Mt. Si Take 2

Today we summited Mt. Si for the second time; we went with the Climb for Clean Air group. There was a great turn out of people despite the weather. I'll be honest, on the way out to the trailhead I was really tempted to turn around, head back home, and retuck myself into the covers! It was down pouring rain on the way there! After my experience last week, I knew that I couldn't head up the mountain at too fast of a speed so I did better at keeping a slower steady pace. Katie Younkin was kind enough to walk slowly with me. :)

About three quarters of the way up it started snowing! Yup I said it, snowing! Here we are at the end of April and there were huge white flakes falling down. It didn't start sticking till right before we hit the top. It was a nice change from the rain though, not as wet.

When we suddenly hit the "snow line" it was absolutely gorgeous. Gavin and I had fallen a bit behind the pack and got to enjoy the beauty in quietness. It was so serene. Gavin took a few pictures, attempting to capture the wonder of it. As lovely as it was, we had to keep going up. We came along a group of people all huddled down next to each other along the trail. We stopped to see if they were okay and it turned out their cute little dog had an ice ball and rock stuck in her paw. Little Abby was having a hard time making it down. I couldn’t just keep on hiking without helping. We offered our services by providing a Leatherman to cut the ice chunk out. When they had finished she was so cute and appreciative, she started following us. But after her little fix up she was good as new and was able to finish her way down Mt. Si. At the top I would love to tell you it was gorgeous but you have to remember it's Seattle. The view was all socked in: fog and snow. After a quick bite and some group picture taking we needed to go back down, it was cold up there!!

Before we started to trek back down the mountain I dumped out all my extra water bottles I was carrying for weight. Last week the way down was treacherous on my knees, no need to do that again! It dumped out probably 6 pounds, it definitely felt better. After finishing, about eight of us headed to our new favorite lunch place in North Bend, the North Bend Bar and Grill, then it was home to relax!

All about the ALA

I've wanted to make a post about some of the great things the American Lung Association does. At our April climb meeting they had a couple of people come in a talk to us about what they do.

T.A.T.U. (Teens Against Tobacco Use) I got really excited about this program. But you know me and kids. This program trains middle and high school kids to go in and teach elementary kids why they shouldn't smoke or use other tobacco products. Monica Nelson of the ALA spoke with us about her program. She did an experiment with us that she does with the kids to give them an idea of what smoking can do to you. Emphysema is a result of smoking for many years. She had us breathe through coffee straws with our noses plugged. I couldn't do it, it has so hard for me to breathe that I had to stop earlier that she said to. It makes me empathize with people that are suffering from COPD and emphysema. There is no way that I will be smoking! I think it’s awesome that they have a program to go out there and educate our youth about the dangers of smoking.

Master Home Environmentalist- This program is to help people identify if the air quality in their homes are safe. Many people may be exposed to household chemicals, lead, pesticides, dust mites and other allergens in their home. MHE train volunteers to go out to people's homes to do an assessment. They can help make an action plan and prioritize steps in creating a healthier home environment. Gavin's boss at Grouparchitecture, Scott LaBenz, is going through this training. We are really excited that his firm is getting into helping people have clean air in their homes. Casey, the supervisor for this program, was telling us that some house's air quality is worse than the air quality outside! People may be suffering from respiratory symptoms and may not realize that it could be from their own home! The home health assessment is free!

The ALA has many other great programs going on as well. I don't want to make this post too long so maybe I'll post another one again in the future. I just wanted to share with you all the great things that the ALA does and why we are so excited to be raising money for them. I'll be honest; they've got me thinking into becoming an adult T.A.T.U educator. I think it sounds like a ton of fun!

So much to catch up on!

So much to catch up on!
1st- My mom finished selling tickets for our Yellowstone Falls quilt in Gardiner last week. The winner of that quilt is Barbara Bush! YAY! Congratulations to her and thank you everyone that partipated in that raffle!
2nd- Thanks to the rest of the raffle money and some of my wonderful coworkers we have crossed the $4000 mark! Wahoo! Less than $3000 to go!

3rd- We hiked Mt. Si this weekend with a couple of other CFCA climbers. We went with Jeff, Jeff A, Carna,  and Heather. The elevation change from the trailhead of Mt. Si to the summit is 4,000 feet! It is comparable to what it will be like to go from Paradise to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier except without the starting elevation. It is defnitely a tough hike! With such a great elevation change with each mile it makes it a constant straight uphill climb. Gavin and I each carried about 25 pounds in our pack. We reached the top in 2.5 hours! We thought the weather was going to be nice and sunny but Seattle decided to change its mind and make it stay cloudy and drizzly which was pretty nice! It kept us nice and cool. We all decided that we wanted to head out this weekend so we would know what to prepare for for the group hike at Mt. Si next week. Boy I'm glad I did! :) Now to be honest, remember those boots I bought last weekend after Tiger Mountain? Well I worked all week and didn't have time to break them in. I thought, well, how else do you break shoes in but to wear them. So I wore my new hiking boots up Mt. Si. MISTAKE! :) I had blisters on both my heals and a sore spot on the outside of one ankle! Opps! But luckly this morning when I woke up my blisters were gone but my feet were sore! haha! I think my goal this week is to try and walk around in my boots a bit before we got up Mt. Si with the entire group. I also had my pack fix last weekend at REI and this made a huge difference. Having your pack fit correctly makes all the difference in the world! After we got home from our hike, Gavin and I ate one of our favorite comfort foods: grilled cheese and tomato soup! I apparently must have been a bit worn out because I crashed on the couch for 2 hours! All in all it was a great hike, tough but great!

A little taste of winter

This morning I received a call from work at 5am that I got a 8 hour no pay! I was super excited because this meant that I could join in on the group training hike up Tiger Mountain #3. I didn't sleep well last night so I woke up a bit grumpy despite the fact that I got to go on the hike. We were running a bit late but we went to go get coffee anyway. On the way to coffee I saw a guy using his trekking poles as he was crossing the street. Had I not been a bit grumpy I might had found that a bit humorous but instead I realized, "Oh my gosh! We forgot our poles!" So we grabbed some coffee then back to the house to get the poles. I was freaking out that we were going to be late, if you're not there and ready to hike at 9 am they will leave you. But we made it with 10 minutes to spare! The morning was clear and beautiful but freezing! We started up the gravel road to the trailhead. After a quick potty break we were on our way up Tiger Mountain. I was in the beginning of the train with Gavin and Richard and not too far into it I was having a hard time. My nose wouldn’t stop running (I forgot tissues again), my pack was driving me absolutely bonkers it wouldn't synch right without hurting something on me, and I was having a hard time breathing. So needless to say I was having a difficult time keeping up and felt like a complete failure. I had to pull off to the side of the trail and had a complete breakdown. My wonderful husband pulled over with me and helped me continue on our way but at a much slower pace. After a few minutes my meltdown resolved and other hikers had slowed down as well. Carna, our event planner, didn't want to keep with the crazy pace of the pack either so she and I hiked at a much better pace behind the rest of them. It was great! I got to know her a little better and was able to breathe!

At 0.9 miles left to the summit the guide suggested that those who brought Yaktracks put them on. Gavin, Richard, and I did not purchase those so we will be hiking up the rest of the way without them. Boy do I wish I had some better hiking shoes and Yaktracks now! For the next 0.9 miles up it was icy! Winter had come to Western Washington in the previous week and hadn't left the top of Tiger yet. I had my poles (thank goodness!) and pulled my way up! Took me a bit longer due to all the sliding but to the top I made it! It was gorgeous up there! Bad mood has gone away! So after a little lunch, chitchatting and some picture taking down we had to go. I still don't have any Yaktracks and down is only as slippery as the way up. Slowly but surely I was making my way down. I was doing pretty good too! We were almost back to the end of the iciness...I was confident I was going to make it without falling when the next thing I know I'm flat on my back! Ooops! I must have leaned a little too far back, with my 25 pound pack I was a goner before I had a chance to think about it! Oh well, back up I got and down the trail we went. The rest of the way down was good, a little sore on the knees but doable! We had great conversation with another young couple and enjoyed the last couple of miles. After we got back to Seattle we went to REI to fix my pack and buy a new pair of hiking shoes in hopes to avoid anymore grumpy days!

MyBallard

Hey everyone,

I wanted send out a special thanks to the folks over at MyBallard.com! They were nice enough to do a little article about us and our efforts. It's so great when the community gets behind you! If you saw the article and its brought you here, then we welcome you! I hope that our little adventure inspires you. And, if you see us around town or climbing at Golden Gardens (our urban hiking oasis) shout us some encouragement. If we seem to be stugglin give us a push (up that hill that is) =D. If you already read our blog and missed the little blurb you can check it out here.

Thanks again everyone, were getting closer!

Gavin

Weekly update

This week we were quite productive. Monday, Gavin and I went out to Golden Gardens and climbed the stairs. We hadn't been out in a while so it was a bit difficult! Tuesday we went out to the stairs again with my mom in tow as well. Wednesday, I went out to the stairs with my friend Robin and I carried my pack with maybe 15 pounds. When we got to the park we ran into some friends from nursing school that I haven't seen in 6 months! So today, I went out to Golden Gardens with my friend Rebecca, who I had run into the day before. She bought along her baby and her dog it was a ton of fun. The weather in Seattle today has been a bit confused but while we were out it was blue skies and sunny. However, once I got back into my car it started to hail. Tonight Gavin and I have a Climb for Clean air meeting. Hoping to learn more about gear and stuff. I pretty much work ALL next week, some of the days are only 8 hours shifts this week so hopefully we'll be able to get out after I get done with work.  Our fundraising is at $3,740, we're getting there!

Half way mark!

Hello!
We have gone over the half way mark! We are now at $3,615!!! WAHOO!! Thank you everyone that has supported us! We've had a bit of a lull in our motivation! I think it has been the weather and I've been working a lot of 12 hour shfits in the last week. Today we went up the Golden Garden stairs with my dad and sister. Tomorrow, Gavin and I are hoping to hike up Eldorado hill in Silverdale while we're over there visiting his family for Easter. Thank you again to everyone!