Mission Accomplished!

At the top of Mission Ridge...that's Mt. Rainier in the distance.

My biggest goal for the summer was to climb Mission Ridge from the parking lot to the top of the ski runs at Chair 2...yesterday...I did it!  It took me 3.5 hours to make it to the top...which is a long way from fast (some yahoo says he can make it up in an hour and 45 minutes...shazbat!)...but faster than I thought I could (my goal was 4 hours).  This was simply my most challenging hike...ever.  Tom and Penny joined me...and though it was an awesome, inspiring and fun day...it's gonna take me a few days to recover.  

The path we took is in green...and we went down Mimi at the end.

There are no official trail guides for this hike.  In fact, I could find very little actually about the hike.  There is a hike you can do from Devil's Gulch trail head that starts about 800 ft lower than we did, but it meanders along a hike/bike that is 14 mile round trip.  The measuring I did for our distance and elevation are based on the Trails iPhone app that told me we went just over 3.75 miles to get to the top and had an elevation gain from 4190 ft to 6820 ft. ...so just over 2600 (starting from where we parked our car outside of the actual parking lot).  So I'm logging 7.5 total miles and a gain of 2600 ft for the Hike-a-Thon (I'm sure of the mileage as my app has been fairly accurate with official trail guides backing it up...but the elevation is sometimes sketchy).  Regardless of the exact elevation gain...my feet feel like they trudged up 2600 ft for sure.  

The first section is definitely the hardest.  You gain the entire elevation of Chair One (the chair that takes you to Mid-Way and the top of "Mimi") on a rocky road that goes straight up...no switch-backs, no stairs, no meandering...just straight up the mountain.  The first time I trudged up this hill (granted, in snow shoes), it took me just over 45 minutes and I thought I was going to die, even though I stopped every 50 feet or so. The second time (just two weeks ago), it took me 35 minutes and I had to stop 4 or 5 times and I was gasping for breath and red in the face much of the time.  This time...it took me 30 minutes and I only had to stop twice for about a minute to catch my breath....and though I was still much slower than Tom...I never felt like I was going to die.  On the way up, I met an older woman who said, "You're not trying to make it all the way up are you?  It's a grunt.  Are you sure you can do it?"  Her tone and looks of disbelief clearly showed that she did not think I was capable, confirmed by the fact that she asked me several times if I really thought I could make it.  Yeah, babe, I'm sure I can, why don't you and your herding pooch just keep skedaddling up to Mid-Way and let me be.   I didn't need her doubt to motivate me to the top...but it certainly added a bit of fuel to the fire already raging in my belly. 

Mmmm...Mandarin Orange Gu.

At Mid-Way, I met Tom (I ask him to move ahead at his own pace and just meet me at designated meeting spots so I feel no pressure to push myself farther and harder than is heart healthy).  We let Penny off-lead...and she was in HEAVEN.  She immediately took off, but made sure to stay basically "in-view" and explored the meadow while we "gu"ed up...love, love, love Gu.  Chocolate Outrage is my favorite (kinda tastes & feels like brownie batter...yum).  Tom just tried Mandarin Orange and liked it a lot...next time he's got a Mint Chocolate to try...I'm gonna let him be the guinea pig here....'cuz the Tri-Berry SUCKS. Gu is simply the greatest thing to use when you think you are hitting the wall and flagging...it immediately peps me up and makes the next stretch look not quite so daunting.

Hitting the cat-tracks at Mid-Way.

'Cuz the next stretch IS daunting.  Right after Mid-Way, the switch-back cat-trails kinda start...but they are still steep as heck until you cross under Chair 2 again (called "The Liberator" after a B-24 Bomber that crashed there in 1944). This is the section that always makes me question my sanity in taking on this climb.  It is super rocky and has a very steady, steep rise...I had to stop multiple times on the way up to meet Tom.  The great news is that I didn't have to stop as many times as I did two weeks ago, and my recovery time is really slimming down.  Once you get back under the Liberator, the cat-trails really mellow out...steady elevation gain the whole time, but nice and "easy" compared to the first third of the mountain. 

The blue roof is the Liberator quad chair lift  at Mid-Way , and to the right and up, you can see where the road ends and we parked the car. :)

We ski this!!

Every time I would look around, I would be struck by the awesome view...sometimes Glacier Peak in the distance, or Wenatchee below, or down some ski run I really loved last season--that now looks insanely steep in the summer.  I can't believe I ski down these rocky drops!  The wild flowers were in full bloom, the breeze was lovely (down-right chilly and fierce on top!) and the bugs were nearly nonexistent. 

Beautiful meadows of wild flowers all up the trail.

This middle section of the hike is really, really nice...and there are even some sections where the rocks thin out (the road is really rutted and rocky most of the way...painful on the tooties) and the pine needle cover gives a short vacation of padded bliss underfoot.  


Last time, I stopped at the junction of several runs right under the Liberator, right before the short jog up to see the bomber wing.  That day, my feet and legs were done and I just knew I couldn't make it any further.  However..this time, I was still full of energy and drive when I got there...it was awesome.  We pushed on through and made it to the bomber wing. 

Un-fargin-believable view!  Mission Ridge skiers try to make it up to the wing each year to touch it, as legend has it that the years when the wing was moved down to the lodge were bad snow years...when it came back up to the crash site...the snows came back :)  

Only in the summer can you see the wreckage still left from the Liberator Crash...this is what you see from the wing site.

View from the wing.

If you've made it all the way to the wing...you have to go all the way to the top...no matter how tired you are (and, boy, was I tired).  It got windier and chillier as we made our way up along the boundary road. I was super happy I packed my windbreaker even though it was supposed to be in the 90s...it was down-right cold with the wind whipping across the ridge.  I got a little teary when I turned the last corner and could see Tom & Penny near the radio tower...almost there. 

Tom & Penny in the distance next to the radio tower.

Check out the hair!  Windy!!

At the top, it was simply breath-taking.  The view of Rainier, Adams, Stuart & Glacier Peak all from the same spot was incredible. To see this place without snow was bizarre..."Hey, I didn't know those un-grated steps were there"...because they are usually under 6 feet of packed snow.  Wow.  After a brief (but scary) moment when Penny wandered off and the wind was so loud she couldn't hear us calling, we snapped up a bunch of pictures and then climbed up to the Ski Patrol Top Shack to have a much deserved lunch on the wind-sheltered deck.  

Ski Patrol Top Shack in the distance.

The sign that shows you where to look for each peak...you can see Rainier on the left.

Penny made it, too!

 

 

 

Rainier & Glacier Peak on either side of me along the horizon.

Tired pup and her hiking buds take a much deserved lunch break.

Oh you dirty dog!

A word about Penny...she was generally great on this hike.  She was off-leash 70% of the time and did an incredible job on the way up of running back and forth between Tom and I (he was generally out of my sight) to check on us.  Often times, I wouldn't see her for a few minutes and then she would run around a bend and stand at the top of the hill waiting for me (often taking the opportunity to roll in the nearest patch of flowers or sand).  When I would reach her, I got a quick, happy greeting and then she would run back up to check on Tom.  I would never let her have this much freedom on a crowded trail...but as we were just about the only ones going up the cat tracks (we did meet a few folks and one other dog on the way up)...I felt very comfortable letting her have the independence...and she loved it.  In fact, the only time having her off lead was an annoyance was on the way down...she knew we were done and going home just wanted to get to the car.  She stayed well ahead of us (Tom & I were together most of the way down) and almost seemed perturbed that we were lolly-gagging our way down the mountain.  We leashed her back up at Mid-Way as that is where we would be most likely to meet folks, and she & Tom scooted quickly down Mimi to the car.

Now...the up part was great.  Getting up the mountain was easier than before.  My endurance was great.  My legs did wonderfully well under the circumstances.  My feet...sucked.  The last 1/2 of the way down was excruciating.  The rocky terrain finally got the best of me (as well as a pinky toe, that despite being thoroughly wrapped and padded, was throbbing and sore)...I was frankly hobbling by the time we got to Mid-Way, and I still had another 20-30 minutes down the rocks to go.  We decided to try Mimi instead of the trucking road as I hoped the meadow would give a bit more cushion.  And it did...for a little while...but then the rocks were just as bad and loose and the going down was more treacherous than I had figured.  I didn't hit the wall until that point.  By the time I reached the Ski Patrol Bottom Shack, I was getting teary and cranky.  Thankfully, I was just a parking lot (fine gravel...thank all that is holy) away from a loving, supportive boyfriend's congratulatory hug, a pooped puppy's sloppy kiss and a car that promptly took me down into Wenatchee and Starbucks.  Best iced coffee...evah!

Hike-a-thoner & her trusty steed ready to depart.

Hike-a-Thon stats:  32.5 miles hiked (wahoo...and week three starts today!) and $247 raised (oops...and week three starts today.)  Next on the books...some kind of a fun hike on Tuesday...just gotta find someone to do it with me. :)


So...now that I've met my summer goal...I guess I need to set a new one...I'll let you know what that is once my feet stop throbbing. :)

It's Just Over the Next Bridge....Right?

18.  Eighteen bridges.  That's how many Hanna and I crossed along the trail up to Talapus & Olallie Lakes on our hike yesterday. 

Walking the "tilting" bridge.

Not that we are complaining...those bridges were awesome (although a few were a wee bit scary...like the single log one and the one that leaning at a 45 degree angle)...none were rickety and they were mostly in excelled repair. And they saved us (mostly) from tons of thick mud...for the mountain was covered with mud from our recent rains.  In fact, I took my first tumble of this hiking season in that thick mud...I wouldn't let Hanna take a picture, but I'm sporting a few new scrapes and bruises this morning.  Yay!

It was a terrific hike nonetheless, obeying all the rules of  Lorien's Ideal Hiking.  It was a slow and steady rise...no really steep sections, just an even, moderate workout all the way up.
  There are several trail guides for this hike and they say it's anywhere from 4.4 to 6.5 miles long (I think it depends on how far along Lake Talapus you walk and if you actually head up to Lake Olallie.  Lake Olallie is another 1.4 miles round trip from the far tip of Lake Talapus and my phone GPS had us at 2.23 miles when we first reached Talapus...so I'm going to put this hike at 5.5 miles.  The total elevation gain to is 1220 ft...really. :) 
Hanna and Penny were once again my hiking partners...and they were terrific.

  Hanna is the perfect hiking bud. She doesn't insist on talking on the tough "up" sections so it allows me to focus on my breathing and footing rather than being polite. She poses for pictures willingly...well, mostly.  

But she is willing to get goofy and has a lot of fun.  On the way down...she is a charming conversationalist...able to talk about just about anything I throw her way.  She rarely complains and is always 100% supportive of her partners.  She is a beast on the trails.

Penny, as usual, was also a terrific companion on the trek.  She was sporting a brand new hiking leash...which Mommy loves (it doesn't pull or bind at the waist like the last hiking leash) and she got her first "off-leash" opportunity on a hike.  

When we had walked around Lake Ollalie looking for a good picnicking spot, we found a huge pile of logs...Penny loved jumping around on the logs, sniffing every crevice and playing.  Unfortunately, just as she had tuckered herself out exploring, Hanna and I were done eating and ready to hit the trail again...enjoying the scenery:

The trails were beautifully maintained, with only a few sections that were muddy (like where I bit it) and the bugs were not as hungry as they were at Rainier.  By the end of the day, it was really, really hot and humid...and we indulged in a much-deserved soy strawberries & cream Frappacino at a local coffee joint. :)

Penny says: Sponsor my Mommy!

 

Hike-a-Thon stats to date: 25 miles and $222 dollars raised. I'm falling way behind in the fund raising part...I guess I'm going to have to buck up and do some direct mailings...but it's all for a great cause! Please feel free to send this on to anyone you know that loves hiking and might be willing to pledge a few dollars to help us maintain Washington's amazing trail system.  

Little Si...Big Challenge...Success

I'm losing my ass, I'm losing my ass, I'm losing my ass.  Never was that mantra more on my mind and lips as it was this weekend hiking up Little Si.  I love this hike...absolutely love it.  It thoroughly kicks my behind (this is the second time I've done this particular hike) and the pay off at the end is worth it...great view and that awesome feeling as you go down the mountain that you just had an amazing work out. I had remembered loving this hike when I did it last summer and when we were trying to decide what our "kick-Lorien's-ass" hike would be for this weekend, the trek up Little Si was the first that came to mind.  Frankly....I had forgotten just how challenging it was, which is probably a good thing.

It took us exactly three hours to conquer this 5 mile, 1200 ft. climb.  The first part of the hike is pretty darn steep...but it's nothing compared to the last section to reach the summit...but more on that later.  One really nice thing about this hike is that though there are some mondo steep parts, and some really tricky sections that involve scrambling (using hands, at least for me) up big boulders and tree-root "steps,"  there are wonderful sections of beautifully maintained, relatively level sections that allow you to catch your breath and gain momentum.  And because we had our first rain in weeks, the trail was not nearly as crowded as it often is on a Sunday afternoon and the bugs were thankfully few and far between in the cool and damp forest.  So though I was pouring sweat after about 5 minutes...it was a lovely, fun-filled hike...gorgeous scenery and perfect companionship.

Tom is such an inspiration and support for me...without trying or knowing, he provided such motivation and support and I love being out on the trail with him...as does Penny.  And today, he really, really helped me so much, taking over Penny's lead when we got to the top, rather precarious section that involves scrambling over big boulders and tree roots.  

It allowed me to fully concentrate on keeping my footing and taking my time.  It also allowed Penny to go the pace that she loves most...full tilt.  They would scramble up ahead and wait at the big turns for me...so great to feel the freedom to go my own pace and yet know that my partners were always there for me.



 My absolute favorite parts of this trail are the huge sections that meander through the deep, dark woods.  Ferns, moss, big decaying stumps in a mini-canyon of big boulders and cliffs just transport me to another place and instantly lower my blood pressure (and are flat enough to allow my heart rate to slow down :).

 The rock-climbers could be heard above us through the trees, but it still seems so isolated and primeval...straight out of a movie scene.  Mid-way through one of these sections is a bench that is sobering...a memorial to a local Mountaineer climber, Doug Hansen who died on Mt. Everest in 1996...I was inspired to read about his story when I got home...again...sobering.

The view today, much like the previous time I went up, was not the greatest...so I am going to go back as soon as I have a free sunny day and a partner to join me (any takers? :)  But the view is wonderful none-the-less.  You cannot see the top of Big Si through the clouds...but it's hard to imagine that the trail up to the top of that is only 3 miles longer...but gains 2000 more feet than Little Si.  A goal...for next summer.  After a lovely light lunch in the mist...we headed back down the mountain...in half the time it took to get up.  Again, there were many times I had to use my hands to balance my way down over the obstacles, but going down is much, much easier and a heck of a lot more fun.

So...first hike of week number two is in the books.  My WTA Hike-a-Thon stats:  19.5 miles hiked and $217 raised.  I am looking for 2 or 3 more hikes this week...and next Saturday I'm going to try once again to summit Mission Ridge again....more than try...I will summit it!  I still need more folks to sponsor me...and it's totally tax deductible and all proceeds go directly towards maintaining these amazing trails I love so much. 

A Wow Every Turn

Yesterday was simply the most amazing hike I have ever done.  Truly.  Worth every bug bite (I've counted over a dozen itchy welts so far...and most were through my clothes). Worth the achy muscles and joints (it was a challenging hike I'm still feeling after a hot bath, neck rub from boyfriend, Advil and 9.5 hours of hard sleep).  Worth every little annoyance and groan along the trail (and there were only a few of those...mostly due to steep, rocky trail conditions).  

Hanna came along with me.  She's a previous student of mine...and we've done a lot together.  I've hung from a harness at 70+ above the ground with her on Orcas Island and she heard more than a few expletives come from me during that ropes course...oopsie.  We spent 6 cold and raining days together on a camping trip to Yellowstone.  We've hiked & geo-cached in the Snoqualmie Pass together.  And she's seen me whiff it on the mountain and have to be carted away by ski patrol.  She knows me, she knows my limits.  I know her.  I know her limits.  I can honestly say that we make a great team...I'm not sure what exactly she gets from doing all this stuff with me...but I know I get a lot of inspiration, support and tons of fun being with her.  

We met Amanda, an art teacher visiting from Atlanta who wanted to hike Rainier.  It was fun getting to know Amanda and join her on this trip...and I certainly owe her one, because I never would have considered taking the trip down to Mt. Rainier Park just for a day hike...but now I can't wait to get back.  Amanda is a speedy hiker...so it was a really good reminder for me that I have to hike within my own limits and not push myself to keep up with someone else because I'm worried about their needs.  I think I did the best job I've ever done on a hike of focusing on my needs, my pace, my journey that I've ever done...all my work is finally paying off!  

So, the hike itself.  Woof...a killer killah.  3.75 miles up to 5900 feet to an old (but not abandoned) fire lookout tower on the top of Tolmie Peak (so that's 7.5 miles round trip).  They "say" that you are gaining 1100 feet...this is bullshit.  I found this elevation chart on Trails.com (a site that wants what I think is a lot of money, but with really helpful things like this elevation chart...might just be worth it if you hike all the time).  You can see how this trail breaks Lorien's Rules of Ideal Hiking...it goes down on the first half of the trail...and by a LOT.  So you start off gaining 500 of your 1100 total elevation gain...but then you lose half of it!  Which means you have to regain that 250 feet and also regain it when you go back!  So the elevation difference from the bottom of the trail to the top of the trail might be 1100 ft...but the total amount of "up" that your feet are trudging is 1600 ft!!  And the feet know...this is a big difference.  And I'm sure you can tell from looking at this map...parts of this puppy are STEEP! No wonder the PNW Leisure Hikers have this hike labeled "Challenging" when all of the guides say "Moderate"...it's only moderate if you are really in shape!

Mt. Rainier is back there...really.

But as I said...worth every annoyance, ache, pain and groan.  It took us just over three and a half hours to make it up to the top to the top (and around 2 to get down).  We started walking along the shores of a lovely alpine lake, Mowich Lake.  We didn't know because of the haze in the air that Mt. Rainier was right behind us.  In fact, there were numerous times that Mt. Rainier was in our view...but we didn't know where to look.  The trail went gradually up from the lake...and then went steeply down hill.  This part of the trail was in the worst condition...really rocky with lots of huge roots you had to maneuver over...I was really glad I had my trekking poles (actually Tom's...thanks Tom!) to help me keep my balance and foist me up some really steep "steps" in the rocks & roots.  It was all old forest with huge cliffs on one side and steep fall aways on the other.  This was one place that Rainier was actually right beside us...but we thought the white beside us was sky...not snow on the mountain...we figured that out on the way back.  After the steep down...we started a steep up...so steep, the National Park service actually put stairs much of the way...steep, steep stairs.  

Finally...the steepness mellowed out and we walked out of the woods into a lovely meadow  surrounding another alpine lake, Eunice Lake. The first time we actually saw Mt. Rainier was when we stopped for lunch at here...we had just finished taking pictures of Tolmie Peak and the tiny tower we could see at the top.  Bemoaning the fact that we still had that huge cliff to go up (along switchbacks, of course), we decided to hop out on to a little stone island and rest up before the big climb. 

There was no question of not doing the climb as we "knew" Mt. Rainier was on the other side of that peak, and we had climbed all this way to see Mt. Rainier. As we were making our way down to the little island, I turned around for some reason.  And there, behind us, as she had been for much of the trail up, was Mt. Rainier...peaking over the tress...and HUGE. 

It was the first time I screamed "WOW!" along the trail...I had many more "WOW!"s to scream.  It wasn't the greatest view (that was left to come)...but it was awesome nonetheless.  I pushed the gals to finish eating and get back on the trail up to the peak for the piece de resistance.    

Believe it or not, the trek up the switchbacks to the lookout tower was not that bad...the trail up to Eunice Lake was much tougher because of the trail condition...but this section was well-kept and steady.  We were warned by several folks we met along the way that the bugs at the top were bad...and they were...I ate several just opening my mouth to scream "WOW!" at the views.  No amount of bug spray seemed to help...they were ravenous and we were lunch.  But the views from the top were so, so worth it. Enjoy.

The way down was much faster...Hanna told me I was a "power hiker"...I just wanted to keep my heart rate up and squeeze all the exercise out of it as I could.  Mt. Rainier followed us all the way down...and it was just breathtaking all the way.  

 Hike-a-thon stats to date:  14.5 miles hiked, $212 earned ($12 for the 11.5 miles that buddies came along with me).  Sunday, Tom, Penny & I are going to tackle Little Si.  And next week...I think I might drag Hanners back out to Mt. Rainier National Park!