Train, train, train!

Hopefully in about a month from now I'll be packing my backpack to head down to climb Rainier. In the mean time, there's just a lot of training to be done. Last night Mihae and I did the cable line of Tiger Mountain. Typically hiking trails have switchbacks as they work their way up the mountain. The cable line goes straight up the mountain. It's a common training hike for people who want to summit Rainier. Bram was hoping we'd make the hike in under an hour and 15 minutes to make sure were getting in good shape for our summit climb. Mihae and I made it in an hour so we were happy about that.

This weekend is going to be a good opportunity to get some training in. Rachel, CJ and I are currently investigating some possibilities for a more strenuous hike/climb. We had wanted to do Mt. Adams, but with the all the snow from this winter, the conditions aren't in our favor quite yet. I do really want to climb Adams at some point this year, even if it's after Rainier. We also considered Mt. St. Helen's for this weekend, but being Memorial day weekend and that climb having a limited number of permits it's not likely to work out. We'll probably head up Highway 2 somewhere as there are plenty of opportunities out that way.

As for my non-hiking conditioning I've been keeping up with my usual running, boxing fitness class and soccer during the week. I've been trying to add several sets of stairs with every run. I think overall strength building is going to be what I need to focus on now.

I'm definitely anxious for the actual climb to be here already. When I started planning this in January it felt like it was forever away so it's nice to know it's getting so close.

Gear and Training

Good news! I now have all the gear I need for my trip up Rainier. I got my ice axe, harness, prussicks and caribiners, helmet, tent, sleeping pad, shovel, waterproof shell and a bunch of other stuff over the past week. I feel like I should own REI after all the money I've spent there over the past few months. I guess maybe I'll have a nice dividend check next year! Having the right gear definitely can make or break the overall experience and I feel pretty confident with the what I have now.

Our latest group training was this past weekend. We headed over to Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass Saturday evening and hiked up in the rain to our camping spot. The rain ended up making the camping not very pleasant since we were soaked by the time we got our tents up. My new shovel came in handy for digging out a flat spot in the snow for our tents. It's more to carry, but again, it's definitely nice to have.

In the middle of the night the rain turned to snow and this ended up causing the tent to almost cave in. I'm considering returning the tent for another style, though I like how light and compact it is.

Sunday was all about training. We worked on self arrest training which is very important to know in case we slip and start falling down the mountain. The training for this was pretty fun too because we got to do some glissading (basically sledding without a sled). Glissading was my favorite part of the Camp Muir hike I did last year and I'm looking forward to it again this year. We also did some training on our rope teams.



It may be a lofty goal, but some of us are considering climbing Mt. Adams over Memorial Day weekend. Though the climb's not technical, it's still pretty long and will get us up over the 12,000 foot level so we can see how we do with the altitude. Recent reports said getting to the trailhead was a 12 mile snowshoe trip. Hopefully the warm weather over the next few days will change that, otherwise we may have to consider climbing Adams another time.

No time to waste...

I always think that winter and early spring are going to be down times for me. Lots of free time to catch up on things like sleep and just getting things in my life organized. That definitely hasn't been the case this winter. That's why I've been slacking off on my updates here. I have been doing things to prepare for the Rainier trip, but finding a few free minutes to write about them has not been easy. So here is a quick recap of my Rainier prep over the last few weeks:

Thien-An very graciously accompanied the ladies of the group (Rachel, Mihae and myself) to REI for a gear session. We took the list of recommended items for summiting Rainier (see an earlier post with this list). He was extremely helpful in giving us information on things like ice axes, gloves, crampons, etc. REI staff were ready to give him a green vest by the end of the night.

Bram had us over with one of his mountaineering friends to have a ropes course so that we could learn the knots that we'll need to know for trip. Of course some of the knots are used more for rescue attempts if needed - hopefully we won't have that need, but it's still good to be prepared. I found a fun website with animated steps to show how to make most of the knots we'll need to know so I have a feeling I'll be consulting it when I practice.

Last Tuesday we had a group conditioning hike at Rattlesnake Mountain. The goal was to make it to East Peak (4.4 miles each way), but due to time and possible bad weather rolling in, we turned around at about 9pm and headed back down. Someday I do want to make it farther up that trail, as it's very beautiful. I'm still doing well with carrying 40-50 pounds of weight during the training hikes. I <3 my backpack! I think my boots are getting more comfortable with each hike, so hopefully they'll be good when it comes time to wear them for 2-3 days straight.

The group has a snow camping and then rescue training planned for the second weekend of May near Stevens Pass. In late May we're planning to climb Mt. Shuksan in the North Cascades. I also want to try to organize a trip for some of us up Mt. Adams since that's a mountain I've been interested in climbing for some time now.

I need to finish up acquiring my gear in the next couple weeks so I see another trip or two to REI in my future. I'm still overwhelmed by all the possibilities when it comes to gear. I do like that I'll have great equipment for any hiking or snowshoeing I do in the future though!

On the trail again...

I've been bad about updating this lately, but there hasn't really been much to tell. For a couple weeks I didn't have a lot going on in the way of training or collecting gear so there wasn't anything update. I did get a chance to get started reading the Mt. Rainier guidebook which is great for giving you all the information you need to know about the mountain down to the nitty gritty details.

On a recent visit to home in North Idaho I did check out one of the local sports shops and was happy that I did. I found some North Face gore-tex shell pants - only one pair left, in my size and on clearance! It's always such a thrill to find deals like that. Normally I only find those kind of deals on things that I don't happen to need. I tested the pants on a snowshoeing expedition around my parent's place and I was quite pleased with how they did their job. This means a majority of my clothing for the journey has been acquired. Besides head protection, the last major item I'll need clothing wise is a down jacket.

I finally got back out on the trail again last Sunday with Mihae. We decided to go check out Wallace Falls State Park. I hadn't been there in at least a couple years and remember it as being one of the most beautiful trails in the area. It's still one of the most beautiful trails in the area - to the point of being almost magical. We both carried a significant amount of weight in our packs with a couple gallons worth of water among other things. I'm happy to report that my backpack is still super comfortable even with 40+ pounds! While we meant to go on the Wallace Falls trail, we ended up taking the Wallace Lake trail instead. We agreed that this ended up being better because we ran into a bit of snow on this trail. Since we're both trying to get used to our mountaineering boots, having to try them out in various conditions is helpful.



Tomorrow our Rainier group is planning to do the cable line on Tiger Mountain. It's great for training as it will be similar in steepness to the Mt. Rainier climb. I'm sure it will be a good reminder of how decent of shape we'll need to be in for the actual climb in June.

Making Progress

After spending several hundred dollars I'm starting to feel like I'm making some progress on collecting gear. Earlier last week I went to REI with Mihae determined to find a Gregory backpack to buy, because I figured that was the best pack for me after trying them on. I got fitted for a Gregory pack that I thought I'd be interested in getting and it just didn't feel right. With some good upselling from the REI lady, I tried on the nicer Arcteryx backpack and fell in love. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I figure that boots and a backpack are two of the most important pieces of gear comfort wise. So a few days later I came back to REI and had the backpack fitted for me with at least 30 pounds of weight. That 30 pounds felt like nothing, thanks to the backpack's comfort so I decided I needed to buy it. Luckily I was able to use my Dad's 20% off discount at REI so the cost was a little more reasonable.



I put the backpack to its first test immediately after buying it. Rachel, Rich and I headed over to North Bend to hike up Little Si. This is not a long trail - my hiking guidebook says 5 miles roundtrip with a 1200 foot elevation gain. This made for a good first test for both me and Rachel with our new backpacks. I also tried out the new boots, which are very stiff. Other than the last 15 minutes down the mountain, the boots were great. The backpack was awesome the entire trip, where I was carrying around 40 pounds. We made our goal of reaching the top in less than an hour, right around 58 minutes.

I took the last week off most exercise in order to let my knee get a little better and I think the time off helped do the trick. I decided not to run for an entire week, which was very aggravating to me since running has become a huge part of my life. I did run in the St. Paddy's Day Dash yesterday and felt pretty good overall. I'm ready to get back into my regular routine of working out this week, which will definitely be helpful in my training for Rainier.

The more I talk about Rainier with people, the more excited I'm getting about it. We're just over three months away now from the climb. There should be a lot of really great training hikes between now and then.

Gear and Running

Yesterday was a really productive day for me. Even with my bum knee (from the Rattlesnake hike the week before), I completed my first half marathon. I always said I wasn't interested in running half marathons because I didn't think I could run for that long. I decided around New Years that this year I would challenge myself to do things I either never considered doing or never thought I could do. I'm feeling pretty great today knowing that I accomplished my first goal of this year. Rachel and I ran somewhere around a 10 minute mile for the 13 miles of the Mercer Island half marathon (we're still waiting on our official time). It was a beautiful run and I'm definitely interested in trying a half marathon again!

The endurance aspect of doing the longer runs will likely come in very handy for my overall conditioning for Mt. Rainier. After the race, Rachel and I were already moving on to plans for our upcoming races - the St. Paddy's Day Dash in Seattle next weekend and Bloomsday over in Spokane in May.

After the run, we decided to head to REI to look into boots for climbing Rainier. REI has their 20% off one item promotion with your membership going on for the month of March so I thought it was a good opportunity to purchase one of my more expensive items for the trip. There aren't many choices (at least for women) in mountaineering boots, but I found some that I think I'll be happy with. The La Sportivas I picked up came highly recommended. I wanted to get them soon so that I could decide if they were the right boots for me and so I could start breaking them in long before the actual climb.



After getting the boots we headed on to OR (Outdoor Research) to check out their current sale. I'm glad we decided to go there as I was able to find some good mountaineering gloves at a really nice discount and pair of base layer pants. I'll be doing some more research and/or shopping this week. I'd like to find a backpack and some other clothing layers fairly soon.

I felt like it was a pretty successful day all around. :)

Yesterday was a nice day for a hike, so a few people from my Rainier group and I decided to go hiking. Due to conditions on Mt. Si and Granite Mountain, we decided on doing an easier hike up Rattlesnake Mountain. Rattlesnake ledge is one of my favorite quick hikes close to Seattle (just south of North Bend). It's easy and the view is rewarding when you get to the ledge. The trail actually goes on for several miles, but I've never gone much farther than the ledge. I have a fear of the woods, especially when hiking alone, so in the past I've always stuck to heavily populated trails. A majority of people stop at the ledge so I've never ventured too much farther up the trail. After seeing the view up higher yesterday I'm kicking myself for not going farther up in the past. I guess that's the really nice thing about all the training I'll do for Rainier - I'll have hiking buddies!

Before leaving Seattle, Bram made sure that those of us training for Rainier had plenty of weight in our packs. We stopped at a gas station to buy gallon jugs of water. We'll be adding more gallon jugs for future hikes. The more weight we carry now, the better we'll be in the long run for the actual climb.

The hike was pretty easy until we hit some deeper snow. We did our fair share of postholing, which made me regret not packing along my snowshoes. All together we hiked about 8 miles and had an elevation gain of about 2400 feet.

After the hike, Bram showed us all the gear that we'll need to have for the trek up Rainier. It reminded me that I still have a lot of shopping to do! I think my next major purchases will be a backpack to help get used to carrying a lot of weight and boots so that I can get them broken in.