If At First You Don't Succeed

    The last month has been full of adventures, along with some humbling moments, but even the ill-fated hikes have brought me reminders that will serve me in my preparation, so nothing is truly lost.  I had attempted Anti-Aircraft Peak a few weekends ago but instead got lost on Cougar Mountain for a couple hours.  I guess that's what happens when you mix an outdated guide book with unmarked trail forks.  I still got in a great hike and a reminder to wear sock liners too but was left with the disappointment of not reaching a destination with such an intriguing name.

The following weekend I made a second (and successful) attempt in the pouring rain.  With heightened wits and a better map I realized that the hike to the peak from the trail head was stupid short, like less than half a mile short. No wonder I got lost!  Desiring a decent hike with a climactic end, PeeWee and I went the long route and did a total of 6 miles in relatively heavy rain.  PeeWee made it .04 miles before quitting and required a lyft in my jacket the rest of the way.

This was a great hike and the rain made it that much better.  The trails were empty of people and the sounds of the rain trickling through the canopy was incredibly peaceful.  I came across some cool finds like a relatively recently burnt-out jeep in the woods and what seems to be an old WWII cement bunker hatch. A heavily soaked tree creaked with a growl in the wind and scared the BeJeebus out of me. I can laugh at myself now because I jumped back and started singing a song like Julie Andrews in a freaking lightning storm. It was also an EXCELLENT reminder that I ought to be carrying my knife when I hike alone. They didn't name it Cougar Mountain for nothing.

I have no idea how this jeep got back here!

WWII Anti-Aircraft bunker! Secret busted!

Since this is endurance training I often had to stop and remind myself to stop enjoying the nature so much and keep my body challenged.  I only had about 14 lbs on my back (plus the 7 lb pooch on front) so I was able to run some. After I had seen all I had come to see and my body was as saturated as it was going to get, I saw I had plenty of daylight, no place to be and energy reserves in my body. I knew I needed to keep going. I must train my body to work beyond pleasure hikes if I want hiking up Mt. Rainier to be pleasurable, or at least not brutally devastatingly painful. So I turned around short of the trail head in search of a place called "Fantastic Erratic." After conquering a snack on top of the enormous glacial boulder, we hiked back up a straight steady climb. Finally feeling a little worn, I questioned pushing myself to run as much as I could for the final steep leg but then I darn near stepped on a cute little snail making its way across the trail; welcomed snail medicine from The Universe to give myself permission to do the slow and steady. It's not supposed to be about pushing my body to exhaustion but rather to build up my body to prevent exhaustion.

Cuddle 'stache PNW style

Incidentally, in the week that followed I became sick with a cold/flu bug I picked up from the kids I work with at my day gig.  I had planned to go backpacking that weekend but rested up instead. It was frustrating to not be able to condition with the weeks lapsing before the climb.  By Sunday I convinced myself that a jaunt up Mt. Si was what the doctor ordered. Wrong. I made it about half way before conceding that I was harming my body more than conditioning it and at the rate I was going could run out of daylight. Of course it didn't help I was also attempting to lug up 4 bricks in my pack with a chest cold. I swear I am a smart person, I'm just darn willful sometimes.

Now that I am feeling much better, I've got a date with Mt. Si this weekend. :)



As always, please consider supporting me in my fundraising efforts to raise $5000 for Camp Korey, a non-profit summer camp for kids with serious life altering medical conditions.  Donations are tax deductible and can be made electronically here or by clicking the huge button below.