This is what always happens to me this time of the year: cross country starts, and I have no time to finish updating my hike-a-thon info. I'm super late with this thing this year!
I left off on National S'mores Day, August 13th, a day on which I had no s'mores. Seriously, who would make National S'mores Day in the middle of August? It's not safe to have a campfire, and microwave S'mores just don't cut it. S'mores day should be in June, in order to kick off the good backpacking season. And it should always fall on a Saturday. Okay, off my soapbox...
August 13: I ran the Little Loop route on Antoine Peak. And I was slow. And hurting. I wonder why? It was 3.77 miles.
August 14: I ran the trail 110 to trail 100 to Hay Ridge Loop, and I still felt terrible. It was 7.2 miles. I wrote a trip report for this one: find it here.
August 15: I did a very nice huckleberry hike today. It was about time to slow down and give my legs a rest, plus I wanted some huckleberries. I started near Cook's Cabin and went down to Saddle Junction, then up to the summit of Mt. Kit Carson, then across to the Saddle near Day Mountain, then returned via trail 130 and the new trail 140 reroute. The reroute looks...um...awful. Rather depressing. But the huckleberries helped to cheer me up. 4.6 miles.
August 16: I went to the Dishman Hills and did the same loop that I did on the morning of August 2. 5 miles. After that I met Jeff & we drove to the Twisp area for a weekend backpack trip.
August 17: Today showed how things don't always turn out how you imagine. We camped at the trailhead Friday night and got an early start for the backpack. I was hoping we'd make it to Sunrise Lake...but just a little over 2 miles in, Jeff said he was really feeling terrible. Food poisoning, we determined later. We turned back early. We passed so many dirt bike riders on the way out, followed by so many mountain bike riders, that we decided perhaps we were better off going elsewhere instead (4.5 miles with full pack). Then we looked at the map and picked a campground where Jeff could pitch his tent and take a nap, whereas I could go for an afternoon trailrun in order to pick up some extra miles. We went to South Creek, where I ran 8.5 miles. Then we drove up to the dead-end of the road to a place that was marked as a historical site on the map, but that turned out to be nothing much, as far as we could tell. There were a few tumble-down buildings, and I think it was maybe an old mining site. It was interesting, but I expected an interpretive sign after the way the map looked.
August 18: Jeff was feeling mostly better, so we decided to hike to Louis Lake for 11.4 miles. Read my trip report here. Then we returned home, and Jeff, who knew about it beforehand, told me to wait while he grabbed his newspaper...where this article appeared in the Outdoor section! Rich is a tricky guy...I figured he intended to write about our backpack trip, but I didn't know he would write about me, too! It's also great to go hiking with a professional photographer: check out the online slideshow here.
Okay, I'll have to finish this up another time. It's dinner time for me. I'm feeling a little bummed that on the other side of the state right now, the other Hike-a-Thoners are having the big H-a-T celebration party. :( I still remember explaining to someone one time that no, Spokane is not a suburb of Seattle...hopefully one of these years I can attend the party, though. It would be cool to actually meet some of the other people who do H-a-T! I've never met another H-a-T-er on the trail, and the only other Spokanite I know of who does it is Todd. You hear that Spokanites? It's about time a few more of you come fundraise while you play!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Past time for an update!
I haven't had a chance to update this thing in awhile! That's just because I've been out hiking. Here's some of the stuff I've been up to since the last post:
8/5: I did my favorite loop run in Riverside State Park. Every time I do this run, I think about back in college when we had to run "Half-pipe hills" on a portion of this route. That was one tough workout. Sometimes I think about going back and doing that again, and then I remember how painful it was...but here's the trip report from my 6 miler.
8/6: Two-a-day time! My first one was a run at Mount Spokane State Park. I went up trail 110 and down trail 140, returning via the Mt. Kit Carson Loop Road in order to complete a 4.8 mile loop. After that I drove up to the Nordic trail system to hunt huckleberries. I intended to go out to Shadow Mountain, but thought I'd check out the berries on Eagle Crest on my way out. I found so many berries that I didn't make it beyond Eagle Crest! I also saw an assortment of wildlife today: a vole on trail 140, a black bear just before junction 2 in the Nordic area (it ran away with its mouth open! poor scared bear), a lopsided moose on Eagle Crest (one side of its antlers was nearly twice the size of the other side!), plus a deer. The hike was 3.41 miles + about a gallon of huckleberries. I did a trip report for the running part.
8/7: Today I did the Iller Creek Loop. I went up the creek-side trail and down the ridge, and then I was too tired to run or hike anymore! 4.85 miles.
8/8: I ran from the Antoine Peak west-side trail head to the summit and back. Blaze came along to help me out. 4.54 miles. Then I left town to drive to the Glacier Peak Wilderness for the weekend! :)
8/9-8/12: Glacier Peak time! Read my trip report here.
That's all I have time to update for now...lots more to follow!
8/5: I did my favorite loop run in Riverside State Park. Every time I do this run, I think about back in college when we had to run "Half-pipe hills" on a portion of this route. That was one tough workout. Sometimes I think about going back and doing that again, and then I remember how painful it was...but here's the trip report from my 6 miler.
8/6: Two-a-day time! My first one was a run at Mount Spokane State Park. I went up trail 110 and down trail 140, returning via the Mt. Kit Carson Loop Road in order to complete a 4.8 mile loop. After that I drove up to the Nordic trail system to hunt huckleberries. I intended to go out to Shadow Mountain, but thought I'd check out the berries on Eagle Crest on my way out. I found so many berries that I didn't make it beyond Eagle Crest! I also saw an assortment of wildlife today: a vole on trail 140, a black bear just before junction 2 in the Nordic area (it ran away with its mouth open! poor scared bear), a lopsided moose on Eagle Crest (one side of its antlers was nearly twice the size of the other side!), plus a deer. The hike was 3.41 miles + about a gallon of huckleberries. I did a trip report for the running part.
8/7: Today I did the Iller Creek Loop. I went up the creek-side trail and down the ridge, and then I was too tired to run or hike anymore! 4.85 miles.
8/8: I ran from the Antoine Peak west-side trail head to the summit and back. Blaze came along to help me out. 4.54 miles. Then I left town to drive to the Glacier Peak Wilderness for the weekend! :)
8/9-8/12: Glacier Peak time! Read my trip report here.
That's all I have time to update for now...lots more to follow!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The first few days of Hike-a-Thon 2013!
I started this thing off right with some WTA trailwork! For Thursday, August 1st I camped at Mount Spokane, walked to our meeting location, and built a bridge! Okay, okay, helped to build a bridge. Mainly hauled a lot of rock, but still! Read about it here. Day one, 5.5 miles.
On Friday I went running. First in the Dishman Hills, for which I had to estimate my mileage at five (this spring there was a major overhaul of the trail system, and the new maps don't include mileage). Then I ran some errands in town and afterwards headed to Slavin Ranch Conservation Area for another run, this time in the rain. The map for this one said my route was 5.56 miles. I think that's a lie, because it took me an hour! Oh, well. I'll go by the map for a total of 10.56 miles in two runs for the day. Read the Slavin Ranch trip report here.
For Saturday, I had to start with some mileage that doesn't count for Hike-a-Thon, but does count for braggin' rights. I ran the Toaster Splash 5k. It's a trail race, but it's not on public trails. I did the world's shortest warm-up and cool down, finished in 5th place in 23:17 (that's actually a decent time for this course, which includes two stream crossings), and won my age group (my assistant coach called it the "old peoples' age group"). Then I headed north and did an afternoon trailrun on the Mill Butte (read my trip report here). That nearly killed me. It's only 4.5 miles, but it was hot out at that point and I was t-i-r-e-d. Then I drove up to my favorite free forest service campground in the whole wide world: Jungle Hill. Only a mile off the pavement and entirely free, and only two other groups camped there on a Saturday night. I guess I shouldn't write that on a public blog, but it's probably just three other people reading this, right? (hi mom, dad, and little bro!) After dinner I did a short little wander along Sherman Pass Trail #82, mostly just to stretch my stiff legs before I went to bed. It started raining, so I had a good excuse to turn in early. Total (countable for hike-a-thon) mileage for the day = 5.5 miles (but in my training log I had 10.5).
On Sunday, I got up super early and drove to the Wapaloosie Trailhead. The first section of this hike is not my favorite--no views at first, and just lodgepole forest that's mainly falling down and creating some scary-looking ladder fuels for future fires? Once the trail exits the lodgepole, however, it's awesome! Wildflowers, sagebrush, views...awesome. Read my trip report here. My total mileage was 9.3 countable, but my training log will state 12.3 including my road walking.
That's all I have time to update for now; more to follow. Right now it's time to put some ice on my achy knees! Oh, yeah, and pack for my next backpack trip!
On Friday I went running. First in the Dishman Hills, for which I had to estimate my mileage at five (this spring there was a major overhaul of the trail system, and the new maps don't include mileage). Then I ran some errands in town and afterwards headed to Slavin Ranch Conservation Area for another run, this time in the rain. The map for this one said my route was 5.56 miles. I think that's a lie, because it took me an hour! Oh, well. I'll go by the map for a total of 10.56 miles in two runs for the day. Read the Slavin Ranch trip report here.
For Saturday, I had to start with some mileage that doesn't count for Hike-a-Thon, but does count for braggin' rights. I ran the Toaster Splash 5k. It's a trail race, but it's not on public trails. I did the world's shortest warm-up and cool down, finished in 5th place in 23:17 (that's actually a decent time for this course, which includes two stream crossings), and won my age group (my assistant coach called it the "old peoples' age group"). Then I headed north and did an afternoon trailrun on the Mill Butte (read my trip report here). That nearly killed me. It's only 4.5 miles, but it was hot out at that point and I was t-i-r-e-d. Then I drove up to my favorite free forest service campground in the whole wide world: Jungle Hill. Only a mile off the pavement and entirely free, and only two other groups camped there on a Saturday night. I guess I shouldn't write that on a public blog, but it's probably just three other people reading this, right? (hi mom, dad, and little bro!) After dinner I did a short little wander along Sherman Pass Trail #82, mostly just to stretch my stiff legs before I went to bed. It started raining, so I had a good excuse to turn in early. Total (countable for hike-a-thon) mileage for the day = 5.5 miles (but in my training log I had 10.5).
On Sunday, I got up super early and drove to the Wapaloosie Trailhead. The first section of this hike is not my favorite--no views at first, and just lodgepole forest that's mainly falling down and creating some scary-looking ladder fuels for future fires? Once the trail exits the lodgepole, however, it's awesome! Wildflowers, sagebrush, views...awesome. Read my trip report here. My total mileage was 9.3 countable, but my training log will state 12.3 including my road walking.
That's all I have time to update for now; more to follow. Right now it's time to put some ice on my achy knees! Oh, yeah, and pack for my next backpack trip!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Obligatory "I've forgotten about my blog for a really long time but I intend to fix that now" post
Um...yeah. Last year's Hike-a-Thon clearly wore me out. I never even finished that post for the last week of August last year, and then I completely forgot about posting anything after H-a-T, too. I have two really good excuses: first, cross country started; then, I started grad school!
Well, now it's July of 2013, and I'm signed up for Hike-a-Thon again, and I've been training a lot so I'm ready. The highlights so far: a solo winter backpack trip to Columbia Mountain, 20-30 pounds of morel mushrooms while on spring hikes, a group trip to the Hells Canyon, a solo trip to the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, and a group trip to the Pasayten Wilderness.
And here are some of the things I have in mind for Hike-a-Thon 2013: 1) raise lots of $$$ (please help! follow my link & give WTA some cash!), 2) hit that goal of 325 miles this year! (last year I finished up at 275 miles), 3) go to the Glacier Peak Wilderness for a backpack trip of 50+ miles, 4) do the Cake Walk (all 43 miles of the Kettle Crest in one day!), 5) get a buch of huckleberries while hiking, 6) a buch of other hikes I haven't figured out just yet...anybody want to go hiking in August? :)
Well, now it's July of 2013, and I'm signed up for Hike-a-Thon again, and I've been training a lot so I'm ready. The highlights so far: a solo winter backpack trip to Columbia Mountain, 20-30 pounds of morel mushrooms while on spring hikes, a group trip to the Hells Canyon, a solo trip to the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, and a group trip to the Pasayten Wilderness.
And here are some of the things I have in mind for Hike-a-Thon 2013: 1) raise lots of $$$ (please help! follow my link & give WTA some cash!), 2) hit that goal of 325 miles this year! (last year I finished up at 275 miles), 3) go to the Glacier Peak Wilderness for a backpack trip of 50+ miles, 4) do the Cake Walk (all 43 miles of the Kettle Crest in one day!), 5) get a buch of huckleberries while hiking, 6) a buch of other hikes I haven't figured out just yet...anybody want to go hiking in August? :)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
August 20 - August 26, 2012
Monday, August 20:
Today is when things start to get tough--it was the first day of cross country practice! Practice is always hectic on the first day, and then we had to shop for the annual camping trip (food for 25!). I wasn't able to fit my own run in until late afternoon; I repeated my run up to the top of Antoine Peak for 5 miles.
Tuesday, August 21:
Today we loaded the buses at 8am and took off for Liberty Lake for our annual camping trip! We were in for a bit of a rude surprise: the county has completely changed the camping area, and the new camp host was not particularly easy to work with. In the past they've always given us a special rate since we're there with a school team; this year we had to pay close to $100 (just for the girls team! it was more than twice what it cost last year!) for one night of tent camping. That was way out of our budget, but there we were with two buses full of kids. We had to cover it for this year, but I'm already thinking of different camping plans for next year.
The girls had the annual two-mile time trial in the morning, but in the afternoon I took them for a trail run on the Edith Hanson Riding Trail. We did 5 miles, and ended at the little creek to sit in the cold water for 20 minutes--it made my knees feel much happier!
Wednesday, August 22:
It's another tradition to wake up early following the camping trip in order to run to Liberty Lake Falls. When I first started coaching at U-hi that was it: to the falls and back. A couple years ago a few of the girls finally started doing the full loop; this year, all of the girls who made it to the falls also finished the loop (there were a couple girls who were hurting and turned back before the falls). The team is getting tough! Even the newbies didn't question it: of course they were doing the same route that the boys do! This also gave me 7.7 trail miles as I ran with them!
In the afternoon I went up to Mount Spokane with a friend to work on the backside trash project. We managed to sort all of the trash at the second illegal camp--a pile of trash and a pile of scrap metal. We hauled out as much trash as we could carry, and now things are ready for the next work crew--probably next week. That added another .5 mile on Northwest Passage.
Thursday, August 23:
Today the team met at Camp Caro to run the Dishman Hills trails. I sent the girls on a "wander run" (their favorite) while I did Goldback Springs to East/West Pond and out beyond the ponds before returning to Camp Caro. 3.5 miles.
Friday, August 24:
The girls had a hard workout today, so I didn't run with them. I arrived at practice with the car fully packed and ready to head to Winthrop--it's Cutthroat Classic weekend!
I wanted to find a good trail run enroute to Winthrop, but I didn't have much luck. I stopped at Bridgeport State Park thinking that they'd have some good hiking trail there, but they only thing they had was the Dune Trail, a paved interpretive trail. I really wanted to stretch my legs, so I did a short little one-mile run, but I didn't want to run pavement any more than that. I ended up running 3 miles on the Early Winters River Trail after setting up camp and picking up my packet for the race.
Saturday, August 25:
Race day! I got a mile of countable trail running on the Rainy Lake Trail for my warm-up (plus another one or two that weren't countable just running around the parking lots). Then it was race time! It was quickly apparent that I have plenty of endurance with very little speed right now. I guess I really should do some speed work every once in awhile! At any rate, I felt pretty good during the race, but I wasn't very quick. Afterwards I found out that I was the 11th finisher in my age group, which made me a little disappointed until I found out that I was also the 12th female finisher in the race! I certainly was in one tough age group! At any rate, the race was 11.1 miles, which I completed in 1 hour 45 minutes (59 minutes and change for the first five miles to the top, and 45 minutes for the six miles that followed).
Most people would have been satisfied after that, but I wanted more mileage today! We were camping at Klipchuck campground that night, which is adjacent to the Driveway Butte trailhead. We all set out to hike it that afternoon, but the others turned back early. I got a little lost, and afterwards realized that the high point I climbed wasn't Driveway Butte--I think I got lost at about the 3.5 mile mark, so I got 7 trail miles plus who knows how much wandering up to a nearby high point. It was a very pretty view from the top, so I was satisfied.
Sunday, August 26:
Today we planned a day hike loop from the North Cascades Highway: Maple Pass with Lake Ann and Rainy Lake. The hike from Lake Ann up and over the pass was beautiful! It was a little weird to come down the other side and see the highway the whole way. Rainy Lake is very pretty, and has a paved walking path all the way to the lake--that's where we saw the majority of the tourists: people who were driving through and stopped long enough for the easy walk out to the lake viewing platform. This hike was 7 miles.
On the way home I tried and failed to find one state park, but I did find Alta Lake State Park. It was actually a little disappointing. I'm spoiled by Mount Spokane and Riverside, and I've come to expect lots of trails in my parks. Alta Lake really caters to the speed boaters and has only one trail--and close to 150 camping spots! The RV spots look like they're in a giant parking lot with all the RVs parked side-by-side. I can't quite imagine that kind of camping--it just doesn't look like fun!
I followed the directions on the map posted by the parking area, walking through one loop of the tent camping area to access the hiking trail. The trail turned out to be a gated access road for the first quarter mile or so. When it finally turned into a regular trail, I met some people coming down who warned me of a rattlesnake coiled up in the middle of the trail just past the first switchback. I decided that I would just hike up a little ways and turn back before I got too close to the snake! I only got an extra mile from this stop.
Stats:
Running: 34.3 miles
Hiking: 8.5 miles
Weekly total: 42.8 miles
H-a-T total: 228.14 miles
Today is when things start to get tough--it was the first day of cross country practice! Practice is always hectic on the first day, and then we had to shop for the annual camping trip (food for 25!). I wasn't able to fit my own run in until late afternoon; I repeated my run up to the top of Antoine Peak for 5 miles.
Tuesday, August 21:
Today we loaded the buses at 8am and took off for Liberty Lake for our annual camping trip! We were in for a bit of a rude surprise: the county has completely changed the camping area, and the new camp host was not particularly easy to work with. In the past they've always given us a special rate since we're there with a school team; this year we had to pay close to $100 (just for the girls team! it was more than twice what it cost last year!) for one night of tent camping. That was way out of our budget, but there we were with two buses full of kids. We had to cover it for this year, but I'm already thinking of different camping plans for next year.
The girls had the annual two-mile time trial in the morning, but in the afternoon I took them for a trail run on the Edith Hanson Riding Trail. We did 5 miles, and ended at the little creek to sit in the cold water for 20 minutes--it made my knees feel much happier!
Wednesday, August 22:
It's another tradition to wake up early following the camping trip in order to run to Liberty Lake Falls. When I first started coaching at U-hi that was it: to the falls and back. A couple years ago a few of the girls finally started doing the full loop; this year, all of the girls who made it to the falls also finished the loop (there were a couple girls who were hurting and turned back before the falls). The team is getting tough! Even the newbies didn't question it: of course they were doing the same route that the boys do! This also gave me 7.7 trail miles as I ran with them!
In the afternoon I went up to Mount Spokane with a friend to work on the backside trash project. We managed to sort all of the trash at the second illegal camp--a pile of trash and a pile of scrap metal. We hauled out as much trash as we could carry, and now things are ready for the next work crew--probably next week. That added another .5 mile on Northwest Passage.
Thursday, August 23:
Today the team met at Camp Caro to run the Dishman Hills trails. I sent the girls on a "wander run" (their favorite) while I did Goldback Springs to East/West Pond and out beyond the ponds before returning to Camp Caro. 3.5 miles.
Friday, August 24:
The girls had a hard workout today, so I didn't run with them. I arrived at practice with the car fully packed and ready to head to Winthrop--it's Cutthroat Classic weekend!
I wanted to find a good trail run enroute to Winthrop, but I didn't have much luck. I stopped at Bridgeport State Park thinking that they'd have some good hiking trail there, but they only thing they had was the Dune Trail, a paved interpretive trail. I really wanted to stretch my legs, so I did a short little one-mile run, but I didn't want to run pavement any more than that. I ended up running 3 miles on the Early Winters River Trail after setting up camp and picking up my packet for the race.
Saturday, August 25:
Race day! I got a mile of countable trail running on the Rainy Lake Trail for my warm-up (plus another one or two that weren't countable just running around the parking lots). Then it was race time! It was quickly apparent that I have plenty of endurance with very little speed right now. I guess I really should do some speed work every once in awhile! At any rate, I felt pretty good during the race, but I wasn't very quick. Afterwards I found out that I was the 11th finisher in my age group, which made me a little disappointed until I found out that I was also the 12th female finisher in the race! I certainly was in one tough age group! At any rate, the race was 11.1 miles, which I completed in 1 hour 45 minutes (59 minutes and change for the first five miles to the top, and 45 minutes for the six miles that followed).
Most people would have been satisfied after that, but I wanted more mileage today! We were camping at Klipchuck campground that night, which is adjacent to the Driveway Butte trailhead. We all set out to hike it that afternoon, but the others turned back early. I got a little lost, and afterwards realized that the high point I climbed wasn't Driveway Butte--I think I got lost at about the 3.5 mile mark, so I got 7 trail miles plus who knows how much wandering up to a nearby high point. It was a very pretty view from the top, so I was satisfied.
Sunday, August 26:
Today we planned a day hike loop from the North Cascades Highway: Maple Pass with Lake Ann and Rainy Lake. The hike from Lake Ann up and over the pass was beautiful! It was a little weird to come down the other side and see the highway the whole way. Rainy Lake is very pretty, and has a paved walking path all the way to the lake--that's where we saw the majority of the tourists: people who were driving through and stopped long enough for the easy walk out to the lake viewing platform. This hike was 7 miles.
On the way home I tried and failed to find one state park, but I did find Alta Lake State Park. It was actually a little disappointing. I'm spoiled by Mount Spokane and Riverside, and I've come to expect lots of trails in my parks. Alta Lake really caters to the speed boaters and has only one trail--and close to 150 camping spots! The RV spots look like they're in a giant parking lot with all the RVs parked side-by-side. I can't quite imagine that kind of camping--it just doesn't look like fun!
I followed the directions on the map posted by the parking area, walking through one loop of the tent camping area to access the hiking trail. The trail turned out to be a gated access road for the first quarter mile or so. When it finally turned into a regular trail, I met some people coming down who warned me of a rattlesnake coiled up in the middle of the trail just past the first switchback. I decided that I would just hike up a little ways and turn back before I got too close to the snake! I only got an extra mile from this stop.
Stats:
Running: 34.3 miles
Hiking: 8.5 miles
Weekly total: 42.8 miles
H-a-T total: 228.14 miles
August 13 - August 19, 2012
Monday, August 13:
After the tough weekend, I needed a break today! I only did a 3 mile hike, but I returned from trail 130 with nearly a gallon of ripe huckleberries--and that beats distance most any time!
Tuesday, August 14:
Today I decided that I really should run; after all, I have a race coming up soon! I was short for time, so I just started at my parents' house and ran up to the top of Antoine Peak and back. This means that my actually running distance was longer than the 5 miles I get to count for Hike-a-Thon as I have to subtract the road running. However, by starting where I did I get to avoid the difficult parking situation at the trailhead, take Blaze along for the run, and work in the garden before and after the run. Nice!
Wednesday, August 15:
I showed up to practice to make sure the girls were safe at Iller Creek, but this is the "dead zone" where I'm not actually allowed at practice, so after checking in with them I ran my own loop on the ridge + creek trails (4.5 miles). I don't feel like it's safe to have them meet there without an adult present.
Thursday, August 16:
Today was my second H-a-T WTA work party on Mount Spokane. We drove down to the work location, so hiking distance during the workparty was minimal. I did walk up and down the hill a lot today--I started with tread work, but after lunch I started working on the switchback with Lynn; I was the "rock gatherer" responsible for finding the largest stones I was capable of carrying. Lynn was then able to focus on rock placement for our reinforced switchback--we didn't quite finish it today, but it looked awesome despite being not quite done yet. There's another work party over the weekend, and they'll finish it at that time. The tread was done by the end of the day, and the trail looks fabulous!
I got my mileage in after the workparty--I was one of the hitchhikers to the work location, so after we finished and I signed out, I took our newly-rebuilt trail up 130 to Day Mountain and across to Saddle Junction. I fully intended to walk all the way back to the car and switch into my running shoes for an afternoon trailrun, but I have to admit that I was tired! I had stashed a large container in my backpack for just-in-case, and I changed my mind about running when I saw the huckleberries on 130 and 140. I ended up with 4 miles hiked and nearly another gallon of berries--and all that after a day of trailwork!
Friday, August 17:
Today I drove to Montana for a weekend backpack trip with the Mountaineers. Of course, I screwed it up, although I didn't know it at the time. I wanted to find something new and interesting to hike on my way to the trailhead, but there really wasn't a lot between home and Superior that I haven't already hiked before. The good part was that I stopped in Wallace and found a huge book sale in town--fifty cents for hardbacks and a quarter for paperbacks! I got several choice books (Conrad, Eliot, Atwood, Lawrence, Prolux, a hardback of Adams prints, and even an Oxford Press English translation of the Qur'an!). Instead of a hike enroute, I arrived at the Clearwater Crossing trailhead (the wrong trailhead, but again, I didn't know it at the time), set up my tent for car camping, and then did a dayhike on the Straight Creek Trail until the third water crossing (I couldn't do it without taking off my shoes, and I didn't bring my sandals for the dayhike), and after that I went out the North Fork Fish Lake Trail.
Saturday, August 18:
This was the day that I figured out, too late, that I had screwed up. I was supposed to be meeting people for a backpack trip; some were supposed to arrive ahead of me, and some were supposed to arrive after dark. When I got there on Friday night I saw a car with a Mountaineers plate holder in the parking lot, so I thought everything was fine and that the ones who were supposed to arrive ahead of me were already out on the trail. However, the ones who were supposed to arrive after me never came, and then I began to remember something about a hike to Hart Lake first...which was a long way in the opposite direction from the trail I was on. Oops. I mostly felt awful about being in the wrong place when people elsewhere were expecting me...and also a little stupid for bringing every area guidebook I owned but neglecting to bring my Kinnikinnick with the driving directions to the right trailhead. Oh, well. I came ready to backpack, and I love a good solo trip just as much as a group trip (sometimes more-so!) I started up the West Fork Fish Creek Trail to the Siamese Lakes Trail, determined to make the best of it.
Once I arrived at Lower Siamese Lake I saw the owner of the Mountaineers plated vehicle in the parking lot--Galen was leading a trip up here for the weekend, too! They were doing the loop in three days (whereas I did it in two), and they were still at the lake when I arrived. I was able to take the campsite they vacated (the nicest one at the lake!). It was hot when I arrived, but after a snack and icing my legs in the lake for awhile, I decided to do an extra hike up the ridge near camp. I thought about trying to find the spur trail to the upper lake, but instead settled on taking the main trail to a different spur trail up to a high point on the ridge (that part didn't count for mileage, but I got some great photographs). This is all part of the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness; there are still standing snags from the fire which occurred in 1911, and few trees have returned in the high country. Of course, on the lower portions the trees are either coming back nicely or else still alive with heavily scarred trunks. The lower elevation cedars are especially impressive--massive trees that survived the fire and still have the charred bark to prove it. It was a 15.5 mile day.
Sunday, August 19:
I woke up very, very early to the sound of some large animal crashing through the brush near my tent. I slept with my rainfly on but open, so I peeked out of the tent to see what I could see...and promptly forgot about the existence of potentially dangerous wildlife. The sunrise over the lake was fantastic, and I grabbed my camera and jumped out of the tent to take pictures! I never did figure out what type of critter woke me, but I'm glad it did, whatever it was!
After pictures and breakfast and packing up, I had to do the toughest portion of the whole hike--the section from Lower Siamese Lake to Chilcoot Pass. After that, it was all downhill back to the trailhead. I quickly passed the other backpackers who had beaten me to the trail, and the climb was made less painful by the scenery (I was just stopping to take pictures, not because I was winded--wink, wink). After the pass, the best part of the trail is Straight Creek Cascades. If it's this good in August, I wonder what it looks like in July--and I'll bet one can't reach it much before July. It's really a series of five or six falls--very pretty. I stopped the longest here to take pictures, and then the day was getting hot and I was intent on catching Galen's crew, who had gotten about a 5 or 6 mile head start on me. And I was successful, too! I didn't catch them all, but I did catch the last three people in the last mile of the trail. Back at the trailhead we were shocked at the number of vehicles--mostly horsemen. I didn't see a single horse while on the trail, but there must have been 10-15 horse trailers in the parking lot. The side trails really spread everyone out, and before I had even finished loading the car to go home I was plotting giant loop route out of Clearwater Crossing to try next summer--I haven't worked out all of the details, but I think it's possible to do a 50-60 mile loop from this trailhead! There's a good one to plan for Hike-a-Thon 2013!
On my way home I made a stop at the Montana State Pine Tree State Park--a parking lot and very short trail to the largest Ponderosa Pine in the state of Montana and a primitive camping area. I was hoping for more of a trail since it was a state park, but the tree was probably only 50' from the parking area. I don't know if this will count for State Parks for H-a-T or not, but the tree was impressive. My daily mileage was 11.1.
Stats:
Running total: 9.5 miles (wow. I need to improve that.)
Hike/backpack total: 39.1 miles
Week total: 48.6 miles (can you tell I was tired this week?!)
H-a-T total through 8/19: 185.34 miles
After the tough weekend, I needed a break today! I only did a 3 mile hike, but I returned from trail 130 with nearly a gallon of ripe huckleberries--and that beats distance most any time!
Tuesday, August 14:
Today I decided that I really should run; after all, I have a race coming up soon! I was short for time, so I just started at my parents' house and ran up to the top of Antoine Peak and back. This means that my actually running distance was longer than the 5 miles I get to count for Hike-a-Thon as I have to subtract the road running. However, by starting where I did I get to avoid the difficult parking situation at the trailhead, take Blaze along for the run, and work in the garden before and after the run. Nice!
Wednesday, August 15:
I showed up to practice to make sure the girls were safe at Iller Creek, but this is the "dead zone" where I'm not actually allowed at practice, so after checking in with them I ran my own loop on the ridge + creek trails (4.5 miles). I don't feel like it's safe to have them meet there without an adult present.
Thursday, August 16:
Today was my second H-a-T WTA work party on Mount Spokane. We drove down to the work location, so hiking distance during the workparty was minimal. I did walk up and down the hill a lot today--I started with tread work, but after lunch I started working on the switchback with Lynn; I was the "rock gatherer" responsible for finding the largest stones I was capable of carrying. Lynn was then able to focus on rock placement for our reinforced switchback--we didn't quite finish it today, but it looked awesome despite being not quite done yet. There's another work party over the weekend, and they'll finish it at that time. The tread was done by the end of the day, and the trail looks fabulous!
I got my mileage in after the workparty--I was one of the hitchhikers to the work location, so after we finished and I signed out, I took our newly-rebuilt trail up 130 to Day Mountain and across to Saddle Junction. I fully intended to walk all the way back to the car and switch into my running shoes for an afternoon trailrun, but I have to admit that I was tired! I had stashed a large container in my backpack for just-in-case, and I changed my mind about running when I saw the huckleberries on 130 and 140. I ended up with 4 miles hiked and nearly another gallon of berries--and all that after a day of trailwork!
Friday, August 17:
Today I drove to Montana for a weekend backpack trip with the Mountaineers. Of course, I screwed it up, although I didn't know it at the time. I wanted to find something new and interesting to hike on my way to the trailhead, but there really wasn't a lot between home and Superior that I haven't already hiked before. The good part was that I stopped in Wallace and found a huge book sale in town--fifty cents for hardbacks and a quarter for paperbacks! I got several choice books (Conrad, Eliot, Atwood, Lawrence, Prolux, a hardback of Adams prints, and even an Oxford Press English translation of the Qur'an!). Instead of a hike enroute, I arrived at the Clearwater Crossing trailhead (the wrong trailhead, but again, I didn't know it at the time), set up my tent for car camping, and then did a dayhike on the Straight Creek Trail until the third water crossing (I couldn't do it without taking off my shoes, and I didn't bring my sandals for the dayhike), and after that I went out the North Fork Fish Lake Trail.
Saturday, August 18:
This was the day that I figured out, too late, that I had screwed up. I was supposed to be meeting people for a backpack trip; some were supposed to arrive ahead of me, and some were supposed to arrive after dark. When I got there on Friday night I saw a car with a Mountaineers plate holder in the parking lot, so I thought everything was fine and that the ones who were supposed to arrive ahead of me were already out on the trail. However, the ones who were supposed to arrive after me never came, and then I began to remember something about a hike to Hart Lake first...which was a long way in the opposite direction from the trail I was on. Oops. I mostly felt awful about being in the wrong place when people elsewhere were expecting me...and also a little stupid for bringing every area guidebook I owned but neglecting to bring my Kinnikinnick with the driving directions to the right trailhead. Oh, well. I came ready to backpack, and I love a good solo trip just as much as a group trip (sometimes more-so!) I started up the West Fork Fish Creek Trail to the Siamese Lakes Trail, determined to make the best of it.
Once I arrived at Lower Siamese Lake I saw the owner of the Mountaineers plated vehicle in the parking lot--Galen was leading a trip up here for the weekend, too! They were doing the loop in three days (whereas I did it in two), and they were still at the lake when I arrived. I was able to take the campsite they vacated (the nicest one at the lake!). It was hot when I arrived, but after a snack and icing my legs in the lake for awhile, I decided to do an extra hike up the ridge near camp. I thought about trying to find the spur trail to the upper lake, but instead settled on taking the main trail to a different spur trail up to a high point on the ridge (that part didn't count for mileage, but I got some great photographs). This is all part of the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness; there are still standing snags from the fire which occurred in 1911, and few trees have returned in the high country. Of course, on the lower portions the trees are either coming back nicely or else still alive with heavily scarred trunks. The lower elevation cedars are especially impressive--massive trees that survived the fire and still have the charred bark to prove it. It was a 15.5 mile day.
Sunday, August 19:
I woke up very, very early to the sound of some large animal crashing through the brush near my tent. I slept with my rainfly on but open, so I peeked out of the tent to see what I could see...and promptly forgot about the existence of potentially dangerous wildlife. The sunrise over the lake was fantastic, and I grabbed my camera and jumped out of the tent to take pictures! I never did figure out what type of critter woke me, but I'm glad it did, whatever it was!
After pictures and breakfast and packing up, I had to do the toughest portion of the whole hike--the section from Lower Siamese Lake to Chilcoot Pass. After that, it was all downhill back to the trailhead. I quickly passed the other backpackers who had beaten me to the trail, and the climb was made less painful by the scenery (I was just stopping to take pictures, not because I was winded--wink, wink). After the pass, the best part of the trail is Straight Creek Cascades. If it's this good in August, I wonder what it looks like in July--and I'll bet one can't reach it much before July. It's really a series of five or six falls--very pretty. I stopped the longest here to take pictures, and then the day was getting hot and I was intent on catching Galen's crew, who had gotten about a 5 or 6 mile head start on me. And I was successful, too! I didn't catch them all, but I did catch the last three people in the last mile of the trail. Back at the trailhead we were shocked at the number of vehicles--mostly horsemen. I didn't see a single horse while on the trail, but there must have been 10-15 horse trailers in the parking lot. The side trails really spread everyone out, and before I had even finished loading the car to go home I was plotting giant loop route out of Clearwater Crossing to try next summer--I haven't worked out all of the details, but I think it's possible to do a 50-60 mile loop from this trailhead! There's a good one to plan for Hike-a-Thon 2013!
On my way home I made a stop at the Montana State Pine Tree State Park--a parking lot and very short trail to the largest Ponderosa Pine in the state of Montana and a primitive camping area. I was hoping for more of a trail since it was a state park, but the tree was probably only 50' from the parking area. I don't know if this will count for State Parks for H-a-T or not, but the tree was impressive. My daily mileage was 11.1.
Stats:
Running total: 9.5 miles (wow. I need to improve that.)
Hike/backpack total: 39.1 miles
Week total: 48.6 miles (can you tell I was tired this week?!)
H-a-T total through 8/19: 185.34 miles
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
August 6 - August 12, 2012
Monday, August 6:
Today I needed to make up for lost gardening time, so I spent my morning getting caught up. In the afternoon, I had a meeting to attend. I wanted to find something close to the meeting location (near Cheney), so I settled on Turnbull Wildlife Refuge. As it turns out, there isn't a lot of hiking at Turnbull. The longest trail was closed for repairs, but we hiked Headwaters Pond Trail (and saw a family of swans!), then the Blackhorse Lake trail, then part of the 30 Acre Lake/Beaver Pond trail. Then it was time to go to the meeting...so tonight was only 3 miles total.
Tuesday, August 7:
Today I did a 6 mile trail run at Mount Spokane on trails 100 and 130, followed by a hike on Upper 140 and around the CCC cabin.
Wednesday, August 8:
Iller Creek run! I ran to the top while the girls did their run elsewhere, and then I met them on the trail (where I had to do an extra out-and-back to catch one of the girls who ran the wrong way) before returning to the trailhead (plus another out-and-back when I dropped my pepper spray and didn't realize it for 1/4 mile!). 6 miles/running.
Thursday, August 9:
Today was a busy day--I did four different routes!
I started with a mile route along trail 130 and the heritage area--I was putting up signs to remind people that the heritage area is a walk-only zone. Unfortunately, lots of people have been ignoring the bike-ban in the heritage area; lately, some people have been using the CCC-era rock landscaping as jump routes. Frustrating. We'll see how effective the signs are; if this keeps up, mountain bikes are apt to be banned from the west side of the park.
After that I needed to hike down to the trash pile on the backside of the mountain to check my GPS coordinates. This one is an illegal winter camp--people have cut lots of trees and left piles of garbage. Awesome. 'Cause until you're caught in the act, it's okay to totally disregard all park rules, several laws, and throw reason to the wind, right? At any rate, I added a 1/2 mile on the hike in & out on Northwest Passage (it was longer down to the trash, but I only counted the trail). Later that afternoon I did the trip again, this time with a group. I hauled out a pack of trash both times; it was perhaps fifty pounds total for me, and around 300 pounds total for the group (and I've been down once before with another person and we probably hauled out close to 100 pounds that time). We're not even done with it yet; there is a lot of trash down there. And that's why I'm sometimes a misanthrope.
In between my trash-hauling hikes, I did a nice trail run in the Nordic area for a total of seven miles. The huckleberries were ripe, so I was forced to take a few snack breaks. My total mileage for the day was nine miles.
Friday, August 10:
I left today for my backpack trip--we planned to meet at Gypsy Meadows in the afternoon to carcamp, and then start early Saturday morning. Of course, I needed to get some mileage in today, too! I fully intended to go to Pend O'reille county park for a trailrun, but I missed the turn-off. It's a long way north before there's a way to turn around and go back, so I decided to continue north and try the Bead Lake trail instead. I've only ever done this trail in the winter, so I was really interested in seeing what it is like in the summer. I'm not sure if I would have done the whole thing if I'd known the mileage beforehand; the trailhead sign doesn't mention mileage. I also don't know if I would have done the whole thing if my watch wasn't broken--I had no idea how long it took me until I was back in the car at the end and saw my car's clock (about two hours had passed!). Only once I got home did I find a website that established the mileage from where I parked to the end of the spur trail and back as 13.24 miles. Just a little more than a half-marathon! I actually felt pretty good until the last for or five miles, and even then it was mainly that I was super thirsty and it had gotten hot outside (I rarely run with a water bottle). The only bad part was that a bee/wasp flew into my face at about the two mile mark, and it stung me on my lip! It might have been okay if it had stung me in the middle of my lip, but it stung on the side--so I ended up with a funny fat lip that I could actually see out of the corner of my eye if I looked down. I must have looked really funny to the mountain bikers and hikers I passed! Most of the swelling went down by the time I finished the run, and fortunately, I never suffer adverse effects from bee stings--fat lip aside.
I was really tired after the run, but I wasn't done yet. I continued my drive north, and I did the side trip up to Crawford State Park and Gardner Cave. I haven't done this trip since I was a little kid; the cave was great, and I did the side hike up to the Canadian border swath, too.
And I still wasn't done! I'm determined to get to a waterfall hike or two, but they are hard to find in Eastern Washington. For my last hike of the day, I did Elk Creek Falls. I even managed to get some really good pictures of it! Of course, they are still on my camera; I'll try to post one later if I have time.
Trip totals: 13.24 at Bead Lake + 1.5 at Crawford State Park + 2.1 at Elk Creek Falls = 16.84 mile for the day!
Saturday, August 11:
Backpack trip! We started at Gypsy Meadows and hiked up the Thunder Creek Trail to intersect the Shedroof Divide. We did the side trip up the spur trail to the site of the old Thunder Creek Lookout for our lunch break, and then continued out the divide to intersect the Salmo Divide Trail. We took that down to the parking lot for the Salmo Loop, and then dropped down into the basin to camp at the nice site just before the river crossing. There we so many cars in the Salmo Loop parking lot! However, we only saw two day-hikers for the entire day. Daily mileage = 21.3.
Sunday, August 12:
Today we completed the Salmo Loop, headed back up the giant climb by Shedroof Mountain (maybe I was just really, really tired, but that thing was tough) and then exited the Shedroof Divide via the Shedroof Cutoff Trail. That part was 19.3 miles, but then I added a mile more by stopping at Sweet Creek Falls to hike the interpretive trails on my way home. The waterfall is awesome, even in August (I really need to go see what it looks like in the spring!), and the trail signs are hilarious--they make it seem like it must be the most rugged, dangerous mostly paved trail around!
Hike-a-Thon Mileage through week 2: 144.5 miles
Running: 31 miles
Hiking: 50.2 miles
Total mileage for the week: 81.2 miles
Today I needed to make up for lost gardening time, so I spent my morning getting caught up. In the afternoon, I had a meeting to attend. I wanted to find something close to the meeting location (near Cheney), so I settled on Turnbull Wildlife Refuge. As it turns out, there isn't a lot of hiking at Turnbull. The longest trail was closed for repairs, but we hiked Headwaters Pond Trail (and saw a family of swans!), then the Blackhorse Lake trail, then part of the 30 Acre Lake/Beaver Pond trail. Then it was time to go to the meeting...so tonight was only 3 miles total.
Tuesday, August 7:
Today I did a 6 mile trail run at Mount Spokane on trails 100 and 130, followed by a hike on Upper 140 and around the CCC cabin.
Wednesday, August 8:
Iller Creek run! I ran to the top while the girls did their run elsewhere, and then I met them on the trail (where I had to do an extra out-and-back to catch one of the girls who ran the wrong way) before returning to the trailhead (plus another out-and-back when I dropped my pepper spray and didn't realize it for 1/4 mile!). 6 miles/running.
Thursday, August 9:
Today was a busy day--I did four different routes!
I started with a mile route along trail 130 and the heritage area--I was putting up signs to remind people that the heritage area is a walk-only zone. Unfortunately, lots of people have been ignoring the bike-ban in the heritage area; lately, some people have been using the CCC-era rock landscaping as jump routes. Frustrating. We'll see how effective the signs are; if this keeps up, mountain bikes are apt to be banned from the west side of the park.
After that I needed to hike down to the trash pile on the backside of the mountain to check my GPS coordinates. This one is an illegal winter camp--people have cut lots of trees and left piles of garbage. Awesome. 'Cause until you're caught in the act, it's okay to totally disregard all park rules, several laws, and throw reason to the wind, right? At any rate, I added a 1/2 mile on the hike in & out on Northwest Passage (it was longer down to the trash, but I only counted the trail). Later that afternoon I did the trip again, this time with a group. I hauled out a pack of trash both times; it was perhaps fifty pounds total for me, and around 300 pounds total for the group (and I've been down once before with another person and we probably hauled out close to 100 pounds that time). We're not even done with it yet; there is a lot of trash down there. And that's why I'm sometimes a misanthrope.
In between my trash-hauling hikes, I did a nice trail run in the Nordic area for a total of seven miles. The huckleberries were ripe, so I was forced to take a few snack breaks. My total mileage for the day was nine miles.
Friday, August 10:
I left today for my backpack trip--we planned to meet at Gypsy Meadows in the afternoon to carcamp, and then start early Saturday morning. Of course, I needed to get some mileage in today, too! I fully intended to go to Pend O'reille county park for a trailrun, but I missed the turn-off. It's a long way north before there's a way to turn around and go back, so I decided to continue north and try the Bead Lake trail instead. I've only ever done this trail in the winter, so I was really interested in seeing what it is like in the summer. I'm not sure if I would have done the whole thing if I'd known the mileage beforehand; the trailhead sign doesn't mention mileage. I also don't know if I would have done the whole thing if my watch wasn't broken--I had no idea how long it took me until I was back in the car at the end and saw my car's clock (about two hours had passed!). Only once I got home did I find a website that established the mileage from where I parked to the end of the spur trail and back as 13.24 miles. Just a little more than a half-marathon! I actually felt pretty good until the last for or five miles, and even then it was mainly that I was super thirsty and it had gotten hot outside (I rarely run with a water bottle). The only bad part was that a bee/wasp flew into my face at about the two mile mark, and it stung me on my lip! It might have been okay if it had stung me in the middle of my lip, but it stung on the side--so I ended up with a funny fat lip that I could actually see out of the corner of my eye if I looked down. I must have looked really funny to the mountain bikers and hikers I passed! Most of the swelling went down by the time I finished the run, and fortunately, I never suffer adverse effects from bee stings--fat lip aside.
I was really tired after the run, but I wasn't done yet. I continued my drive north, and I did the side trip up to Crawford State Park and Gardner Cave. I haven't done this trip since I was a little kid; the cave was great, and I did the side hike up to the Canadian border swath, too.
And I still wasn't done! I'm determined to get to a waterfall hike or two, but they are hard to find in Eastern Washington. For my last hike of the day, I did Elk Creek Falls. I even managed to get some really good pictures of it! Of course, they are still on my camera; I'll try to post one later if I have time.
Trip totals: 13.24 at Bead Lake + 1.5 at Crawford State Park + 2.1 at Elk Creek Falls = 16.84 mile for the day!
Saturday, August 11:
Backpack trip! We started at Gypsy Meadows and hiked up the Thunder Creek Trail to intersect the Shedroof Divide. We did the side trip up the spur trail to the site of the old Thunder Creek Lookout for our lunch break, and then continued out the divide to intersect the Salmo Divide Trail. We took that down to the parking lot for the Salmo Loop, and then dropped down into the basin to camp at the nice site just before the river crossing. There we so many cars in the Salmo Loop parking lot! However, we only saw two day-hikers for the entire day. Daily mileage = 21.3.
Sunday, August 12:
Today we completed the Salmo Loop, headed back up the giant climb by Shedroof Mountain (maybe I was just really, really tired, but that thing was tough) and then exited the Shedroof Divide via the Shedroof Cutoff Trail. That part was 19.3 miles, but then I added a mile more by stopping at Sweet Creek Falls to hike the interpretive trails on my way home. The waterfall is awesome, even in August (I really need to go see what it looks like in the spring!), and the trail signs are hilarious--they make it seem like it must be the most rugged, dangerous mostly paved trail around!
Hike-a-Thon Mileage through week 2: 144.5 miles
Running: 31 miles
Hiking: 50.2 miles
Total mileage for the week: 81.2 miles
Sunday, August 5, 2012
July 30 - August 5: Hike-a-Thon begins!
I took Monday and Tuesday in order to recuperate after the weekend--my knees and my left ankle were swollen on Monday. I did borrow a bike at Monday's xc practice and I rode a few miles with the team, but otherwise I laid low.
Wednesday, August 1: I started this thing off right with a morning trailrun from Iller Creek trailhead up the creek-side trail, over to Rocks of Sharon, and then down the ridge trail. This is the first time I've been to the top of the creek-side trail since the WTA finished the re-route at the top--it's fantastic! This used to be a hard trail to follow in the upper portion, but now it's easy to follow and the grade is better besides! Distance = 5 miles. My watch is broken, so I don't know the elapsed time! In the afternoon I went up to the chalet and hiked from there up trail 131 and 130 to meet the Mountaineers for the Wednesday night hike. The group started at Bald Knob and hiked out 130 past the CCC cabin and out to Day Mountain. It was an out-and-back hike, and I made it longer by starting and finishing at the chalet instead of the campground. Distance = 7.4 miles. Wednesday total = 13.4 miles; ??? elevation gain (note to self: look up Iller Creek!).
Thursday, August 2: Part of the reason why I spent the night at the chalet was because I was doing WTA trailwork on the mountain on Thursday, and I didn't want to bother with the drive home in the evening when I knew I'd be returning early in the morning. Since I was already on the mountain, I was able to arrive at the trailhead for the trailwork early and get in a morning run first. I ran the loop from the KC Loop Road TH up and across 100 and back on the KC Loop Road, and then I did an out-and-back on trail 103 to check out the trail condition. It was only 2.3 miles. Then we did trailwork--the beginnings of the re-route of 130 off Day Mountain where it meets the KC Loop Road. We worked all day, but I don't think I hiked more than a mile for the whole thing--mainly as I went farther down 130 to find a "pink tree." After the trailwork I added to my mileage by walking back up from the worksite--in time to witness some mountain bikers jumping off the rockwork in the CCC cabin Heritage Area. I confronted one of them, not that it did much good. I then channeled my anger into an afternoon trailrun: back to the lower KC Loop Road TH for a run on the big 100 loop out to Smith Gap for 3.5 miles more. I still wasn't done, either--it was the church bbq night, and I was scheduled to help with rootbeer floats at the Community Center at 5:30 pm! This day was exhausting! Thursday total = 8.9 miles; 1,349' elevation gain.
Friday, August 3: Today I lost my momentum. It's supposed to be Cake Walk weekend, but two weeks ago a massive windstorm hit Ferry County. It was devastating--100 mile-per-hour winds knocked down trees all over the county. Homes lost power, Sherman Pass closed due to trees (and powerlines) falling across the road, and of course, the trails took a beating. I wanted to try the Thirteen Mile hike from the Bear Pot TH, but I soon found my path completely blocked. I couldn't even tell which way the trail went! I think I made it about 3/4-mile before I was forced to turn back. It was unfortunate, considering the dusty forest service road I had to drive to get to the trailhead; I managed to console myself with the massive wild strawberry patch I found at the trailhead. This was only 1.5 miles for the day.
I was supposed to meet Deb and Jeff at the White Mountain TH south of Sherman Pass, but I decided to stop at the Pass en-route to check trail conditions there. I didn't get any useful information from the trailhead register, but I did discover that trails 93 and 86 east from the Pass were still blocked by downfall. It wasn't looking good for Cake Walk. I made it another mile round-trip, for a total of 2.5 for the day.
Then came the final nail in the Cake Walk coffin: I started for the White Mountain TH, and discovered that the access road was blocked. The sign said that the bridge was washed out. No Cake Walk for this year--I drove to the Jungle Hill Campground instead.
Saturday, August 4: It wasn't Cake Walk (there goes the mega-mileage!) but we still managed to pull off a good day on the Kettle Crest. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (not that 4am start time we'd originally planned!) and then headed for Sherman Pass. We hiked to the summit of Columbia Mountain (including the round-the-mountain trail) and just hung out at the top for nearly an hour. Deb headed back to the Pass after that, but Jeff and I continued north on the Kettle Crest to the intersection with the Jungle Hill Trail. We snacked and I filtered there, and then we decided to walk out as far as the Wapaloosie Trail intersection before returning via the Jungle Hill Trail. Deb gave me a ride back to the Pass to pick up my car. The daily total was 18.2, and I was so tired afterwards that I was rather glad that we hadn't been able to tackle the 43-miler!
Sunday, August 5: I got an early start to do the Sherman Peak Loop as a trailrun before breakfast. It was rather miserable; I felt terrible while running for some reason. However, the wildflowers were spectacular on loop--I've never seen lupine bloom so profusely before. It's not exactly a strongly-scented flower, but in places along this route the air was heavily perfumed. The run was 5.9 miles.
After that I returned to Jungle Hill to pack up and make breakfast. We planned a trip to Emerald Lake before returning home from the weekend, and it was a good day for a swim! The hike in was so hot! I still wasn't brave enough to dive right in, but after I got used to the water I started swimming for the far end of the lake. The water level was still very high, and the water clarity was unbelievable! I was treading water where it was probably 20-30' deep, and I could still make out the rocks on the bottom. No seaweed in this lake! Hiking mileage = 6.4 miles.
Hike-a-Thon Mileage for week 1: 63.3 miles
Running: 17.7
Hiking: 45.6
Total mileage for the week: 63.3
Wednesday, August 1: I started this thing off right with a morning trailrun from Iller Creek trailhead up the creek-side trail, over to Rocks of Sharon, and then down the ridge trail. This is the first time I've been to the top of the creek-side trail since the WTA finished the re-route at the top--it's fantastic! This used to be a hard trail to follow in the upper portion, but now it's easy to follow and the grade is better besides! Distance = 5 miles. My watch is broken, so I don't know the elapsed time! In the afternoon I went up to the chalet and hiked from there up trail 131 and 130 to meet the Mountaineers for the Wednesday night hike. The group started at Bald Knob and hiked out 130 past the CCC cabin and out to Day Mountain. It was an out-and-back hike, and I made it longer by starting and finishing at the chalet instead of the campground. Distance = 7.4 miles. Wednesday total = 13.4 miles; ??? elevation gain (note to self: look up Iller Creek!).
Thursday, August 2: Part of the reason why I spent the night at the chalet was because I was doing WTA trailwork on the mountain on Thursday, and I didn't want to bother with the drive home in the evening when I knew I'd be returning early in the morning. Since I was already on the mountain, I was able to arrive at the trailhead for the trailwork early and get in a morning run first. I ran the loop from the KC Loop Road TH up and across 100 and back on the KC Loop Road, and then I did an out-and-back on trail 103 to check out the trail condition. It was only 2.3 miles. Then we did trailwork--the beginnings of the re-route of 130 off Day Mountain where it meets the KC Loop Road. We worked all day, but I don't think I hiked more than a mile for the whole thing--mainly as I went farther down 130 to find a "pink tree." After the trailwork I added to my mileage by walking back up from the worksite--in time to witness some mountain bikers jumping off the rockwork in the CCC cabin Heritage Area. I confronted one of them, not that it did much good. I then channeled my anger into an afternoon trailrun: back to the lower KC Loop Road TH for a run on the big 100 loop out to Smith Gap for 3.5 miles more. I still wasn't done, either--it was the church bbq night, and I was scheduled to help with rootbeer floats at the Community Center at 5:30 pm! This day was exhausting! Thursday total = 8.9 miles; 1,349' elevation gain.
Friday, August 3: Today I lost my momentum. It's supposed to be Cake Walk weekend, but two weeks ago a massive windstorm hit Ferry County. It was devastating--100 mile-per-hour winds knocked down trees all over the county. Homes lost power, Sherman Pass closed due to trees (and powerlines) falling across the road, and of course, the trails took a beating. I wanted to try the Thirteen Mile hike from the Bear Pot TH, but I soon found my path completely blocked. I couldn't even tell which way the trail went! I think I made it about 3/4-mile before I was forced to turn back. It was unfortunate, considering the dusty forest service road I had to drive to get to the trailhead; I managed to console myself with the massive wild strawberry patch I found at the trailhead. This was only 1.5 miles for the day.
I was supposed to meet Deb and Jeff at the White Mountain TH south of Sherman Pass, but I decided to stop at the Pass en-route to check trail conditions there. I didn't get any useful information from the trailhead register, but I did discover that trails 93 and 86 east from the Pass were still blocked by downfall. It wasn't looking good for Cake Walk. I made it another mile round-trip, for a total of 2.5 for the day.
Then came the final nail in the Cake Walk coffin: I started for the White Mountain TH, and discovered that the access road was blocked. The sign said that the bridge was washed out. No Cake Walk for this year--I drove to the Jungle Hill Campground instead.
Saturday, August 4: It wasn't Cake Walk (there goes the mega-mileage!) but we still managed to pull off a good day on the Kettle Crest. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (not that 4am start time we'd originally planned!) and then headed for Sherman Pass. We hiked to the summit of Columbia Mountain (including the round-the-mountain trail) and just hung out at the top for nearly an hour. Deb headed back to the Pass after that, but Jeff and I continued north on the Kettle Crest to the intersection with the Jungle Hill Trail. We snacked and I filtered there, and then we decided to walk out as far as the Wapaloosie Trail intersection before returning via the Jungle Hill Trail. Deb gave me a ride back to the Pass to pick up my car. The daily total was 18.2, and I was so tired afterwards that I was rather glad that we hadn't been able to tackle the 43-miler!
Sunday, August 5: I got an early start to do the Sherman Peak Loop as a trailrun before breakfast. It was rather miserable; I felt terrible while running for some reason. However, the wildflowers were spectacular on loop--I've never seen lupine bloom so profusely before. It's not exactly a strongly-scented flower, but in places along this route the air was heavily perfumed. The run was 5.9 miles.
After that I returned to Jungle Hill to pack up and make breakfast. We planned a trip to Emerald Lake before returning home from the weekend, and it was a good day for a swim! The hike in was so hot! I still wasn't brave enough to dive right in, but after I got used to the water I started swimming for the far end of the lake. The water level was still very high, and the water clarity was unbelievable! I was treading water where it was probably 20-30' deep, and I could still make out the rocks on the bottom. No seaweed in this lake! Hiking mileage = 6.4 miles.
Hike-a-Thon Mileage for week 1: 63.3 miles
Running: 17.7
Hiking: 45.6
Total mileage for the week: 63.3
July 23 - July 29, 2012
I was a little sore and tired after the 28th, so I took Monday off. By Tuesday I was back to running (Mount Spokane, 4.5 miles), but I was still sore and very, very slow. Wednesday was back to normal--Iller Creek to Big Rock and back on the creek-side trail (6 miles in 54:57) and it felt great! This was the first time Ashley & Elizabeth made it to the top without walking, and they were so excited about it! I took Thursday off in preparation for the weekend backpack trip: Enchantments!
I had the early-morning carpool to Leavenworth--our task was to claim some good car-camping for Friday night (those Leavenworth campgrounds always fill so early!), pick up our permits, and find a nice little dayhike to do in the afternoon. We settled on the Icicle River Loop Trail, a distance of only 4 miles and a very nice, easy hike.
Saturday and Sunday were the main events: we met at the Snow Lake trailhead at 7am to begin our hike, hiked in to Snow Lake to set up camp, and then three of us continued up to the Enchantments to Prusik Pass (the other three went as far as the top of the Snow Lake trail and the Lower Enchantments. I determined it was about a 13.9 mile day, although we later had reason to believe that the mileage listed for Snow Lake was incorrect. On Sunday four of us woke up at 4am to return to the Enchantment Zone, this time to hike to the top of Aasgard Pass. We took our time and took tons of pictures, and then we returned (down that dreaded Snow Lake Trail!) to camp to pack up and head for home. It was at this point that we were convinced that the distance indicated on the map was wrong--it says 6.5 miles, but it took us over 4 hours to come down from the lakes. We actually ran the last portion of the trail, too. There's no way 6.5 miles should take so long.
Weekly mileage: 10.5 running & 33.4 hiking
I had the early-morning carpool to Leavenworth--our task was to claim some good car-camping for Friday night (those Leavenworth campgrounds always fill so early!), pick up our permits, and find a nice little dayhike to do in the afternoon. We settled on the Icicle River Loop Trail, a distance of only 4 miles and a very nice, easy hike.
Saturday and Sunday were the main events: we met at the Snow Lake trailhead at 7am to begin our hike, hiked in to Snow Lake to set up camp, and then three of us continued up to the Enchantments to Prusik Pass (the other three went as far as the top of the Snow Lake trail and the Lower Enchantments. I determined it was about a 13.9 mile day, although we later had reason to believe that the mileage listed for Snow Lake was incorrect. On Sunday four of us woke up at 4am to return to the Enchantment Zone, this time to hike to the top of Aasgard Pass. We took our time and took tons of pictures, and then we returned (down that dreaded Snow Lake Trail!) to camp to pack up and head for home. It was at this point that we were convinced that the distance indicated on the map was wrong--it says 6.5 miles, but it took us over 4 hours to come down from the lakes. We actually ran the last portion of the trail, too. There's no way 6.5 miles should take so long.
Weekly mileage: 10.5 running & 33.4 hiking
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
July 16 - July 22
This week was more like it! This was a good running week and a good hiking week--more like what I'll need to do during Hike-a-Thon next month (although I'll still need higher mileage than this)!
I started the week with a run from the high school up Mohawk. I always thought this was longer, but I drove it after and it's only 4.5 miles.
On Tuesday I worked at the park and went for a run on my lunch break--up trail 110, across the Lower Kit Carson Loop Road and down lower 140 back to the park entrance (6 miles). After that I met Lynn for trailwork on trail 160--about a 3 mile hike from the Cook's Cabin trailhead.
On Wednesday I was at Iller Creek. We didn't go to the top this time, but instead took the side trail on the right side from the parking lot. It was about 4 miles. In the afternoon I returned to the mountain for the Wednesday night hike to Horse & Quartz Mountains, adding 6 miles of hiking to my day.
Thursday was my short day with only a 2 mile hike on Mount Spokane, but on Friday I was back in the Dishman Hills for a 5.5 miler.
For the weekend I joined a WTA workparty in the Salmo Priest Wilderness. There were so many cars at the trailhead--this place is getting popular! We only hiked about 4 miles on Saturday, but on Sunday Derrick and I completed the loop following trailwork, so it was a 20 mile day! I was so tired--we worked from 7:30-2:45, and then hiked from 2:45-8:05. I think we only stopped and sat down three times during the entire hike--just long enough to filter water and eat something.
Run = 20 miles & hike = 35 miles
I started the week with a run from the high school up Mohawk. I always thought this was longer, but I drove it after and it's only 4.5 miles.
On Tuesday I worked at the park and went for a run on my lunch break--up trail 110, across the Lower Kit Carson Loop Road and down lower 140 back to the park entrance (6 miles). After that I met Lynn for trailwork on trail 160--about a 3 mile hike from the Cook's Cabin trailhead.
On Wednesday I was at Iller Creek. We didn't go to the top this time, but instead took the side trail on the right side from the parking lot. It was about 4 miles. In the afternoon I returned to the mountain for the Wednesday night hike to Horse & Quartz Mountains, adding 6 miles of hiking to my day.
Thursday was my short day with only a 2 mile hike on Mount Spokane, but on Friday I was back in the Dishman Hills for a 5.5 miler.
For the weekend I joined a WTA workparty in the Salmo Priest Wilderness. There were so many cars at the trailhead--this place is getting popular! We only hiked about 4 miles on Saturday, but on Sunday Derrick and I completed the loop following trailwork, so it was a 20 mile day! I was so tired--we worked from 7:30-2:45, and then hiked from 2:45-8:05. I think we only stopped and sat down three times during the entire hike--just long enough to filter water and eat something.
Run = 20 miles & hike = 35 miles
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
July 9 - July 15, 2012
Time to get back to running this week! I did the easy 3-miler from home on Tuesday, so that's no big deal. Wednesday was better--I went to Big Rock with the team for a 5.5 miler. Friday was back to the Dishman Hills for a 4.5 mile run from Camp Caro out & around Eagle Peak and back. That afternoon we had some of the girls up at Mount Spokane for a campout before Foam Fest, and I took them for a 3 mile hike up to Bald Knob & then over to Selkirk to check out the Foam Fest setup. I was only able to pull off a mile or so during Foam Fest, just running back and forth between the trail junctions taking pictures. Sunday was better--I returned to the mountain for an afternoon trailrun from Bald Knob out to the CCC cabin, then up Mt. Kit Carson and back on the Saddle between Kit Carson and Day and the 130 trail for a 6.5 mile run.
Totals = 20.5 running & 3 miles hiking
Totals = 20.5 running & 3 miles hiking
July 2 - July 8
I was a little tired and sore on Monday, so I took the day off. I worked Tuesday.
But Wednesday was the 4th of July, and time for a backpack trip! The plan was to go to White Pass and hike the PCT south in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. We did make it to the Wilderness boundary...then we found ourselves in the ski area...then in the Wilderness...then in the ski area. There was so much snow that we kept losing the trail! We finally reached the edge of the ski area beneath Hogback Ridge and could clearly see...nothing but snow. So much for Shoe Lake and points beyond. We made the most of it, however--we camped along the edge of the ski area and spent the evening taking sunset pictures of Rainer. I hiked to the highpoint on Hogback Ridge and could see Mount Adams, too.
Thursday we decided to return to the car and try the PCT north instead. From our vantage point, it seemed that there was less snow on the other side of the highway. We walked down through the ski area in crusty snow, and then had a leisurely lunch in the parking lot at Leech Lake. We decided to try a loop hike to Bumping Lake and back on the PCT. The trail was snow-free through the Dark Meadow, but as we started to climb to Bumping Lake there was more and more snow. Thankfully the trails in the Cascades all have lots of blazes. We never would have found the lake had this been an east-side trail! The lake was also fairly snowy, but we managed to find a nice snow-free campsite on a highpoint overlooking the lake.
Friday we tried to continue up to find the PCT intersection, but we couldn't find it. The next lake up was surrounded by snow. We got some more great Rainer pictures, but it was clear that we would not be able to finish the loop. Instead we located a side trail near Bumping Lake and hiked to some other nearby lakes that were lower in elevation. Once back at camp, we entertained ourselves by playing catch-and-release with the crawdads in the lake, and then hiked around the lake on a little-used path. We decided that we had located the very best campsite on the entire lake; by Friday evening, there was one other group camping nearby.
We were originally going to stay through Sunday, but we'd already explored everything that was snow-free, so we decided to head back a day early. It was a good thing, too. I'm not sure how many groups we passed on the way out, but they were all heading to Bumping Lake. There were definitely not enough campsites to absorb all of the backpackers heading in; we may have had the best campsite, but I'm glad we didn't have to experience the overcrowding! On Sunday I played catch-up in the garden.
Weekly total = 26 miles (all hiking)
But Wednesday was the 4th of July, and time for a backpack trip! The plan was to go to White Pass and hike the PCT south in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. We did make it to the Wilderness boundary...then we found ourselves in the ski area...then in the Wilderness...then in the ski area. There was so much snow that we kept losing the trail! We finally reached the edge of the ski area beneath Hogback Ridge and could clearly see...nothing but snow. So much for Shoe Lake and points beyond. We made the most of it, however--we camped along the edge of the ski area and spent the evening taking sunset pictures of Rainer. I hiked to the highpoint on Hogback Ridge and could see Mount Adams, too.
Thursday we decided to return to the car and try the PCT north instead. From our vantage point, it seemed that there was less snow on the other side of the highway. We walked down through the ski area in crusty snow, and then had a leisurely lunch in the parking lot at Leech Lake. We decided to try a loop hike to Bumping Lake and back on the PCT. The trail was snow-free through the Dark Meadow, but as we started to climb to Bumping Lake there was more and more snow. Thankfully the trails in the Cascades all have lots of blazes. We never would have found the lake had this been an east-side trail! The lake was also fairly snowy, but we managed to find a nice snow-free campsite on a highpoint overlooking the lake.
Friday we tried to continue up to find the PCT intersection, but we couldn't find it. The next lake up was surrounded by snow. We got some more great Rainer pictures, but it was clear that we would not be able to finish the loop. Instead we located a side trail near Bumping Lake and hiked to some other nearby lakes that were lower in elevation. Once back at camp, we entertained ourselves by playing catch-and-release with the crawdads in the lake, and then hiked around the lake on a little-used path. We decided that we had located the very best campsite on the entire lake; by Friday evening, there was one other group camping nearby.
We were originally going to stay through Sunday, but we'd already explored everything that was snow-free, so we decided to head back a day early. It was a good thing, too. I'm not sure how many groups we passed on the way out, but they were all heading to Bumping Lake. There were definitely not enough campsites to absorb all of the backpackers heading in; we may have had the best campsite, but I'm glad we didn't have to experience the overcrowding! On Sunday I played catch-up in the garden.
Weekly total = 26 miles (all hiking)
Sunday, July 8, 2012
June 25 - July 1
Monday: One of the girls only has doctor clearance to ride a stationary bike, so I stayed inside for today's workout and ran on an elliptical while she biked. 20 minutes; I don't know how to count that for mileage so I won't!
Tuesday: Today was the rainest day ever! I had a lovely day sitting in bed reading a book--truly, a nice way to spend a day! Most of my plans were thrown out the window because of the weather, but I did attend the final all-comer track meet. I spent most of my time helping at the long jump pit, then I stupidly tried to pretend that I could long jump and nearly injured myself because I didn't bother to warm up first. I'm going to regret that decision for the rest of the week!
Wednesday: Day one of regret! I was so sore I could barely get out of bed, but I was determined to run today. I started slow, and it actually did feel better once I warmed up. We were back at Iller Creek again, and this time we went up on the ridge route. Some of the girls did the loop, some of the girls got confused on the turning point, and some of the girls thought that two of the girls continued up to Rocks of Sharon--so I went up looking for them. It turned out that the two in question did the loop correctly, which is a good thing since I couldn't find them at Big Rock! I, of course, ran to the top and worried the whole way back down--but it was a nice long run of 5.5 miles.
Thursday: Today I took Blaze to Mount Spokane and from the Cook's Cabin TH out to the top of 110, then up 160 to the summit of Mt. Kit Carson, then across to Day Mountain, then down trail 130 to the Kit Carson Loop Road and back to the TH. I was really hurting today, but I had Blaze in his harness so he could help me out! It's a little like cheating when I put him in harness, but today I needed it! I even found one last morel on the way down 130--too dried out to keep, but a morel nonetheless! 6 miles.
Friday: The team was back in the Dishman Hills, and we did a repeat of last week. I was still sore, so I just did the basic loop. We also tried a team service project today: Weeding the native plant garden. Most of the girls deserted before we even started; the rest deserted after 15-20 minutes. We'll have to work on this! However, we did get two big bags of weeds with only a handfull of girls, so that much was good. 2.5 miles. In the afternoon, I met Jeff to drive south for a weekend backpack trip in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. I've never been there before!
Saturday: The first part of the trail paralleled the Wenaha River and was really easy. Then we had to cross the river and we had a good climb up to approximately the 6,000' level. The trail became easy again, and quite scenic besides: ridge hiking with amazing views of the surrounding mountains and lots of spring flowers. Some meadows were practically solid blue with larkspur; others were covered in lupine. The tricky part was finding water. We wanted to camp at about 10 miles in at the first reliable water source, but there was already a boyscout troop there (interestingly enough, the same boy scout troop we met at Kirkwood Ranch over spring break). Then the next water spot had campers, then the next water spot...and we hadn't seen a soul all day until it came time to find a camp! It turned out that all of the people we saw had come in on a shorter trail near Diamond Peak. The good thing about our extended hike was that we got to see a bull elk that we wouldn't have if we had camped where we wanted to. We finally got to Clover Spring and found reliable water (a hand-carved tree horse trough!) and a good place to camp. Another group of three later camped nearby. It ended up being about a 12-mile day. Then things really got interesting--I hadn't even finished dinner when the thunder storm hit--accompanied by a torrential downpour! Tuesday may have been the rainiest day ever, but this was the rainiest evening ever. I had to finish dinner, wash my dishes, brush my teeth, and hang my bear bag (a very important detail: there was bear scat everywhere!) before I could finally get into to the tent. It took a bit to warm up, but then I slept just fine--and it quit raining by morning.
Sunday: The hike out should have been quite easy, considering the fact that we'd hiked 12 of our 20 miles on Saturday. However, today's trail proved a little tougher. The first part really was easy--more ridge hiking among wildflowers (including white and yellow lupine, which I've never seen before, and red columbine!) and a net elevation loss. Then we reached the Rattlesnake Trail. The first part of the Rattlesnake Trail is easy, but once it starts its descent it turns into a monster. This is a prime example of a trail that needs some work! It shows signs of a major burn within the last five years or so, and I don't think it has seen a bit of trailwork since then. It's also excruciatingly steep--my knees were screaming and my quads were quivering by the end of it. Then came the really rough part--the Rattlesnake Trail comes out at the Panjab Campground, but our vehicle was four miles up the Wenaha River Road. I dropped my pack, took the keys, and ran up the road to get the car. The first ten minutes of running were brutal, but after that it was actually okay--and probably good for me, considering the pounding my legs had just taken. It felt good to really warm up all of my muscles. Of course, the last ten minutes of the run were back to pure agony again. I think this is good training for Cutthroat! It's also good training for Hike-a-Thon: Registration opened up today, and that was one of the first things I took care of when I got home!
Weekly mileage: running = 18; hiking = 20
Tuesday: Today was the rainest day ever! I had a lovely day sitting in bed reading a book--truly, a nice way to spend a day! Most of my plans were thrown out the window because of the weather, but I did attend the final all-comer track meet. I spent most of my time helping at the long jump pit, then I stupidly tried to pretend that I could long jump and nearly injured myself because I didn't bother to warm up first. I'm going to regret that decision for the rest of the week!
Wednesday: Day one of regret! I was so sore I could barely get out of bed, but I was determined to run today. I started slow, and it actually did feel better once I warmed up. We were back at Iller Creek again, and this time we went up on the ridge route. Some of the girls did the loop, some of the girls got confused on the turning point, and some of the girls thought that two of the girls continued up to Rocks of Sharon--so I went up looking for them. It turned out that the two in question did the loop correctly, which is a good thing since I couldn't find them at Big Rock! I, of course, ran to the top and worried the whole way back down--but it was a nice long run of 5.5 miles.
Thursday: Today I took Blaze to Mount Spokane and from the Cook's Cabin TH out to the top of 110, then up 160 to the summit of Mt. Kit Carson, then across to Day Mountain, then down trail 130 to the Kit Carson Loop Road and back to the TH. I was really hurting today, but I had Blaze in his harness so he could help me out! It's a little like cheating when I put him in harness, but today I needed it! I even found one last morel on the way down 130--too dried out to keep, but a morel nonetheless! 6 miles.
Friday: The team was back in the Dishman Hills, and we did a repeat of last week. I was still sore, so I just did the basic loop. We also tried a team service project today: Weeding the native plant garden. Most of the girls deserted before we even started; the rest deserted after 15-20 minutes. We'll have to work on this! However, we did get two big bags of weeds with only a handfull of girls, so that much was good. 2.5 miles. In the afternoon, I met Jeff to drive south for a weekend backpack trip in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. I've never been there before!
Saturday: The first part of the trail paralleled the Wenaha River and was really easy. Then we had to cross the river and we had a good climb up to approximately the 6,000' level. The trail became easy again, and quite scenic besides: ridge hiking with amazing views of the surrounding mountains and lots of spring flowers. Some meadows were practically solid blue with larkspur; others were covered in lupine. The tricky part was finding water. We wanted to camp at about 10 miles in at the first reliable water source, but there was already a boyscout troop there (interestingly enough, the same boy scout troop we met at Kirkwood Ranch over spring break). Then the next water spot had campers, then the next water spot...and we hadn't seen a soul all day until it came time to find a camp! It turned out that all of the people we saw had come in on a shorter trail near Diamond Peak. The good thing about our extended hike was that we got to see a bull elk that we wouldn't have if we had camped where we wanted to. We finally got to Clover Spring and found reliable water (a hand-carved tree horse trough!) and a good place to camp. Another group of three later camped nearby. It ended up being about a 12-mile day. Then things really got interesting--I hadn't even finished dinner when the thunder storm hit--accompanied by a torrential downpour! Tuesday may have been the rainiest day ever, but this was the rainiest evening ever. I had to finish dinner, wash my dishes, brush my teeth, and hang my bear bag (a very important detail: there was bear scat everywhere!) before I could finally get into to the tent. It took a bit to warm up, but then I slept just fine--and it quit raining by morning.
Sunday: The hike out should have been quite easy, considering the fact that we'd hiked 12 of our 20 miles on Saturday. However, today's trail proved a little tougher. The first part really was easy--more ridge hiking among wildflowers (including white and yellow lupine, which I've never seen before, and red columbine!) and a net elevation loss. Then we reached the Rattlesnake Trail. The first part of the Rattlesnake Trail is easy, but once it starts its descent it turns into a monster. This is a prime example of a trail that needs some work! It shows signs of a major burn within the last five years or so, and I don't think it has seen a bit of trailwork since then. It's also excruciatingly steep--my knees were screaming and my quads were quivering by the end of it. Then came the really rough part--the Rattlesnake Trail comes out at the Panjab Campground, but our vehicle was four miles up the Wenaha River Road. I dropped my pack, took the keys, and ran up the road to get the car. The first ten minutes of running were brutal, but after that it was actually okay--and probably good for me, considering the pounding my legs had just taken. It felt good to really warm up all of my muscles. Of course, the last ten minutes of the run were back to pure agony again. I think this is good training for Cutthroat! It's also good training for Hike-a-Thon: Registration opened up today, and that was one of the first things I took care of when I got home!
Weekly mileage: running = 18; hiking = 20
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Dogs and Mount Spokane
Yesterday a fellow hiker whom I have known for several years
emailed me to ask about a route description for the Three Peaks Loop on Mount Spokane. As luck would have it, another friend had
just asked about the same route the week before, so all I had to do was copy
and paste from my earlier email.
Today I opened up my email to an invite from a local hiking
club regarding a trip to the Three Peaks Loop led by the aforementioned
friend. There’s nothing wrong with
that—I love the idea of exposing more people to “my” mountain (just read some
of my older posts to get a sense of how much time I spend up there). However, I do take issue with one section of
the hiking club’s invite: “Dogs are
allowed on this hike. Park rules state that they must be leashed, my
rules do not. Note: If your dogs are off leash you will be taking your
chance as there is a fine for off leash dogs.”
I have sooo many issues with those three sentences. I have at times been accused of being
anti-dog because of my stance on this issue, but rest assured, I am not. I consider myself personal trainer and coach
to several dogs; I currently “coach” Blaze, my running buddy regardless of
weather and my skijor partner all winter.
We even tried long boarding together a few weeks ago, but I decided
perhaps that was a little too dangerous for us.
But I digress. I am not anti-dog,
but I am anti-dog off leash in areas where it’s against the law.
There are so many reasons why I feel this way. First and foremost, there’s the obvious. It’s against the law, so don’t do it. As Maya Angelou wrote, “When you know better you do better.” Clearly, the hike leader knows better. So why isn’t he also doing better?
Of course, we
all, myself included, break the law from time to time. I have let my dog off leash inside Mount Spokane
State Park on more than
one occasion. Generally, I feel that I
have a good reason to do so when I choose this, and it is always
temporary. As an example, there is a
large water crossing on trail 100/110 near the Lower Mount Kit Carson Loop Road. In the early spring, when the water is
running high, I let my dog off leash to navigate the crossing because I feel it
keeps us both safer as we cross. It is
not so deep that my dog could be swept downstream, but it’s deep enough and
tricky enough that he could knock me into the water if he pulls on the leash as
I try to navigate the crossing. I let
him off to choose his own route, I figure out my way across, and then he’s back
on the leash again. I think that would
make sense to most people.
Putting aside
the lawbreaking part then, I think that it is important to examine another
aspect of when a person should choose to “do better.” This isn’t just one person choosing to go out
with his dogs off leash. This is a
person who is leading a hike for a local hiking club, advertising a trip with
room for twenty participants, and in a sense inviting every one of them to
knowingly ignore park rules (really, Spokane County rules). Not only is the potential harm greater given
the potential number of participants, but I feel that whenever a person
represents any organization one has an even greater responsibility to follow
all posted laws and regulations. As a
trip leader, one is the public face of one’s organization. I believe that most organized groups do
everything they can to maintain a positive public image. Suppose something bad were to happen on this
group’s upcoming hike? There is both
individual and group liability to consider, and a hiking group’s reputation at
stake. I believe that for all of those
reasons, another local club (disclosure: a club of which I happen to be a
member, committee chair, and board member) has adopted a strict dog policy that
applies to all trips. I know that the
club’s policy is not followed 100% of the time, but at least it gives club
leadership a place to open the dialogue should there be any issues, and it
protects the club by showing a good faith effort on the part of the larger
organization to prevent rogue behavior from individual members.
There is also a
larger issue that is apparent to me: Why
should one’s right to do what he or she wishes to do outweigh the rights of
others?
First, there are
the human “others.”
I happen to
serve on the Mount Spokane State Park Advisory Committee. I have been told by the park manager, on more
than one occasion, that the number one concern of park visitors is off-leash
dogs. There are a lot of people who have
had a bad experience with a dog at some point in their lives, myself
included. That’s one of the main reasons
why I always carry pepper spray when I run; the one time I had to use the
pepper spray, it was on an off-leash and vicious dog. I have been around dogs my entire life, and I
feel that I’m pretty good at judging dog body language. I have taken several dogs through obedience
classes, so I know how to speak to dogs in such a way as to make them
obey. I came close to using my pepper
spray on several other occasions, but was able to “talk down” an aggressive
dog. However, many people haven’t been
around dogs so much, don’t know what to do when confronted with a potentially
dangerous or aggressive dog, and really have no wish to learn. That is their choice, and I believe that they
should have a reasonable expectation to encounter only leashed dogs in the
park. After all, that’s the law,
right?
What’s more,
many park visitors are families with children.
It doesn’t take a vicious dog to knock down and injure a child, it only
takes an unleashed dog that “just wants to play” (a “playful” unleashed dog
nearly knocked me down a few months ago, and I’m a 150 pound adult). I guarantee that the child is just as scared,
and potentially just as injured, whether the dog attacks or merely plays too
rough. Now imagine taking a nice walk
with your kids and encountering a group of twenty people with several off leash
dogs—no guarantee that the dog’s owner is the nearest human, no guarantee that
the dog is under voice control. That’s
terrifying to both child and parent.
Next, there are
the nonhuman “others.”
It is June, the
time of year when the ungulates on the mountain are giving birth. The mothers are in a weakened condition and
cannot afford to be harassed by domestic dogs.
The babies are newborn and are therefore vulnerable. Even the nicest dog could inflict a lot of
harm on newborn critters; put that nice dog in a pack of other nice and now
off-leash dogs, and there’s no telling what could happen. My personal scariest experience in the park
took place a few years ago when I was trail running with my dog in the Nordic
area. It was early June, and I came
around a switchback in the trail and found myself face-to-face with a mother
moose and newborn calf. To this day, I
am so thankful that my dog was on leash when it happened. If she had not been, and she had gotten close
to the mother moose, she probably would have been dead. Moose are not to be trifled with.
This is not the
only situation that’s potentially dangerous for both the wildlife and for
fido. Mount Spokane
is prime habitat for several species that are a little higher up the food
chain. I have encountered more coyotes
than I can recall on the trails that make up the Three Peaks
route. Additionally, I have encountered
black bears on the route on several occasions, and I have twice treed bear cubs
while out running. If a dog trees a cub,
and the cub’s mom attacks the dog, what happens to the bear? What if mamma bear attacks the dog, which
then runs to its owner for protection, and now the owner is attacked by the
bear, too?
I think it’s
worth mentioning that I first met the leader of this hike through a
conservation organization; I know that he understands the importance of
wildlife habitat, healthy ecosystems, and conservation efforts both locally and
regionally. I’m not sure that he has
fully considered the potential negative consequences to wildlife—and
humans—should he allow his dogs to go unleashed.
A couple years
ago, there was a similar situation involving snowmobilers going off-trail on
private land accessed from the state park.
It’s a longer story than I have time for here, but one of the main
takeaways from the experience was that issuing warnings for flagrant violations
of the rules did absolutely nothing to curb the bad behavior. Issuing citations did. I believe that the leash law violations need
to be enforced consistently, not just in Mount Spokane
State Park, but on all of
our local public lands. I wish that Maya
Angelou’s quote held true in more situations; in my experience, people only “do
better” when forced to do so.
June 18-24, 2012
June 18: No school! First day of summer running! I met the team for their practice at the school, then ran part of their route backwards. 3 mi.
June 19: It was a captain's choice run today, and I'm letting the captains run these. I fully intended to run on my own, but instead I worked in the garden all day long. The weeds are really taking over, plus I haven't even finished planting everything yet. In the afternoon I took my nephew to his first all-comers track meet at SCC. He's not even two yet, but he was incredibly focused as I explained what the bigger kids were doing in the long jump pit (then he got to try it). He also had a ton of fun playing around the edges of the track & being entertained by the high school girls before his big race: he "competed" in the under three division of the 50m dash. He didn't quite understand the concept--he twice tried to sit down on the starting line before the race. However, once he saw the three-year-olds running down the track he grabbed onto my hand and ran!
June 20: Today was an Iller Creek run, and we had over twenty girls show up for practice! It's awesome to introduce so many girls to this great conservation area that's so close to so many of their houses. Some ran the loop up the creek-side trail and down the ridge; others just did an out-and-back on the creek side trail. I ran up to the creek crossing between the two front packs, and then turned back to run sweep for the girls who turned back before the top. 6 miles.
June 21: Yesterday nearly did me in. I spent my entire day in the garden and rested my old knees--except for all the time spent kneeling and weeding, that is!
June 22: Dishman Hill run! Today we kept it easy--just the loop from Camp Caro to Goldback Springs and then around the outer loop and back to Camp Caro. Some of the returners went farther. I doubled back via the Enchanted Ravine after I finished the first loop to make sure that none of the new girls got lost (although getting lost in the Dishman Hills is inevitable at some point for everyone!), so I got in about 4.5 miles.
June 23: I ran from my parents' house up to the top of the first hill on Antoine Peak and decided that was enough for today. Blaze was along for the run and was a little disappointed to be turning back so soon, but he later got in a much longer run since I had him with me in the garden for the rest of the afternoon. 4.5 miles.
June 24: I got an early start for today's workout--Jeff invited me to attend a Sierra Club hike on Mount Spokane, and I wanted to run, too. I decided to leave early to get in a short run (trail 130 from Bald Knob to the CCC cabin and back--about 4 miles). I had a little extra time after that, so I backtrack on 130 to cut two trees that were on the trail, and then I went down to check on the chalet. It was raining fairly hard by then, and when Jeff showed up for the hike he had bad news: the Sierra Club people didn't like the rain and canceled the hike. That didn't stop us, however, and it stopped raining by the time we started hiking besides! I estimate the hike was 4 miles.
Weekly mileage: running = 22; hiking = 4
June 19: It was a captain's choice run today, and I'm letting the captains run these. I fully intended to run on my own, but instead I worked in the garden all day long. The weeds are really taking over, plus I haven't even finished planting everything yet. In the afternoon I took my nephew to his first all-comers track meet at SCC. He's not even two yet, but he was incredibly focused as I explained what the bigger kids were doing in the long jump pit (then he got to try it). He also had a ton of fun playing around the edges of the track & being entertained by the high school girls before his big race: he "competed" in the under three division of the 50m dash. He didn't quite understand the concept--he twice tried to sit down on the starting line before the race. However, once he saw the three-year-olds running down the track he grabbed onto my hand and ran!
June 20: Today was an Iller Creek run, and we had over twenty girls show up for practice! It's awesome to introduce so many girls to this great conservation area that's so close to so many of their houses. Some ran the loop up the creek-side trail and down the ridge; others just did an out-and-back on the creek side trail. I ran up to the creek crossing between the two front packs, and then turned back to run sweep for the girls who turned back before the top. 6 miles.
June 21: Yesterday nearly did me in. I spent my entire day in the garden and rested my old knees--except for all the time spent kneeling and weeding, that is!
June 22: Dishman Hill run! Today we kept it easy--just the loop from Camp Caro to Goldback Springs and then around the outer loop and back to Camp Caro. Some of the returners went farther. I doubled back via the Enchanted Ravine after I finished the first loop to make sure that none of the new girls got lost (although getting lost in the Dishman Hills is inevitable at some point for everyone!), so I got in about 4.5 miles.
June 23: I ran from my parents' house up to the top of the first hill on Antoine Peak and decided that was enough for today. Blaze was along for the run and was a little disappointed to be turning back so soon, but he later got in a much longer run since I had him with me in the garden for the rest of the afternoon. 4.5 miles.
June 24: I got an early start for today's workout--Jeff invited me to attend a Sierra Club hike on Mount Spokane, and I wanted to run, too. I decided to leave early to get in a short run (trail 130 from Bald Knob to the CCC cabin and back--about 4 miles). I had a little extra time after that, so I backtrack on 130 to cut two trees that were on the trail, and then I went down to check on the chalet. It was raining fairly hard by then, and when Jeff showed up for the hike he had bad news: the Sierra Club people didn't like the rain and canceled the hike. That didn't stop us, however, and it stopped raining by the time we started hiking besides! I estimate the hike was 4 miles.
Weekly mileage: running = 22; hiking = 4
Sunday, June 24, 2012
June 11-17, 2012
I feel like I've been writing this a lot: This week was a total loss
when it comes to training! I guess I can't really expect anything else
from the last week of the school year. Well, for me it was the LAST
last week of the school year as a high school English teacher! When I
go back to school next fall, it's as a student, not a teacher. After
that...we'll see. I just know that I can't do what I've been doing
anymore.
As for the week, it was too much work, too much grading, too much to do, especially too much stress, and no time to run. Until the weekend, that is--I was reduced to weekend warrior this week!
Saturday morning was still too much to do because it was the Foothills Scenic Five! I got the preregistration stuff ready on Friday night, and then Rich and I were out setting up the course markers just after 6am. For once, everything about the race went smoothly! I've been in charge of the race aspect of Scenic Five day for the past several years now, and this was definitely the best one yet. Whew!
In the afternoon, I went up to Mount Spokane to do the pre-cleaning for the Chalet cleanup on Sunday, and I could finally relax! I did the world's easiest Mount Spokane run--the 130a + 130b loop, but I felt much better afterwards. Then I vacuumed and cleaned and cleaned and vacuumed. The chalet was pretty dirty inside.
On Sunday I got up early to do a run in the Nordic area before people arrived to help with the chalet cleanup. Now if I can just carry the weekend momemtum into the upcoming week!
Weekly mileage = only 7.5 miles.
As for the week, it was too much work, too much grading, too much to do, especially too much stress, and no time to run. Until the weekend, that is--I was reduced to weekend warrior this week!
Saturday morning was still too much to do because it was the Foothills Scenic Five! I got the preregistration stuff ready on Friday night, and then Rich and I were out setting up the course markers just after 6am. For once, everything about the race went smoothly! I've been in charge of the race aspect of Scenic Five day for the past several years now, and this was definitely the best one yet. Whew!
In the afternoon, I went up to Mount Spokane to do the pre-cleaning for the Chalet cleanup on Sunday, and I could finally relax! I did the world's easiest Mount Spokane run--the 130a + 130b loop, but I felt much better afterwards. Then I vacuumed and cleaned and cleaned and vacuumed. The chalet was pretty dirty inside.
On Sunday I got up early to do a run in the Nordic area before people arrived to help with the chalet cleanup. Now if I can just carry the weekend momemtum into the upcoming week!
Weekly mileage = only 7.5 miles.
June 4-10, 2012
The school year is winding down, which means a lot of deadlines looming for me. That means that running gets pushed down the to-do list, of course, so my mileage is low and my stress is high this week. My first run of the week was Friday, and it was just an easy loop in the Dishman Hills. Saturday was super rainy, so I mostly stayed in and graded essays; I attended the backpack school potluck in the afternoon and tried to longboard (so scary!), but no running today. On Sunday I managed another short run, this time on Mount Spokane. I felt so lethargic!
Weekly mileage = just 7 miles.
Weekly mileage = just 7 miles.
Monday, June 18, 2012
May 28-June 2
Monday--we hiked out on the Rapid River Trail today, a distance of about 6 miles. After that it was the long drive home; fortunately, I was just a passenger. I graded papers the whole way back!
Tuesday--back to work & I had angry knees. I took today off.
Wednesday--I ran Iller Creek today. I went up the ridge trail and back on the creekside trail. That is such a nice loop and I can't wait to share it with the team this summer! Approximately 5.5 miles.
Thursday & Friday = nada.
Saturday--Jeff & Deb were supposed to meet me for an early run on Mount Spokane. Morning brought so much ran that they canceled, but I decided to go for it. I was completely drenched, but it was worth it! I started at the switchback parking lot, took trail 100 out to Smith Gap, and then ran the Hay Ridge Loop. I think it's about 6 miles.
Sunday--Jeff & Deb rescheduled for today, and the weather decided to cooperate. We started at the switchback lot and took trail 110 up, and then returned via 140 and the Kit Carson Loop Road. I think the mileage is about the same as what I did yesterday, but the elevation gain is far more significant on this route. We decided that we're going to try to do this run more often to get ready for Cutthroat!
Weekly mileage: hiking = 6 miles; running = 17.5 miles
Tuesday--back to work & I had angry knees. I took today off.
Wednesday--I ran Iller Creek today. I went up the ridge trail and back on the creekside trail. That is such a nice loop and I can't wait to share it with the team this summer! Approximately 5.5 miles.
Thursday & Friday = nada.
Saturday--Jeff & Deb were supposed to meet me for an early run on Mount Spokane. Morning brought so much ran that they canceled, but I decided to go for it. I was completely drenched, but it was worth it! I started at the switchback parking lot, took trail 100 out to Smith Gap, and then ran the Hay Ridge Loop. I think it's about 6 miles.
Sunday--Jeff & Deb rescheduled for today, and the weather decided to cooperate. We started at the switchback lot and took trail 110 up, and then returned via 140 and the Kit Carson Loop Road. I think the mileage is about the same as what I did yesterday, but the elevation gain is far more significant on this route. We decided that we're going to try to do this run more often to get ready for Cutthroat!
Weekly mileage: hiking = 6 miles; running = 17.5 miles
Sunday, June 3, 2012
May 21-27, 2012
My first run of the week was just a neighborhood run, but it was one of those awesome rainy spring days of torrential downpours followed closely by intense sunshine. I was grading papers after work, but as soon as I saw that it started to rain I headed out of the building. I missed the best part of it--as I left my classroom it was raining so hard that it was difficult to see the park across the street, but by the time I was out the door it had already slowed to merely an average downpour. That was still a lot of fun, of course, and it was such a nice warm day! I just did the usual three-mile Saltese Loop, but the usually boring neighborhood run seemed transformed by the weather.
I didn't make it out again until Thursday afternoon. I have been craving some Mount Spokane time for a while now! I decided to go to the mountain after work to go for a trail run (Trail 100-Smith Gap-Kit Carson Road Loop; I found a bunch more morels!) and check in on the chalet. The run was great, but the chalet had some issues--one of the big living room windows had been knocked in somehow. I'm still not sure how it could have happened. At any rate, I didn't have the necessary materials to deal with it right then, so I was forced to return on Friday for another trail run and then an attempted short-term fix (short-term because I don't know how to fix windows, and because the drive way is still covered with so much snow!).
Friday I ran lower 110 to the cedar grove, then became scared of the very strong wind and turned back early (after finding a few more morels!). After that I put up my temporary fix of plastic, duct tape, and random pieces of wood (which I have since learned later all feel down--fortunately, another club member is better at temporary fixes & has nailed some plywood over it). Then I had to go home and pack--it was Backpack School Graduation Weekend!
We left Friday night to drive down to Riggins, Idaho for our backpack trip along the Rapid River. We got to the trailhead at midnight and quickly set up tents & spent the night in the parking lot.
On Saturday we got up early and enjoyed a pancake breakfast with huckleberry sauce before doing the final pack-up. The rest of the group started to arrive, and we were on the trail within 20 minutes of our planned start time—that’s pretty good considering there were 23 of us!
It was an easy hike in of approximately 6 miles. There was a lot of poison ivy along the trail, and I was just positive I touched it a couple of times, but fortunately, no horrible rash developed. We were in camp before noon! I got the tent up and then sat and snacked and graded some essays while the rest of the group arrived. After everyone was in, I decided to cross the stream to another trail that led up to a cool old abandoned cabin. I took plenty of wildflower pictures, plus cabin pictures when I got up to it. It looked like an abandoned homestead; there were old farm implements all over the former meadow that was slowly being reclaimed by the forest. I also found two elk sheds in the meadow! I think that the cabin and beyond hike added about 2 miles to my day. Then several of us did an extra afternoon hike before dinner on another fork of the trail—I think that added about 4 more miles (for a 12 mile day).
I thought that I’d sleep well after so much hiking, but instead I had weird nightmares. It started to rain, but I dreamt a thunderstorm into it. It was such a realistic dream that I thought that there really had been thunder until I asked several other people about it Sunday morning. Not real. Weird. I also dreamt that there was a rattlesnake in my tent vestibule. I was pretty sure that one was not real since what was initially one rattlesnake rattling behind my tent turned into a bunch of rattlesnakes coming out of holes in the ground due to the rain, and then taking shelter in the pack cover of my backpack in the vestibule of my tent. It was such a vivid dream that I was extra careful opening up my pack Sunday morning. Thank goodness, it was all nightmare; I have too vivid an imagination!
Sunday was mainly rainy. We hiked as a group up to two nearby cabins, and then a few of us continued up the trail to see if we could find morels. We didn’t have any luck with the morels, but it was a very pretty hike. It rained most of the time, and just before we turned around it actually started to snow! Ken said he thought it was about an 8 mile day.
Weekly mileage: running = 11 miles; backpacking = 20 miles
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
May 14-20, 2012
I keep saying I'll do better, and then I keep doing very little. One of the pitfalls of being an English teacher close to the end of the school year. I have a mountain of papers to grade, and therefore I cannot make it to the mountain as often as I'd like.
I did manage one trailrun in the Dishman Hills, but other than that, it was a lot of work and very little play during the week.
The weekend was much, much better. I volunteered to lead a neighbor's church group up Antoine Peak on Saturday, and we had so much fun on this beautiful, sunny day! I only got us a little lost once (I hope they forgive me--they are a church group after all). I was a little lost because we started from the Lincoln Road side; I've never been to the top from that side of the mountain. It was very pretty--I hate to admit it, but it was probably prettier than the Robbins Road side, at least on the lower section. There were a bunch of yew trees along a creek on that side of the mountain; I don't think I've ever seen yews in Spokane county before. Of course, the west side of Antoine has the largest juniper tree I have ever seen; I guess it proves that the entire conservation area is spectacular!
Sunday was my super intense gardening day. I lost track of time again and forgot to save enough time to both run AND grade papers. Papers won.
Weekly mileage = 3 miles running & 6 miles hiking.
I did manage one trailrun in the Dishman Hills, but other than that, it was a lot of work and very little play during the week.
The weekend was much, much better. I volunteered to lead a neighbor's church group up Antoine Peak on Saturday, and we had so much fun on this beautiful, sunny day! I only got us a little lost once (I hope they forgive me--they are a church group after all). I was a little lost because we started from the Lincoln Road side; I've never been to the top from that side of the mountain. It was very pretty--I hate to admit it, but it was probably prettier than the Robbins Road side, at least on the lower section. There were a bunch of yew trees along a creek on that side of the mountain; I don't think I've ever seen yews in Spokane county before. Of course, the west side of Antoine has the largest juniper tree I have ever seen; I guess it proves that the entire conservation area is spectacular!
Sunday was my super intense gardening day. I lost track of time again and forgot to save enough time to both run AND grade papers. Papers won.
Weekly mileage = 3 miles running & 6 miles hiking.
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