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.  

Mount Stuart the Easy Way

How can I even begin to describe my thoughts and feelings about Mount Stuart? Let me start by saying that Mount Stuart is not fucking around. It is a large mountain and a very long climb. The route that I climbed (Cascadian Coulour) is the easiest route up the mountain, but by no means easy. It is a non-technical route meaning that you should be able to climb it without a rope to protect you in case of a fall... if you are a competent climber. I thought I was a pretty good climber when I turned back on this route in June of 2007. On that trip I was climbing solo and turned back at a section of steep snow right below the false summit. A good decision but one that still left me feeling defeated. I knew that the mountain wasn't going anywhere and that I would be back again some day.

My someday came on Saturday August 1st 2009. I was arriving at the trail head late in the morning on a very hot day. Ken and I had been discussing climbing plans earlier in the week when he mentioned Stuart. I think he was still feeling guilty about canceling out on me 2 weeks prior and knew that I really wanted this one. Whatever his motivation I jumped all over this idea.

Our plan was a 2 day climb up the Cascadian Coulour with a bivy at a location to be determined. I was hoping to bivy up high right below the false summit to increase our chances of a successful summit and enough time to descend and get back to the trail head on Sunday. But the late start was making that seem less likely. The logical site to bivy was at Ingalls creek but when we got there it was infested with black flies. We filled up our water at the creek and decided to keep pushing up the route hoping to escape the flies higher up.We pushed on about another hour and found a fairly nice bivy site with slightly less bugs. We were both hot and tired and this seemed like a good stopping place for the night.

The only problem with this bivy site was a lack of running water or even snow to melt to make water. This turned out to be a very big problem. Even though we had filled up at the creek and had even thought to bring an extra water bottle it wasn't enough. We had worked too hard in temperatures in the 90-100 degree range and needed to rehydrate. By the next morning I was down to 1 and a half liters of water and Ken had about 2 liters. We were looking at nearly 4000 feet of elevation to get to the summit, not to mention back down.. We discussed the possibility of hiking back down to the creek to fill up again but neither of us had it in us to hike down and back up.We decided to rest, get an early start and put snow in our bottles to extend our water supply.

We were up at zero dark thirty, ate a little bit of food and were on the route soon after sunrise. The route starts out not too steep or difficult, it just keeps going. When we got higher up and I saw snow I was very happy. Maybe we would be able to pull this off. I filled my hydration bladder with snow and just a little water to help make it slushy. My strategy was to then drink from my nalgene bottle and fill up what I drank with the slush from the bladder thus creating the never ending liter of water.

When we got to the section of steep snow where I had turned back on my previous attempt I was relieved to see that it was almost entirely melted out. So we weren't going to need the second tool I had insisted we bring much less the crampons. An ice ax was handy for the short section of snow that remained but not entirely necessary.

We made our way up to the false summit and could see how much further we still had to go. We were both starting to get pretty tired at this point and decided to drop our packs here to save some energy. This is also where the rock scrambling started to get really fun. There were a couple of interesting moves required to get past a few difficult sections but they were in areas that weren't steep or too dangerous if you slipped. There are several choices of what route to follow here. We elected to follow the lower and what appeared to be less exposed route.

The summit of Mt. Stuart is beautiful. We spent a few moments here taking photos and enjoying the fact that we had made it up. We knew we still had a lot of work to do to get down and out of there however and cut the victory celebration pretty short. Dehydrated and tired we began working our way back down.

The descent is probably the most difficult part of this climb. I was grateful that Ken led the way back down to the false summit as it didn't require me to think too much. We got a little confused descending from the false summit, but only wasted maybe ten minutes. When we made it down this steep section I was pretty relieved. We still had a long way to go but it was no longer as steep and dangerous. However this is when the heat and dehydration began to affect us. I was not thinking too clearly and was concerned that we had started down the wrong coulour and would therefore not be able to retrieve our bivy equipment we had stashed. I still don't know if we were off route and got back on it, or if were on route all along. The descent here is very tedious and tiring and we started to melt down from heat exhaustion about halfway down. I was thankful my snow melting technique kept me from getting too sick.

We eventually made it back to our camp and then on to the joy of running water at Ingalls creek. We rested here and re hydrated a bit before the flies got too annoying to handle and we moved on. The next task was to ascend back up to Longs Pass a 1400ft of elevation gain. This was physically the toughest part of the climb for me. My knee was really hurting and I could barely lift it when I had to step up over rocks and other obstacles. But we just kept slowly moving on and eventually made it up. After Longs Pass we had to walk back down the trail that I swear was ten times longer on the way out then it was on the way in. After 14 hours on the move we were back at the truck and we had achieved our goal of making it out before dark.

To some people this would be a silly and tedious climb. To others it might be an amazing adventure. To me climbs like this are why I climb. I am completely humbled by this mountain and feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to stand on it's summit if only for a moment.

Little Annapurna Expedition 2009

So this whole thing started when my friend Bean asked me if I was interested in going on a backpacking trip with him and some other friends this summer. I said that sounded fun and we began to discuss possible destinations. He mentioned that he had heard the Enchantments was a really cool place to backpack and I agreed that it was a stellar place having been there on several climbing trips before. Finding a time that worked for everyone wasn't easy but we finally had some dates and Bean sent in the application for our permit. It seemed to take an extra long time to find out if we were in, but finally word came back. We were approved for July 6-9th 2009. This was exciting news and preparations began in earnest for an epic adventure.



Our group was composed of Bean and Mookie, two friends who grew up together and two other friends they knew from college Chris and Conner and myself. I met all of these guys through my wife and have gotten to know everyone pretty well. I think going to Beans bachelor party camping/rafting adventure was the turning point in getting to know everyone better. I wasn't just Julie's husband anymore, but also the guy who told the rafting guide who was being a jackass to us to simmer down.



Mookies parents have a vacation house in Leavenworth and they were kind enough to let us stay there. We decided to stay there the night before the trip so we could get an earlier start and the night after so we could just relax and not have to drive back to Seattle exhausted and dirty.This turned the trip into six days and five nights away from my family. It wasn't an easy task, but my wife Julie was understanding enough to make arrangements to make this work.



Chris had plans in eastern Washington so he decided to meet us in Leavenworth. The rest of us piled into Mookies rig and hit the road about 11:30 am on Sunday. When Mook put the Willie Nelson CD in I knew it was going to be a good trip. There is nothing like Willie Nelson on a road trip. Sunday night was dedicated to getting gear and packs figured out. We hit South a fairly new Mexican restaurant in Leavenworth. I had the carnitas and it was quite good.

Monday morning go time. We got up around 8:00 and then hit Krystals for some mandatory bacon before heading off to Snow lake trail head (elevation 1300ft). It was perfect hiking weather. Nice enough for shorts, (or a kilt) but not too hot when we finally got going about 10:00.

Highlights of the first day included helicopters flying supplies to the construction workers at Nada Lake all day. Not exactly the wilderness experience we had hoped for, but we were soon past this and pushing on. I was taken by surprise when we crossed the dam between the two Snow Lakes and the water was running 3-4 inches above the dam. You would not want to fall here!

So we found a nice campsite on the SW side of big Snow Lake and called it good for the day. We were promptly greeted by swarms of hungry mosquito's. Good thing we had plenty of deet. The hike had gotten us pretty sweaty and Chris, Conner and myself decided to jump in the lake for a quick swim. It was pretty frigid but felt good nonetheless. Since it was already 4:00pm and not really that warm to begin with getting warmed back up was not easy. Good thing I belong to the Polar Bear Swim club.

After tossing and turning most of the night I finally decided to get up at 5:30 and get some coffee going. I had my coffee ate breakfast and took a bunch of pictures while waiting for the rest of the crew to get up. Finally I decided I should just wake them all up at 7:00. So I did my best impression of Luther from one of my favorite movies from the 70's the Warriors. Clanking pots and pans together...warriors come out to play... warriors come out to play....warriors come out to plaaaaaaaaay! I got a big kick out of this and the funniest part was none of them had seen the movie before!

So the plan for day 2 was to get higher up into the Enchantments proper, find a nice campsite and bask in the ambiance. By 9:00 we were on the trail. So far we had seen no one else with the exception of construction workers at Nada lake. We ran into 2 trail runners doing the loop from Stuart Lake TH to Snow Lake TH. They were feeling good and we stopped and chatted with them for a bit. We were quite impressed with the footwear selection one of them had on. Lime green Crocs! If that wasn't cool enough, he then proceeded to pull out a big block of melted together chocolate covered espresso beans and break off chunks of it with a rock to share with us. Croc guy you are my hero!

As we continued on the trail began to get steeper and rockier. There were sections where it wasn't really a trail so much as a path up the rocks that we were following. We met our first mountain goats just before Lake Vivian. It was official, we were in the Enchantments! From here the trail got even steeper and more treacherous. There was one section that was a rock slab with water running over it making it very slick. At this section there was re bar that has been embedded in the rock every step of the way so you don't plummet down the slab. This is not hiking for the faint of heart!

We decided we would stop at Leprechaun lake if we could find a good campsite there. We found a side trail that took us to a peninsula where we were practical in the middle of Leprechaun lake. There was an established camp site here and we decided to stop. This is the most beautiful place that you could imagine. Mountains, rocks, snow, and lakes in every direction. At 6875 ft it was considerably cooler here. We set up camp and then lounged around for a while playing one of my favorite games. Sun comes out, get hot and lose a layer, sun goes behind a cloud, get cold and add a layer, repeat.

After eating and resting for a while we decided to go for a little recon hike. We hiked up to Sprite Lake 6900 ft and then a little further on almost to Perfection Lake. I didn't really want to go too far as we had left our packs back at camp and without the reassurance of having emergency supplies I get a little nervous. There were several sections of the trail that were covered with snow and we got in a little practice walking with our ice axes.

The next day Wednesday we woke up to a beautiful morning. It definitely felt warmer than it had been. We all quietly began making breakfasts and getting ready for our summit bid. There was a definite anticipation in the air. What a great feeling to be up in the beautiful mountains, with good friends and going on an adventure! Little Annapurna may not be the largest or most difficult climb in the world, but it is the 75th highest mountain in Washington and that is saying something.

The route from Leprechaun lake to Little Annapurna is amazing. We passed by Sprite Lake, Perfection Lake and Inspiration Lake. At Inspiration Lake we ran into a herd of 8-10 mountain goats. From here we pushed on to a level tableland where we could clearly see our route. We traveled cross country and began picking our way up the NE ridge following the path of least resistance. We hit a short section of snow near the top but it was pretty easy to negotiate. The actual summit block looked just like a castle fortress. For the next half hour we relaxed took photos and enjoyed summit treats. There is something about being on a mountain that makes Walkers shortbread cookies and dark chocolate taste better. I think it might be the butter!

The decent went smoothly. We avoided the rock and plunge stepped in the snow where we could. There were really no good glissades which was a little disappointing. On the way back to camp I took side trip up to Prussik Pass with Conner and Bean. It would have been fun to tag Enchantment Peak as well but it wasn't to be. My knee was really hurting by this point and I was concerned about hiking out the next day.

When we got back to camp it was clear that we had been discovered. There were goats swarming our little peninsula. It is a well known fact among climbers that mountain goats crave salt and will lick your urine up with no shame. I have seen this behavior before so I wasn't too concerned about it at first. However they began to get very aggressive to the point where we could not even go without them charging at us. This accumulated with Conner actually getting rammed by one of them. While he wasn't seriously injured we began to realize this was a pretty serious problem. We all began to hang close together at out camp hoping they would go away. Instead they began to walk in circles closer and closer to us and one particular goat "Billygoat Gruff" was acting like he wanted to charge at us constantly. What in the heck was going on? Was he offended that we had marked his turf? We ended up hiding in our tents with our ice axes ready in case of goat attack!

The next morning I awoken by the sound of goats wandering through our camp. I don't know if it was the fact that I needed to pee, or the thought that I wasn't going to be able to brew up my morning coffee but I snapped. I put my boots on, jumped from the tent with my ice ax and began cursing and wildly throwing rocks at goats. At one point I began quoting the lyrics of "Hit Em' Up" by Tupac Shakur. We'll bomb on you N-bombs, you think you the mob? We the fucking mob! This strategy worked as long as we kept throwing rocks when they tried to come back in our area. We were able to break camp... and I got my morning coffee.

This was a very wierd experience. I don't go into the mountans to confront or threaten the wildlife. I really feel that in this instance we were left with no other choice. In the future if I am camping in Enchantments I will be sure to use the outhouse for #1 as well as #2 and not pee on the ground anywhere near my campsite.

The hike out was not nearly as bad as imagined. We said goodby to the goats and to the Enchantments. As soon as we got back to Leavenworth we went straight to Heidelburger for a hot sack of grease and milkshakes. Such a fun trip!