What a great day!

Today was a beautiful day in Seattle. It was near 70 degrees, apparently the record high for today was 67, it will be intersting to hear if we beat it! Who can pass up a gorgeous day? Not us! My mom and I went out and hiked Little Si this afternoon. Due to it being a weekday the the trail was pretty chill which was nice. The past few times there have been a lot of people even when it was raining! I had a bit of a rough time going up today. I don't know if it was because it was warm or because I was just tired. Yesterday I worked in the garden for 5 hours so my butt was a bit sore today. Also, my pack weighed in at 25 pounds. However, I didn't take anything out from Saturday's hike. The saddest part of the day was that I forgot the trekking poles. I was really excited to be going with my mom. I was going to show her how nice using poles were till I went and forgot them. I learned that trekking poles are great for two things: you knees and keeping your fingers from swelling! When we got home I checked our fundraising page and we passed the $3000 mark, we're at $3145 only $3855 left! Wahoo! That really made the great day better! To top off the evening, my cousin and uncle from Minnesota were in town for the night so we got to do some catching up with them. What a great day!

Rainier- The Mountain

Last night we watched a documentary on PBS, its called "Rainer, The Mountain." The documentary really reminded me on how majestic Mt. Rainier is. The documentary talks about the history of the mountain. The Native tribes in the area have stories about the mountain and their name for it was "Mt. Tacoma." American skiing started on there. Of course it has a little blurb about Lou and Jim Whittaker. It talks about the volcano. If anyone is interested in watching it, I researched where it can be found. You can by it at Channel 9's website or its on netflix if you have it. Especially those that don't live here in Washington I think you should take the time to watch the video and appreciate "our mountain." I really don't want to over educate myself before I get to the top. I want to know that its going to be hard so that I train properly. I want to know that its going to be dangerous, enough that I take the mountain seriously and not think its going to be a walk in the park. However, I do not want to know how big of a cravass I have to walk over before I get up there or how far down a cliff might be. The mind is a powerful muscle and I don't want it to be the reason that I don't make it up to the top! I hope that some of you watch the documentary and learn the love Mt. Rainier as much as I do.
FYI: I took this pic a year ago before I knew I was going to climb it!

Little Si Group Hike

Yesterday we went out to Little Si on a group training hike with all our fellow climbers. On Saturday I heard that it was suppose to rain  so I went out and bought a hard shell. Its something we need for the big hike and they're waterproof! I think Gavin thought I was a bit crazy to begin with but I'm SOOOO glad I bought it. It drizzled the way up and RAINED on the way down. Everyone was dripping wet by the time we were done! :) I felt bad, apparently Gavin didn't bring a hat, I didn't know he was looking for one till we were at the top and he was already looking like a drowned rat. I heard him talking to his dad that he needed a hat and told him I had an extra. He and everyone else made fun of the situation say it was a Dumb and Dumber moment. Apprently he had asked at the beginning of the hike! Oh well, next time he'll know that when I have to carry a big pack and make it weigh 15 pounds I'm going to be carrying around a bunch of extra stuff! Even through the rain we had a good time. I met some girls that I hadn't talked to before. Afterwards, we went to lunch at the North Bend Bar and Grill. Three of the group guides were there. They were great to talk to. They were so informative and helpful. They are going to be teaching us some great things in the weeks to come!

Since Tuesday...

A little update of the week. Tuesday after Gavin got done with work we went to Golden Gardens and climbed the stairs with our packs. We did the set three times! Our packed were about 20 pounds. Its so nice out in the evenings now that its lighter later. We really enjoyed getting out with each other and getting fresh air. Wednesday we went out to Golden Gardens again after Gavin got off work. He wanted to not use packs because we had pushed it pretty hard on Tuesday but we went ahead an did them with packs anyway. We just did two sets so that we didn't overdo it too much.  I worked Thrusday and Friday. Today we did house work again. I worked on the front yard. I'm attempting to till out the whole thing (8'x12'), I only got 1/3 of the way done. I found a huge pile of rocks, which I then had to haul by bucket loads to the back of the house. About 6-7 loads. I would say I got a good upper body workout today. Hoeing is hard work, man! Gavin worked on the bathroom today, fixing the lights and putting up wains coating. We got lots done but little to show for it! haha. Nothing new with our remodeling project. Tomorrow we are going a training hike to Little Si. We are excited! However....its suppose to rain! BOOO! Updates about the hike to come.

We reached the $2000 mark!

Last night we finally crossed the $2000 mark! YAY!! Now we just need to get to $3000 by the end of March. March 31st is the first deadline. We each need to have $1500 in by then or we are booted out! I'm thinking that we're doing pretty good to reach that deadline in time. :) Wahoo!

Last night we also had our 2nd Climb for Clean air meeting. They gave advice on how to keep raising the money. A lot of the great ideas came from knowing people in the area. Like having a bar give a percentage of the Rainier Beer proceeds toward the climb or having a restraunt do a party. I wish that I had more "ins" around here but we'll make do with what we have. They suggested doing garage sales, which is something that we had planned on doing anyway. The other thing they talked about was gear. Wow, gear is overwhelming, and we weren't even talking about upper mountain gear just low land gear for our training hikes. Its great that they take the time to help us out with all this stuff. I couldn't imagine trying to figure it all out on my own! The guides are all great! It was nice to meet up with the people that are going through the same things that we are. They are all so nice.

We want to continue to thank everyone that is supporting us on this journey. We wouldn't be at this point without you!

Stairs + 15 pound pack= Great workout!

This afternoon I went to to Golden Gardens to get some stair climbing in. I decided that today was going to be the day that I carry my pack up those stairs! My pack was about 15 pounds. It is definitely a lot harder going up and down with weight on your back. I did the set twice. My legs were shaking so bad by the end I was afraid I was going to fall! :) It was a beautiful but cold day out in Seattle. I started off freezing as I was going down the stairs in the shade but so hot at the top that I had to remove my vest! I probably looked silly with the pack but I'm now determined to do more sets of stairs at a time and to add more weight till I reach the 30 pounds we're expected to carry to the top of Mt. Rainier.

1st Group training hike

On Saturday we had our first group training hike. The hike was at Rattlesnake Ledge just a little bit east of North Bend. The hike is about 4 miles around trip and 3000 feet elevation change. The day was unbelievably gorgeous! Apparently last year on this hike it had snowed on the group but this year there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was around 60 degrees. We had great company, getting to know some of the other climbers a little bit better. The guides on the hike were very helpful. We carried 15 pound packs on this hike. My pack was hurting my shoulders a little bit and the guides were very helpful in getting it more comfortable for me. Apparently I didn't pack the weight correctly. Because the pack wasn't full, all the weight fell to the bottom causing the pack to not sit properly. We had to use trekking poles on this hike as well. I was a little unsure to begin with because I don't ski so I'm not use to poles in my hands. However, now I'm not sure I would hike without them! They really help with balance as you're climbing around  roots and rocks. Here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the day!  

The pictures are of the view at the top of the ledge looking left to right.

And the winner is...

Jim Cosgrove!!

Thank you Jim for all your generous support! We hope that you enjoy the beautiful quilt!

Chilly Hilly

So a little history. In preparation for the climb, I'll also be riding the liveStrong challenge here in Seattle. It's a 100 mile bike ride three weeks before the climb (which also will benefit cancer reasearch) . Feel free to come cheer on Team Road Kill anywhere along the route!

Now in preparation for livestrong, which is actually preparation for the climb, some friends and I road the Chilly Hilly. The Chilly Hilly is a casual 33 mile ride around Bainbridge Island with riders of all skill levels. The ride went great, and we had a ton of fun! Legs finally started to burn good as we round Eagle Harbor on the way back to the ferry. If you like to cycle, and weren't on the ride this year, go check it out you'll love it. And for the record it was chilly and a bit hilly.

Next up in the cycling department will be the 7 Hills of Kirkland, can't wait!

P.s. thank you to everyone that has been donating we're getting closer!

Yellowstone Falls Raffle

We are having a raffle on a beautiful wall hanging of Lower Falls in Yellowstone. Its made by mom and looks just like a picture! The raffle is being done in Gardiner by my sister. So if you're in the area and want tickets catch up with her. If you are not in the area and want tickets you are more that welcome to join in on the fun! Just go to Gavin and Naisha's Fundraising page and donate, then email me or post a comment on here that your donation is toward the Falls raffle. The tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. The drawing will be on April 15th.