Sledding!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvtiYhe71dc

Adventure Toddler!

When my daughter Amelia was born a little over 3 years ago I knew that it was going to be a dramatic lifestyle change. I was used to being able to go hike and climb pretty much whenever I wanted to. My wife works as a retail manager and is required to work long hours and many weekends. I began to wonder what I was going to do and how was I  going to stay sane. Luckily I have learned that if you are creative and determined there are a lot of outdoor sports that you can do with a toddler.

From newborn and 6 months I was pretty much limited to jogging or walking with the stroller or baby Bjorn.This was fun but with the Bjorn we were limited to fairly short hikes because it is pretty uncomfortable after a while. The stroller was ok but going in circles around Green lake is not that exciting.

However when she turned 6 month and we got a baby backpack it opened up a whole new world to us. Before she was even a year old we had climbed up several challenging hikes including Tiger Mountain and Granite Mountain near I-90 in the Washington Cascades. (See Granite Mountain with Piper 8/09)

Our next sport that we got to do together was bicycling. We have had many fun rides in her i-Bert bike seat. I had to have some modifications done to make it work on this bike but it was well worth it. It is such a cool thing to be able to see your child  and interact while riding.I cannot recommend this seat enough.   Unfortunately she is almost too big for this now and we may have done our last ride in it. The good new is we have a trailer too and luckily she enjoys riding it.While the trailer works and we can go for longer rides in weather that is less than perfect we will miss the days of the i-Bert.

In addition to lots of hikes and bike rides we have gone sledding , skating and swimming a number of times. The point is just because you have a baby it doesn't mean that you are stuck sitting around the house. It does require that you are determined and patient however. To be able to get all of your and her gear, food and water packed and ready to go and get a well fed and rested toddler to the start of the destination is no easy task. Then you have to be willing and ready to turn back and go home after 10 minutes because this is just not her day. But the failures while difficult at the time certainly pale to the victories we shared together.  

SITFAGR!

I mentioned in my last post that I ran my first half marathon in November. This is part of  a new direction for me from training strictly to meet mountaineering goals to doing endurance sports. I would love to just climb, hike and snowboard all of the time but it is just not an option for someone who has to work and be part of a family. So in order to be able to participate in sports on a consistent and regular basis I have chosen sports that I can fit into my schedule and offer a challenge. After swearing off running when I got out of the Army I started running to get in shape for mountain climbing. Now I am running for running sake more and am finding it very enjoyable. It does help me to have a goal in mind such as I had for the half marathon. I have set some goals for the upcoming year. Some athletic and some mountain sports goals. It is a rather ambitious list but It helps me to have goals. Just remember to stay in the fight and get results!

2012  Goals

*Athletic

Run the Vancouver Marathon

Ride the Seattle to Portland bike ride

Hike the Pacific Crest trail from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass

Compete in a Sprint Triathalon

Swim in the Green Lake open water race

Swim in a Lake Washington open water event

*Snowboard

Board at Snoqualmie  Pass East

Board at Stevens Pass

Board at Crystal Mountain

Board  St. Hellens

Board Mt. Adams

*Mountaineering

Climb Little Tahoma

Climb Mt. Jefferson

Climb Mount Olympus

Winter Climb of Mt. Hood

Climb Mt Baker

Climb Mount Rainier

Lead 5.9 sport

Lead 5.8 trad

Climb the Tooth South FAce

Climb the South Face of North Ingalls Peak

2011 Update

It seems I have lost interest in writing posts for this blog. Some of the reasons include being really busy and feeling like it needs to be perfectly written. I am going to attempt to start posting more updates with more emphases on sharing what I am up to and less on how well it is presented.
I had a great time climbing this year with repeat ascents of Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier. It was fun to be a part of the leadership and instructors for helping new climbers reach their goals. I also got to do some really fun private trips with my friends. One of the most memorable trips was an ascent of a Silver Star mountain with my best climbing buddies K-Unit, Montana and the MVP. It is really a joy to climb with friends who compliment each others approach and style to ther challenges of the mountains. I also saw ascents of Maude and Seven Fingered Jack on two separate and very fun trips. I had my first attempt at climbing Mount Jefferson this year and while we fell short of the summit I learned some valuable lessons and had a great time being with friends.
I had some great family camping trips this year as well. We has a fantastic time at Pacific Beach at the Washington coast. It was so warm that I let Amelia get in the water and she just loved it! We also had fun at the annual OSAT car camp. I got to do some rock climbing during the weekend and that was really fun.
The last big thing adventure wise this year was completing my first half marathon run. It was a great confidence builder for me to be able to train for and complete a half marathon. I am hoping to do a full marathon next year.

What the hell is a Siger?

A Siger is what happens when you combine two very popular training hikes in one day. A masochists dream with over 5,000 feet of elevation gain in a day it is also my favorite animal!

Mt Si is a very popular hike just East of Seattle and has been used as a training hike for climbers who want to get into or stay in shape for climbing big mountains for years. In the summer the trail heads are packed with hikers of of all sizes and shapes who trudge to the top of this roughly 4,000 foot mountain.

The Haystack

In the Winter it is filled with a little more hardcore folks,  Hikers and climbers who take advantage of easy access and safe snow conditions loaded down with packs that sometimes weigh over 40 pounds they work on the fitness they need to climb the big mountains. The old trail is much less traveled in the Summer time, but in the Winter when mostly experienced hikers are out here it seems to get a better share of people on it. It is a little steeper, a little prettier and a little bit less known than the new trail.

Snag along the old Si trail

The Enchanted Valley

Tiger mountain is a series of sub-alpine mountains with a vast network of trails leading to and around it's many summits. The hike to West Tiger 3 is a very popular hike with several trail to it's summit. The cable line is an unmaintained trail that goes virtually straight up the mountain with no switchbacks. A classic training hike where you can knock out 2,000 feet of elevation gain in a short amount of time.

I have been itching to do this for the last few weeks and took advantage of a slow work week to do it last Wednesday. Because I needed to be back in the city before 4:00 pm I opted to start very early at about 5:00 am. I know the trail well so hiking it in the dark with a headlamp was not a problem, but it was a little creepy. I often listen to music when I hike solo but hiking by yourself in the dark and being cut off from your sense of hearing is too weird for me. I kept the tunes off until after the sun came up.

Icy Shrub and Grey Jay Atop Mt. Si

I was treated to rain, snow, hail and a little sun on this trip. All in a days work I suppose. On the hike down I ran into a group of friends hiking up once again proving my happy theory that I am more likely to run into my friends in the mountains than in the city!

Mt. Rainier from Mt Si

The hike up Tiger mountain was nice as the weather had finally settled into a pretty nice day.  I hiked a nice loop up the cable line and back down the West Tiger 3 trail and somehow resisted the urge to hike over to West Tiger 2 and bag another summit.

Winter Wonderland on West Tiger 3

What is next? Mount Si Box Peak? Mount Tennesiger? Mount Si Siger 2&3?

We shall see!

Lau Ga Kuen

I learned these forms about 8 years ago. I haven't practiced them for over two years and I was curious what I still remembered. They look a little rough but I think all of the moves are there and in proper order. I am going to start practicing them again and see what improvements I can make.