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
Saturday, September 8, 2012
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
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