Yesterday was a busy day with the entire extended family meeting for a late Christmas celebration in a beach house at Nag's Head, North Carolina. One of my gifts this year was a Mount Rainier geocoin.
For those not familiar with geocaching, it's basically a big game of hide and seek with electronics. Caches are anything from a magnet to a 20 gallon Rubbermaid tub hidden in, on, under, around, between, and within anywhere. Yesterday we found one under a lighthouse, just placed under the decking.
Geocoins are small coins that are serialized and tracked on geocaching.com. They then placed in a geocache and fellow geocachers move them from one geocache to another. Then the owner of the coin can look at their progress on the website to see all the places they travel. Some geocoins will have a "goal" to work toward, allowing others to pick it up and try to move it closer to the destination.
It's obvious where this Geocoin is headed.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Itinerary
I put together the itinerary for a 12-day trip and was a bit surprised. The typical day has an effective range of 10-12 miles, which was not unexpected. The leg that I was surprised with was the leg from Indian Creek to Longmire. This is the one that parallels the road south of Mount Rainier. When driving along this road from Box Canyon to Longmire, it seems to take an hour or so if you're not stopping to look at the waterfalls, Visitor's Center in Paradise, walk in the meadows. It surprised me that this leg of the trip is only about 10 miles. It cuts off some of the side trips, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
One of the things that tells me, though, is for one of my training hikes, we should be able to camp at Cougar Rock campground, hike to Indian Creek, overnight there and hike back. Given that it's on the south side, that part of the trail opens a bit earlier in the summer, so I may have to give it a go in June or so.
One thing I haven't done yet is make a map of the hike for you. There are many topographic maps, but I'm considering something that's a bit more point to point. I'll give it a go and attach it in one of the permanent pages.
(I've since started and put one here.)
One of the things that tells me, though, is for one of my training hikes, we should be able to camp at Cougar Rock campground, hike to Indian Creek, overnight there and hike back. Given that it's on the south side, that part of the trail opens a bit earlier in the summer, so I may have to give it a go in June or so.
One thing I haven't done yet is make a map of the hike for you. There are many topographic maps, but I'm considering something that's a bit more point to point. I'll give it a go and attach it in one of the permanent pages.
(I've since started and put one here.)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Winter Storm
We're spending the holidays on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, which is on the outskirts of the "Blizzard of 2010", so any training will have to consist of going up and down two flights of stairs. We did manage to get outside and walk a few hundred feet up the beach before we couldn't feel our extremities.
So, I've been reading Bette's book about the trail to get more familiar. She mentioned a method of estimating effort that I hadn't heard before. The hiking center at Longmire suggests that you add a mile for every 1,000 foot elevation gain and add half a mile for every 1000 foot elevation loss. Thus, the typical Longmire to Devil's Dream is 5.9 miles and 2,500 foot elevation gain, basically equivalent to a 8.4 mile hike. Although it doesn't begin to estimate the amount of effort required, it is a good start to give me an idea how much stamina I'll need to have from a training standpoint.
As part of the planning, I have to plan a route to take. Given that it'll change over time and depending on capacity of the campsites, I'll be updating my Itinerary frequently.
So, I've been reading Bette's book about the trail to get more familiar. She mentioned a method of estimating effort that I hadn't heard before. The hiking center at Longmire suggests that you add a mile for every 1,000 foot elevation gain and add half a mile for every 1000 foot elevation loss. Thus, the typical Longmire to Devil's Dream is 5.9 miles and 2,500 foot elevation gain, basically equivalent to a 8.4 mile hike. Although it doesn't begin to estimate the amount of effort required, it is a good start to give me an idea how much stamina I'll need to have from a training standpoint.
As part of the planning, I have to plan a route to take. Given that it'll change over time and depending on capacity of the campsites, I'll be updating my Itinerary frequently.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Walking around the (National) Mall
It was cold and windy, but we kept up a brisk pace. Not much elevation change, unless you count the stairs on the Lincoln Memorial.
Unwrapped some Christmas presents last night from the best candidate to be a future son-in-law. Now I have another Backpacking book to use as info, The Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick Curtis. I opened it to a random page and read the start of the Bear Precautions section. First bullet "Avoid contact with bears." Lets hope the advice improves from here.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Steve Poe
It's been a couple of days since you heard from me, because it's been a wild couple of days. On Friday I found out that I needed to travel to Oklahoma City on Monday, so I spent much of the day Friday reworking my travel schedule. On Saturday I missed exercising (and blogging) due to delivering food baskets in the morning, a funeral in the afternoon, and a Christmas Party in the evening. (Once again, I was top winner on the Fantasy Casino with $4.3 million, but alas, no credit for it.) Sunday followed with a Seahawks game with Gail and Valerie, and watching the Packers Sunday night. Needless to say, the exercising was out the window.
The funeral on Saturday was particularly poignant, for the gentleman who died was three days older than me. No apparent health issues, he just dropped while he was exercising with his son.
Steve was a tall, quiet man who was active at Advent. I didn't know him very well, and I didn't know we almost shared a birthday until the funeral. If there was a vote of who would keel over first between Steve and me, no one would have picked Steve.
But who are we to question why things . Good will come from everything and it still hurts. My heart goes out to Brenda, Brandon and Derek, and all those who knew Steve well.
The funeral on Saturday was particularly poignant, for the gentleman who died was three days older than me. No apparent health issues, he just dropped while he was exercising with his son.
Steve was a tall, quiet man who was active at Advent. I didn't know him very well, and I didn't know we almost shared a birthday until the funeral. If there was a vote of who would keel over first between Steve and me, no one would have picked Steve.
But who are we to question why things . Good will come from everything and it still hurts. My heart goes out to Brenda, Brandon and Derek, and all those who knew Steve well.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Travel Companions
Although there are those who may say embarking on this journey alone is OK, I'm not that confident in my abilities. Toward that end, I will need to find some travel companions, and as of right now, it's just me.
Spending a couple of weeks with someone while at the same time pushing yourself past your comfort zone is not conducive to friendship. It takes a special person to embark on this journey. To date, I have not found that person or persons to join me on the journey.
In order to find someone, preferably someone with experience, I'll need to work my network to see who's interested, who's free for a couple of weeks this summer, and who's willing to put up with me for an extended period of time. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please send them my way. If you want to volunteer for this, a Sisyphean task, give me a holler. Lets talk about it.
Again, I'm thinking about August 2010 for this journey, although there's quite a bit of work left ahead of me.
Spending a couple of weeks with someone while at the same time pushing yourself past your comfort zone is not conducive to friendship. It takes a special person to embark on this journey. To date, I have not found that person or persons to join me on the journey.
In order to find someone, preferably someone with experience, I'll need to work my network to see who's interested, who's free for a couple of weeks this summer, and who's willing to put up with me for an extended period of time. If anyone out there has any suggestions, please send them my way. If you want to volunteer for this, a Sisyphean task, give me a holler. Lets talk about it.
Again, I'm thinking about August 2010 for this journey, although there's quite a bit of work left ahead of me.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Gear
One of the facts of life of walking around for 10-15 days outside of civilization is that you have to carry everything you want on your back. Food, shelter, emergency supplies, etc, all have to be on your back. I've been gradually collecting items for the last couple of years; I took a backpack to Europe, I picked up a sleeping bag for 5 bucks at on clearance at a big box store, I got a couple of presents of things like a camp stove and filter pump, and have been collecting things for a couple of years.
Backpacker magazine has a pretty comprehensive list of gear required in the Backpacker 101 section on their web site. Bette has one in her Wonderland Trail book. I've even got a a book which gives a tongue and cheek guide to backpacking around here somewhere. Based on what I see so far, what to take is as much a personal decision as there are backpackers.
The other thing that I'm a bit wary about is the different web sites which may or may not have a financial interest in the products that they're recommending. Given that everything on the web is based on advertising revenue, having someone recommend a particular brand of product raises a few red flags. I hope that anyone reading this will do their own due diligence if I end up recommending a certain product.
One of the pages that I will be working on during this blog is my gear list. I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.
Backpacker magazine has a pretty comprehensive list of gear required in the Backpacker 101 section on their web site. Bette has one in her Wonderland Trail book. I've even got a a book which gives a tongue and cheek guide to backpacking around here somewhere. Based on what I see so far, what to take is as much a personal decision as there are backpackers.
The other thing that I'm a bit wary about is the different web sites which may or may not have a financial interest in the products that they're recommending. Given that everything on the web is based on advertising revenue, having someone recommend a particular brand of product raises a few red flags. I hope that anyone reading this will do their own due diligence if I end up recommending a certain product.
One of the pages that I will be working on during this blog is my gear list. I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
When
My many readers (OK, my kids) have informed me that I did not set a goal for when I wanted to tackle the Wonderland Trail. The dates are somewhat fluid at this time, but generally, I'd like to do it this summer, July or August 2011. The dates are kind of fluid right now because 1, I don't have anyone who I've recruited to go along with me yet, and 2, my wife's summer schedule is still undecided.
About three years ago, I spent about a month touring southern Europe with my oldest daughter, Maria. We had a great time, going to Morocco, Southern France and Italy. She was on her way to spending a semester at a university in Klagenfurt, Austria and my work schedule was flexible, so I joined her on her journey. Since then, Corinne (daughter #2) decided she'd spend time overseas, and to date has visited 19 countries, including a stay in Qatar. Valerie (daughter #3) decided that she was not to be outdone, so she found a job in Italy where she can work in exchange for room and board. Given that she'll already be over there, I told Gail she really needed to go over and wander around Europe with Valerie. As soon a Corinne heard that, she wanted in too. I expect the three of them to wander around Italy and other European nations and do the tourist thing. (Note: Deanne, my remaining daughter, has set her sights on going to college in Japan, but that's another story for another day.)
So, It may be optimal to make my journey while they're gone. Since I'll be out of touch anyway, they may just as well be too.
That would make this about a 250 day journey. I'm 7 days in and still going strong. My exercise regime is starting to pay off. I finished my 30 minutes of cardio work today and wasn't feeling like I was going to die today. Its almost time to increase the duration.
About three years ago, I spent about a month touring southern Europe with my oldest daughter, Maria. We had a great time, going to Morocco, Southern France and Italy. She was on her way to spending a semester at a university in Klagenfurt, Austria and my work schedule was flexible, so I joined her on her journey. Since then, Corinne (daughter #2) decided she'd spend time overseas, and to date has visited 19 countries, including a stay in Qatar. Valerie (daughter #3) decided that she was not to be outdone, so she found a job in Italy where she can work in exchange for room and board. Given that she'll already be over there, I told Gail she really needed to go over and wander around Europe with Valerie. As soon a Corinne heard that, she wanted in too. I expect the three of them to wander around Italy and other European nations and do the tourist thing. (Note: Deanne, my remaining daughter, has set her sights on going to college in Japan, but that's another story for another day.)
So, It may be optimal to make my journey while they're gone. Since I'll be out of touch anyway, they may just as well be too.
That would make this about a 250 day journey. I'm 7 days in and still going strong. My exercise regime is starting to pay off. I finished my 30 minutes of cardio work today and wasn't feeling like I was going to die today. Its almost time to increase the duration.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Fitness
The biggest challenge that I see in this journey is actually getting in shape to hike the trail. It usually takes between 8 and 14 days to hike the trail, which results in an average 1500-2500 feet (500-750m) elevation gain per day. However, there are long slogs up hill followed by equally long walks down. All with a backpack.
The way I look at it, I need to work on the following:
- First, build up my cardiovascular endurance,
- Second, build up my lower body strengty,
- Finally, build up my stamina.
Of course, these three goals are not mutually exclusive, I'll have to work on all of them basically at the same time.
To start, I bought a Fitness Program for my Wii to help build up my cardio and lower body. The amazing thing is that I've even exercised four times in the last week. This is where I'll need the most encouragement, as well the most time in my schedule. I haven't figured out a good mechanism of tracking my training yet, but since that's what I do for a living, I figure I can do that.
Over the course of this blog, I'll be spending quite a bit of time on this topic (or at least I should be).
The way I look at it, I need to work on the following:
- First, build up my cardiovascular endurance,
- Second, build up my lower body strengty,
- Finally, build up my stamina.
Of course, these three goals are not mutually exclusive, I'll have to work on all of them basically at the same time.
To start, I bought a Fitness Program for my Wii to help build up my cardio and lower body. The amazing thing is that I've even exercised four times in the last week. This is where I'll need the most encouragement, as well the most time in my schedule. I haven't figured out a good mechanism of tracking my training yet, but since that's what I do for a living, I figure I can do that.
Over the course of this blog, I'll be spending quite a bit of time on this topic (or at least I should be).
Monday, December 13, 2010
Rain
You would think that Seattle, in a temperate rain forest, would be more accustomed to rain. Just to give you some perspective, Seattle's annual rainfall totals is less than New York City, however, it is much more spread out. So when we get rain, it's actually big news. This past weekend, we got about 4" of rain across the area. This sent many of the area's rivers flooding.
The reason I'm writing about it is because this weather pattern was exactly the same in November 2006, where Mount Rainier received 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. This rainstorm was a "Pineapple Express", which is a large moist airmass that originates in Hawaii and dumps on the Northwest. Entire campgrounds disappeared in the flooding from this storm.
This weeks' rainstorm missed Mount Rainier so hopefully there isn't any significant damage to the Wonderland Trail. But given the elevation, there's nobody up there this time of year, so no one really knows until spring.
The reason I'm writing about it is because this weather pattern was exactly the same in November 2006, where Mount Rainier received 18 inches of rain in 36 hours. This rainstorm was a "Pineapple Express", which is a large moist airmass that originates in Hawaii and dumps on the Northwest. Entire campgrounds disappeared in the flooding from this storm.
This weeks' rainstorm missed Mount Rainier so hopefully there isn't any significant damage to the Wonderland Trail. But given the elevation, there's nobody up there this time of year, so no one really knows until spring.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Wonderland Trail
I've been talking about this journey for awhile before I decided to do it, and my in-laws bought me the bible about the Wonderland Trail: Discovering the Wonders of the Wonderland Trail encircling Mount Rainier by Bette Filley. First written in 1969, the most recent edition was published in 2006. For anyone contemplating this journey, this is the book to get.
The Wonderland Trail is a 92.2 mile trail that encircles Mount Rainier. Given that this is mountain country, the other key item to note is the elevation gain. Since it's circle, there really isn't any elevation gain, but looking at the Elevation profile, this is no stroll in the park. Beginning at 2780 feet (824m), a hiker goes over 5000 feet (1525m) seven times and over 6000 feet (1830m) twice. According to Bette, hiking all the way around is the equivalent of climbing a 22,786 foot (7000m) mountain.
Being a circle, there really isn't a beginning or an end, Longmire being the start of the trail. Going counter clockwise, the trail parallels the park road along the southern part of the park along the Paradise river and through Steven's Canyon. Turning north at Box Canyon, it follows the ridge of the Cowlitz divide and reaches its highest elevation of 6800 feet (2087m) at Panhandle Gap. If follows Fryingpan Creek down to the White River, where you begin to turn westward again towards Sunrise.
Heading westward, the trail goes through the least visited areas of the park, those parts that are not accessible via road. Past Mystic Lake, down the Carbon River valley leads you to Ipsut Creek. The final push takes the trail past Mowich Lake and southward across many ridges back to Longmire.
Looking at the elevation map and the park map, you may begin to think that I'm crazy. I share that opinion sometimes as well, however, there's only one way to do this, and that's on foot.
Mount Rainier National Park Map
The Wonderland Trail is a 92.2 mile trail that encircles Mount Rainier. Given that this is mountain country, the other key item to note is the elevation gain. Since it's circle, there really isn't any elevation gain, but looking at the Elevation profile, this is no stroll in the park. Beginning at 2780 feet (824m), a hiker goes over 5000 feet (1525m) seven times and over 6000 feet (1830m) twice. According to Bette, hiking all the way around is the equivalent of climbing a 22,786 foot (7000m) mountain.
Being a circle, there really isn't a beginning or an end, Longmire being the start of the trail. Going counter clockwise, the trail parallels the park road along the southern part of the park along the Paradise river and through Steven's Canyon. Turning north at Box Canyon, it follows the ridge of the Cowlitz divide and reaches its highest elevation of 6800 feet (2087m) at Panhandle Gap. If follows Fryingpan Creek down to the White River, where you begin to turn westward again towards Sunrise.
Heading westward, the trail goes through the least visited areas of the park, those parts that are not accessible via road. Past Mystic Lake, down the Carbon River valley leads you to Ipsut Creek. The final push takes the trail past Mowich Lake and southward across many ridges back to Longmire.
Looking at the elevation map and the park map, you may begin to think that I'm crazy. I share that opinion sometimes as well, however, there's only one way to do this, and that's on foot.
Mount Rainier National Park Map
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Mountain
For those of you that are not familiar with the Pacific Northwest, there is a range of volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range. Mount Rainier is the highest volcano in the Cascades at 14,411 feet. It is also located closest to a major metropolitan area (Seattle/Tacoma) and although quiet now, is not extinct.
For over a century, Mount Rainier has been surrounded by a national park. The park is easily accessible in the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest, with the busiest entrance in the Southwest. There is access in the Northwest, however, it's the least visited and has lowest service levels.
Mount Rainier has a special place in the hearts of Seattlites for it's a looming presence on the skyline. It's a majestic symbol of clear weather. "The mountain is out" is shorthand where we live for it's a clear day. Although it's located about 80 miles southwest of Seattle, when visible, it is a huge presence in the skyline. Most impressive to me, though, is that it's surrounded by 8,000 foot mountains and it looks as if it's coming out of the plain.
The Wonderland Trail is the only way to circumnavigate the mountain within the confines of the national park. I'll talk more about the trail tomorrow.
More about the Cascade Volcanoes may be found at the US Geological Survey.
Mount Rainier National Park info may be found at the National Park Service.
For over a century, Mount Rainier has been surrounded by a national park. The park is easily accessible in the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest, with the busiest entrance in the Southwest. There is access in the Northwest, however, it's the least visited and has lowest service levels.
Mount Rainier has a special place in the hearts of Seattlites for it's a looming presence on the skyline. It's a majestic symbol of clear weather. "The mountain is out" is shorthand where we live for it's a clear day. Although it's located about 80 miles southwest of Seattle, when visible, it is a huge presence in the skyline. Most impressive to me, though, is that it's surrounded by 8,000 foot mountains and it looks as if it's coming out of the plain.
The Wonderland Trail is the only way to circumnavigate the mountain within the confines of the national park. I'll talk more about the trail tomorrow.
More about the Cascade Volcanoes may be found at the US Geological Survey.
Mount Rainier National Park info may be found at the National Park Service.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Ulterior Motives
So, there are always ulterior motives for most everything we do and I'm no different. One of the reasons I'm working toward the Wonderland Trail is because I really need to get in better shape. I had my yearly physical a couple of weeks ago, and the doctor said I was doing fine, but I'm carrying a little extra weight. He was being polite.
Wii Fit, on the other hand, isn't so polite. I've been borderline between Overweight and Obese for a couple of years now, and usually on the Obese side of the equation. I don't believe for a minute that I'll ever get to the 165 lbs that some health food nut believes that is my optimal weight. I don't think I've seen the lower end of 180 in 30 years.
I've tried various diets, low carb, low fat, high fiber, etc. but none have seemed to work because I really don't like practicing self control when it comes to food. So, as part of this goal, I'll be working on getting in shape. Walking 93 miles in ten days or so is a big enough challenge as it is. Doing it without training first borders on stupid.
As I said before, I'll need some encouragement on this goal, for as much as I'm looking forward to hiking around the mountain, I'd much rather come back in one piece.
Wii Fit, on the other hand, isn't so polite. I've been borderline between Overweight and Obese for a couple of years now, and usually on the Obese side of the equation. I don't believe for a minute that I'll ever get to the 165 lbs that some health food nut believes that is my optimal weight. I don't think I've seen the lower end of 180 in 30 years.
I've tried various diets, low carb, low fat, high fiber, etc. but none have seemed to work because I really don't like practicing self control when it comes to food. So, as part of this goal, I'll be working on getting in shape. Walking 93 miles in ten days or so is a big enough challenge as it is. Doing it without training first borders on stupid.
As I said before, I'll need some encouragement on this goal, for as much as I'm looking forward to hiking around the mountain, I'd much rather come back in one piece.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Welcome
Tomorrow's my Birthday. I'll be 51 years old and some may say that I'm going through the whole "mid-life crisis" phase. I say that with my children in college, I think it's time that I set some goals for myself.
For quite some time, I've been intrigued with backpacking. I went to school in the hills of Virginia and found a love for hiking and the outdoors. Ever since I first hiked on the Appalachian Trail, I've always wondered what it would be like to spend a long period of time wandering through the woods, carrying what I needed.
After many years in the Midwest, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest a few years ago, where the love of the outdoors was rekindled. A couple of years ago, I started thinking about hiking the Wonderland Trail. After a couple of years of procrastination, I decided it's time to hold myself accountable to someone or I'll never discover if this is something I like or not.
That's where this blog comes in. As a birthday present to myself, I'm going to make the commitment to hike the Wonderland Trail. If nothing else, this will give my family insight into my particularly interesting way of rationalizing things, and give them an opportunity to inspire (bug) me when I need a push.
I entitled this "Working toward Wonderland" for the largest part of this journey will not be inside the boundaries of Mt. Rainier National Park, but preparing for the trip.
For quite some time, I've been intrigued with backpacking. I went to school in the hills of Virginia and found a love for hiking and the outdoors. Ever since I first hiked on the Appalachian Trail, I've always wondered what it would be like to spend a long period of time wandering through the woods, carrying what I needed.
After many years in the Midwest, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest a few years ago, where the love of the outdoors was rekindled. A couple of years ago, I started thinking about hiking the Wonderland Trail. After a couple of years of procrastination, I decided it's time to hold myself accountable to someone or I'll never discover if this is something I like or not.
That's where this blog comes in. As a birthday present to myself, I'm going to make the commitment to hike the Wonderland Trail. If nothing else, this will give my family insight into my particularly interesting way of rationalizing things, and give them an opportunity to inspire (bug) me when I need a push.
I entitled this "Working toward Wonderland" for the largest part of this journey will not be inside the boundaries of Mt. Rainier National Park, but preparing for the trip.
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