Mount Saint Helens

I had a fun trip back home after giving up on the PCT thru-hike.  I took the train back home. It was not always comfortable but an adventure. Trying to sleep in the LA terminal was an experience and a great chance to people watch!  I also met some interesting people to talk with during the 12+ hour trip back to Portland.  I met a lady who told me about the time she was the personal driver for one of the Beatles when he visited the home of Dorothy Day. Laura and I enjoy arguing over whether that lady was telling the truth or a just little crazy.

I sat at home for a few days and licked my wounds but soon was ready to make the most of the rest of my summer. After checking online, I was able to get a permit to climb St. Helen's that weekend. I had never done it and was excited to see it. 

I drove up to the mountain but couldn't buy a parking pass because the office at the Ape Caves was already closed and I had no cash. I chose to camp at the "Climbers Bivouac" and leave early the next morning. But there was a bigger adventure in store for me...

At about 10:30 pm, I was awakened by someone calling on the emergency phone near the bathroom. He notified authorities that there was an 80-year-old man injured on the trail. The man had slid into rock while on his way down from the mountain, possibly breaking bones, possibly getting a concussion, and he was still a couple miles up the trail in the snow. 

Upon hearing this, I volunteered (as someone with fresh legs) to help out and started up for the old man and his hiking partner immediately. When I reached them, I found the man was in pretty bad shape. He was being supported by his hiking partner but they had been hiking, very slowly, for about 16 hours. I offered a shoulder and also occasionally scouted ahead to find smooth paths through the snow banks. We arrived at the trail head at around midnight. I saw the unfortunate hiker off and tried for a bit to get to sleep but I quickly realized sleep was not going to happen. I also had a good sense of what the trail was like... so I started my hike at about 1:15 am.

There was plenty of time so I hiked carefully and slowly, arriving at the summit just before sunrise. It was pretty easy to climb up the volcanic rocks once I reached the timberline and it was just light enough to see the next wooden pole marking the route. 

It was AMAZINGLY beautiful!

Like, really!!

I stood around and marveled at the breathtaking view and took way too many pictures. I was the only person up there, passing my first hiker on the way down. I enjoyed the solitude I did find myself wishing I had someone to turn to and say "Wow!".

I am so glad that I hiked up when I did! I was initially concerned because the parking lot/trail had only recently opened and there was plenty of hiking on snow. I didn't want to get lost, but it turned  out the trail was pretty easy to follow even in the dark.

In hindsight, my only errors were: 

1. I didn't have a warm enough clothes on... and because of that I left the summit while it was still early and... 

2. I slid on my butt (without a trash bag) in the snow before it got soft enough, chewing my pants up a bit.

It was fun to watch clouds roll in from the ocean during the sunrise. They poured into the valleys below, creating foggy conditions by the time I arrived back at the car.

When I got home, I planned to hike Mount Adams the next weekend!

Not how I'd imagined it would go...

Well, I suppose nature always wins in the ends. Maybe that's because it was never fighting me to begin with! My FKT attempt turned out to be a bit of a lesson in failure, or at least disappointment. There were lots of factors involved in my not finishing... here's the play-by-play...

The trip down to California was fine but it was basically one day after I left school. I was not feeling settled at all. Laura and I had a great time in San Diego. I felt like I could sleep forever! We drove out to the trail and things started to get real!

Day 1: I got to feel the heat for the first time, starting my hike in the early afternoon. It was more intense than I had expected. I found myself needing breaks more often than planned. I camped on a dirt road about 8 miles south of Lake Morena. I had expected to make it all the way to the lake but had started a bit late in the afternoon.

Day 2: I woke up really early and was too excited to go back to sleep so I got up and started hiking hours before sunrise. I passed lake Morena as the sun rose. Was feeling great all morning. But I made the mistake, again, of hiking through the heat of the day. This time it was much worse because the landscape was different and I had trouble finding any real shade north of Kitchen Creek falls. I ended up hiding from the sun beneath a rocky alcove. It was a scary moment and I came to fully appreciate the danger of the heat when you can't really get out of it! In the later afternoon, I started hiking again and I arrived at Mount Laguna late that night. I slept on a campground picnic table because I didn't want to set up my tent.

Day 3: Disappointing... I walked into town that day and everything was closed but the general store. The guys in the store said I had made it just in time for a heat wave and that I would probably die. There was talk of 120 degree weather down in the valleys. I took their statements seriously, deciding to night hike down to scissors crossing. It would be a long haul but I didn't feel comfortable stopping anywhere else because of lack of water and shade.

I left at about 5 in the evening. Got water after about 20 miles of hiking before heading down to the desert. I had my first health concern that night. When I stopped for water I started shivering even though it wasn't cold. I found that concerning. It meant that my body was freaking out and having difficulty maintaining a normal temperature... that is bad in the desert... especially alone. After a rest, I started downhill and arrived at scissors crossing at about 8 in the morning. It was already about 90 degrees. I was concerned about body temp and decided to road-walk a few miles to a campground with a pool rather than sitting alone under a bridge.

At the campground, I was told that I could not sleep indoors but could try to sleep in the shade outside. It really didn't work. There were 30 mph gusts of 100+ degree wind. I would soak my clothes and go to sleep only to wake in about 30 minutes feeling like I had just come out of a clothes drier. I was having mild hallucinations because of lack of sleep. Finally, at about 3 pm, the manager of the campground said they had air/conditioned cabins I could sleep in. I was both thankful and upset. I needed to sleep and was thankful for the spot. Then again, I had just lost a day during which I could have gotten some much needed rest. Ugh!

Day 4: Slept super hard that night instead of night hiking out because I really needed the sleep. Sat around all day and waited for the next evening to arrive so that I could night-hike to Warner Springs. Had a lot (too much?) of time to think about my next step in the hike. Thought about getting off but decided to stick it out until I had a good day. It is usually a bad idea to make grumpy decisions, whether you are on a trail or not.

Night hiking up from scissors crossing was a better night hike than before. I saw a mountain biker on my way out of the valley (he apologized about being on the trail) which was one of the first people I saw on the trail. I arrived at my water source at about 3 in the morning and was feeling sleepy so I set up and rested... until the sun came back.

Day 5: This is when I decided to give up my dream of an FKT for the time being. I knew that I couldn't make my planned pace in this heat. That drove up costs and a "slow" through-hike was not my plan nor was it a possibility. I had started in mid-June and had not asked for time off in the early fall at school. It was also more dangerous due to the heat... and I couldn't see anything in the dark... but I couldn't very well hike during the day for the next week or two at least! The way I saw it: Make my plan happen or spend a lot of unplanned money on an incomplete trip. I chose to stop and save for a later date.

To this day, I go back and forth about my decision! I really wanted to continue. Part of me now feels that if I kept pushing then my body would have found its equilibrium and I would have made up the miles originally planned for. Another part of me thinks I made a good decision getting off before I did something really stupid (or my body broke down) and died alone in the desert. This is one instance in which hindsight is not exactly 20/20. I do know that the odds of my finishing in the time I had allowed myself were very low. Starting during a heat wave, with record snow melt in the mountains and large fire closures in Oregon was basically a lost cause... but I did get one great thing out of this adventure: the experience.

I really did test my limits in ways that I never have, hiking alone in very difficult conditions. I know absolutely that I could have made it, just not in the way I planned. I needed better food for the heat, more time to acclimate, and a more flexible schedule and budget.

But that was not the end of my summer. I arrived home with the goal of not letting the summer go to waste. I would climb a couple mountains and hike a large section of Washington before it was finished... but that is another post.

Here we go!

Time has flown by and suddenly it is time to hike!

I am still going to attempt an FKT (speed record) of the trail, finishing in under two months. I will be self-supported. No help on the trail from friends/family. No hitchhiking. Just me, my feet, and nature. It is likely impossible, but I am not going to let that stop me! I will be careful with water in the desert over the next two weeks. I will be careful on the snow and crossing streams in the Sierra. I am excited to see what the trail throws at me and to test my limits!

If you want to see my current progress, click here.

Fyi, the page only shows my last week of check-ins so my initial check-ins will not show after a week has passed. I start Sunday 6/18/17 in the mid-afternoon.

P.S. Thanks to my wonderful wife, Laura, for supporting this crazy venture and dropping me off in the desert! I love you, babe!

Training Hike: Angel's Rest to Multnomah Falls

These are pictures I took during a spring training hike. I only did about 15 miles due to lack of time. I started at the Angel's Rest Trailhead. I hiked up past Angel's Rest to Devil's rest, then down to the Multnomah Falls Lodge. Then, I headed up toward the peak of Larch Mountain but didn't have time so I cut back across to the Angels Rest Trailhead. 

It was a beautiful day. A little bit overcast. When I got up high enough in elevation, the flowers were still starting to bloom. I like hiking up a mountain and seeing the increasingly young spring growth as I go.

I saw a rock pile which reminded me of our crazy old friend, Ahu!

Up higher, the flowers were so young they were still white.

The view from Angel's Rest was nice! Took a little break before heading higher!

There is no view from Devil's rest so I started down toward the lodge. Wahkeena falls was beautiful and became more and more populated at I headed down past Lemmon's viewpoint.

I headed away from the falls to the Lodge, got some more water, and headed back up the mountain!

It was really crowded heading up to the top of the falls but there is almost nobody once you head past the falls toward the top of the mountain. There was still plenty of snow here and there in the particularly shady spots.

I took a right above Ecola falls and headed back to the car. It was easy sailing and I was enjoying my book.

I made a Chipmunk friend when I stopped for a short break. I think he thought I had a treat for him...

This was a nice hike on a cool day. I am so thankful to live in a place where such a beautiful hike is such a short drive from home!

2017 FKT Plans: Obstacles, Hopes, and Fears

Mount Adams (Day 47)
Picture borrowed from this site

A lot of things have happened since I decided to attempt a FKT hike of the PCT.
1. I have been very busy with springtime school and music events.
2. Plans have been changed due to small trail closures and a couple resupply locations have been changed.
3. There has been a LOT of snow this winter on many sections of the trail... and it is still falling!

Knife's Edge (Day 48)
Picture borrowed from this site

It has been a very busy spring! While I had hoped to do a lot of training, I have been buried in work and haven't gotten out as much as I would like. That is not to say I haven't been training! During spring break I got a couple 15 mile hikes in on open afternoons but weather was not always helpful. It is still very snowy in the higher altitudes and I turned back from one hike rather than wandering aimlessly in the snow looking for a trail without any "proper" gear. I will try to ramp things up over the next couple months but much training will have to take place near home as I am juggling a lot of school and musical performances right now.

Rainier near Dewey Lake (Day 49)
Picture borrowed from this site

I found out that Ziggy and the Bear (a popular resupply point on the trail) is closed this year. There is also a section of trail closed near Fuller Ridge, just south of that resupply point. I will therefore be moving my resupply to Idyllwild. I originally was going to avoid that town to save time but will now look forward to buying some good food! I also have a gigantic food carry from Tuolumne Meadows to Belden... Will be resupplying earlier in Sierra city so I can carry more food.

Mirror Lake (Day 50)
Picture borrowed from this site

Finally, snow... this has been a record year for California precipitation, particularly in the high elevations! In many locations along the leg of the trail through the Sierra mountains there are still 60+ feet of snow covering the trail. The result: A much more difficult hike! I will be spending a lot more time walking on snow. But that will not likely be my biggest risk. I will also be passing through just as the extra snow melts in earnest so I will have to be very careful about high runoff in the streams.

Kendall Catwalk (Day 51)
Picture borrowed from this site

I will need more gear than I originally planned on, spikes for my feet and an ice axe or acceptable substitution. I will need more food in case I hike slower or need to turn around at some point. I will also have a bit more rope in case I have to cross a particularly scary stream without a partner.

Glacier Lake (Day 52)
Picture borrowed from this site

I am still going to shoot for my record but I am acknowledging that this is not an ideal year and am making lots of plans "just in case". If I can pull this off though, it will be a truly amazing feat!
 
With all of these complications and the lessening possibility of actually achieving an FKT, I am thinking a lot about what I want from the hike.

Glacier Peak (Day 53)
Picture borrowed from this site

1. I want to push myself farther than ever before. I am a meticulous individual who is usually well-prepared for what I put my mind to. What's wrong with being prepared? Nothing really. But I can't remember the last time I was truly unsure of how something would turn out. Usually, I have put in the proper amount of practice or other prep time (or not) and I have a good idea how things are going to happen. In fact, I rarely attempt anything without a plan that gives a very good chance of success.  Well, my mantra during this hike is, "If you only do things that you are sure will work out, you will never achieve anything truly exceptional."

2. I want thinking time. Life is busy. I don't get to think much in the hectic whirlwind. I am feeling a little down about my teaching, which is super difficult and tiring. I miss music. I sometimes feel off balance about these things. I hope to come back from the trail having thought and prayed about these things a lot. I hope for a well thought out next step in my life and peace in that decision.

3. I want to talk with God. I have always loved nature! It feels like a gift for me when I see something beautiful. I feel small, special, and at peace. It is difficult in my busy life to even find time to throw up prayers to God... I almost never have time to listen. Well, there will be plenty of time on the trail. I am excited for that time because it is really imprtant for me to feel grounded in that part of my life.

Mountains near Hart's Pass (Day 54)
Picture borrowed from this site

As for fears...
1. Snakes: I will almost certainly see quite a few hot and grouchy rattlesnakes. I am scared of not noticing one until too late.
2. Cougars: Wolves and bears don't really worry me at all but those cats scare the crap out of me! I would love to see a cougar but definitely not up close!
3. Dangerous snow and stream crossings in the Sierra: I have little idea what to expect but hiking alone and coming to a situation one deems dangerous at all is very disconcerting! Being a detail-oriented guy, I am very aware that nobody has my back and that I had better make the right decision!

Those are my three biggest fears that are threats. I accept them as part of the hike. In fact, this hike would not be the crazy adventure it is without those dangers! I embrace the fear! I embrace the fatigue! I embrace the uncertainty! I am so excited to experience it! What I am more afraid of when I think about it is letting such things stop me from living an abundant life!

Canadian Border (Day 55)
Picture borrowed from this site

I am coming for you, PCT!

2017 FKT Plans: The Current Record

Three Fingered Jack (Day 42)
Picture borrowed from this site

If I were really organized, I would have posted this a week ago on the "day without women" because it is an amazing story about a woman who has been a game-changer in the hiking world.

Mount Jefferson (Day 43)
Picture borrowed from this site

Heather Anderson, who is also called "Anish" on the trail, was just another unknown hiker on the trail until the summer of 2013 when she set the current unsupported record time on the PCT, beating the legendary Scott Williamson by about 5 days! I won't go into the details more than that. Instead, I will direct you to a source that narrates the feat better than I ever could. Read her amazing story here!

Ramona Falls (Day 44)
Picture borrowed from this site

Since breaking the record on the PCT, Heather has hiked record times on two other trails, including the Appalachian Trail! She is the first in history to do that! This is all the more impressive when you consider the demographics of people doing things like this. There is definitely a "macho" crowd of primarily guys on the trail who hike major miles and don't mind telling you all about it... and some girl came up and quite simply hiked harder than them because she wanted it more. It makes me smile to think about it.

Cascade Locks (Day 45)
Picture borrowed from this site

So I want to tip my hat to my current trail hero, Anish:

Anish,

You are an inspiration to me and countless other people! Keep on hiking your own hike. I am gonna try really hard to beat your record. If I fail, I will be disappointed but glad to have pushed myself as far as I can go like you did. If I succeed, I will have all the more admiration and respect for you, having experienced many of the same things. Thanks for really pushing yourself to the limit. I find that inspiring. In fact, I do not know if I would have attempted this without hearing your story, so no matter what happens, you get a bit of the credit!

P.S. If I do have this kind of hike in me, I will try to take the record from the runners too... us thru-hikers deserve the overall FKT! ;-)

Sincerely,

Me

Blue Lake in Indian Heaven (Day 46)
Picture borrowed from this site