The Wallowa backpack trip keeps getting shorter and shorter, but at least I'm hopeful that I won't have to cancel. The 95-mile route to see the Minam Lodge and better understand a little family history (my aunt and uncle used to own it) is now on-hold until next year. I think I can at least get to the lakes basin for a 40-50 mile route. I'll have to figure out a few more long day hikes later to make up for lost mileage. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, as I have a vast collection of guidebooks with multiple bookmarks for dream trips. Anybody want to explore?
I am realizing that I'm still out of shape, however. I did an easy 8-miler on the roads yesterday, and an easy 5-miler at Mount Spokane this morning, and I am so sore! I'll have to mix my trail running with hiking, at least at the beginning, if I am to survive the nearly 11-mile per day average I'll need to reach 325 miles for the month of August. Well, if I managed 306 last year while injured, I'm sure I can tackle this while merely sore. So long as I don't end up re-injured! Now I just need more sponsors! Pretty please follow the link at the top and give the WTA some money for me! :)
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
July 17-23, 2011
I'm back from Camp Eureka where Jace & I led eight middle school and high school students on a week-long backpack trip. The first night was rough as we were attacked by mosquitoes that were completely immune to every variety of bug spray, but after that everything went fairly smoothly. I can hardly believe that an entire week has gone by.
I came home to some disapointing news, however. Deb is injured and now I'm doubtful about the chances of the cool Wallowa trip actually happening. It's part of Hike-a-Thon, so I really don't want to cancel, but I'm not sure I can find anyone else who's willing to do it & I don't know that I should do it solo. We had a 95.8 mile route planned, and it's hard to sell that to most people. :(
I came home to some disapointing news, however. Deb is injured and now I'm doubtful about the chances of the cool Wallowa trip actually happening. It's part of Hike-a-Thon, so I really don't want to cancel, but I'm not sure I can find anyone else who's willing to do it & I don't know that I should do it solo. We had a 95.8 mile route planned, and it's hard to sell that to most people. :(
Saturday, July 9, 2011
4th of July Weekend in the Wilderness
The plan: a July 1-5 hike from Phelps Creek to Spider Meadows to Spider Gap to Lyman Lakes to Image Lake to Buck Creek Pass to Trinity (loop). It would have been the fourth time I'd done it, the third time I'd done it on the 4th of July weekend, and the first time I'd done it by the recommended route.
The problem: so much snow! Patches within 1/2 mile of the trailhead turned into total coverage by mile two, and we found it three or four feet deep in Spider Meadows! It was good in the sense that we practically had Spider Meadows to ourselves Friday night (the only other camper was a forest service ranger)--how many people can say they found Spider Meadows devoid of campers on a holiday weekend!? However, we couldn't make it through Spider Gap on Saturday morning. It just felt a little too risky with the deep snow, steep route, and heavy packs. We decided to hike back out and pick a different hike.
The next problem: dead battery back at the trailhead. We camped out in the parking lot Saturday night. It is kinda picturesque, but I had to pitch my tent in between two parked cars--not exactly my favorite camping location. Fortunately, someone with jumper cables drove up early Sunday morning and we were able to continue the adventure!
How to pick a hike: I'm calling it Hiker's Roulette. We looked on the map and we looked through a guide book and we couldn't reach any decisions about the most likely looking backpack. So we picked a road off Highway 2 at random, drove to the trailhead at the end of it, and started hiking. It turns out it was a good choice! It was the Whitepine River Trail, which intersected the Wildhorse River Trail and eventually climbed to Frosty Pass (all in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area). There was a lot of downfall on the lower sections of the trail, and the upper section was very brushy, but otherwise it was a very nice trail with excellent views. We also didn't encounter snow until we were about seven miles in. Our campsite Sunday night had a tiny patch of snow that melted by the time we left on Tuesday.
Sunday: hike to camp, cook dinner. Then I went to hang the food bag and discovered a faint trail that we followed to a ridge with excellent views.
Monday: day hike from camp toward Frosty Pass. We didn't make it all the way to the Pass--we could see the approximate vicinity of the Pass, but the trail was completely snow-covered at that point. I saw one section that looked particually risky where a waterfall turned into a stream and disappeared under the snowpack. It might have been a place where one could fall through while trying to cross (and I did fall through in a few non-dangerous areas--once only one leg broke through the snow and it was so deep I couldn't touch the bottom!) We tried a side hike up to Lake Grace, but that proved farther than we had time for in all of that snow. I was able to maintain a Fourth of July tradition--glissading and snow angels!
Tuesday: hike out and return home--tired and dirty and happy!
The problem: so much snow! Patches within 1/2 mile of the trailhead turned into total coverage by mile two, and we found it three or four feet deep in Spider Meadows! It was good in the sense that we practically had Spider Meadows to ourselves Friday night (the only other camper was a forest service ranger)--how many people can say they found Spider Meadows devoid of campers on a holiday weekend!? However, we couldn't make it through Spider Gap on Saturday morning. It just felt a little too risky with the deep snow, steep route, and heavy packs. We decided to hike back out and pick a different hike.
The next problem: dead battery back at the trailhead. We camped out in the parking lot Saturday night. It is kinda picturesque, but I had to pitch my tent in between two parked cars--not exactly my favorite camping location. Fortunately, someone with jumper cables drove up early Sunday morning and we were able to continue the adventure!
How to pick a hike: I'm calling it Hiker's Roulette. We looked on the map and we looked through a guide book and we couldn't reach any decisions about the most likely looking backpack. So we picked a road off Highway 2 at random, drove to the trailhead at the end of it, and started hiking. It turns out it was a good choice! It was the Whitepine River Trail, which intersected the Wildhorse River Trail and eventually climbed to Frosty Pass (all in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area). There was a lot of downfall on the lower sections of the trail, and the upper section was very brushy, but otherwise it was a very nice trail with excellent views. We also didn't encounter snow until we were about seven miles in. Our campsite Sunday night had a tiny patch of snow that melted by the time we left on Tuesday.
Sunday: hike to camp, cook dinner. Then I went to hang the food bag and discovered a faint trail that we followed to a ridge with excellent views.
Monday: day hike from camp toward Frosty Pass. We didn't make it all the way to the Pass--we could see the approximate vicinity of the Pass, but the trail was completely snow-covered at that point. I saw one section that looked particually risky where a waterfall turned into a stream and disappeared under the snowpack. It might have been a place where one could fall through while trying to cross (and I did fall through in a few non-dangerous areas--once only one leg broke through the snow and it was so deep I couldn't touch the bottom!) We tried a side hike up to Lake Grace, but that proved farther than we had time for in all of that snow. I was able to maintain a Fourth of July tradition--glissading and snow angels!
Tuesday: hike out and return home--tired and dirty and happy!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
It's Time!
Registration for Hike-a-Thon opened today! I'm all signed up! I also see I'm very far behind when it comes to updating this blog. That's what grading assignments for 152 students will do to a person's free time. Well, it's summer now, so I'm sure I'll have time to work on updates as soon as I'm back from my next backpacking trip. In the meantime, here's a mini-update:
- The past--I didn't have much time to hike during the school year, and the weather has been pretty lousy this spring. There is still a lot of snow in the high country. I did manage to find quite a few morels on my usual spring forays up in Stevens County. I estimate I found around 20 pounds this year--maybe more, because I gave quite a few to my relatives before I even came home. Things have been pretty since school got out, too, but I did manage to escape town last weekend for a Conservation Northwest hike on Saturday and a solo hike on Sunday. I co-led the Thirteen-Mile Trail hike to an awesome roadless area that's up for possible inclusion in a Columbia Highlands wilderness bill. I camped at Jungle Hill that night (the only person there on a Saturday night!) and hiked Emerald Lake from the Trout Lake TH on Sunday. It was the first time I'd done either trail (I've hiked Emerald Lake several times before, but always from the Deadman Creek side).
- The future--I have several upcoming trips to look forward to. I'm backing in the Glacier Peak Wilderness first, then I'm co-leading a week-long backpack trip for high school students in mid-July, and at the end of July I have a week-long backpack planned for the Wallowas. That trip will carry over into the start of August and Hike-a-Thon, so I'll be trying to get a lot of miles in. We are also planning a repeat of the Cake Walk (the entire Kettle Crest in a day). I also have trips planned to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and the Pasaytan, and I'm sure I'll revisit the Salmo Priest a few times during August. It should be a fantastic summer!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
March 16, 2011
Tonight was the public meeting for the proposed ski area expansion on Mount Spokane. The meeting was at SFCC, and I arrived early so that I could go running on one of my favorite loops out at the Falls. I went down nurses' hill and took the lower trail along the river all the way out to where it meets the rock trail and then back to campus. I found wild onions along the river, and on the rock trail the buttercups were blooming! These were the first wildflowers I have seen this spring! (As a side note, I shared my sighting with a couple of my classes the next day. My students didn't know what buttercups were. I was shocked (they are high school students,after all)! I said something about how they are one of the most common wildflowers in our area, and one student's response was "Well, they don't grow in my yard." Apparently these kids never get farther outside than their own backyards. Soooooooo sad. I wish I could teach a naturalist class complete with field trips to the Dishman Hills, Riverside, and Mount Spokane.)
The meeting was interesting. I'm still not sure how this whole thing is going to turn out. Apparently Pacific Biodiversity Institute found approximately 80 acres of old growth forest (trees aged 150+ years) within the 300 acre proposed expansion area. The maps show that the majority of it is at the base and along the side of the proposed new lift. The ski area is also quoted as saying that they believe the new lift will serve between 500-800 additional skiers. The parking lot and lodge can't really handle the current number of skiers on a busy weekend. I'm also frustrated by all of the misinformation that Mt. Spokane 2000 has been putting out in the news media. They claim the land was donated to parks specifically for a ski area. In fact, local conservationists raised $1500 during the Depression in order to protect the trees in that area (read this: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7819). They also claim that they are merely replacing a chairlift that used to be in this same general location. There was never a chairlift there.
In yesterday's newspaper a letter to the editor called the expansion opposition "armchair elitists." It implied that we were a bunch of people who like the theory of preservation without the actuality of visiting the area. Ah, the stuff that guy doesn't realize. I alpine ski there, I Nordic ski there, I snowshoe there, I hike there, I run there (well, not so much off-trail running in the PASEA, but I run through on 135), and I pick huckleberries there. I wonder how many of the proponents have been back there. Chris pointed out that that's truly the difference between the advocates and the opponents--those in favor merely Alpine ski on the mountain. It's the year-round, multi-sport enthusiasts who are adamantly against development on the backside. Well, year-round, multi-sport enthusiasts plus the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (quote from the agency: "The native mature forest habitat on the northern aspect of Mt. Spokane is an extremely unique forest ecosystem with a high value for wildlife and species biodiversity. Considering its size, its un-fragmented condition along with its stage of forest succession and structure, a similar forest could not be found anywhere else in Spokane county nor replicated [....] WDFW is opposed to the Potential Alpine Ski Expansion Area (PASEA) proposal due to the unavoidable and extensive impacts to wildlife habitat and wildlife species[....]" (WDFW letter dated January 29, 2007). That should stand for something, too.
I think the State Parks' Mission Statement and Core Values makes if pretty clear what should happen. Let's hope the Parks Commission shares my of interpretation of "stewardship that transmits high quality park assets to future generations".
The meeting was interesting. I'm still not sure how this whole thing is going to turn out. Apparently Pacific Biodiversity Institute found approximately 80 acres of old growth forest (trees aged 150+ years) within the 300 acre proposed expansion area. The maps show that the majority of it is at the base and along the side of the proposed new lift. The ski area is also quoted as saying that they believe the new lift will serve between 500-800 additional skiers. The parking lot and lodge can't really handle the current number of skiers on a busy weekend. I'm also frustrated by all of the misinformation that Mt. Spokane 2000 has been putting out in the news media. They claim the land was donated to parks specifically for a ski area. In fact, local conservationists raised $1500 during the Depression in order to protect the trees in that area (read this: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7819). They also claim that they are merely replacing a chairlift that used to be in this same general location. There was never a chairlift there.
In yesterday's newspaper a letter to the editor called the expansion opposition "armchair elitists." It implied that we were a bunch of people who like the theory of preservation without the actuality of visiting the area. Ah, the stuff that guy doesn't realize. I alpine ski there, I Nordic ski there, I snowshoe there, I hike there, I run there (well, not so much off-trail running in the PASEA, but I run through on 135), and I pick huckleberries there. I wonder how many of the proponents have been back there. Chris pointed out that that's truly the difference between the advocates and the opponents--those in favor merely Alpine ski on the mountain. It's the year-round, multi-sport enthusiasts who are adamantly against development on the backside. Well, year-round, multi-sport enthusiasts plus the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (quote from the agency: "The native mature forest habitat on the northern aspect of Mt. Spokane is an extremely unique forest ecosystem with a high value for wildlife and species biodiversity. Considering its size, its un-fragmented condition along with its stage of forest succession and structure, a similar forest could not be found anywhere else in Spokane county nor replicated [....] WDFW is opposed to the Potential Alpine Ski Expansion Area (PASEA) proposal due to the unavoidable and extensive impacts to wildlife habitat and wildlife species[....]" (WDFW letter dated January 29, 2007). That should stand for something, too.
I think the State Parks' Mission Statement and Core Values makes if pretty clear what should happen. Let's hope the Parks Commission shares my of interpretation of "stewardship that transmits high quality park assets to future generations".
March 13, 2011
Diana organized a skijor demo day at Mount Spokane today. I brought both Kari and Blaze, and met several non-skijor people who wanted to try the sport for the first time. The first two people were on classic skis. I let them each take a dog first, and even with only one dog apiece it was pretty tough to stay in front of them with the dogs. On the way back to the starting point they took turns with both dogs. I couldn't keep up! It was pretty funny. After that Blaze was pretty much done for the day. The poor dog is such a wimp. I don't think he liked the fact that I was letting strangers ski with him; he kept trying to climb into my arms as if he was a little puppy. Of course, he's not a little puppy, so now I'm covered in bruises. Kari seemed a little nervous, too, but she was still willing to get into her harness and pull, so I let the last lady take Kari while I worked with Blaze. It's so much fun to see a person who has never tried it before take off for the first time--everybody seemed very surprised at how fast the dogs are. I think we got a few converts to the sport today!
March 5, 2011
Today was the annual Paws and Poles race at 49 Degrees North's Nordic area. I took Kari and competed in the skijor race (they also have a snowshoe race--one of these years I should try it). Kari did great, despite being nine years old now. In fact, if she hadn't been attached to such a slow human, she would have won. As it was, we were just barely second place to Deb Bauer and her dog, and she happens to be about the fastest local skier I can think of. Not bad at all.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
February 27, 2011
Update time!
First, there was Langlauf (all the way back on February 13th). The snow, and more importantly, my waxing, was so much better this year! Last year was so miserable that I almost didn't want to ski woods anymore. However, the skis are too pretty to just have hanging out in the living room--they need to get out and see some snow. The bad news is that I felt faster than I actually was, which tells me that I'm getting too old, too fat, and too slow. I skied the 10k in 54:35.5--good enough for 1st female on wooden skis, 4th in my age group, and 32nd female overall.
Last weekend I led a Friday night snowshoe for the Mountaineers. I had poor attendance, but that didn't matter--it was a beautiful night! Full moon, scattered clouds, and best of all, no wind--not even on the summit!
I spent my Saturday pruning the apple orchard, which is a good workout by itself. Sunday I skied again--skate this time. I did The Wall for only the second time ever, and again felt very out of shape. I had to stop several times to catch my breath, but each time I pretended that I was just admiring the view (it was a beautiful day!).
Thursday was our first snow day of the year--I think the news said it was technically a blizzard. I was awakened just a little after 3:30am when the electricity went out. The wind was roaring outside, at one point I heard a tree crash back in the woods, and I could not fall back asleep. I finally got out of bed a little before 5am, and since the electricity was still out I had to find my walkie talkies so that I could get AM radio. That's how I heard that school was canceled for the day. The electricity came back on around 8am--I only have electric heat, so I was pretty happy that it came back on! It was frigid and windy all day long, but I still bundled up in the early afternoon for a three-mile run on the Foothills loop. It was so cold I nearly turned back after the first half mile.
Finally, there was today's outing. It was finally warm enough that I felt I could safely and comfortably venture outside (yesterday it was approximately -5 F when I woke up, so today's 20 F was a real improvement!). I did the 110/140 loop from the lower Mount Kit Carson trailhead. On the way up 110, I found a snowshoe. Just one. How does somebody lose a snowshoe and not realize it?! Someone else had actually found it first and hung it from a tree along the trail, but with another snowstorm on the way tonight I decided to take it down to the park office so that hopefully it can be reunited with its person. I had the only tracks on 140. This is the new trail that was just put in last summer. I helped work on the tread on portions of it, so it makes it especially sweet to snowshoe on it today!
First, there was Langlauf (all the way back on February 13th). The snow, and more importantly, my waxing, was so much better this year! Last year was so miserable that I almost didn't want to ski woods anymore. However, the skis are too pretty to just have hanging out in the living room--they need to get out and see some snow. The bad news is that I felt faster than I actually was, which tells me that I'm getting too old, too fat, and too slow. I skied the 10k in 54:35.5--good enough for 1st female on wooden skis, 4th in my age group, and 32nd female overall.
Last weekend I led a Friday night snowshoe for the Mountaineers. I had poor attendance, but that didn't matter--it was a beautiful night! Full moon, scattered clouds, and best of all, no wind--not even on the summit!
I spent my Saturday pruning the apple orchard, which is a good workout by itself. Sunday I skied again--skate this time. I did The Wall for only the second time ever, and again felt very out of shape. I had to stop several times to catch my breath, but each time I pretended that I was just admiring the view (it was a beautiful day!).
Thursday was our first snow day of the year--I think the news said it was technically a blizzard. I was awakened just a little after 3:30am when the electricity went out. The wind was roaring outside, at one point I heard a tree crash back in the woods, and I could not fall back asleep. I finally got out of bed a little before 5am, and since the electricity was still out I had to find my walkie talkies so that I could get AM radio. That's how I heard that school was canceled for the day. The electricity came back on around 8am--I only have electric heat, so I was pretty happy that it came back on! It was frigid and windy all day long, but I still bundled up in the early afternoon for a three-mile run on the Foothills loop. It was so cold I nearly turned back after the first half mile.
Finally, there was today's outing. It was finally warm enough that I felt I could safely and comfortably venture outside (yesterday it was approximately -5 F when I woke up, so today's 20 F was a real improvement!). I did the 110/140 loop from the lower Mount Kit Carson trailhead. On the way up 110, I found a snowshoe. Just one. How does somebody lose a snowshoe and not realize it?! Someone else had actually found it first and hung it from a tree along the trail, but with another snowstorm on the way tonight I decided to take it down to the park office so that hopefully it can be reunited with its person. I had the only tracks on 140. This is the new trail that was just put in last summer. I helped work on the tread on portions of it, so it makes it especially sweet to snowshoe on it today!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
February 9, 2011
I'm still behind. In fact, I can't even remember everything I have been up to since my last post two weeks ago. I know I have been out running a bit more here lately--I'm so sore I can barely walk. In fact, I got new trailrunners on Monday and tonight I broke them in properly on a three-mile loop in the Dishman Hills. I really need to be more consistent with my running!
I did run last Saturday, right after a thrift store outing to locate the perfect Langlauf costume for this coming Sunday. I found a good one for this year!
I did run last Saturday, right after a thrift store outing to locate the perfect Langlauf costume for this coming Sunday. I found a good one for this year!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January 29-30, 2011
Last week was rough. I managed an easy 20 minute run after work one night, but I can't even remember which night now. All of the other nights I worked late.
That's why it was so nice to escape town for the weekend. Jeff suggested a winter camping adventure to Sullivan mountain. We didn't make it all the way to the lookout, but we skied in approximately three miles and enjoyed a little rain, a little snow, and then this morning, a little sun. I think this was my first January trip!
That's why it was so nice to escape town for the weekend. Jeff suggested a winter camping adventure to Sullivan mountain. We didn't make it all the way to the lookout, but we skied in approximately three miles and enjoyed a little rain, a little snow, and then this morning, a little sun. I think this was my first January trip!
January 22-23, 2011
I'm behind again with updates, and equally behind (perhaps more behind) with grading. The end of the semester is tough.
This weekend was a chalet open house. I was slow out of the house on Saturday morning, so I skipped the group snowshoe hike at 8am in favor of Nordic skiing later in the morning. I was at the chalet by noon and spent several hours in front of the fire grading essays.
On Sunday a group of us headed back to the Nordic area for some more xc skiing. We did classic today (I skated on Saturday). I took my woodies, and they did great despite the fact that they hadn't been waxed since last year. It was a very clear, beautiful day on the mountain.
This weekend was a chalet open house. I was slow out of the house on Saturday morning, so I skipped the group snowshoe hike at 8am in favor of Nordic skiing later in the morning. I was at the chalet by noon and spent several hours in front of the fire grading essays.
On Sunday a group of us headed back to the Nordic area for some more xc skiing. We did classic today (I skated on Saturday). I took my woodies, and they did great despite the fact that they hadn't been waxed since last year. It was a very clear, beautiful day on the mountain.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011: Full Moon Snowshoe
A nice mid-week snowshoe hike is always nice, even if it is the end of the semester and even if I am terribly far behind on nearly everything. The weather cooperated for this one--the moon was just cresting the tress as we started out, and it was crystal clear out. Seven people joined me for this Mountaineers' hike. It was a popular night for snowshoeing on the mountain--there were at least two other large groups hiking tonight, too.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Run
I spent the majority of my day either grading papers or procrastinating by cleaning something (everything really did need to be cleaned, so it's not such a terrible thing that I procrastinated, right?). There was a short little window of sunshine in the early afternoon, so I took advantage by doing my usual three-mile loop in the neighborhood. It was so warm that I wore shorts! This is the weirdest January on record.
Sunday, January 16: Run + skijor
Skijoring is so much fun, but it really isn't much of a workout when I take both Kari and Blaze. Today I went for a three mile run in the neighborhood before I loaded the car with skis and dogs for my afternoon skijor adventure.
The parking lot at Selkirk was uncharacteristically empty when I got there. The snow has been melting so fast that the parking lot is now down to bare gravel, and the ski conditions are very much like spring skiing right now. I don't mind the wet snow as much as I mind the debris on the trail.
Despite the fact that there were very few people skiing this afternoon, today I met the first anti-skijor person. It was a very strange conversation. First she stopped to tell me that dogs were not allowed on the ski trails. Her tone was a little confrontational, but I assumed that she just didn't realize that there were designated skijor days on the mountain. When I told her that we were allowed on certain trails on Wednesdays and Sundays after 2pm, her first response was to check her watch (it was 2:45). Then she asked if I was sure it was this trail. I assured her it was, pointing out the skijor trail sign that I happened to be standing near and letting her know about the other signs at the lodge. She examined the sign and said "But I thought it was just for skijoring." I wonder what she thought skijoring was? I assured her that skijoring was exactly what I was doing. At that she took off, but she still seemed a little angry that I wasn't doing something wrong. Of course, immediately after she left I got the more typical response--a couple of people skied up and wanted to pet the dogs and ask questions about skijoring.
The parking lot at Selkirk was uncharacteristically empty when I got there. The snow has been melting so fast that the parking lot is now down to bare gravel, and the ski conditions are very much like spring skiing right now. I don't mind the wet snow as much as I mind the debris on the trail.
Despite the fact that there were very few people skiing this afternoon, today I met the first anti-skijor person. It was a very strange conversation. First she stopped to tell me that dogs were not allowed on the ski trails. Her tone was a little confrontational, but I assumed that she just didn't realize that there were designated skijor days on the mountain. When I told her that we were allowed on certain trails on Wednesdays and Sundays after 2pm, her first response was to check her watch (it was 2:45). Then she asked if I was sure it was this trail. I assured her it was, pointing out the skijor trail sign that I happened to be standing near and letting her know about the other signs at the lodge. She examined the sign and said "But I thought it was just for skijoring." I wonder what she thought skijoring was? I assured her that skijoring was exactly what I was doing. At that she took off, but she still seemed a little angry that I wasn't doing something wrong. Of course, immediately after she left I got the more typical response--a couple of people skied up and wanted to pet the dogs and ask questions about skijoring.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Nordic + a little snowshoe
The weather around here is so weird right now! We got several inches of snow on Wednesday, but it immediately started melting and today the high was near 50 degrees. Everything is a wet, slushy mess.
I thought about hiking, but decided to skate ski instead. As it turns out, everything is melting on the mountain, too, so I would have been better of hiking. I did a short loop as some of the trails I wanted to take had not been groomed. After that I snowshoed from Selkirk lodge down to the chalet to check in on things. I think my daily combined mileage was probably around six.
I thought about hiking, but decided to skate ski instead. As it turns out, everything is melting on the mountain, too, so I would have been better of hiking. I did a short loop as some of the trails I wanted to take had not been groomed. After that I snowshoed from Selkirk lodge down to the chalet to check in on things. I think my daily combined mileage was probably around six.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Skijor
Today I was able to take both Kari and Blaze up to Mount Spokane for skijor day. This is great for them and not so great for me--I really didn't get a workout at all. Oh, well. Most people take their dogs for a walk; I let my dogs take me flying down the trail. I got my exercise through shivering!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Alpine
Today I finally picked up my pass at 49 North. The skiing was pretty good on the groomed stuff, but it was icy on the edges! It was also frigid. The only time I was warm all day was when we skinned up Angel Peak to check it out--skinning up was fun, but coming down was icy and tough. I can't wait to try it again when the conditions are better.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Finally back to running
Monday was the first day back to work, and it ended up being a tough one! The heat was off in my wing of the building. I was wearing a sweater, a soft-shell jacket, and my down jacket, plus my down mittens, and I was still shivering for most of the day. I think it was worse for the kids since a few of them didn't even have coats, but it was also pretty tough to be in the room all day (at least the kids had a few classes on the warm side of the building!). At any rate, I originally planned to run after school, but instead I felt too cold and miserable. I stayed in my classroom, sitting in front of the space heater the custodians brought in during 5th period, sipping tea while I worked on grades. I had to stay late, too, as I had an evening meeting.
By Tuesday our heating issues had been taken care of, so I don't have that excuse...I just ended up not running. In fact, I ended up napping after work! Oops.
Tonight I decided I needed to quit being such a sloth. It snowed most of the day and it was so pretty out this evening! I just did the easy three-mile loop we use for the Foothills Fun Run. It's actually quite boring, and I was quite slow. Oh, well, at least I'm doing something again!
By Tuesday our heating issues had been taken care of, so I don't have that excuse...I just ended up not running. In fact, I ended up napping after work! Oops.
Tonight I decided I needed to quit being such a sloth. It snowed most of the day and it was so pretty out this evening! I just did the easy three-mile loop we use for the Foothills Fun Run. It's actually quite boring, and I was quite slow. Oh, well, at least I'm doing something again!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday is Skijor Day!
Every Wednesday and Sunday after 2pm, skijoring is allowed on certain Nordic trails at Mount Spokane. Diana and I had plans to go last Wednesday, but a major snowstorm foiled our plans that day. Instead we went today--Diana with Murungu, Diana's friend Shelly with Luna, and then I had Blaze. Unfortunately, Kari wasn't feeling well today and had to stay home.
This made Kari fairly upset, but it was very good for Blaze. Today was his first skijor trip of the winter without Kari, and I wasn't sure that he would remember how to pull without Kari's example. He was terrible whenever I tried to take him alone last year. Today he actually pulled! Plus, I had to work since I only had one dog, so I got a good workout, too. It really is too easy for me with two dogs, but it's also a ton of fun! I did the whole thing without poles, so I imagine my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I believe it's between five and six miles.
Tomorrow is back to work for me. I'm so sad that the break is over. I have been having so much fun! Now I'm back to schedules plus evening meetings; the seniors have culminating essays due tomorrow, and I'm still behind on sophomore essays. In fact, I'd better get back to my grading right now!
This made Kari fairly upset, but it was very good for Blaze. Today was his first skijor trip of the winter without Kari, and I wasn't sure that he would remember how to pull without Kari's example. He was terrible whenever I tried to take him alone last year. Today he actually pulled! Plus, I had to work since I only had one dog, so I got a good workout, too. It really is too easy for me with two dogs, but it's also a ton of fun! I did the whole thing without poles, so I imagine my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I believe it's between five and six miles.
Tomorrow is back to work for me. I'm so sad that the break is over. I have been having so much fun! Now I'm back to schedules plus evening meetings; the seniors have culminating essays due tomorrow, and I'm still behind on sophomore essays. In fact, I'd better get back to my grading right now!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Resolution
Everybody needs a New Year's resolution, right? That's all the news people have been talking about lately, so I'm assuming it's true. I don't think I'll make a resolution to exercise more this year, since according to some health surveys I have taken, I exercise too much. Well, certainly not recently, but overall. Recently I have just been eating too many Christmas goodies. Nothing unique in that, I'm sure. I need to find a fun run that has a Clydesdale/Athena division because I'm back at my fighting weight after so much peanut butter fudge.
So instead of the typical exercise resolution, I'm making a resolution to update this thing more often with various exercise-related excursions. I see that I haven't posted anything since October, so I think this will be a good idea. A friend once told me that I should write accounts of trips I do, and I have been trying (and mainly failing) to keep a running log for years. It seems I only manage to keep track of things during Hike-a-Thon and the cross country season.
Here goes for January 1st: I woke up at the usual vacation time of 7:30am--believe me, that is really sleeping in. According to the news it was negative three degrees Fahrenheit at that time. I had to bundle up right away to go down to the basement (my scary basement) to turn up the heat as I did not have running cold water from the kitchen faucet this morning. I call it the scary basement because it has a dirt floor and a lot of bugs--I have killed several black widows down there in the past year. The access for the basement is outside and around the back of the house, hence the bundling up first. After that I worked on grading papers for awhile, but finally I couldn't take hanging out indoors any longer. I barely went out at all yesterday, so I was going a little crazy. I waxed my skis and bundled up and headed for Mount Spokane.
Skating in such cold temperatures is fairly slow going, especially since I don't really have wax that's good for such extreme cold. Everything was groomed, though, so I went for a long loop despite the cold day and the slow skis. I went out on Valley View, Blue Jay, and Lodgepole, and then I took Quartz Mountain (always fun for its downhill sections) out to the new trails, and then Buck Land and Mica Road to Linder Ridge Road, and finally back to the lodge on Mountain View. I don't know the distance for the Linder Ridge section (it's new to the Nordic system since Inland Paper closed snowmobile access this year), but the distance conversion for the rest was 7.378 miles. I'm guessing it's 8 miles with Linder Ridge.
So instead of the typical exercise resolution, I'm making a resolution to update this thing more often with various exercise-related excursions. I see that I haven't posted anything since October, so I think this will be a good idea. A friend once told me that I should write accounts of trips I do, and I have been trying (and mainly failing) to keep a running log for years. It seems I only manage to keep track of things during Hike-a-Thon and the cross country season.
Here goes for January 1st: I woke up at the usual vacation time of 7:30am--believe me, that is really sleeping in. According to the news it was negative three degrees Fahrenheit at that time. I had to bundle up right away to go down to the basement (my scary basement) to turn up the heat as I did not have running cold water from the kitchen faucet this morning. I call it the scary basement because it has a dirt floor and a lot of bugs--I have killed several black widows down there in the past year. The access for the basement is outside and around the back of the house, hence the bundling up first. After that I worked on grading papers for awhile, but finally I couldn't take hanging out indoors any longer. I barely went out at all yesterday, so I was going a little crazy. I waxed my skis and bundled up and headed for Mount Spokane.
Skating in such cold temperatures is fairly slow going, especially since I don't really have wax that's good for such extreme cold. Everything was groomed, though, so I went for a long loop despite the cold day and the slow skis. I went out on Valley View, Blue Jay, and Lodgepole, and then I took Quartz Mountain (always fun for its downhill sections) out to the new trails, and then Buck Land and Mica Road to Linder Ridge Road, and finally back to the lodge on Mountain View. I don't know the distance for the Linder Ridge section (it's new to the Nordic system since Inland Paper closed snowmobile access this year), but the distance conversion for the rest was 7.378 miles. I'm guessing it's 8 miles with Linder Ridge.
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