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  I guess that's what happens when you mix an outdated guide book with unmarked trail forks.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.

Camp Magic

In my early 20s my friends used to poke fun that most of my stories started with "This one time at summer camp," in part a nod to American Pie but more the ridiculous joy that my summer camp memories brought me.  I spent 7 whole or partial summers as a camp counselor (with an unaffiliated camp organization) to help pay forward the positive, empowering, life altering experience that summer camp was for me as a teenager.

Counselors talk about "Camp Magic" as both a whimsical feeling and an experience of controlled chaos. Camp is where the most ridiculous scenarios come true with seeming spontaneity. Whether it be pancakes for dinner or unraveling a Scooby Doo who-done-it mystery, around every corner is a surprise that is thoughtfully orchestrated and creates an air of camp magic. Everything is punctuated by enthusiasm and creativity without crossing into genuine chaos. Dinner may erupt into a full choreographed and costumed musical production. A nature walk to the swamp may turn into mud gushing like Swamp Thing. Canoeing the lake may become a winner-takes-all game of battle boats. Face painting may lead to Capture the Flag and full-on sword fern camouflage. The pouring rain can be a great time to slip'n'slide. Adventures and misadventures alike are character building, foster teamwork, creativity, empowerment, build self-esteem and most of all, sheer joy.
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Summer camp is a place where a kid gets to be a kid, where they can forget about all the troubles that wait for them in the muggle world. Often nobody "knows" the camper's outside life and the child is able to blossom into who-they-really-are, rather than who society tells them they are or ought to be. Nobody knows about that embarrassing time at school that "......." happened or that mean nickname that s/he is relentlessly called on the playground. Each child arrives with a blank slate to a crew of camp counselors who believe and show that child that s/he is the absolute coolest. Kids have more stress in their lives than we give them credit for. They carry the weight of their parents' stress as well as their own, and we live in a world that can be cruel at times.  Most kids who come to camp are able to leave these troubles behind for the most part.

The kids who come to Camp Korey share the growing pains of other kids but are also facing battles that other kids (and even adults) often just can't understand or fully appreciate. These kids live lives that are often dictated by doctor appointments, awkward medical equipment, physical limitations and self-doubt (or doubt imposed by others) about abilities, uncomfortable side-effects of medication, and their families' daunting medical bills. Kids with serious medical issues can feel like they are a burden to their families or peers. Middle school is already characterized by painful self-consciousness, and society has a way of noticing people who are different in a way that reminds a person that they are indeed "different" and it is not kind. Kids with life altering medical conditions cannot hide their wheelchair or oxygen tank or head bald from chemo. At Camp Korey every child has the same life altering affliction. They don't have to spend their time educating people on their condition. They are not seen as defined by their diagnosis. They are just like everyone else and starting their week of magic with a clean slate with camp counselors who believe and show them that they are the absolute coolest. They know that they are safe in a medically supportive environment so they can relax, have fun just being kids, and not feel "different."

I believe with my whole heart that Camp Korey will provide these young people with a strength that will carry them not only into the school year and their awkward teenage years but through-out their entire lives. This is why I am attempting the most difficult, scary & strenuous task of my life, climbing Mt. Rainier, to give this amazing life transforming gift to kids who truly deserve a vacation from their problems.

Please consider donating to Sally's Camp Korey Fundraising page. Sally has committed to raising $5,000 of LOVE before August 2014.

Aum Aparajitaya Nama

  "How strong is strong enough?" is the question I keep asking myself (and Google).  The answers I find are varied but the general consensus seems to be that the more fit a person is the more a person will enjoy the climb. Those who are not well conditioned will suffer utter misery and become deadweight for the entire team.  These are both good motivation for me. I am no masochist who wishes to painfully trudge and fall tragically short of the goal... or fall tragically a long long way down from said goal..  But I also refuse to be the deadweight on that line! A team is tethered and can only move as fast as its slowest person.  I need to hold my own and not hinder the rest.  I'll forgive myself if I do end up being the slowest on the rope but I will do so in knowing that I am demonstrating my most valiant effort.

The 3 areas of conditioning most referenced are:
1. Endurance. 8 to 12 hours at a time of climbing at altitude
2. Strength. The pack will weigh 35-45lbs.
3. Mental. To push on forward in the face of pain & fatigue.

People have much to say about the first 2. Whether it be Google or suggestions made in conversation, people have lots of ideas on how to achieve these fitness goals. (For the record, I welcome all helpful points of view and suggestions on this subject!)  While most all people acknowledge the 3rd, few have practical suggestions on how to achieve the mental discipline. I've heard "You just have to want it bad enough" or "just force yourself to keep pushing forward even through exhaustion and pain." Or as Dori would put it "Just keep swimming. Just keep Swimming." 

Each day I get my cardio. Each day I build my strength. But how does one "condition" the mind?  I began meditating with some regularity almost a year ago. Last summer, as I returned to the grid from my Vision Quest, the 1st voicemail to come through was an invite from the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Center in Ravenna.  Through their Center I learned many helpful techniques on how to bring myself center.  A major theme at Sri Chinmoy is Self-Transcendence, to raise oneself to its greatest potential. This theme is put into practice by a focus on athletic pursuits for the sole purpose of reaching one's personal best yet without any ego; to move beyond our own limits which is all the reward one needs.  It was under their influence that I began to give running a chance. Running and meditating became welcomed activities whereas I once considered both quite boring. (Disclaimer: Sri Chinmoy has rules by which followers must live their lives which wasn't for me in the long-term, though helpful short-term, but this lifestyle makes joining not for most)

One of the most helpful techniques they taught were mantras which are one-line songs that are repeated over and over. I find meditation mantras to have a vibratory effect on my body. There is one mantra that has served me very well. "Aum Aparajitaya Nama" which in Sanskrit means "God, I bow to the One who never accepts defeat." (I sang this a lot through my divorce process.) This mantra has held me in my own power. It burns a fire of fury and love to fight for victory over hardship with all possible determination. When I honor the One inside me who refuses to resign to defeat, I feel almost indignant that I ever considered quitting. No matter what, I am hell bent on surviving and coming out stronger by my own determination, whatever life throws me.

When I exercise, I visualize myself at the top of the mountain. I WANT it and I'll be damned if I'm the One who stops me from doing it. I can and will push on. I will not accept defeat. Aum Aparajitaya Nama will help lyft me to that summit.

Please consider making a donation at Sally's Camp Korey Fundraiser Page to support sending kids with life-altering medical conditions to summer camp. Give the gift of empowerment and fun.

Introductions

This is my first adventure into the blogosphere! My primary objective with this blog is to invite you to cheerlead me, your local underdog, to the top of Mt. Rainier this August 2014 to fundraise for Camp Korey, a local non-profit summer camp that provides free services for kids (3,500 annually) that help empower them and allows them to just enjoying being kids. My fundraising goal is $5000 Click here to make a donation but the fundraising is only half the challenge. A summit attempt of Mt. Rainier takes an enormous amount of strength and stamina, the likes I have never known.  This blog will help chronicle my total body transformation, already in progress. Any and all encouragement along the way is dearly appreciated for this climb will be a labor of love.

My 2013 New Years resolution was to take my health back and not only did I achieve that goal but I haven't stopped. 2 years ago I learned that the better part of a decade ago, a run-in with some ticks resulted in exposure to Lyme Disease. I witnessed the slow decline of my health and felt 60+ when I was hardly 30 with a wide array of physical and mental symptoms that began to impair my life. With the help of an amazing and compassionate doctor I am now virtually symptom free and ready to live a life not limited. I have clocked countless hours at the gym and working with a trainer to re-build my strength and lose weight. To date I have lost 45 lbs, 12% of my body fat, and 8 dress sizes. I run at least a mile almost every day and this is the 1st time in my life since I was in P.E. class that I can do 12 pushups in a single set. This may not seem like a huge feat to some, but when I think back to the painful numbing neuropathy I used to experience in my arms, it's a heroic improvement. When I think about the strength I will need to build to summit Mt. Rainier, my inner-warrior woman knows that I can power-on.

I am now training harder for this summit than I ever have for anything in my life. My endurance work-outs are near daily and often scenic, whether climbing the Galer stairs from Westlake to Queen Anne, trail running urban trails, or hiking lower elevation local mountains. My little dog, PeeWee, accompanies me on most of these adventures. Other days I get my sweat on at the gym Lyfting weights to build the strong back, shoulders, and core necessary to carry a 40+lb pack up a mountain. Below:  4/13/14 Rattlesnake Ledge with 10lb pack. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

 Please consider dropping a word of encouragement or possibly consider making a donation to Camp Korey

Mission Statement: Camp Korey
Camp Korey’s mission is to honor the courage, strength, and determination of children living with serious and life-altering medical conditions and their families; and to provide them with a safe, friendly, medically sound environment in which to simply have fun and be kids.

Video of a Day in the Life of a Camp Korey Camper