Family Hike to Cascade Pass

We went on a hike with our good friends to Cascade pass. What a beautiful view we had when we got there! We stood on those rocks looking down into the valley and there were some really interesting animals ambling in and out of the bushes, completely unaware that their daily lives were being observed. You can check out more information about Cascade Pass and other hikes at the Washington Trails Association website: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/cascade-pass

My first Half Marathon!

In June 2009 I ran my first half-marathon. We did the first annual Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon. There was a band every mile and there were so many people that you really had to be careful and watch where you were stepping so you wouldn't trip over somebody else's feet. It is so inspiring to see thousands of people filling the street for as far as you can see... all doing something healthy and loving it. I can't believe I ran 13.1 miles!!! This is a big accomplishment for me, because I have never been able to run that far before. As a matter of fact, I have not always enjoyed running. When I was younger I was definitely a sprinter, not a distance runner. I liked going super-fast when we did line sprints at basketball and volleyball practices, but the mile run used to seem kind of long to me. I started jogging for exercise when I was in college, and continued to do so occasionally, but still I never went very far. I have always much preferred going to step-aerobics class for my cardio exercise. Then a few years ago, when my kids were on soccer teams and I had to spend my time driving them back and forth instead of going to the gym, I started jogging with a few of my friends who also had daughters on the team. We would jog while the kids practiced. This killed two birds with one stone- we got our exercise and we got to hang out with our friends- both things that are hard to do when you are a busy mom!! We kept increasing our distance over time and decided this year we should challenge ourselves to run a half marathon to give ourselves focus and a goal to reach for. I definitely could not have done this without my friends. When I am jogging with them I find it fun to talk and hang out together, but when I am by myself I keep checking my watch to see how long I've been going! I have a much harder time motivating myself to keep going. I guess it's all about finding something you enjoy doing and finding a way to get the most out of it as possible. It was definitely a challenge for us to coordinate activities and get everybody in our families taken care of so that we could get together to run. Thank goodness we all have great, helpful husbands that supported our goal! Sometimes we had to run late at night, sometimes very early in the morning, and sometimes for just a half hour if that is all the time we had, but once in a while we got to go for a couple of hours! When it was getting close to the time to do our half-marathon we jogged all the way from Jefferson school to Skagit Valley Gardens and back! That was about 10 miles. I really have a lot of respect for people who can run full marathons- I don't think I'll be doing 26 miles any time soon, but I sure am happy that I did 13.

Golfing

What a great way to get out and walk a lot while having fun with your friends and family. I definitely need a lot more practice and look forward to getting as much practice as possible!

Hiking on Mount Baker Aug 08

This family hike was lots of fun. It was quite a long drive to get to Artist Point. We didn't get the awesome views from the top this day due to fog and drizzle, but it was beautiful in other ways. The fog made these photos very pretty. We hiked around the Artist Point Ridge, then went down to Heather Meadows. Our oldest daughter didn't think she would have any fun going on a family hike (she'd much rather be at the mall or a movie), but she really enjoyed it and even had a smile on her face most of the time! Our other daughter was very prepared. She had so many layers on that she still had a few on after shedding several in the car. Our son was mostly prepared with food and thought he needed to take snack breaks every five minutes. He would say "I'm hungry, does anybody need a snack?" even though he just ate. We finally convinced him that being prepared with food was mostly in case of an emergency and that you don't have to eat everything you bring. We were lucky enough to have the sun peek through the fog a few times. My favorite part of this hike was standing on the edge of Heather Meadows with the sun on my face enjoying the sound of all of the little waterfalls.

If you want to check out more info on this area look at: http://www.experiencewa.com/byways/BywayPoi.aspx?bwid=1&poi=41

Climbing Mount Saint Helens July 08

I climbed Mount Saint Helens!

This was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have ever had. I went along with my dear friends on their family vacation. When we checked the website for the mountain, it mentioned "hiking". We expected to do a day hike which would take about 8-10 hours. Well, it is definitely mountain "climbing" but it was a blast!

We got to the trailhead bright and early at about 7am. It was a beautiful sunny day. The Climber's Bivouac trail that we hoped to go on was still closed due to this year's heavy snowfall. So, we had to take the trail that went straight up. There is still a lot of ash. You might notice that my shoes are the same color as the trail! By the end, we were covered from head to toe.

We began by taking a nice walk through the woods for a couple of hours. Then we got to the boulders. We climbed up, and up, and up, and up. You get the idea. Just when we thought we were near the top, we crested a ridge and realized we had a looong way still to go. We met some wonderful people and ended up spending the rest of the day with them.

Once you get to the snow line, the trail ends and people take many different routes to the summit. This was the scary part that was very steep. After going for 6 hours, there was NO WAY we were turning back. We were determined to see that crater! After climbing the "snow steps" and getting through the scree/shale type terrain (where you actually sank back half as far as you went for every step), we made it to the summit. Wow, what a beautiful view. We were on the edge of the volcano crater. There are still puffs of steam coming out! We could see Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier in the distance. It was definitely worth the effort. It took us 8 hours to get to the top. Knowing we still had to go all the way back down and not wanting to run out of daylight, we did not spend much too time admiring the view.

On the way down, everybody brings a garbage bag to sit on in order to save time sliding down the snowy parts. We were too scared to go back down the steep snow steps. We hiked across the ridge for a while but could not find anyplace less steep and knew we had to get on a garbage bag and go over a cliff. The snow was not exactly soft any more. There were many grooves from previous sliders which were just barely wide enough for our hips and about 8 inches deep. You get flying sooo fast down the mountain that you are completely out of control. One time I was thrown out of the groove, tumbling head over heels, screaming like crazy. As I was upside down, I looked over at my friend (I had caught up with her) who was still in the groove looking at me with shock in her eyes wondering how I was ever going to stop. Eventually Newton's laws catch up with you, thank goodness. We saved three hours by doing this crazy "sledding" and skiing on our tennishoes. (It is funny to think back to the trip up the mountain when we were deciding which route to go on so our feet wouldn't get wet!) We made it down the mountain in five hours, for a total time of 13 hours round trip. I highly recommend this experience!!! But, if you go, make sure you bring a large garbage bag, plenty of food and water, and hiking gloves which turned out to be the best thing ever. And of course, bring a camera because you will not want to forget a moment of your time on that mountain.