Hike 10: West Tiger 2 (and 3)

We missed two weeks of hiking due to our trip back to the Midwest, but now we're back at it. Yesterday, we tried Tiger Mountain again. We've been up Tiger twice (2 and 3) and both times that we reached the summits, we couldn't see anything because it was too foggy. The third time's a charm, because yesterday we had great views of the valley. We were the only two people at the Tiger 2 summit, which is the less popular summit. It is only about .5 miles from Tiger 3, but a little bit harder to get to. There were lots of paragliders flying off of Poo Poo Point, which was pretty cool to watch while we had lunch. Also, Saturday was the first time using our trekking poles. We were able to maneuver much quicker because we could lean on the poles when the trail got narrow. And when going down the trail, we could place more pressure on the poles...and less on our knees.

The summit sign.

There is a generator in the building behind Brian.



Resting for lunch.




On our way down on the busy trail.


You can't see the paragliders in the distance, but they're there.

Hike 9: Granite Mountain

On Saturday, May 15 we drove east again on I-90 to get to Granite Mountain. We started up the trail around 10 a.m. and continued until we couldn't go any farther because of the snow. We asked someone coming down and he said we were at around 4,100 feet and the top is at 5,600 feet. We were sort of bummed, but we still had great views of the Cascades. Then we stopped and had some bananas and Luna snacks and went down. We would definitely try this trail again, maybe in mid to late June when the snow is gone.

Hike 8: Mt. Si

After a long week of baking cookies and a long day of selling cookies on Saturday, we were pretty tired on Sunday. But we thought we'd better go for a hike with our packs for the first time anyway. We decided on Mt. Si because it's easy to access off of I-90 and we knew that it would be a good workout. It is eight miles roundtrip with an elevation of 3,900 feet. The last time we were at the top was in late June, the day before the Shore Run/Walk, a fundraising event for the Hutch.

After loading our packs with a gallon of water, fleece blankets, food and camera, my pack weighed 25 lbs. and Brian's pack weighed 30 lbs. This was the first time that we wore our packs on any hike. For the climb up Mt. Rainier, we'll need to be prepared to hike with 40 lb. packs. Overall our packs served us well and we weren't sore at all except for our legs, which carried the brunt of the weight up and down the hill.

We made it to the top in 1:50, which isn't too bad for our first time with packs on. On our way up we had another pug sighting! The pug was going down the trail, pausing to take in the view and then proceeding down the trail. It was much older than the other pug we saw going up Little Si. We presume that the pug's owner didn't have to carry it up Mt. Si, but I can't say for sure...










Brian and I agree that it is easier going up than going down because on the way down we're so focused on getting back to the car and heading home. Most often our thoughts drift to what we're having for our next meal...we talk about food a lot...hmmmm. We had a great hike and it definitely helped us gain confidence for carrying weight. We haven't quite decided where we'll hike this weekend...to be continued.

Cookies for a Cure

On Saturday, May 8, West Seattle held its annual community garage sale. More than 200 people from all over the neighborhood signed up to participate. For those who do not have garages/yards like us, we reserved a space at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, a local place off of California Ave. There were more than 30 groups selling items in the coffee shop's courtyard and parking lot.

To prepare for the cookie sale, on Monday-Friday night from 6 pm-12 am, we baked cookies...lots and lots of them. We made sugar cookies (frosted white with pink ribbons), chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. I quadrupled each recipe, which meant that we made a few too many chocolate chip cookies, but that's okay. In all we probably made 50-60 dozen cookies (plus a few dozen from friends who chipped in). We were more than prepared for the crowds on Saturday.

Ingredients...

The peanut butter dough, ready to be forked...

Brian seen working his magic...

The stacks upon stacks...

More bags please...

The frosted sugar cookies...

With pink ribbons!

Saturday was a sunny and warm spring day (which always puts Seattlites in a good mood). We made a "Cookies for a Cure" sign, borrowed a tent and table from a co-worker, bought wax tissue and paper bags, gathered Climb to Fight Breast Cancer brochures and more. We had a nice setup!


We arrived at Hotwire around 8:15 am and people started to show up for cookies soon after that. There was a pretty steady stream of people until 3:30 pm. We have no idea how many cookies were sold, but our grand total was $422.18! Some people donated $1.00 and others gave $5.00, but the average was about $2-3/cookie. We were happy with the community support we received. A few people were even interested in the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer and our training for Mt. Rainier in August (we wore our new packs filled with blankets to draw attention to the Climb).

We even made it into the West Seattle Blog, THE news source for our neighborhood: http://westseattleblog.com/2010/05/west-seattle-community-garage-sale-day-2010-midday-report.





Overall it was a fabulous day. We brought the extra cookies to work on Monday and got a few more donations then too, so our total for all the cookies was $526.34! That puts us at about $3,600 for breast cancer research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. We are at 71% of our goal. Yay!

Backpacks and Hiking Boots

A couple of weeks ago we went to the flagship REI downtown by Lake Union. Our mission was to find backpacks so that we could start training with some real weight. For the past six hikes or so, we’ve been carrying full water bottles in a Jansport backpack from high school. That wasn’t the best for our backs or our shoulders, especially when we had more than 10 lbs. in it.

When we arrived in the backpack section, there were at least 20 people browsing the collection of packs. REI had their 20% off sale for members so the store was extremely busy. We couldn’t talk to anyone in the beginning so we started by trying on some packs to see how they felt. We eventually talked to one of the staff members and he recommended a few options for the type of trip we are taking up Rainier. For our 3-day expedition, he recommended a 65 liter pack or so, which could comfortably hold 40 lbs. After selecting a Deuter ACT Lite 65+10 pack, he loaded it with 30 lbs. to see how the pack felt with weight in it. That 30 lbs. was pretty heavy and made me really appreciate the importance of a good pack. His advice was to put about 70% of the weight on my hips and 30% on my shoulders. It’s important that the hip straps sat at the middle to top portion of the iliac crest on the hips. Then there’s a chest strap to pull the shoulder straps in. After a few adjustments, I walked around the store for 15 minutes or so and decided the Deuter pack was the one for me.

Carla trying on a few packs to see which was the right fit.

Here I am with the Deuter pack with 30 lbs. and some poles.

Brian had a similar experience with his pack and decided on a Deuter as well.

We called Alpine Ascents (our guide service) the following week to make sure the packs fit their specifications, and they said those were good choices.

The following week we went back to REI and since the 20% off sale was over, REI was nearly empty. We went to the hiking boot section and tried on some approach shoes. The Alpine Ascents gear guy said that depending on the condition of the trail up Rainier, we may or may not need approach shoes. If there is a lot of snow on the hike we will wear our plastic rental boots with crampons the whole way up. But if the snow has melted, we will be hiking on dirt and approach shoes will be lighter and more comfortable on dirt trails. But then we have to carry the plastic boots in our pack. I think the guides will advise us when we get to Paradise and tell us which shoes we should wear and/or carry. Regardless, we plan on wearing our approach shoes to train in this spring/summer, and after putting the pack on, I realized how important good boots are. I settled on some Keen Targhees because they have a wider toe box than other shoes. I also tried on SuperFeet, which are plastic insoles. They support the foot much better than insoles that don’t have a plastic base and are meant to be worn when putting a lot of pressure on the feet. I’m excited to try them out along with my boots and backpack.

On a fundraising note...thanks to generous donors, on Thursday, April 29, we’ve raised half of the required $5,000 needed to climb Rainier! It feels really good reaching the $2,500 mark, but we still have a long way to go. We’ll be selling sugar, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies at the West Seattle Garage Sale next Saturday and hope to raise some money and awareness about the Climb and about Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. We’ll be wearing our packs and hiking boots then too!

Until next time…

Hike 7: Snoquera Falls

On Sunday, April 18 the sun came out and the temperature was in the 70's. That's hard to beat for mid-April in Seattle, and it was just right for a hike. On Friday night we stopped at REI and asked the ranger what trails he recommended that weren't covered in snow. He suggested that we try a hike southeast of Seattle, about 20 miles east of Enumclaw off of Hwy 410. A couple of summers ago, we took that highway on our way back from Mt. Rainier, but we didn't realize how many trails and campgrounds were waiting to be explored in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest. We might go back again this summer and spend a few days camping so that we can enjoy more trails.

After missing the pulloff spot for the trail that we originally were aiming for, we ended up going farther east and turning around. In our pursuit we actually found a small airfield in the middle of the forest. Odd placement maybe, but who wouldn't like to land a personal aircraft there? After turning around we got to another trail that the ranger recommended, so we decided that it would suffice.

Needless to say, Snoquera Falls exceeded our expectations. It was a scenic hike with a few views along the way. But the best part was the waterfall at the end. Here's my first glimpse.


We only saw one person on our way up to the falls and four people on the way down. It felt like we were the only people in the whole forest...a sharp contrast to some other hikes we've done along the I-90 corridor.


Our photos can't really show how tall the waterfall really is.






Not only did we have the waterfall to admire, but the view to the south was notable as well.


On our way down we saw this animal skeleton. Not sure what it was...


To cap it off, when we were driving back, we saw two elk cross the road. They were pretty tame, but neat to see anyway.



At the beginning of this post I mentioned how we stopped at REI on Friday night...for their 20% off sale...to get backpacks. Details in the next post...