didn't fit his name) up and down the beach. Definitely a fun experience.

After this we headed back through Killarney and then down through part of Killarney National Park. We ended up at the town of Kenmare. Another cute little town - of course that's what I remember about my last trip here - the towns are all cute.

We finished up the day at the Laurels Pub with a pint of Guinness and I had the lamb stew. I don't ever get tired of Irish Stew.

Ireland Day 1

2011-03-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

So I haven't had the best opportunity to keep up with this blog on the trip due to lack of internet in the hotel room and then just plain lack of time. Guess I'm having too much fun! Now I have to remember what fun I was having on Day 1. I decided to take my mom on a very similar first day trip that I had last time. Mind you, this was after about an hour of sleep on the plane and then about an hour of sleep the previous night. I was amazingly awake considering the lack of sleep over the previous two days.

The weather was pretty foggy most of the day, but that didn't stop us. What did stop us were things like visits to the Rock of Cashel. I love driving the road to the Rock of Cashel because you'll see nice farm fields and then you come around a corner and there's an impressive view of a very impressive castle. The city of Castle is equally as impressive, though we just drove through. The next mission after that was to head down toward Cork and on to the city of Cobh (pronounced Cove). The reason I picked this city was because it's where the Titanic set sail from a few years back. It was a cute little town well worth the visit. Finally I decided that my mom didn't already have the gift of gab enough, so we were off to the Blarney Castle so she could kiss the Blarney stone. We'll find out in time if she was given the gift.

Final stop of the day was Killarney where we headed straight to the hotel. After a much needed bath, my mom and I both grabbed dinner and a pint of Guinness in the hotel lounge. I forgot about the fact that they offer you either a pint or a glass most places here. Why would one want to order just a glass? Pint all the way.

2011-03-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

And so it begins. Ireland adventure take 2. This time my mom is with me. This time I was smart and planned for a longer trip. This time I will make a loop around all of Ireland and Northern Ireland. I'm currently standing next to an outlet in JFK airport as my phone charges. I'm hoping to sleep on the flight to Dublin rather than play on my phone but just in case I'd like to know it's fully charged.

Already there's been excitement on the trip. Upon arriving at the gate at JFK we were told there would be a short delay before deplaning for a small security issue. After seeing cops as soon as we got off the plane I figured somebody was going to get a special escort off the plane. Sure enough the two guys from the very back row of the plane were being escorted away in handcuffs. A few minutes later I saw someone who looked very familiar. She was wearing sunglasses in the airport. Not a very good cover for a girl who was up for an Oscar just a few days earlier. Michelle Williams passed by my mother and me with her cute little girl. I still get sad when I think about that little girl's father (Heath Ledger) being gone.

A couple more hours until my flight. There's an Irish Pub in this section of the airport. I'm tempted to grab a Guinness before I go so I can remember how much better it's going to taste in Ireland tomorrow.

Countdown...

2011-02-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Mount St. Helens

2009-07-26T08:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally have some time to write about the experience of reaching the summit of Mount St. Helens. I still haven't even unpacked from the trip, though I've been back in Seattle for three days. Hopefully that will get done today.

So first I'll back up to Tuesday, which was the day my Dad and I went to the Ape Caves. We chose to go through the longer section, which ended up being closer to 1.5 miles and from the time it took to go through, felt more like 3 miles. I decided on this trip, that trails at Mt. St. Helens should both provide the actual distance and then provide the 'feels like' distance. With all the rock scrambling you do, it really adds the time on as you're trying to negotiate where the next best step will be.

The Ape Caves were definitely a worthwhile experience. You cross over 27 rock piles in the 1.5 miles and climb up two rock walls that have ropes to help you up in the very dark, cold lava tube (remains about 42 degrees year round).

Climbing up one of the rock walls

Cool lava tube formation

My Dad getting started up one of the 27 rock piles

Wednesday was our actual climb day. Back in February, my Dad booked our climbing permits. They only sell 100 a day to keep the numbers on the trail low so they can book up fairly quickly for the summer months. Since most of the trail is out in the open you usually have other groups of hikers in your view during most of the day. The other thing you have in view most of the day is the rocks that you get to climb over. I didn't read up on the hike enough to know that a majority of our time would be scrambling up rocks. I enjoy this, but after about a mile of it you'd like to able to just put one foot in front of another rather than negotiating where your every step is going to be.

One of our major breaks during the hike up of course included finding a couple geocaches. There's a traditional cache as well as an Earthcache near a GPS monitoring station. The location also provides some pretty incredible views, so it makes for a nice stop on the trail.

Because of all the rock scrambling, I decided that the hike to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier is much easier than climbing Mt. St. Helens. On the way to Muir you're spending a lot of time on snow, which can be much easier to walk on - and allows you to glissade down so you get to save your knees from some pain! Most of the way going up on St. Helens my Dad and I were worrying about the pain going down might cause. Luckily it actually proved to be a little easier going down than we anticipated - though I know both of us were sore the next day. :)

Getting to the top of St. Helens makes it all worth it. As you come up to the top of the ash-filled skree section at the end, you instantly get an amazing view to the North that had been blocked by the mountain the entire day. It's amazing to see just how big of a chunk of the mountain was removed with the eruption in 1980. You can also see why they warn you about climbing the mountain in winter with the snow cornices - once you get to the top, you don't have much to go to be over the edge down into the crater. It's a pretty quick drop-off. My Dad and I stayed at the top for about an hour eating lunch, getting lots of pictures and talking to a Forest Service Ranger before making the journey back down.

It was a great experience and I'm glad that I got to share it with my Dad. I know he was thrilled to climb the mountain that has such an interesting history. I was already thinking on the way up that I'd like to climb it again sometime - maybe in the Springtime when there's still snow for a different climbing experience.

Dad early on in the day on the trail

Morning clouds and Mt. Hood

Some of the many rocks to climb over

Flowers toward the bottom of the trail

View toward the top with the rocks to climb over

GPS monitoring station

Last stretch up to the top

View of Rainier from the top

New dome forming

Hikers on top and view of Mt. Adams

Mount St. Helens

2009-07-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

I'm a little tired and I'm cold since I'm sitting outside using the wifi at the Lone Fir Resort (wifi doesn't reach the cabin) so this post will be short. Basically, we made it! It was a long day, but my Dad and I made it to the top of Mount St. Helens. What a beautiful day it was too - I have the sunburns to prove it.

I'll write a more complete post on the day later with more pictures, but for now, here's us at the top!

Mount St. Helens

2009-07-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

A first glimpse of Mount St. Helens on the drive to Cougar

It's been a while since I've written here, but that's mainly because I haven't had any major adventures to write about. Of course I've had lots of little fun adventures but in my mind this blog is about the big stuff. The little day to day stuff goes on facebook.

Right now I'm sitting at the Lone Fir Resort in Cougar, Washington. There's probably not much else to do in Cougar rather than hang out at the Lone Fir Resort or maybe go down to the river. Luckily the resort has wifi so I can stay in touch with the world.

So this latest adventure I'm sharing with my Dad. He drove over from Idaho yesterday so that we could spend a couple days exploring Mt. St. Helens. Today we'll check out the Ape Cave which is a 13,000 foot long lava tube. We have our headlamps for this journey since we'll be underground for just over a mile. We'll make the loop through the Upper Cave which is the more difficult section - but it also has a 'light at the end of the tunnel' since it doesn't dead end like the Lower Cave. After our cave exploration we'll check out Climber's Bivouac to prepare ourselves for the big climb tomorrow.

So the main reason for our journey is to summit Mt. St. Helens. Since I got the big mountain out of the way last year when I climbed Rainier, I've decided I need to do the littler big mountains. Luckily the Volcano alert level for St. Helens has been lowered to "normal" so we don't expect to see any eruptions on our climb tomorrow. We mainly expect a difficult hike with incredible views. Of course we'll be finding some geocaches along the way as well. I haven't seen Mt. St. Helens up close since I was about 13 so I'm pretty excited to tackle the mountain tomorrow. I think my dad's excited too.

The hike is about 4.5 miles each way with about 4500' elevation gain, though the steepness may not be the toughest part. I hear the scrambling and hiking through ash near the top is what makes the climb difficult. My Dad and I opted to go for a summer climb to ensure we'd have nice weather but this also means we don't have the snow to make the climb a little easier.

We have the nice weather, so we should have a great day filled with spectacular views!

Ireland - Last Day

2009-03-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Sadly enough, my journey has come to an end. I'm off to the airport in a few minutes so this may not be a very long post. I'm definitely not ready to leave yet, as I told most of the geocachers at the geocaching event last night. I will be back!

Yesterday I took a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol which is a pretty amazing place. The history of the place alone makes it worth visiting. On the tour we learned that during the famine, a lot of people imprisoned there had done only minor things such as steal four loafs of bread. Living in prison offered a better life for some of these people since it meant food every day and a roof over their head. The prison is also used today for filming a lot of movies, including In The Name Of The Father, Michael Collins, etc.

After that I headed down to the shopping district to get a few last minute goodies. Then I met up with some geocaching friends for a nice afternoon/evening meeting a lot of local-ish cachers. Many had come over to Dublin just for the day or the weekend. It was very nice meeting all of them.

Well, I need to get going! Like I said, I will have to come back!

Ireland Day Six - Dublin

2009-03-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Guinness

Trash Can

Guinness

Guiness

North of Dublin

Newgrange

Near Newgrange

Newgrange

I'm sad to say it's my last day in Ireland. There's so much more I wanted to do and wanted to see. But that will have to wait until next time. I know there will be a next time, it's just a matter of when.

Yesterday I drove up to visit Newgrange. It's amazing to stand in a place that was built in 3200 BC. You just have to be amazed and wonder how they did it. Apparently the winter solstice is the best time of year to be there, because for 17 minutes in the morning, the sun hits the entrance just right and it lights up the inside. You have to win a lottery to be able to be there for that.

Then it was back to Dublin. I decided to tour the Guinness Brewery. They have a special tour built just for the tours - more like a Guinness museum. At the end you come up to the Gravity bar where you get a nice view of the whole city and get a pint of Guinness.

Since it was only a mile away, I stopped by the 800+ year old St. Patrick's Cathedral after the brewery. Unfortunately I was too late for visiting hours, but it's a beautiful church on the outside.

Anyway, I must get started on my day now. I'm meeting some geocaching friends for breakfast, then it's off to do some last touring. Then this evening there is geocaching event where I'll get to meet a lot of geocachers from the area!

Ireland Day Five - Dublin

2009-03-06T00:49:00.000-08:00

Dublin at night

Entrance to St. Stephen's Green

Dublin at night

Street Performer

Tribute to the Famine

Self portrait at Trinity College

Cool sculpture at Trinity College

Trinity College

Tourism Office

Near my hotel

The Burren - south of Galway

Galway

Graffiti in Galway

It was hard to leave the west side of Ireland yesterday since it's so beautiful over there, but I knew there was a lot I wanted to see in Dublin. I definitely think two weeks here would have been the better way to go since there's so much to see! I decided not to head up to Northern Ireland like I wanted to. I've been doing a lot of driving this whole trip so I figured I would focus mostly on the Dublin area. I am going to visit Newgrange today, and I may be tempted to drive up to the border just so I can set foot in the UK - maybe find a geocache just across the border. :)

Over today and tomorrow I also want to visit Kilmainham Gaol as it has a lot of connections to Irish history. Possibly a visit to the Guinness brewery and Phoenix Park.

I was warned ahead of time, but I really have seen that Ireland doesn't like to use street signs. Luckily the google maps on my iphone have been awesome, otherwise I'm not sure how I would have found my hotel yesterday! The only thing I've had to worry about is my iphone battery dying before I get to where I'm going.

I'm not sure if I just don't listen to the right radio stations in the US, but I have noticed that the Irish LOVE Lady Gaga. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't heard her song at least once or twice. I have been enjoying listening to the radio here. Last night I caught an interesting reality show on Irish tv called Feirm Factor. Part in Gaelic, part in English and the grand prize was a Land Rover. The contestants had to compete in several farm related activities and the person who did the best overall won the Land Rover. I caught the very last episode - but I won't tell you who wins!

Anyway, I must get going on my day now!

Ireland - Day Four - Connemara

2009-03-05T01:07:00.000-08:00

Summit of Diamond Hill

Kylemore Abbey

On the hike

Beginning of the hike

Near Connemara National Park

Westport - what's an Ironmonger?

Paddy Coynes Pub

On the drive to Connemara

I'm kind of anxious to get on the road so this may be a shorter post. Yesterday was a great day discovering the Connemara area. I finally got to spend some more time outside when I went on a hike up Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park. It was an easier hike with spectacular views.

From the hike I could look down and see my next destination - the Kylemore Abbey. It's home to Benedictine Order of Nuns in Ireland. You only get to go through a small portion of the Abbey which is set up like a mini-museum. The grounds there are beautiful. I got there too late to visit the gardens on the property.

From there, I took the long way back to Galway by heading up to Westport. I went on a short walk around the downtown of Westport and then back to Galway. I walked around the downtown Galway for a little bit last night. I've been in the area for two days but I haven't seen Galway in the daylight yet! I'm going to go check it out this morning.

I've decided to head over to Dublin today and make that my home for the next three nights. So I'll probably be checking out part of the city today. I may take a daytrip tomorrow up to Northern Ireland but I haven't fully decided yet. I am getting sad that my time here is starting to run out!

Thank you everyone for all your comments! It's nice knowing that people are actually reading my blog. :)

Ireland - Day Three - Galway

2009-03-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Cliffs of Moher

Somewhere along the road

A new friend

Killimer-Talbert Ferry

Somewhere north of Killarney

Yesterday wasn't quite as eventful as I had hoped it would be. Mostly because of the rain that hung around until about mid afternoon. It wasn't the Seattle style rain that's more of a mist, it was real rain. But it cleared up enough before I reached the Cliffs of Moher and the sun even came out!

I think I ended up driving on a lot of backroads most of the way from Killarney to Galway. This meant lots of time listening to the Irish radio stations. There was A LOT of excitement over Prime Minister Brown meeting with Obama. There was also a lot of dismay over the Cricketers being attacked in Pakistan. There were also lots of chances to win tickets to the Oxygen Music festival which does seem to have a pretty good lineup - if only I would still be here then.

The Cliffs of Moher were definitely the highlight of the day. I only wish my camera had captured the true beauty of them. But I guess they are something one needs to see in person.

Today I'm probably off in two directions. I'd like to go to both the Burren region and up to Connemara. It's raining/snowing right now so I'm hoping the weather changes a bit before I get on the road. Somehow I doubt I'll be so lucky!

Ireland - Day Two - Killarney

2009-03-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

Cute little town on the Ring of Kerry

Critter along the way

I was headed to Kenmare

Torc Falls walk

Torc Falls

On the way to Torc Falls

Ross Castle

Wildlife at the Castle

More Wildlife at the Castle

an Irish Subway

Camera shop

Dinner venue

So since I got a later start on the day than I planned (the epic 11 hours of sleep that I know I needed), I didn't get to do my hike up Carrantouhil like I wanted. That just means I have to come back to do it.

For some reason on Sunday my telephoto lens decided to stop working. I'm told that it's repairable, but since I don't have time to wait for that, I visited Moriarty's photo shop in downtown Killarney. They were very helpful there and I now have a new 28-300mm lens. It's not as nice as my other telephoto, but it'll do for the trip.

After getting the lens I was off to Ross Castle, which is about a mile or two from my hotel. It's in Killarney National Park which is gorgeous. Definitely a lot of recreational activities available within the park. I know I'll be saying it a lot this time, but "if I had more time" I would take advantage of more of the activities.

Then it was off to drive around the Ring of Kerry. It's a beautiful drive. I got to see what they meant about having to wait for sheep in the road, etc. I love the fact that the speed limit is 100km/hour pretty much the whole way on the trip, but I rarely made it over 60-80km because the roads are so winding throughout the way. I seem to recall similar speed limits in New Zealand on even crazier roads.

I didn't stop much on the Ring of Kerry because it was getting dark. I did stop for my second Irish geocache though! The day was completed with a nice big bowl of Irish stew at The Laurels Pub in downtown Killarney.

Today I'm going to meander my way up to Galway. It's apparently supposed to rain most of today but that won't stop me from anything! Again, more of my photos are up on my flickr page.

Ireland - Day One

2009-03-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

The end of a very nice day - taken near Blarney

View from Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle

Cork

Cashel

View from the Rock of Cashel

Rock of Cashel

Cool tree at the Rock of Cashel

Durrow

Geez, where to begin? After about 3 hours of sleep over two days, I made it to Ireland! Flying in, it was just as beautiful as it looks in all the pictures. We got in about 45 minutes early and customs went a lot quicker than I imagined it would. I remember waiting in lines in Australia and New Zealand that took about a half hour on average.

I had second thoughts about getting a stick shift car after I had gotten so little sleep, so I asked for an automatic, but I would not be so lucky. After a day of driving the stick shift on the left side, I'm getting better. I'll be a pro by the end of the week - if I don't wreck the car first! I didn't spend any time checking out Dublin because I knew I had a full day ahead of me. I'll be staying the last two nights in Dublin so I can check out the city then.

My first stop was a gas station to get some munchies and I was happy to see a lot of my favorite candies from New Zealand. I figured they'd have most of them here. After that I stopped in a cute little town (actually, they're all cute little towns so far) called Durrow. I snapped a couple photos there and then was on my way to the Rock of Cashel. Apparently some guy named St. Patrick hung out there. :) It was an amazing place and I would have liked to have walked around downtown Cashel a little more. Next time. Unfortunately my telephoto lens stopped working at the Rock of Cashel and I haven't been able to get it to work again since. Since I love my telephoto, I may be tempted to buy a new one. I definitely don't want to be without one on this trip! Too many photos to take. Speaking off, I only took 400 on my first day. :) You'll be able to find more photos on my flickr account, as they get uploaded.

So then it was off to Cork. I didn't actually stay there very long because I needed to get to the Blarney Castle before sundown, but I did walk around the shopping district. It was in Cork that I felt like the roads here just take you in big circles, but eventually you get to where you want to go.

I kissed the Blarney Stone! You take a very narrow winding staircase up to the top of Blarney Castle to get to the Stone and someone holds you while you lean back and kiss it. The whole property was very neat there. I found my first Irish geocache in a neat walk around some interesting rocks.

After the Blarney Castle I headed over to where I am now - Killarney - where I got to taste my first Guinness with my dinner. People didn't lie to me, it is better over here! I knew I was tired after all the lack of sleep and traveling, but I guess I didn't know how tired I was. I was hoping to be writing this blog a few hours ago and getting on my way for the day, but instead I was sleeping. Sleeping for 11 hours! Today was to be the day that I would hike to the tallest point in Ireland. Since it's now approaching noon, I'm going to have to rethink my plans. I may try to find a shorter hike, or just drive the Ring of Kerry today. I've also got some brochures for some riding stables, so maybe I'll go horseback riding. I need to decide soon and get going!

I love it here!

Getting there...

2009-02-28T17:37:00.001-08:00

So I'm at the tail end of killing 4 hours at the Philadelphia airport. I'm a bit bored at this point, but that's okay because boredom will turn into boarding in a matter of minutes. I have been enjoying seeing my last name on half the things in the gift shops in this airport. I may have to get some "Love" paraphernelia on my layover here on the way back. Gotta love the the City of Brotherly Love. This is my first visit to Philadelphia, but I'm not sure that I'm going to count it as actually visiting the city.

Anyway, my airplane is ready and I am ready. Ireland, here I come!

A new mission: Ireland

2009-02-26T07:44:00.001-08:00

The Rainier climb is long since over and it was an incredible experience. Now it's on to other adventures! I figured I might as well use this blog for more than just the Rainier climb since it's a good way to share what I'm up to with my family and friends.

So, the new mission is a week long adventure in Ireland. It's been my dream to go there my whole life. I think having Irish roots and the fact that there seems to be so much pride in being Irish has kept me drawn to the country. I love the music, I love Irish stew and I'd be lying if I didn't say I love a good Guinness now and then.

I leave on Saturday morning, so I'll arrive on Sunday morning. Right away I'll get to test out my skills driving a stick shift on the left hand side of the road. I was able to manage one in New Zealand, but it sounds as though the roads are even more narrow and more winding than those roads I drove on in the Southern Hemisphere.

I will fly into Dublin and then head over to the southwest. I'll be spending a majority of my time near Killarney and Galway. Of course there's a mountain I'm hoping to climb while I'm there. If the weather is decent I'll make an attempt on Carrantouhil, which at 1041m (3400 feet), is the tallest mountain in Ireland. I haven't booked most of my hostels/hotels yet for the week, but that is by design. I'll decide the night before where I'll be going the next day for most of the trip.

I've gotten great advice from friends and family and a bunch of Irish geocachers that I am hoping to meet while I'm over there. Without even being there yet, I already know that I'm sad to be leaving the country so soon. But I figure this can be an introductory trip and I will go back soon!

The Climb

2008-08-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, two weeks after the climb I have time to write about the experience. I've finally had a chance to really rest up from the experience and everything else I've been up to the last couple weeks.

Where to start? I guess I can start on Tuesday before the climb. I was pretty nervous before I left Seattle. Not about the climb, instead, I was nervous about making sure I had everything I needed. I decided at the last minute not to take my bigger camera (which I was sad to be without on the climb). Now having been through the experience, I think I would definitely take it with me if I decide to climb the mountain again. Since I couldn't not have a camera, I had to buy a decent small digital camera at the last minute. I had to stop by REI to get my freeze dried meal and the much appreciated ear plugs that I would need the night before the summit climb. Once I was on the road, almost all the nervousness went away and I was just plain excited. I wanted it to already be Friday morning though. I had been waiting for that day since January and I didn't want to wait anymore.

Rainier Base Camp was a pretty cool place. RMI has a great set up in the town of Ashford. I liked that everything a climber needed was right there. Anything I may have forgotten could have been rented or purchased at Base Camp. I liked the idea of staying at the place that we would be taking off from for both training and for the the climb. It meant not really having to worry about much. Tuesday evening was an introduction night. We spent a few hours getting to know each other. My group had very nice people from all over the United States. We got to know our main guide, Brent. This climb would be his 368th summit of Mt. Rainier. I felt like I was in good hands. Brent went through all the gear we would need and showed us a slideshow of what we could expect on the trail.

Wednesday was our training day. Since the people that come climb with RMI have all different levels of experience, it's important to have a day to make sure everyone knew how to do things like rest step, pressure breathing, self arrest and climbing roped in. For the training they drove us up to Paradise and we went on a short hike to an area that would work well for training. It was a fun day that went by very quickly. Most of the stuff was review for me, but I learned some good footing techniques as well as pressure breathing which would be extremely helpful on the climb. The pressure breathing was good for dealing with the gain in altitude. They told us that if we felt a headache coming on, that this would be the best way to alleviate it.

Wednesday night I got all my gear together and bought some last minute food for the trip. Again, while I was looking forward to Thursday's hike up to Camp Muir, I still just wanted it to be Friday morning already.

Thursday was a beautiful day. This made the whole group excited since this meant our chances were summiting with decent weather were good. The hike up to Camp Muir was just as beautiful as when I had done the Camp Muir hike last year. This year it felt like the time went by pretty quickly though. RMI has the climb extremely organized down to how often you break and for how long. Roughly every hour, we took a 15 minute break. They told us we should plan to eat 300 calories per break and drink a half quart of water. This would help keep our energy up and helping our bodies deal with the gain in altitude. I'm not used to eating much while I'm hiking up a mountain so this was a bit different for me. I think I definitely appreciated it on the summit day though. The hike to Camp Muir is 4.5 miles and you go from 5400' up to 10,000' in elevation. It's probably one of the most rewarding day hikes I've done in the Northwest.

When we got to Camp Muir, we took our sleeping bags out and headed into the RMI hut to choose our spots. Since I was in the first group I was able to get a spot on a lower level. Luckily the hut already has sleeping mats in it, so we didn't have to bring those up with us. RMI also provides water at Camp Muir so we got to restock our nalgene bottles. We had a group meeting to talk about what we would need for the summit climb and what we should expect for the day. After the meeting we ate dinner and then went to bed at 6pm. I really thought I would struggle with going to bed at 6pm. Luckily since it was dark in the hut and I had ear plugs, I actually got about 3 hours of sleep. After that I was just laying there hoping that the guides would come wake us up soon. I didn't want to wait around any longer!

Luckily the time passed quickly and the guides came in and turned the light on around 11:30. we got our gear on, ate some breakfast and then headed out to the ropes. The view at night from Camp Muir was amazing. It definitely made for a cool start to the day. The weather was very calm and the sky was completely clear.

The climb starts across a fairly flat section across the Cowlitz Glacier. We only came across small crevasses on this part and at night you don't notice these as much as when we came back later in the day. The next section is a rocky "skree" section up and over Cathedral Gap. There were two larger rocky sections of the day including this part and Disappointment Cleaver. Footing wise, these were the hardest parts since you're walking on very loose rock that varies in size. The crampons really do help you dig in for both the snow and the skree sections so you learn to appreciate having them on.

After we crossed over Cathedral Gap we came to Ingraham Flats. This is a section with several larger crevasses and is relatively flat. A lot of climbers choose to set up camp at the Flats so we could see a few tents as we came through this area. We took our first break in this section. We were told that if we could make it through the next section to the next break feeling good, that you might as well go to the top. The second section over the Disappointment Cleaver was the only hard section of the day for me. It wasn't hard physically, just mentally. It was the only part of the climb I actually felt scared on. This was another skree section with very steep drop offs. I was fine until I decided to look down at one point and then my nerves got to me. I know that I can be lacking in coordination so part of me worried that I'd stumble on a rock and end up pulling my team down the mountain. Luckily that didn't happen. However, I knew I had to come back down through this section on the way back later in the day!

After that section it was smooth sailing the rest of the day. We had two more breaks to take before the summit. The third section included the largest crevasses we'd have to cross for the day. Earlier in the week, one had opened up to the point of needing a ladder to cross. We were able to step over a few crevasses, then the last one was probably about 6-8 feet across. RMI places the ladders across these. I think the crevasse I crossed on Mt. Baker helped me get over my fear of crossing these. I was able to walk across the ladder without a care in the world and this ended up being my favorite section of the climb. We were at this point around sunrise.

The final stretches were just steeper sections on snow. We had a lot of switch backs up toward the top. Probably the last 100 yards of the climb my legs were starting to feel like they were almost done. I was pretty happy to be at the top when we got there. I believe we got there around 6am. We dropped our bags and took a few minutes to rest. Then anyone who wanted to go could walk across the top to the true summit of 14,410'. I knew I'd hate myself if I didn't make it to the tippy top and the weather was still nice so I was excited to see how the view was. It was pretty cold up at the top and the wind didn't help much, but it was an incredible feeling being up there.

We signed the register, I claimed my earth cache find and we snapped a bunch of photos from the true summit. We were up on the top for about an hour before it was time to head back down. Luckily we got there in time to have clear skies. As we were leaving, the clouds started to roll in so I don't think the other groups summiting that day got as nice of a view as we did.

The climb down was pretty smooth and quick. I was nervous for the Disappointment Cleaver section, but all went well through there. The only miserable part of the climb was my feet by the end. Mountaineering boots just aren't comfortable, especially when you're heading downhill. We only took a couple breaks on the way down, then we took about an hour break at Camp Muir. We needed to collect our gear from there, rest a little bit and refill on any water we needed. We did a lot of boot skiing on the walk down the Muir Snow fields and I did some glissading where ever I could! Getting back into the bus the tiredness hit me and I was excited for when I'd get the chance to shower.

Overall it was an incredible experience. I had awesome weather, a great group of people to climb with and great leadership with the RMI guides. During the climb I was saying to myself "I'm never doing anything like this again!" Now, I'm thinking that I could definitely do it again. Many have asked me what's next on my agenda. Well, it's a little ways off and I'll possibly climb some other mountains before then, but my next major goal is Kilamanjaro. :) I'll need to save up a lot of money and do a lot of investigating, but my goal is to include this with my 5 year plan.

I MADE IT!

2008-07-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

I climbed the Mountain! Great weather helped me achieve the goal I've been working so hard for. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life! I'll give a more complete rundown of the climb later, but I wanted to share some of the fun I had last Thursday and Friday with a few photos.

Thursday around 9am in the Parking Lot at Paradise.

First great view of the mountain on the trail to Camp Muir.

On the trail to Camp Muir.

My little section of the hut at Camp Muir.

The larger crevasses we had to step across. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the crevasse we had to cross by walking over a ladder "bridge." This was actually my favorite section of the climb.

A pretty cool place to be at sunrise.

Ice Axe Annie at the top!

Looking over the Crater Rim from the true summit.

Trail across the Crater Rim.

Cool view on the way down.

Toward the end of the climb at Ingraham Flats.

Our climbing group on the way back down to Paradise.

Time to see about climbing a mountain

2008-07-24T07:46:00.001-07:00

The time is finally here! I'm sitting at a coffee shop at Rainier Base Camp and I'll be taking off with my group in about 30 minutes. I'm really excited. Today's hike to Camp Muir should be beautiful since the weather is perfect!

http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/moracam/moracam.cfm

This webcam at Paradise shows just how nice the weather will be for the start of our journey. I believe that weather is supposed to hold out, so this should be good for our summit attempt early tomorrow morning.

Throughout the past couple weeks I've been thinking of how fortunate I've been through this whole experience to have the overwhelming support from my friends, family, coworkers and perfect strangers. If there was ever a day or two that I wasn't sure that I wanted to follow through, I just thought of the people who have been rooting me along and it's been the kick I've needed to really push myself. A huge THANK YOU goes out to all the people who have been so supportive in so many ways. I'm really excited to have this opportunity and I've been thrilled that people have cared so much to let me share my stories with them. So yeah, thanks!

Guess I should go get my boots on and head over to meet the group now.

Carpe Diem

2008-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come. I've been determined to climb Mt. Rainier since I made it my New Years Resolution in January and I'll finally get to do it. I've actually sectioned off my life this year into two sections because of all that's gone into preparing for this. My pre-Rainier life and my post-Rainier life. It's been hard to plan things with my friends for so long and I've just kept telling them "let's do such and such after Rainier." I'm sure they're tired of hearing that and I know I'm tired of saying it. :)

I made a pact with myself that I would make an attempt on the Mountain one way or another before the climbing season was over. I've finally decided to go with the RMI guide service. They have both a 4 day and a 5 day summit climb. I've opted to go with the 4 day climb, which includes a day and a half of training before the summit attempt.

The way the guided service is set up, I'll be going down to Ashford, Washington (just outside the park entrance) Tuesday for introductions and the first part of training. On Wednesday we'll spend the day near Paradise doing some training as a group. I'm guessing this will include more self arrest and ropes training. Then on Thursday we'll hike up to Camp Muir. With the guide service we'll be staying in a hut rather than in our own tents. They say to bring ear plugs as it can be hard to sleep in the hut. On Friday morning we'll get started on the trail to the summit at 12:30am. I have been reading reports of teams heading up earlier than that because of the warmer temperatures lately on the mountain.

So now it's the last minute preparations. I'm trying to figure out what food and how much to bring. Luckily the recommended foods for a climb like this are pizza, beef jerky, chips, candy, etc. Being that those are my favorite foods, I think I can handle that. I'm also trying to figure out what layers I'll want for the summit climb. They say it's much colder up on Rainier than people think it will be so I'm guessing my down jacket will be coming in handy.

I'll be going on my last short training hike today on one of the trails near Seattle. It'll be nice to take a break from those trails for a while after this is over. I'm actually looking forward to doing some normal hiking for a bit after this experience. Although, there is talk of still climbing Mt. Adams this summer!

Anyway, if all goes well, anyone with a view of Mt. Rainier should be able to look up on their commute to work Friday morning and hopefully see me waving from the top. :)

A Learning Experience

2008-07-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, based off my experiences so far. I haven't been one to know a lot of fear in my life. If I want to do something I usually just go do it. Mt. Baker made me realize that I need to learn how to deal with my fears and not let them take away my confidence in climbing a mountain. That being said, I didn't want my fears to ruin any summit attempt for the Rainier group I've been training with. All of us have worked really hard over the past several months toward this goal. The point I stopped at for Baker was a good stopping point. It was a good, safe place for one to wait while others attempted a summit. I don't know that Rainier has those same options in case someone can't go on. I'm determined to make the summit, but if my fears get the best of me I wouldn't want my group that I've been training with to miss out because of it. They will still be going as scheduled this Friday, so they should be up on the summit a week from today. I'll be excited to hear how it goes for them.

I'm still planning to climb the mountain. I'm just thinking that I need to go with an option that wouldn't have the possibility of letting my training buddies down.

When I do climb the mountain, I will be following the Disappointment Cleaver route. This is considered the easiest and most popular route up the mountain. The park rangers keep trail reports updated regularly on their website. This route starts at Paradise for the first day and the typical stopping point is Camp Muir at the 10,000' level. If it's a two day summit attempt, then it's very typical to get started on the trail at 12:30am the next morning meaning you spend the first few hours in the dark. It's important to start in the middle of the night so that you have the best conditions on the snow.

Ice Axe Annie

2008-07-03T19:46:00.001-07:00

Mt. Baker

2008-07-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Friday after work we drove up to Mt. Baker and set up camp outside our cars. There was still too much snow on the road to go all the way to the trailhead, but we were less than a mile away from there. After building our tents, we only had about 2 hours to "sleep" before we were going to get up at 1am. Since we'll have to get up at 12:30am to start our journey for the summit of Rainier, this was good experience to get used to hiking in the middle of the night. We got going just before 2am on Saturday morning.

Just after the trailhead, we came to a bridge that had been washed out so we had to "ford" the river as the sign had indicated we would need to do. Luckily there was a tree over the river not far from the bridge and it was wide enough to walk across. This would prove to be good practice for me later in the day since I'm highly lacking in coordination! The trail was very hard to keep because it was mostly buried under snow. We actually ended up losing the trail for a while and went on a slightly precarious route. I slipped and fell at one point and my bad gut feeling I had before going into the trip made me stop for a minute and reevaluate whether I wanted to be climbing Mt. Baker this past weekend. Something was telling me that something bad would happen. Luckily my gut feelings weren't accurate.

We finally got out onto the glacier and it was wide open and beautiful - this put me at ease. That is, until we came to the first and only major crevasse we would cross for the day. I'm guessing the crevasse was at least 12 feet wide, with at least a 20 foot drop or more in parts. We had to cross this on a snow "bridge." The snow bridge was about 2 feet wide and of course, made of snow. This is why we did the crevasse rescue training and I'm glad we did. We all made it across safely and I tried not to look down!

Not long after crossing the crevasse and a little more of the glacier I heard a loud noise and looked to my right. A big chunk of snow was coming off the mountain and an avalanche was taking place right in front of us. It was hard to tell where it was going to stop - though where we were standing at the time, we were not in its path. It did scare me because it was approaching the trail we had just crossed and I knew we had to go back that way. The avalanche sent a snowball the size of a minivan down across the trail we had passed just minutes before. Again, this made my gut feelings get to me. As we got farther up the trail and passed other rope teams, they indicated that there was avalanche danger near the summit. I decided I didn't want to summit after hearing that. I stopped at 8,000 feet and Mihae decided to stop there with me as well. It was a perfect stopping point for not summiting. It was a rocky section of the mountain so other climbers and skiers were stopping there for breaks so it was fun talking to others while we were there. The view was amazing!

The guys in the group, Harrison and Bram, decided that they would attempt the summit and they almost made it there. They did an avalanche test and decided not to risk going all the way to the summit. This made me feel better about my decision.

I have to say the whole experience made me feel better about Rainier. Experiencing some of the things I may come against with the mountain put things more into perspective. I also realized that I am in shape for climbing Rainier so all the hard work has paid off physically. The plan is still to summit the third weekend of July.

Big training climb

2008-06-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update since I don't have a lot to report. Everything is on schedule right now for us to summit the third week of July, so just under a month away now. I'm ready! I want it to be here already. Every time I look at Rainier from Seattle I just imagine that I'll be standing up on top of it soon. I want to stop having to imagine it and just be there!

This weekend we're doing a big training climb. The choices were Mt. Hood, Mt. Baker or Mt. Shuksan. It looks like we're probably leaning toward Mt. Baker. I was hoping for Hood or Baker since they're both mountains that you can see from far away. I like the idea of looking at a big mountain and knowing that I've climbed it. The weather is supposed to be perfect this weekend, so we should have pretty good conditions for whatever climb we do.

I'll likely try to do another big hike or two after that. Possibly a second try for Camp Muir in early July.

The Unpredictable Mountain

2008-06-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

The photo above is Camp Muir on a day with perfect conditions. Not a cloud in the sky. Minus a really bad sunburn from almost a whole day of the sun reflecting off the snow, my hike up to the 10,000' level of Rainier last summer was amazing. Unfortunately this week some others weren't lucky enough to have those prime conditions. A Seattle PI article tells the sad story of three climbers, one of which died, on their trip to Camp Muir. I've always heard that Mt. Rainier has its own weather system and that storms can creep up on you out of nowhere.

This article scared me on one level and made me realize I made the right choice this past weekend. For several months now I had been planning to do the very same hike to Camp Muir as a training hike with some of my Rainier group. I had planned to go down to the park for the weekend, camp and participate in a Cache In Trash Out (CITO) trail cleanup with geocachers on Saturday and then make the trek to Muir on Sunday. The few days before this was to happen I kept an eye on the weather and it didn't look good for Mt. Rainier National Park. Rain, snow and cold temperatures. Shortly before the weekend I talked to the people who were coming with me and we decided that maybe it would be best to do a hike around Seattle on Sunday instead. On Saturday after the CITO event we drove to Paradise where the trailhead is and the conditions seemed horrible. You could only see about 200 feet in front of you because of clouds and fog. We stopped and talked to some mountaineers doing some crevasse rescue training and they warned that if we were heading out on any trails to take a compass, as they said a lot of people were getting turned around. Based off that, I felt like I had made the right decision not to take others on the hike I had only done one time in my life. Today I've had people sending me the link to the article telling me they're glad we decided not to do the hike.

There will be risks in climbing Rainier, but then there are risks in everything. This is a challenge I've made for myself because it will be tough, but it will be attainable.

Two More Mountains and more skills

2008-06-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

So I have been keeping busy with training over the past week. Monday I took advantage of the day off work to go hike the "super highway" known as Mt. Si over in North Bend. It's only a half hour from Seattle, so whenever the weather's decent (or even if it's not) this hiking trail can be packed. I actually prefer this when I'm out hiking by myself, which was the case. Knowing that I'm within yelling distance of another human being makes me feel completely safe hiking alone. To make sure I'm on the right track for climbing Rainier, I needed to climb Si in an hour and 45 minutes. I did exactly that. I've definitely climbed the mountain in less time before, but this was the first time I was carrying over 40lbs of weight on my back. I must say that I did enjoy all the positivity I got from the people I passed on the trail. Several people along the way asked what I was training for or if I was training for Rainier. More than one person, knowing that I was carrying a lot of weight, congratulated me when I made it to the top. It's a nice feeling knowing that people are out there rooting me on, even when they don't even know me!

On Thursday night our Rainier group got together to do some crevasse rescue training. Just in case someone on our rope team does fall into a crevasse, we learned the basics of how to build a Z Pulley system to pull them out. We've basically learned all the rope and safety stuff that we need to learn now. So now we just have to make sure we're in great shape!

Today our group went over to the Olympic Penninsula to hike Mt. Ellinor. The mountain is beautiful and I definitely want to go back and check it out again. While this was only about a 3 mile hike, it was good for elevation gain (right around 3000'). A section of this hike was up a chute that is very similar to the Camp Muir section of Rainier. It was a cloudy hike on the way up, but toward the top we broke through the clouds and found a beautiful day at the summit. The best part of this hike was getting to glissade back down the chute. Glissading definitely saves time and saves a lot of pressure on the knees!

Train, train, train!

2008-05-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hopefully in about a month from now I'll be packing my backpack to head down to climb Rainier. In the mean time, there's just a lot of training to be done. Last night Mihae and I did the cable line of Tiger Mountain. Typically hiking trails have switchbacks as they work their way up the mountain. The cable line goes straight up the mountain. It's a common training hike for people who want to summit Rainier. Bram was hoping we'd make the hike in under an hour and 15 minutes to make sure were getting in good shape for our summit climb. Mihae and I made it in an hour so we were happy about that.

This weekend is going to be a good opportunity to get some training in. Rachel, CJ and I are currently investigating some possibilities for a more strenuous hike/climb. We had wanted to do Mt. Adams, but with the all the snow from this winter, the conditions aren't in our favor quite yet. I do really want to climb Adams at some point this year, even if it's after Rainier. We also considered Mt. St. Helen's for this weekend, but being Memorial day weekend and that climb having a limited number of permits it's not likely to work out. We'll probably head up Highway 2 somewhere as there are plenty of opportunities out that way.

As for my non-hiking conditioning I've been keeping up with my usual running, boxing fitness class and soccer during the week. I've been trying to add several sets of stairs with every run. I think overall strength building is going to be what I need to focus on now.

I'm definitely anxious for the actual climb to be here already. When I started planning this in January it felt like it was forever away so it's nice to know it's getting so close.

Gear and Training

2008-05-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

Good news! I now have all the gear I need for my trip up Rainier. I got my ice axe, harness, prussicks and caribiners, helmet, tent, sleeping pad, shovel, waterproof shell and a bunch of other stuff over the past week. I feel like I should own REI after all the money I've spent there over the past few months. I guess maybe I'll have a nice dividend check next year! Having the right gear definitely can make or break the overall experience and I feel pretty confident with the what I have now.

Our latest group training was this past weekend. We headed over to Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass Saturday evening and hiked up in the rain to our camping spot. The rain ended up making the camping not very pleasant since we were soaked by the time we got our tents up. My new shovel came in handy for digging out a flat spot in the snow for our tents. It's more to carry, but again, it's definitely nice to have.

In the middle of the night the rain turned to snow and this ended up causing the tent to almost cave in. I'm considering returning the tent for another style, though I like how light and compact it is.

Sunday was all about training. We worked on self arrest training which is very important to know in case we slip and start falling down the mountain. The training for this was pretty fun too because we got to do some glissading (basically sledding without a sled). Glissading was my favorite part of the Camp Muir hike I did last year and I'm looking forward to it again this year. We also did some training on our rope teams.

It may be a lofty goal, but some of us are considering climbing Mt. Adams over Memorial Day weekend. Though the climb's not technical, it's still pretty long and will get us up over the 12,000 foot level so we can see how we do with the altitude. Recent reports said getting to the trailhead was a 12 mile snowshoe trip. Hopefully the warm weather over the next few days will change that, otherwise we may have to consider climbing Adams another time.

No time to waste...

2008-04-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

I always think that winter and early spring are going to be down times for me. Lots of free time to catch up on things like sleep and just getting things in my life organized. That definitely hasn't been the case this winter. That's why I've been slacking off on my updates here. I have been doing things to prepare for the Rainier trip, but finding a few free minutes to write about them has not been easy. So here is a quick recap of my Rainier prep over the last few weeks:

Thien-An very graciously accompanied the ladies of the group (Rachel, Mihae and myself) to REI for a gear session. We took the list of recommended items for summiting Rainier (see an earlier post with this list). He was extremely helpful in giving us information on things like ice axes, gloves, crampons, etc. REI staff were ready to give him a green vest by the end of the night.

Bram had us over with one of his mountaineering friends to have a ropes course so that we could learn the knots that we'll need to know for trip. Of course some of the knots are used more for rescue attempts if needed - hopefully we won't have that need, but it's still good to be prepared. I found a fun website with animated steps to show how to make most of the knots we'll need to know so I have a feeling I'll be consulting it when I practice.

Last Tuesday we had a group conditioning hike at Rattlesnake Mountain. The goal was to make it to East Peak (4.4 miles each way), but due to time and possible bad weather rolling in, we turned around at about 9pm and headed back down. Someday I do want to make it farther up that trail, as it's very beautiful. I'm still doing well with carrying 40-50 pounds of weight during the training hikes. I <3 my backpack! I think my boots are getting more comfortable with each hike, so hopefully they'll be good when it comes time to wear them for 2-3 days straight.

The group has a snow camping and then rescue training planned for the second weekend of May near Stevens Pass. In late May we're planning to climb Mt. Shuksan in the North Cascades. I also want to try to organize a trip for some of us up Mt. Adams since that's a mountain I've been interested in climbing for some time now.

I need to finish up acquiring my gear in the next couple weeks so I see another trip or two to REI in my future. I'm still overwhelmed by all the possibilities when it comes to gear. I do like that I'll have great equipment for any hiking or snowshoeing I do in the future though!

On the trail again...

2008-04-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

I've been bad about updating this lately, but there hasn't really been much to tell. For a couple weeks I didn't have a lot going on in the way of training or collecting gear so there wasn't anything update. I did get a chance to get started reading the Mt. Rainier guidebook which is great for giving you all the information you need to know about the mountain down to the nitty gritty details.

On a recent visit to home in North Idaho I did check out one of the local sports shops and was happy that I did. I found some North Face gore-tex shell pants - only one pair left, in my size and on clearance! It's always such a thrill to find deals like that. Normally I only find those kind of deals on things that I don't happen to need. I tested the pants on a snowshoeing expedition around my parent's place and I was quite pleased with how they did their job. This means a majority of my clothing for the journey has been acquired. Besides head protection, the last major item I'll need clothing wise is a down jacket.

I finally got back out on the trail again last Sunday with Mihae. We decided to go check out Wallace Falls State Park. I hadn't been there in at least a couple years and remember it as being one of the most beautiful trails in the area. It's still one of the most beautiful trails in the area - to the point of being almost magical. We both carried a significant amount of weight in our packs with a couple gallons worth of water among other things. I'm happy to report that my backpack is still super comfortable even with 40+ pounds! While we meant to go on the Wallace Falls trail, we ended up taking the Wallace Lake trail instead. We agreed that this ended up being better because we ran into a bit of snow on this trail. Since we're both trying to get used to our mountaineering boots, having to try them out in various conditions is helpful.

Tomorrow our Rainier group is planning to do the cable line on Tiger Mountain. It's great for training as it will be similar in steepness to the Mt. Rainier climb. I'm sure it will be a good reminder of how decent of shape we'll need to be in for the actual climb in June.

Making Progress

2008-03-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

After spending several hundred dollars I'm starting to feel like I'm making some progress on collecting gear. Earlier last week I went to REI with Mihae determined to find a Gregory backpack to buy, because I figured that was the best pack for me after trying them on. I got fitted for a Gregory pack that I thought I'd be interested in getting and it just didn't feel right. With some good upselling from the REI lady, I tried on the nicer Arcteryx backpack and fell in love. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I figure that boots and a backpack are two of the most important pieces of gear comfort wise. So a few days later I came back to REI and had the backpack fitted for me with at least 30 pounds of weight. That 30 pounds felt like nothing, thanks to the backpack's comfort so I decided I needed to buy it. Luckily I was able to use my Dad's 20% off discount at REI so the cost was a little more reasonable.

I put the backpack to its first test immediately after buying it. Rachel, Rich and I headed over to North Bend to hike up Little Si. This is not a long trail - my hiking guidebook says 5 miles roundtrip with a 1200 foot elevation gain. This made for a good first test for both me and Rachel with our new backpacks. I also tried out the new boots, which are very stiff. Other than the last 15 minutes down the mountain, the boots were great. The backpack was awesome the entire trip, where I was carrying around 40 pounds. We made our goal of reaching the top in less than an hour, right around 58 minutes.

I took the last week off most exercise in order to let my knee get a little better and I think the time off helped do the trick. I decided not to run for an entire week, which was very aggravating to me since running has become a huge part of my life. I did run in the St. Paddy's Day Dash yesterday and felt pretty good overall. I'm ready to get back into my regular routine of working out this week, which will definitely be helpful in my training for Rainier.

The more I talk about Rainier with people, the more excited I'm getting about it. We're just over three months away now from the climb. There should be a lot of really great training hikes between now and then.

Gear and Running

2008-03-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a really productive day for me. Even with my bum knee (from the Rattlesnake hike the week before), I completed my first half marathon. I always said I wasn't interested in running half marathons because I didn't think I could run for that long. I decided around New Years that this year I would challenge myself to do things I either never considered doing or never thought I could do. I'm feeling pretty great today knowing that I accomplished my first goal of this year. Rachel and I ran somewhere around a 10 minute mile for the 13 miles of the Mercer Island half marathon (we're still waiting on our official time). It was a beautiful run and I'm definitely interested in trying a half marathon again!

The endurance aspect of doing the longer runs will likely come in very handy for my overall conditioning for Mt. Rainier. After the race, Rachel and I were already moving on to plans for our upcoming races - the St. Paddy's Day Dash in Seattle next weekend and Bloomsday over in Spokane in May.

After the run, we decided to head to REI to look into boots for climbing Rainier. REI has their 20% off one item promotion with your membership going on for the month of March so I thought it was a good opportunity to purchase one of my more expensive items for the trip. There aren't many choices (at least for women) in mountaineering boots, but I found some that I think I'll be happy with. The La Sportivas I picked up came highly recommended. I wanted to get them soon so that I could decide if they were the right boots for me and so I could start breaking them in long before the actual climb.

After getting the boots we headed on to OR (Outdoor Research) to check out their current sale. I'm glad we decided to go there as I was able to find some good mountaineering gloves at a really nice discount and pair of base layer pants. I'll be doing some more research and/or shopping this week. I'd like to find a backpack and some other clothing layers fairly soon.

I felt like it was a pretty successful day all around. :)

2008-03-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a nice day for a hike, so a few people from my Rainier group and I decided to go hiking. Due to conditions on Mt. Si and Granite Mountain, we decided on doing an easier hike up Rattlesnake Mountain. Rattlesnake ledge is one of my favorite quick hikes close to Seattle (just south of North Bend). It's easy and the view is rewarding when you get to the ledge. The trail actually goes on for several miles, but I've never gone much farther than the ledge. I have a fear of the woods, especially when hiking alone, so in the past I've always stuck to heavily populated trails. A majority of people stop at the ledge so I've never ventured too much farther up the trail. After seeing the view up higher yesterday I'm kicking myself for not going farther up in the past. I guess that's the really nice thing about all the training I'll do for Rainier - I'll have hiking buddies!

Before leaving Seattle, Bram made sure that those of us training for Rainier had plenty of weight in our packs. We stopped at a gas station to buy gallon jugs of water. We'll be adding more gallon jugs for future hikes. The more weight we carry now, the better we'll be in the long run for the actual climb.

The hike was pretty easy until we hit some deeper snow. We did our fair share of postholing, which made me regret not packing along my snowshoes. All together we hiked about 8 miles and had an elevation gain of about 2400 feet.

After the hike, Bram showed us all the gear that we'll need to have for the trek up Rainier. It reminded me that I still have a lot of shopping to do! I think my next major purchases will be a backpack to help get used to carrying a lot of weight and boots so that I can get them broken in.

Ever so slowly...

2008-02-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Not too much new to report. I haven't been working out as much over the past week since I've been sick with the cold that seems to be going around. I guess the going, going, going all the time does tend to catch up with a person. Luckily it happened now and not two weeks from now when I have the half marathon. Unfortunately, this means I've fallen behind in my training for that.

I have been keeping my eyes out for gear lately though. Trying to find the best deals on good equipment. I do feel lucky for finding some crampons for half off online. Since I'm not really familiar with this stuff, I'm having to rely on reviews. Someone mentioned that they found these worked well on Mt. Rainier so hopefully that will be the case for me as well.

I'll likely look into doing some sort of hike this weekend. Probably another one close to Seattle, so not likely anything major. I would like to get over to Mt. Si soon since it's continually one that people recommend to train on.

Running, Climbing walls, and other things

2008-02-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

Over the next few months I'll be looking for any kind of strength training possible. Currently Rachel and I are training for the Mercer Island half marathon which takes place on March 9th. I'd like to get a couple 10 mile runs in between now and then, along with the regular 6 mile run I've been doing weekly. The half marathon will be the longest distance I've ever run. I've been feeling really good with my running the last couple months so I'm looking forward to the challenge. Just because I like the organized races, the next week I'll be running in the St. Patrick's day 5k run - it should be a piece of cake!

My friend Mihae, who will be coming on the Rainier trek, is a member of a climbing gym out in Ballard and invited me to come with her. Rachel and my friend Dan (who is pictured in the hike from last weekend) and I all went. Two other guys who will be coming on the Rainier trek (Bram and Thien Nan) were also there. Even though climbing Rainier won't involve rock or ice climbing, it's still a great way to build upper body strength that just may be necessary for the trip. I hadn't been on a climbing wall since I lived in New Zealand a few years ago. I really enjoyed it back then, so I've actually been wanting to try it out again. The personal challenge involved with it is amazing. Luckily, due to my boxing fitness class, the only soreness I experienced was in my fingers. I'll likely visit the climbing gym a few more times before the big climb.

Gear: The Patagonia store downtown is currently having a big sale. I took advantage of this the other day to get my capilene base layer top. Sometime when I have more time, I'd like to check out the sale again. I already tried the capilene out on a long run and it definitely serves its purpose with "wicking" the sweat away. My list of gear to buy is still really long!

Getting Started

2008-02-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

Thursday of last week Rachel, Mihae (my coworker who's interested in coming up Rainier with us) and I met up with Mihae's friend Bram. He and his friends have climbed Rainier before and have a lot of experience with climbing mountains in general. We got a lot of good ideas from him on training we should do between now and then. Also, having another personal account of the climb itself made me feel more confident that I will be able to successfully climb the mountain.

A few of us decided to get together on Sunday to do a shorter hike to get started. We did the West Tiger Mountain #3 trail just off I-90. Other than slipping around a little on the snow and ice, we did a pretty good job of tackling the easier hike. As the weather starts to improve and the snow melts off the Cascades, we'll have more options for good training hikes. We've agreed that one of the best things about all the training will be all the neat areas we will get to discover between now and the end of June.

As for gear, I'd like to save I've acquired more stuff I'll need for the climb than I actually have already. I did order some gaitors from the REI outlet, but I'd like to find a good backpack, boots and a nice gore-tex shell jacket for the training I'll be doing over the next few months.

Snowshoeing and other stuff

2008-02-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

This winter has provided plenty of snow for the Northwest (just ask my parents in North Idaho). Yesterday I took advantage of the snow by heading out toward Skykomish on Highway 2 to do some snowshoeing with some geocaching friends. I figure every little bit of training will help for Rainier. When you're sinking down to your knees on snowshoes you get a really great leg workout! I had pretty bad insomnia the night before, so I wasn't 100% on my game for this trek. That got me thinking about Rainier. The way I'm planning to do the climb would be to camp at Camp Muir and then get up at 12am to head toward the top. Being that it's not really natural for me to go to sleep around 4 or 5pm I have a feeling that I'll be pretty tired when I start the major part of the trek. Makes me think that I better not use being tired as an excuse not to exercise over the next few months so I'm fully prepared.

I ordered the Mount Rainier training guide today so I'm excited to read that when it arrives. I also got a good tip on a Rainier prep course at REI later this month from a fellow geocacher. I'll try to make it to that, as well as start to look into mountaineering training classes in the area.

I've recently found a few other people who are interested in going with my group. My goal is to have at least one person who's summited Rainier with us. Luckily a coworker of mine knows someone who is interested in going who just summited last year. It'll make me feel more comfortable to have people along who have experienced the mountain.

A prize at the top

2008-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

In 2004 I learned about the "fastest growing sport no one's ever heard of" from my Dad. He likes his hobbies and his newest hobby at the time was geocaching. This hobby, as they like to say, is comprised of using multi-billion dollar satellite technology to find tupperware in the woods. After I moved to Seattle and started going on hiking adventures on my own, I decided that maybe I should have one of these hand-held GPS receivers with me just in case I ever got lost in the woods. Before Seattle I was used to hiking in the foothills of Boise where you can see for miles and it's nearly impossible to get lost. After my dad got me a Garmin Legend for my birthday I decided I might as well get myself a geocaching account and find some caches while I was out hiking.

Geocaching has taken me some incredible places and acted as the best tour guide possible for both the city in which I live as well as any others I ever visit. I've met some wonderful people through the sport and had some really great experiences including my hike up to Camp Muir last summer because of it.

Why do I bring up this hobby you ask? Well of course there's a geocache on the top of Mount Rainier! While physical caches (the tupperware or often old ammo cans) are not allowed in National Parks, that doesn't stop geocachers from listing Earthcaches on the website. Earthcaches are placed for their educational value in accordance with the Geological Society of America. So while I won't be finding a container where I can trade trackable items, swag or sign a log book, I can use the opportunity to learn something new about Mount Rainier and its geological features. The cache I will be finding is the Rainier Summit Earthcache. As the cache listing says, finding it will help me discover the present thermal activity in the summit crater. To get credit for finding this cache I'll have to describe what the rocks and mud feel like in an email to the owner. Of course I'll be taking pictures to show that I've stood in the very spot where the coordinates tell me to go!

As if getting to the top of Rainier won't be cool enough, this will easily be the coolest cache I may ever log.

Training - Part One

2008-01-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Over the next few months Rachel and I will look into a lot of training options for our trek. If we go with a guided service, they include training in the trip (which makes the trip 1-2 days longer than if we go on our own). If we go on our own we'll need to look into some mountaineering training so that we're fully prepared. While it's important to have mountaineering skills, I think the best training over the next few months will be to ensure that I'm physically in the best shape of my life.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a very active person in general. I walk 2 miles each way every day to work, which I've found has made hiking a lot easier. I run anywhere from 2-6 miles 5-7 days a week. I've tried to step that up to 3-6 miles and added the occasional jump rope and basketball if I happen to be working out at the gym. Rachel and I are planning to do the Mercer Island half marathon in March. This will be my first half marathon, therefore, the longest distance I've ever run in my life. I also play on a co-rec soccer team every Thursday which often leaves me pleasantly sore on Fridays.

I decided that I needed a workout that strengthened my upper body since I'll be carrying about 35-40 pounds on my back for the trip up the mountain. What's a better upper body workout than boxing? I've never been a huge fan of boxing, until I got my Nintendo Wii and realized what a great workout it could be. Last week my friend Miriam and I started taking a boxing fitness class. Luckily I don't have to hit people or be hit by people but it's great taking out any frustrations on the punching bags! Talk about a great workout and a fun change of pace!

Hiking. There will be many many hikes taken between now and the climb. I went for a short hike just east of Seattle last weekend. Rachel and I have plans of doing the hike to Camp Muir sometime when the weather's a little better. I'm also going to look into a backpacking trip up Mt. Adams to help train.

Anyway - it's time to go to the gym now.

The List

2008-01-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

The major cost for my endeavor will be the gear. I pretty much have nothing I will need to accomplish this trek. I've already made a couple pilgrimages to R.E.I. and I'm already overwhelmed. A lot of the items are camping or trekking items that I've wanted anyway and can likely use many more times in the future so it is easy to justify the expense. The more mountaineering oriented items I will likely end up renting. I can't quite see buying $250 boots to only wear one time (if I decide that Mt. Rainier is my first and last major mountain I will climb). I'm sure that I will visit R.E.I. many more times between now and this summer to talk to the experts and do research on what I should get. The first item I know I will get is a climbing guide - the best one recommended Mike Gauthier's climbing guide...

Below is a list I found at http://www.rmiguides.com/ which tells you what you'll need if you elect to go on their 3 day Mt. Rainier climb. Whether I go with a guide company or not, I figure it's good to have the items they recommend.

PACK & BAG

BACKPACK: A 4,000-5,000 cubic inch pack is the recommended size for this climb. A separate summit pack is not needed or recommended.

SLEEPING BAG: A bag rated to 20° F will keep you warm. A small deviation is fine. You may use either goose down or synthetic. Sleeping pads are provided at Camp Muir. A compression style stuff sack is recommended.

TECHNICAL GEAR

AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVER: A climb of Rainier involves travel in avalanche terrain. A digital transceiver is preferred; analog will work as well.

HELMET: Helmets are required for glacier travel and on the upper mountain.

CLIMBING HARNESS: A comfortable, adjustable harness is necessary for training and while climbing on the upper mountain.

ICE AXE: The length of your axe depends on your height. Use the following general mountaineering formula: up to 5’8”, use a 65 cm. axe; 5’8” to 6’2”, use a 70 cm. axe; and taller, use a 75 cm. axe. If you hold the axe so that it hangs comfortably at your side, the spike of the axe should still be a few inches above the ground.

CRAMPONS: The 10 to 12 point adjustable crampons designed for general mountaineering are ideal. Rigid frame crampons designed for technical ice climbing are not recommended on Mt. Rainier. If you bring your own crampons, bring the appropriate repair kit/replacement parts and adjusting tools.

TREKKING or SKI POLES: Trekking poles are used on the approach and to provide additional stability in adverse weather.

ONE LOCKING CARABINER:

HEAD

WARM HAT: A wool or synthetic hat. It should be warm, but thin enough to fit underneath a climbing helmet.

BALACLAVA/ NECK GAITER: Required for cold and windy days.

BALL CAP: A lightweight ball cap, bandana or sun hat works very well.

GLACIER GLASSES : A pair of dark-lensed sunglasses with side shields or full wrap-type sunglasses is required.

GOGGLES: Amber or rose-tinted goggles are required for adverse weather. Additionally, contact lens wearers may find a clear-lensed goggle very useful on windy, dusty nights.

HEADLAMP: With an “alpine start,” we will travel approximately four to six hours in the dark. We strongly recommend Lithium batteries as they perform well in a cold environment. If you choose alkaline batteries, bring an additional set, and ensure that they are kept in a warm pocket while climbing.

HANDS A good glove / mitten combination is important because of the variety of weather conditions experienced throughout your climb. Below are some recommendations. Your glove combination should include three separate layers that work well together.

LIGHT WEIGHT GLOVE: One pair of fleece or wool gloves.

INSULATED GLOVE: One pair of wind/water resistant ski gloves.

INSULATED MITTS: One pair of wind/water resistant, insulated mitts for protection against wind, snow and cold. These also serve as emergency back-ups if you drop or lose a glove.

UPPER BODY

BASE LAYER : One long-sleeve, light or medium weight top will be used as your base layer. Light colored tops are ideal, since dark colors absorb heat from the sun, and neck zippers will provide extra ventilation.

INSULATING LAYERS : A variety of insulating layers work well on Mt. Rainier. Your choice of garment (fleece or soft-shell) and the number of garments (one or two) should be based on how well you do in the cold. Generally speaking, we recommend two layers that work in combination with each other.

SHELL JACKET: You will need a jacket made of rain/wind resistant material with an attached hood.

INSULATED PARKA with HOOD: This item becomes of highest importance when we are faced with poor weather. Additionally, this oversized, insulated parka traps heat at rest breaks. The parka may be either goose down or synthetic fill and should have at least two inches of insulation thickness. It should fit over all of your clothing layers, including your wind shell. We do not recommend wind jackets with zip-in liners or down sweaters as substitutes as they are not warm enough for this climb.

LOWER BODY

BASE LAYER: One pair light or medium weight bottoms will be used as your base layer.

INSULATING LAYER : One pair of fleece or windstopper pants is required for the upper mountain. Full-length side zippers are recommended for making quick clothing adjustments, and for ventilating options.

SHELL PANT: A pant made of rain/wind resistant material will be needed for the climb. Full-length side zippers are a great option, facilitating quick clothing adjustments over boots and crampons.

LIGHT WEIGHT TREKKING PANT OR SHORTS - OPTIONAL

FEET

MOUNTAINEERING BOOTS: Insulated plastic boots are the preferred choice for ascents on Mt. Rainier. They provide the best insulation as well as a more rigid sole for kicking steps and holding crampons. Some leather boots that have Vibram soles and full shanks are also adequate, but they will need to be a stiffer design and might still result in cold feet on summit day. Lightweight hiking boots are not acceptable as they don’t work well with crampons, or in very cold or wet weather.

GAITERS: A knee-length pair of gaiters, large enough to fit over your mountaineering boots, will be needed. This will protect you from catching your crampons on loose clothing.

SOCKS: Two pair, either wool or synthetic. Some people find liner socks useful for reducing friction.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

SUNSCREEN and LIP PROTECTION:

MEALS and EATING UTENSILS: Three trail lunches, one dinner and one breakfast are needed. Utensils consist of a bowl, insulated mug and spoon.

2 - 3 WATER BOTTLES: Two or three sturdy one-quart water bottles are required. Wide mouth bottles are ideal since their opening is less likely to freeze. If you bring a hydration system, also bring two one-quart water bottles as back up.

2 LARGE GARBAGE BAGS and a 1 GALLON ZIP-LOCK BAG: We recommend lining your backpack and sleeping bag stuff sack with garbage bags to keep items in your backpack completely dry. Please use the Zip-Lock as your personal trash bag.

TOILET ARTICLES: Toothbrush, toothpaste and a few hand/sanitary wipes. Bring some personal toilet paper for your climb.

EAR PLUGS for sleeping at Camp Muir.

CAMERA

A general introduction

2008-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Who: Annie is my name. I'm 29 and live in Seattle with a view of Mt. Rainier from my balcony. I love doing anything active, especially if it takes place outdoors. Ask my family if I loved hiking as a kid and they'd laugh at you and tell you how miserable I made family hikes with all my complaining. Since I've grown up I've acquired an appreciation for seeing what nature has to offer and I feel traveling by foot is the best way to do it.

I'll be doing this climb with my friend Rachel who shares my appreciation for the outdoors. We are looking for others who would be interested in going with us - is that you?!

What: Summiting Mt. Rainier is the goal.

When: Summer 2008 - the target right now is the end of June.

Where: From Paradise (5,400') at Mt. Rainier climb 16 miles roundtrip with a 9,000 foot elevation gain to the summit (14,410').

Why: Last year I hiked to Camp Muir (10,188') and when I got there I thought to myself "what's another 4,000 feet?" I've always looked at the mountain from Seattle and thought how great it would be to someday stand on top. Well, I've reached a point in my life where I don't want to keep saying that I'd like to this or that someday - I want to actually do those things.

How: Rachel and I are researching whether to go with a highly expensive guided group option or to find people with mountaineering skills and form our own group to go to the top. There will need to be an immense amount of training that will go into this and that which will be part of the fun. I will also need to acquire pretty much all of the gear necessary to make this trek safely.

New Years Resolution

2008-01-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

My new years resolution for 2008 is to summit Mt. Rainier. My goal is to learn everything I need to in order to safely and successfully reach the top of the 14,410 foot volcano.