Mt. Si Appitite Builder 2010

One of the awesome things about being a member of OSAT is it’s cool traditions of hiking up Mt. Si every Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day. I have been lucky enough to get to participate in the Thanksgiving Day appetite builder hike the last two years. Last year we were treated to almost continuous rainfall all the way up but this year was a little different.

 We had snow on the ground in Seattle and by the time we reached the trailhead in North Bend there was probably about 6 inches on the ground. I had a great time socializing with friends as we hiked up to the top. We passed a few friends on their way down who had started earlier and visited with them a little.

When we got to near the summit we ran into the main contingent and spent some time socializing and drinking coffee and tea in an area in the woods out of the chilling wind at the top. It was a great way to spend the morning and I had absolutely no guilt about eating way too much turkey and fixings when I got home.

Koppen Mountain 10/26/10

I had a great trip up Koppen mountain in the Teanaway region of the Cascade mountains with Mike, Rick and Rachel. The original plan was to climb up Esmeralda Peak but since the area had just got a dumping of fresh snow and the weather forecast was for high winds and snow we decided on Koppen instead. It is a little shorter trip than Esmeralda and has a trail to the top when it isn't covered in snow so this seemed like a better choice.

As we drove over the pass it looked like we were in for a wet and stormy day, but as we continued to drive East the rain shadow began to work it's magic.

We started hiking with a light dusting of snow on the ground that got increasingly deeper as we continued to climb. We were able to follow the trail as far as the saddle at 5040 but from there we had to navigate cross country. Because the mountains in this tend to be open with very little brush we were able to make our way without much difficulty. We followed the ridge South and with the use of Mike's GPS  were able to stay on route when it flattened out and became less clear which way we should go.

Near the summit the snow was a foot and a half to two feet deep of light fluffy powder. The sun began to peek out and we were treated to some patches of blue sky. I was surprised how pleasant it was at the summit especially considering I was expecting a pretty stormy day. We took some photos and signed the summit register before heading down a little lower to take a rest break and eat.



Kumar The Tiger Climbs Vesper Peak

Nearing the summit in the fog.

Kumar  the Tiger is hungry!

I hear that the view from the summit of Vesper Peak is spectacular. I climbed this last Sunday with my friends from OSAT on a cool and foggy day. Even though we didn't get the great views we all had had a great time! I will have to go back sometime and hopefully climb Sperry too.

OMG Kathy made homemade backpacker apple pie!

Snag in the fog

Idaho...More Than Just Potatoes!

I had the bright idea that it might be fun to climb the highest peak in Idaho Borah Peak. Somehow I talked my friend Kent in joining me on this adventure. So to start with Borah Peak is a hell of a long way from anywhere. I flew into Boise on a Saturday afternoon and spent the day hanging out with my Sister and her family that live nearby. Kent picked me up at her house Sunday morning and we were on our way. We decided to visit City of Rocks while we were at it because it was sort of on the way and we thought it would be cool to get to do some rock climbing as well.

On the way to Borah we passed Craters of the Moon National Monument and decided it was worth spending a little time to check out. We drove through the park and stopped briefly at the visitor center and did a very short hike near the spatter cones.

 We arrived at the trail head for Borah in the late afternoon. It has a nice little camp ground and the price (free) is right. We immediately noticed the altitude here, about 7,000 feet above sea level. We enjoyed a healthy and nutritious dinner of brats and Stove Top stuffing and settled in for some rest.

On the trail to Borah Peak I was struck by the stark rugged beauty of the Lost River Range. It is very different to any area I have climbed before and has sort of a wild west feel. We passed some amazing trees that had been burned in a fire and were left in a bizarre twisted and discolored state.

So when we got to the section of the route where it gets steep called chicken out ridge we did. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated and Kent who was feeling the affects of the altitude wasn't feeling entirely comfortable about the exposure. We didn't make the summit but we still had an amazing experience. I will bring a rope and some safety gear when I return.

Since we were on a pretty limited schedule we decided to drive to City of Rocks. It was a long drive after getting up early and hiking all day but we really wanted to be in a position to be able to get some climbing in before we had to be back. We stopped in Twin Falls to pick up a propane bottle and decided to eat dinner out. Starving and exhausted we stopped at Shari's and ate some greasy grub.We still had a lot of driving left but somehow managed to make it to the City and find a camp site about 11:00 pm. We had a full moon and could tell even at night that this was an amazing place.

In the morning we were not disappointed by the scenery. We took our time getting ready and had a hearty breakfast of pancakes from a can. I had a chance to scramble up some nearby rocks and do some chi kung exercises and meditate. We were in an area away from the bulk of the climbing and had the area to ourselves. Even if there would of been other campers it would have felt like you had it to yourself  because there were only 4 campsites in this area and they were all spread out from each other.

We climbed to the summit of lookout rock by an easy 2 pitch 5.5 route.The rock climbing was fun and we had a great adventure, especially trying to figure out how to get back down! That was all we really had time and energy to climb, but it was worth it to visit such a cool place and get to climb.



Leavenworth Car Camp 9/10-9/12/2010

I went camping with my daughter Amelia who was not yet 2 years old! I was worried that she would not sleep and she would cry all night, but she was a real trooper and slept through the night and was overall a very good girl. It was an OSAT car camping trip and we hung out with friends part of the time, but had our own campsite and got to spend a lot of time just her and I hanging out. On Saturday we got to go for a very fun hike up to Eight Mile lake with our friends Rick and Ann. This was an unforgettable experience for me and one that I will treasure always!

Rose City Road Trip

When my wife Julie's parents moved to Camas a suburb of Portland a few months ago it left Amelia without a Grandma nearby and us without a devoted babysitter nearby. It was just a matter of time before we went down to visit. The plan was for me to drive down early Saturday morning while Julie and Amelia slept in the car and arrive just in time for a breakfast of Dave's famous sourdough waffles. Then Julie and I would run off the city and spend some time together in Portland.
The drive down was pretty smooth and finding the new place not too difficult. After breakfast and some visiting it was time for Julie and I to go play. That was about the time that we noticed a flat tire. I was anxious to get going, so the trip to get a flat fixed that lasted an hour and a half was frustrating to say the least.
Portland is notorious for bad freeway traffic and because of construction projects this day promised to be worse than usual. We decided to get some lunch before facing the madness. Dave suggested we try Five Guys, a burger joint nearby. It was pretty busy when we arrived but not terribly so. The overall ambiance was very plain, simple and to the point. They are known for their fries which are hand cut and extra greasy. You will not leave there hungry which I guess is the point. The food was pretty good but almost instantly made me feel bloated and lazy. Perfect condition for someone about to go sit in a car.
Traffic wasn't too horrible and we made it to downtown fairly easy. Our first stop was the Portland Saturday market. This is a great place to shop for handmade items, listen to street performers, get your fortune read or just people watch. Every hipster, hippy and homeless teenager is here and I felt right at home even though I am none of the above. Julie picked up a beautiful necklace and I got a pretty cool new t-shirt.
Our accommodations were at the Benson Hotel. It was a nice place to stay and I enjoyed the view from our room on the 9^th floor. There must have been a white trash wedding discount that weekend as the place was crawling with brides, grooms and drunken wedding attendees. After a bit we decided to go venture around the neighborhood a little. On our way back to our room we noticed that we had another flat tire!
Good thing that Portland has such a great public transportation system that we didn't really need to drive anyway. We took the streetcar to the Nob Hill neighborhood and had a nice dinner at 23 Hoyt. The appetizer of flatbread with goat cheese caramelized onions and mushrooms was delicious but a little too crispy. Our salads had great flavors especially the romaine heart with bacon, fennel, onions and buttermilk blue cheese dressing. For our entrees I had a wild sockeye salmon steak that was simple but tasty and Julie had the special rib eye steak with béarnaise sauce that was exceptional. I sometimes suspect that when I eat out with Julie and my entree isn't very large she feints that she is full so that I will finish her plate. What an awesome wife!
After dinner we visited Powell's bookstore. This is the biggest bookstore I have ever seen. If there is a heaven for a book lover this is it! Julie and I could spend hours in a place like this but as it was starting to get late and I was worried that the gelato place across the street would close we cut our visit short. Luckily it was open and as I was eating my favorite sweet cream gelato I thought to myself Portland is alright.
After a great night's sleep we woke to a beautiful sunny morning, checked out and headed down to Kerr bicycle rentals and got outfitted with some wheels. Portland is such a great bicycle city that this is an easy way to get around and get to know the city better. We rode around exploring the bicycle trails along the Williamette river and over to the south end of town in the Hawthorne neighborhood. Here we looked at cute little shops and had lunch at the Mai Thai Bistro. The décor was beautiful and the presentation was exceptional. The coconut soup and shrimp soup were both quite good. I ordered the phad thai and it was below average. It came with red sauce and peppers on the side which was good as it had absolutely no flavor without them. The service was adequate but bizarre. When Julie requested water without a lemon she was asked if she had a lemon allergy or if she just didn't like lemon. Our server then asked if we had any food allergies she should be aware of. Weird. When Julie's diet coke arrived with a cherry in it we realized that we were in the land of unrequested fruit in beverages.
I was very proud of Julie as our bike ride included riding on some fairly busy city streets and up some hills. We made it back just in time as a nice rain squall hit after we had returned our bikes and were on our way out of the city. Other than perhaps a sore butt we were no worse for the wear.
Portland is a fun place to visit. Even though I had been there before for some brief visits and even proposed to Julie at the Portland International l Rose and test garden I had always just kind of ignored it. It always seemed too close in location and character to Seattle to pique my interest. Now that we have a base of operations, a babysitter and a good reason to visit I am sure we will be getting to know the area much better. I look forward to it.

Big Tahoma Emmons Glacier 7/17-7/19 2010

Big Tahoma or Mt. Rainier is the largest and best known mountain in the Cascade range. Climbers come from around the world and spend thousands of dollars on guide services, gear and travel expenses for a chance to stand on it's lofty summit. For those who make it to the top it is an experience that they will never forget.

Success on Mt. Rainier requires three important elements. Training, conditioning and luck.

Training may mean taking a climbing course through an outdoor club such as I did this year with OSAT, hiring a guide service for a crash course on glacier travel and leading you to the top, or just by years of climbing mountains and learning from experienced friends. If your party lacks training and experience Mt. Rainier is a very dangerous mountain to climb.

It should go without saying that you need to be in great physical condition to climb Mt. Rainier but I will say it anyway. You need to be in great shape to climb Mt. Rainier! I won't attempt to explain exactly how good of shape you need to get into or how to do it as there are entire books written on this subject. But I will say that lack of proper conditioning is one of the top reasons why people fail to make the summit.

Good luck.You will need it! You will need good weather to make it to the top safely and even during the best months of the year the weather can turn ugly and stop climbers in their tracks. Storms hit the upper parts of the mountain hard creating white outs where it is impossible to see more than five feet in front of you, driving snow and hail, and winds that will literally knock you over.

This was one of the most enjoyable climbs I have ever been on. Climbing with a great group of friends, agreeable weather and a fun route. I let go of my fears and anxiety and accepted that I had prepared myself and my gear as best I could and that success now depended on gods will and not mine. Also I believe having already summited before made it easier to focus on the experience and not be as concerned with the result. Not to say that the trip was without difficulties, just that I had a sense of serenity in dealing with them.