Winter Weekend

An awesome mix of winter experiences this weekend.

Saturday, Patrik and I planned to head up to Snoqualmie Pass and get some more use out of our snowshoes. The path of choice was Keechelus Ridge as it sounded feasible for the morning and would leave us with enough time for me to get back to run the Fanny Pack Party (i.e. Ski patrol graduation party) that evening. I was so focused on checking the Avy forecast and snow conditions that I failed to look at one crucial bit of data: road condtitons. Patrik texted me the evening before with the news…

Before we could pull out our respective snowshoe books, I threw Mailbox out as an alternative. I’ve been meaning to go back for Old Trail, I need to condition for the Mountaineers scrambles, and it sounded like a good plan. Always game for an adventure, Patrik agreed. Rendezvous in North Bend at 8am, see you there!

Old Trail up Mailbox has a reputation as an ass kicking uphill where many hikers have gotten into trouble. The path is marked by white diamonds on tree trunks and easy to lose and the 5.2 mile RT trail (so 2.6 one way) gains 4,000 feet in elevation by going as straight up the mountainside as it can. But it needed to be done, so we decided to go do it.

The nice thing about Old Trail in winter is that the path is easy to follow. The boot path probably fades away up the hillside in summer, but this time of year the snow left visible tracks as the hikers before us laid out the path along rapid switchbacks as they ricocheted between tree trunks. Although we were both quickly winded, we kept a good pace, pausing for water and to give our legs quick breaks and then to slip on our microspikes as the snow and ice became thick on the trail. Eventually we hit legitimate snow, but the woods up were gorgeous with the frosty dusting that managed to find its way down between the trees.

Being a Saturday, there were quite a few people out with us, and the crowd became noticeable as we cleared the trees and faced the two steep pushes for the top. Patrik befriended a woman who works for an outdoor adventure company with a gorgeous young dog named Siff, and I spoke with a man who shared his journey from Mt. Adams to Rainier to Everest Basecamp and now is hoping for Kilimanjaro. Even though it was a bit thicker with people on the summit than I usually prefer, it was neat to talk to the different folks and enjoy the nonexistent views as the clouds were thick and low. All told, we made the summit in 2:51 (according to Patrik’s tracker) and that included me stopping for several minutes to dig out my gloves as we proceeded up the snowy scramble to the top. Not bad at all!

We made it down in time to grab a late lunch at North Bend Bar and Grill then I raced up to the ski area to throw together the candidates’ party and Patrik headed off to pursue more great finds at Half Price Books before heading home to catch up on “real life” chores and such that always seem to get put off when there are mountains to climb.

Sunday morning was Emily’s birthday, and to celebrate we planned a ski day at White Pass. Em and her boyfriend, Wesley, drove up on their own and I chauffeured Brigitte and Mike in my car. We rendezvoused at the area just in time for the half day tickets and we proceeded up to the Coulior Chair where we spent the next 3.5 hours dancing through delicious powder along the numerous blue glade runs at the top of the area. The amazing snow came at the cost of low visibility and hardly any views to the surrounding mountains, but I think it was absolutely worth it! Emily seemed to be enjoying herself, it was a treat for me to get to ski with my parents for the day, and we all had delicious pizza and birthday cake in the lodge afterwards. Em and Wes were gifted with a night in the White Pass Inn while the rest of us made the long drive back to Vashon. A very full and exhausting weekend, but one of those where I just can’t stop smiling from the sheer amount of awesome that it contained.

To follow our trail…

Mailbox Old Trail
White Pass Ski Area

A Soggy Doggy Day

When the weather isn’t quite right for a summit, when the snow isn’t where you want to be, and when it’s pouring down rain… I can call on Harley to go out for a hike with me and he won’t complain about the rain!

I knew I wanted to get out and active before a long week of work (going to be co-facilitating a class out of town this week and I know it’ll be tiring), so even though the forecast was for 100% rain, I tossed my rain gear and several towels in the car, made a cozy platform for Harley in the backseat, and set off for a mountain stroll.

Matt K. was super awesome and sent me beta on Mt. Si while I was on the ferry over to the mainland. I knew we could easily make the summit even in the rain, but as I weighed out our options I decided to go with the original plan of doing Little Si first and seeing how that went. There have been a lot of landslides lately from all the rain, I knew the top of Mt. Si would be slippery and was worried about being solo in bad weather, and honestly I can’t remember ever doing Little Si so it seemed like a good way to knock it off the list on a less crowded day.

As we started up from the TH for Little Si, I could see that we were behind two people and a dog moving about the same pace. Harley was excited and wanted to visit with the other dog, and I foresaw several problems arising from this. Since it didn’t look like we could pass them, as soon as the trail branched we took the Boulder Garden Loop Trail and let them continue on directly towards Little Si. This ended up being a great decision as we didn’t see another person (or dog) on the entire loop and had some peace and quiet on what tends to be a rather busy trail.

We rendezvoused with the main trail and proceeded up to Little Si. The rain was pouring and the trail muddy, but we were on a mission! Harley had some trouble on the slippery rocks as we neared the summit, but he figured out his route fairly well with only a few minor corrections. We made the top, shared some jerky, took some photos, then made the trip down in good time.

All told, my phone tracker had us at 7.46 miles and about 2:40 total time (I forgot to pause it during our first break so I think we did a bit better than that, although it certainly wasn’t a race today). Harley seemed to enjoy the hike, I felt energized and eager to go out again, and we celebrated by stopping at Wanted Espresso in Northbend for cocoa and a puppocino.

Harley was quite a tired soggy doggy by the end, but I was proud of how well he tolerated wearing his backpack and did well in the wet weather. Can’t wait to take him out again soon!

To follow our trail…

Boulder Garden Loop Trail
Little Si
Wanted Espresso

When It Clicks – Sick/Not Sick

As many of you know, a big part of my life is being a volunteer member of the National Ski Patrol. This is my 10th season as a patroller with Snoqualmie Pass and even though I’ve taken this year a little slower than previous ones, I know I’ve still got at least a few more years left in me. 

Saturday night was significant for me and worth sharing. I was partnered with Matt K. and we were making our way to the base of Central Express to help close the mountain when a call came in for an injured person at the tubing center. Being the closest, we headed over, and I agreed to take lead on the call. When we walked in and I approached the patient, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I turned to Matt and said “sick” for the first time in my patrol career. And we sprang into action.

Now for those who aren’t patrollers, we are trained in sick/not sick protocol. Based on several signs, symptoms, etc. we are able to rapidly determine if this patient is in need of immediate advanced level care (i.e. we need paramedics or a helicopter NOW) or if we can go through our routines and provide care as necessary and determine if this is an ambulance transport, if they can get a ride home, walk out, etc. Of course, this is a very broad generalized overview, but you get the idea.

In my years as a patroller, I’ve called “not sick” on the radio many times. I’ve heard from other patrollers who have been on these kinds of calls that when you have a “sick” patient, you just know. I believed them, but did not understand quite how true that is until Saturday night. How did I know from a few feet away that she was in trouble? I replay it and wonder and have started pulling pieces together. Her skin color was off, the way she was postured and swaying, the feeling around her, all manner of things. But the patrollers who have come before me were absolutely right. I just knew. 

Matt was an amazing partner. He asked the right questions to help me gather the information we needed, and when I needed something he was handing it to me even as I was thinking it and hadn’t verbalized the request yet. As other patrollers and the local fire fighters arrived to help, the amazing teamwork continued and we had her out to the ambulance and on her way to the hospital faster than I thought possible. I was told that the time from initial call to transport was remarkable. I credit that to having a partner I trust and click so well with, a fantastic team who relayed our information as quickly as we provided it, and our wonderful local first responders with Snoqualmie Pass Fire & Rescue. 

For me, this is a story about when it all came together and everything finally clicked. It is a reminder of why we train and go through refreshers and review the same information over and over. Maybe it feels mundane and repetitive to go through the motions over and over, but there’s a reason for it. Somewhere in my thick head, details have been sticking and mental pathways have been built for days like this. I’m sure it’ll be hard to maintain enthusiasm for all the trainings I’ll continue to go through, but for now, it’s a good reminder of why we do things. It’s also a time to pause and give thanks for the remarkable people I am privileged to work with. Thank you for having my back, Matt. And SPFR, you guys rock!

If you are interested in becoming a ski patroller… you know where to find me!

(Several patrollers at Alpental during a ski/toboggan clinic)

Missouri Memories

I often get a negative response from people when I share that I spent two years in the Midwest, specifically living in Saint Robert, Missouri, from 2013-2015. The negativity is generally because they know how much I love the Pacific Northwest and have trouble imagining how I could ever be happy in such a strange place. They usually say “I’m so sorry” or “how did you survive?” I try to explain that it isn’t what they think and I did enjoy a lot about my time there.
While those two years had some major ups and downs, I approached my time there with a positive outlook. I knew it would be temporary; I was only there because my then-husband, Justin, was military and had an assignment at Fort Leonard Wood. When we moved out, we knew we wouldn’t be there forever and I decided to make the most of it. So, even as we packed up for the long drive, I ordered a few books for the road on Missouri hiking, whitewater, and a plant/animal identification guide. This northwest gal was prepared! Or so I thought… I was physically ill our first two days there as I struggled to unload the moving truck in the Midwest’s summer heat and humidity. Not my climate at all!

The summer weather was brutal for me and I spent a while doing more indoor activities once we got settled in. However, it wasn’t long until I was itching to get out and explore. As it grew colder, walks around the neighborhood turned into brief hikes down the hill into the woods, then looking around the area for small parks to check out. Once Harley came into our lives in October 2013, I had even more incentive to get out and explore. 

When I atteneded training in Jefferson City for several weeks in 2014, I began seeking out places to stretch my legs after long days in the classroom. I found my way to places like Binder State Park and down along the Missouri River, but the place I fell in love with was the Runge Conservation and Nature Center. I would never have found it if there wasn’t a small sign on the road I drove past going to dinner in the evening, but I’m glad I did. 97 acres with ponds, trails, wildlife, and even a replica fire tower–in the midst of a faraway city, it became my safe haven and I clocked miles wandering the looping trails during my time there. 

Sadly I didn’t end up with any of my own photos from Runge CNC, but here is one from Jefferson City (Missouri’s capitol)…

There is a lot of explore if you take the time to look. Missouri may be flatter than Washington but the rolling Ozark Mountains added some changes to the terrain, and the area is well known for the dozens, maybe hundreds, of caves. I began setting out more to explore, from guided tours of local caverns to finding a random hiking trail on a map and spending a day there. See for yourself in the photos below. I think it was beautiful, and someday I hope to go back and hit a few of the trails I meant to do but never made it to. In the spring when the hills are covered in Dogwoods, or in late summer when the days are long and there are fireflies everywhere in the evening, it’s absolutely enchanting. 

Clifty Creek Natural Area 

Ha Ha Tonka State Park (and a Castle!)

Bennett Spring Natural Tunnel Trail

To follow our trail…

Runge CNC
Clifty Creek Natural Area
Ha Ha Tonka State Park
Bennett Spring Natural Tunnel Trail

A Lesson in Knots

I have always struggled with knots. My parents, friends, teachers, even strangers–at some point, so many people have tried to teach me and it always winds up with me being frustrated (at the least) and no knots accomplished. I don’t know exactly what the mental deficit for me is. I think it’s the same one where I get “righty tighty, lefty loosey” when I’m facing the bolt straight on, but as soon as I reach under the lawnmower to adjust the blades, I can’t figure out which way anything is supposed to turn to save my life. Guesswork and lots of trial and error has been my main method in this area. So hand me a cord and tell me “it’s easy, left over right and right over left” and things get ugly pretty fast. 

Because Taylor wants me to do Mt. Rainier before long, I’ve started gathering better gear and trying to improve myself so I’m ready when the chance comes. The schedule for the Mountaineers full climbing course did not line up for me this year, but I found a scrambling class through the Olympia branch and signed up so I could start somewhere. I’ve been scrambling before and picked up most of the skills through my parents, but the formal training seemed like a better idea, especially as I want to correct any bad habits and find the safest way to do things. 

Our first scrambling class was in the classroom and very introductory on terrain, terminology, the Ten Essentials, gear… and then it was announced that the rest of the evening would be spent doing knots. I felt my stomach sink and my face flush, already stressed out at the thought of once again screwing up and embarrassing myself in front of people I wanted to earn the respect and trust of. “Great…”

As we rotated stations, I struggled. Sure, I could do the Bowline, it was easy to mirror what the instructor was doing. And the Figure Eight was familiar from gym climbing in college, so I managed that alright. But the square knot, the “easiest” knot and the quintessential “left over right” made me want to disappear in shame as I kept having to redo it and was told that there were great tutorials online that could help me. Thanks, like I’ve never tried those… 

At the station for the Double Fisherman’s Knot (I’ve also heard it called a Barrel Knot?), one instructor watched me get it wrong over and over and quietly pulled me aside. “You know, the way you were shown is correct, but it’s not the only way… try this…” and he showed me a variation. And the darn knot worked! I about fainted. And then I was able to reproduce it on my own. What was this black magic?!

The next day at work, a coworker sat down with me and helped me practice the knots. Instead of blustering or redirecting when we got to one I couldn’t do, I finally decided to practice trusting more and confided in him how much I was struggling. Then I told him how the “other method” had worked with the Fisherman’s knot. Gery then proceeded to show me tricks he knew for several of the knots I was struggling with… and it worked! I was almost giddy!

At the next Mountaineers class, we were tested on our knots. As soon as I got to the station, I swallowed my pride and told the instructor that this was not easy and I had been learning alternate methods. He allowed me to do them as I wanted, watching carefully and checking the resulting knot. And I was signed off on all eight needed for the scrambling course!

I will have to continue to practice and maybe one day I’ll know the “right ways” to do them, but for the first time I no longer feel embarrassed or angry because of knots. It took a few unexpected things to get me to this place though, didn’t it? I had to own up to my struggles, ask for help, and learn to be alright with not being perfect. So many lessons, and I haven’t even gone up a mountain with them yet.

Thank you Gery, and the Olympia Mountaineers instructors! For the first time ever, I think I got this!

Tri-Cities Weekend

Over the weekend, Sara and I escaped to the Tri-Cities to visit her cousin and just get away for a while. Coincidently, this weekend ended up being when Puget Sound got hammered by a snowstorm, and while our frantic families worried about our safety, we ended up avoiding the worst weather and road conditions. Perfect!

Due to the passes being closed, we took the southern route through Portland and along the Columbia River. Except for a small section near Hood River where a recent ice storm had coated the trees and ground, we had decent winter conditions and made good time. We pulled off at Rooster Rock to see the frozen wonderland before continuing on our way.

One stop we had to make was at Multnomah Falls. I’ve heard of it and seen photos and always wanted to go, so we went! Even though the weather (and subsequent half dozen barriers and “area closed” signs) prevented us from going up the trail to the bridge, the views were still amazing! Definitely have to go back in the spring or summer to get to the bridge! One highlight was returning to our car and noticing a couple spinning their tires on the ice. They didn’t speak much English, but through gestures and stubbornness we got him unstuck and on his way. Not sure what they made of two white girls coming to the rescue and shoving their car free, but we had a good time for sure!

As we were driving out, Sara noticed another waterfall up the hillside. Wahkeena Falls, the sign advertised. The trail looked dicey being completely piled with snow and ice, but there were no closed signs and the entire path was visible from the road, so we decided to add one more frozen waterfall to our itinerary. She did not disappoint! 

The rest of the drive was quick and uneventful as we arrived in Kennewick, rendezvoused with Sara’s family for a Hockey Game, then made our way to their house to relax.

Sunday morning, Sara was kind enough to humor my endeavor to knock out another hike in my “52 Hike Challenge” so we set our sights on Badger Mountain, the local mountain/hill rumored to have amazing views from the top. Due to the snowy conditions, we opted to test things out first and after a quick stop at The Local for breakfast of yogurt, honey, and granola, and one of the best Chai Teas I’ve ever had, we made our way to Bateman Island to see how bad the trails were. 

Even though the snow had a thick crust, we were able to walk without much trouble and after a jaunt of a little over two miles, we decided to try for Badger Mountain. Bateman Island is a preserve with tons of wildlife, especially birds, and while it was fairly desolate this time of year, it must be a lush sanctuary in the summer.

When we arrived at Badger Mountain, the snow/sleet had stopped but it was very icy. We could see others on the hill and found a way to stick to the edges of the trail to keep our footing, so we opted to go for it. The elevation gain wasn’t much (the east summit being at 1,579 feet) and we made great time, all slipping and sliding considered. No views from the top, but still a nice hike after being in the car for so long.

Of course, as we were leaving town Monday morning, everything was clear and beautiful. Looking up at Badger, we were tempted to try again, but the need to get back to the west side before the weather changed was too great. Next time!

The drive back along the Columbia was breathtaking. We hit some patches of rain, but overall it was clear and beautiful and worthy of a few stops to admire the views. 

To follow our trail:

Multnomah Falls
Wahkeena Falls
Bateman Island
Badger Mountain – Skyline Loop