A Sunday of Practice for Baker

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Our climbing date for Mt Baker is rapidly approaching and seeing how our snow travel knowledge is limited our climbing group had scheduled a day to go over these techniques.  Matt and Kent have lots of experience and it was great to get out for the day and learn some new things.

We headed up to Alpental resort which is just little over an hour east of Seattle.  I could not believe how much snow was up there in June.  We had no problems getting on snow right out of the parking lot.

The weather was not quite what we had hoped but the clouds did keep the snow from getting too slushy so that was good for self arrest practice.

We were out there for about 5 hours and practiced snow travel while roped up as well as various ways to self arrest.  My favorite was to arrest and catch yourself as well as a person roped from you that had fallen.  Amazing how much weight you can catch.  Check out the pictures from the link above.  I am pretty psyched with how a few of the action shots came out.

Memorial Day Hike Down Chelan Lakeshore Trail

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I have been a little slow posting this because work has been crazy.  But finally the true story will get out!  Well that was dramatic.

Anyhoo, this was an amazing trip.  The plan was to leave Seattle Friday afternoon and make the three and a half hour drive to Chelan to car camp the first night, then catch a boat to our trail (lakeshore trail), have another overnight hiking up to the town to Stehekin where we would stay for one more night and then head back into Seattle.

As has been the theme of my life lately work ran late Friday and it was 7:00pm before I even made it to Laura and Dan's house.  Luckily Natalie had the brilliant idea the night before that even though I was planning to come home first I should still put all of my clothes in the 4runner so that I could just meet her at Dan and Laura's house if time ran short.  So, I pulled up to their house, changed, and we hit the road.

Our ferry getting ready to depart

The positive side of getting out of town late was we missed most of the traffic.  We were up and over the pass before we saw the slightest backup.  We headed up and over the pass, into the dry side, passed the fields of wind turbines, and cruised into Chelan well after dark.  We pulled up to the campground after a few exciting moments of driving and arrived at a sign saying the campground was full.  Not surprised, as we had called ahead and were told it would be full, we thought we would ask the helpful attendant wrapping up her shift in the booth (11:30pm).  We pulled up nicely and said, "we know the sign says you are full but we thought it was worth asking, if you are full do you know somewhere else we could camp?"  The response from the booth was "seriously?!?"  Apparently she thought that we meant we needed a campsite for the weekend which is just a little crazier than asking for the night (on memorial day weekend).  Turned out there was a spot and a great one at that.  We setup the condotron (our huge car camping tent), had some wine and snacks and headed to sleep.

Just a few backpackers on this boat

We woke up Saturday to sunshine.  Sweet sweet sunshine.....  We headed over to the ferry which took us 45 minutes up the lake to the Prince Creek trailhead.  The lake was crystal clear like Tahoe or Lake Como.  Just beautiful with huge cliffs in places and rolling hills in others.  We moved through pockets of sunshine and into dark black ominous clouds promising to drench our backpacks riding on the front of the boat.

The boat was filled with backpackers and we could hardly get a seat.  I was secretly pretty worried that this was going to be like hiking at Disneyland.  At one point we heard several people remarking that they had never seen so many backpackers on the boat.  Uhh oh....

We pulled up to our stop.  I say pulled up, we actually just ran into the shore of rocks which I found odd.  All these years and they have not constructed any dock?  We offloaded from the front of the boat and started getting our gear together.

There were what felt like a thousand boy scouts on the boat and they all offloaded and acted as obnoxious as young boys with too much energy do.  Again, I was worried, are we going to be hiking in a traveling carnival?

The first few miles were pretty crazy where we it felt like hiking in a mall but after about mile 3 everyone spread out and we had the trail more or less to ourselves.  We took in the silence and marveled at the snowy peaks and the clear water.  What an amazing place.  We went through pockets that felt like Utah, Colorado, California, and a few sections that reminded me of hiking in Linville Gorge back in NC.

Home sweet home

Our first day was supposed to be 7 miles but the campground was pretty full so we pushed on until we found a spot around mile 8 that was one of the best campsites I have ever had.  We were perched above the lake, and could see peaks popping out of the clouds in front of us, with the the lake to our left and right.  Not too shabby.  We got camp all setup, Dan and I did a cross country trip down the mountain to filter water from the lake, and then we all took it easy.

Sunday we woke up to clearing skies and birds chirping away.  We took our time getting packed up and having breakfast and I think it was getting toward noon before we headed out of camp. The hiking was just as amazing.  We headed through several areas that had burned and the wildflowers were in full bloom.  For some reason I got home with only one flower picture.

We went over some crazy creek crossings, took in the sun that had decided to show up and enjoyed being outside.

Throughout the day we would pass some lucky folks cabins that were tucked away in the woods.  There was not any power or water so many were very basic.  Water piped in from a stream and power was either a solar array or maybe a generator.  It was neat to check out the different styles.

Float plane waiting to load up

About 5pm, after 11 miles of hiking, we rolled into Stehekin.  I was expecting memorial day busyness and too much commotion in too small a space.  I was wrong.  We came into town and it was dead silent, almost spooky because of my expectations.  We walked up to the ranger station and were given our campsite number and permit.  The girls headed off to claim our spot while Dan and I went down to "Store" to pickup beer.  I say "Store" because that was actually the name of it.  This great town had Restaurant and Store.  Store turned out to have quite the beer selection and the prices were surprisingly good considering this town is so remote the only way to get things to  it are to:

1.  Walk
2.  Fly a floatplane
3.  Take the ferry

We stocked up on beer and snacks and headed back to camp where the girls were getting our site setup.  Oh yea, we took a side trip to Restaurant to make a reservation for the night since as the ranger had advised.

After having a celebratory beer and getting camp setup we ate a great dinner at Restaurant and took in the peace and quiet of Stehekin.  I instantly fell in love with the town.  Quick fact, there are a total of 85 year round residents of Stehekin.

We spent the night setup by the lake singing hip hop songs and having a great time.

Monday arrived too quickly and we all rolled out of bed excited to grab some breakfast.  This meal would not be at Restaurant, we instead headed out to a place with a name that is too long for this town, the Stehekin Pastry Company.  We were told we had to check it out before we even got into town.  We decided not to rent bikes to get out there (rented by the hour, how cool is that) and instead stretched our legs and walked the two miles to the bakery.  It was worth every step.  The food was great.  We got more than we could ever eat and left fat and happy.

Too quickly it was time to pack up and catch the ferry back to the car.  I cannot wait to get back to Stehekin.  We were planning trips to return on our boat ride back to the car.

Mailbox and Si in 1 Day / Walking like Frankenstein today

Mailbox peak last summer

So in preparation for various mountain climbing plans this summer (Mike and Katy are doing Rainier and the usual gang of four are doing Baker) the stupid idea was hatched to do Mailbox peak followed by Mt Si this past saturday.  It sure sounded like a great idea at the bar and truth be told it really was a great day of hiking.

Mailbox peak this past weekend
(the mailbox is under our hands)

So just to recap this brilliant plan.  Mailbox peak climbs 4000 feet in 2.5 miles, easily the steepest trail I have ever hiked.  It is an out and back so the downhill might be worse as you beat your knees into the ground.  Then it is a quick drive to Mt Si which climbs 4000+ feet over 4 miles.  

We got up Saturday at 6:15 and were on the road by 6:45 with coffee in hand.  We all met up and headed to the Mailbox peak trailhead.  The weather was cool and threatening to rain but held off the whole day.  The clouds rolled in and out letting us look back down to the lush green valley off and on.  At one point I just kind of got in the zone and hiked up ahead by myself enjoying the snow, mist, and clouds.  Mike and Katy were testing out boots to hike Mt Rainier in (which weight about 19lbs each) so they were really weighted down.  The gang of four (Natalie, Dan, Laura, and myself)  made it up to the top in a time that surprised us all, checked out the top and headed down before our body temps could drop too much.  We passed Mike and Katy on the way down not too far from the top and were happy to see they were in good spirits despite the torture devices strapped to their feet.

Back at the parking lot we all agreed that the first leg of the trip had gone well.  We ate, and rested until the whole group was back together and then headed off for mountain #2.  

The hike up Si went really well, we just chatted away and before we knew it we were near the top.  The last 100 yards I was pretty much ready to be finished but overall we all felt great the whole hike.  We all ended up running down the first half of the downhill just to save our knees a little.  I ended up running nearly the entire 4 miles back down.  It felt great to tear past the mile markers.  4, 3.5, 3, 2, wow I am almost at the parking lot, 1, well I will keep running now, and bam I was done.  Peeling off boots has never felt so good.  We had a celebratory beer in the parking lot and then headed out for food.  

What a great hike.  I can certainly say we are all ready for our respective climbs.  Next weekend is a long weekend of backpacking.  Heres hoping the weather will cooperate.

Back in Georgia for a few great days!

 More Pictures Here (click me)

Our Cabin

Since a little before I was born my parents have been visiting Vogel State Park in north Georgia.  When I was born the tradition somehow shifted over to going up there at Easter.  When I think back over the years if I had to identify one place where my love of the outdoors started I would say it is this park.  Before my memory begins my dad was carrying me around in a backpack (sometimes getting lost) through the trails surrounding this park.  I learned to fish, hike, and enjoy being out of the city, in this place.  So you can imagine how excited that I was heading back to a place that holds so many memories for me.

I missed the last few years since Natalie and I moved out to Seattle but this year I headed back.  This year Natalie was not able to because she was covered up with work and it did not line up with any of her holiday time but I hope next year that will be different.  I caught a red eye flight into Atlanta, leaving Seattle at 11pm Wednesday night.  This put me on the ground in Atlanta at around 7am.  I took the train down to near my parents house where they met up with me and we headed back to the house.  I pounded a coffee when I landed so I was feeling pretty good.  I think at that point I was powered 1/2 by coffee and 1/2 by excitement to be back in Atlanta.  My parents put me right to work re-hanging a bird feeder that had been knocked off the house.  Always a good idea to be climbing 30 feet up in the air after 4 hours of sleep.  :)

We grabbed some lunch and headed up to the mountains.  After a few hours we arrived and it was exactly as it was 4 years ago when I had been there last.  Barely any cell service, no tv, no phone....  perfect!!

  

Family Picture

My brother got in later that night and we had a great time catching up.  The four of us spent the next 4 days just like we always did each Easter.  We hiked, lounged around, visited with each other and were not bothered by the real world at all.  Palmer and I even got in a full day of fishing on the Toccoa river with a guide (best Christmas present ever).  The fish did not want to cooperate but we managed to get 7 in the day and it was a beautiful day.  It was great being back out with my brother who I do not get to see enough.  The day came to a close way too soon and we headed back to the cabin.  

The whole trip actually went way to fast but that just means it was a lot of fun I suppose.  It is pretty cool being in a spot where some of your earliest childhood memories are from.  The place is still exactly the same and it is just as hard to leave each year.

Hopefully Palmer and I will work out a fishing trip on this coast soon and I think my parents will be out in the next few months as well so it will be good to see everyone again.

Looking forward to being back at Vogel again next year.

Lady Slipper

MTTA featured on CNN

Funny timing but I was browsing around CNN today and ran across this article

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/19/remote.vacation.hike/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Look familiar?

Great weekend at the MTTA high hut

This past weekend a group of us (Laura, Dan, Mike, Natalie, and myself) headed out to a place we have been eying for 3 years.  The MTTA (Mt Tahoma Trails Association) maintains a small network of huts near Mt Rainier.  For $18 a person per night you can rent these spots.  I say spots because there are a few cabins and a yurt.

Muddy parking lot

We were originally scheduled for the yurt, with plans to rent out the whole thing.  Well at the last minute Laura got an email saying that the heat at the Yurt was broken and we had been moved to High Hut.  This cabin sleeps 10 so we expected company.

We arrived at the trail head around 2pm, and started getting our gear together to head up.  It was sprinkling but we were all confident, or trying to be confident, that it would turn to snow up higher.  I did forget to mention we had a 4 mile snowshoe ahead of us.  All of the cabins are ski/snowshoe/hike in.  Even better they are all off the grid and away from cell coverage.  Yep, paradise....

Drying Out

It took us a few hours but we made pretty good time getting to the cabin.  We were thrilled to walk in the door and not only see the cabin was better than we had expected but also that we were the only ones there.

We started flipping on the LED lights around the cabin after turning on the main power to the house (powered by a solar array).  Next we tracked down the thermostat for the gas fireplace since it was 35f inside.  Then we started changing into dry clothes.  It had not stopped raining the whole time but was pretty moderate so we were all just damp.

After the heat kicked on and everyone was in dry clothes we all agreed this was what life should always be like. We spent the evening having a great time chatting about anything and everything.  I felt like I was 10 years old hanging out in a fort I had built with buddies.  Great friends and an amazing spot.

We were only there for the night as this was a scouting trip but after our experience we will be back for sure.

View of the cabin as you walk up, you can see the solar panels

Bit of snow coming over the porch railing

group shot

 

picture of the back door

Been in Seattle for 3 years and finally hiked the most popular hike around

Camp robber Jay at the top

Had a great day in the mountains today with Mike.  We headed up to Mt Si which is probably the most popular hike in Seattle.  It is only about an hour out of town and is used as a training hike for Rainier and other large mountains because of its steady grade for 4 miles.  You climb about 1000ft a mile for 4 solid miles.

This hike was not as hard as I was thinking it would be even though we hit snow 2 miles in and had to put on yak tracks and crampons a little after that due to the icy trail.

I have to say I have never seen such a variety of hikers on a single trail.  We saw everything from guys obviously training for big mountains, with their full packs with multiple ice axes hanging off the sides, to people in jeans with duffel bags (what do you use a duffel bag for hiking?) headed to the top.  There were even quite a few people in shorts.  ?  Do you know it is icy and really cold out here?  It was great people watching.

Round trip it is 8 miles and 4000 ft of climbing.  A great day to be out in the mountains.

Thanks Mike!

Jeans are the new technical hiking clothing