June 24 - Mt Si

Friday, June 24th at Mt Si

Well, the climb of Mt Si finally came. This is a real test, 3300' elevation gain. I have been aiming for Mt Si as the real test of whether I can do Mt Adams.  I met Robert Smith and his long time friend, Terry, at the Mt Si trailhead at 9:30am.  We were off and running (well, off) at 10:10am.  The climb went quite well. Part way up, we met an interesting old duffer named Keith, who "learned to ski in 1944". That was the year I was born, so he was a bit older ;).

Mt Si Trail - 3,300' Elevation Gain

We got to the top, after a few breaks, at about 2:15pm. That is about 3 hours up. I have always booked about 1000 feet an hour, so to do 3300' in 3 hours for a first Mt Si climb of the year is quite respectable. Robert has climbed it several times before, and I definitely slowed him a bit, but we all were happy.

Terry at the 0.7 mile mark on the way up.

We spent close to an hour on the summit, in two breaks, one at the foot of the summit rocks, and a second longer on on the saddle next to the Haystack.  We met a nice couple at the summit rocks, Mike and Beth. She works on Capitol Hill at an AIDS support organization, and knew some folks at DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center), where I worked in the late 1990's.  Small world. I spent some time trying to recruit them into our Mt Adams climb, but I don't think I was persuasive enough.

Couple Resting Near the Summit Rocks

At the Saddle, there are benches with a most amazing view of the Snoqualmie valley from 3000' up.  We got a few pictures of chipmunks and camp robber birds at the saddle.  It had been very cloudy, but the sky opened, a bit of blue and sunshine appeared, and we had a great view.

Terry, Sunflower Seeds and a Camp Robber

Roger, a Sandwich Tidbit and a Camp Robber

Chipmunks by the Bench at the Mt Si Saddle

Closeup of Chipmunk at the Mt Si Saddle

Then at about 3:05 pm, we headed down.  Just as we were literally leaving the summit rocks, we got hit by a pretty intense hailstorm, followed by a heavy pelting rain.  In no time, we were all soaked.  We booked it on down the trail. After a bit, the rain stopped, but about an hour later, it came again, and remained heavy all the way back to the cars. We arrived at the cars at about 6:10pm. That is about 3 hours down, the same as up.  Because if my trick knee, I can't go down quite as fast as I used to, and it showed. But we all were quite happy. We spent 8 hours on the trail, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Robert and Terry had to head off for home, but I stopped at the North Bend Bar & Grill, and had an absolutely scrumptious steaming bowl of Jambalaya soup and a cold brew.  What a great way to end a great hike.

June 17 - Granite Mountain

Friday, June 17th, 2011 at Granite Mountain
Just after I got home from my not too difficult hike at Twin Falls State Park, Robert Smith called and wanted to climb tomorrow, and to do Granite Mountain rather than Mt Si.  That sounded great to me, so I got my gaiters and ice axe out, and picked up a couple of pair of nylon pant shells.  I met Robert at 9am at North Bend, and we stopped at the Ranger Station where I got a parking pass, and we drove off to the trail head off exit 47 of I90.  We put on our packs, and headed off up the trail. We got to the fork where the trail split between Pratt Lake and Granite Mountain.

 This was about a half hour up the trail. Now to show the difference between the main trail and the Granite Mountain trail, first here is the main trail, smooth, easy and wide.

Now here is the trail up to Granite Mountain. And yes it is as rough as it looks, and worse.

So we hiked up and up on the rough and rocky trail. Here's Robert.

We broke out into the first avalanche chute, which without snow is covered with brush.

Then we went into the woods again, and could see snow thrugh the trees.  Note how steep the snow is, about 45 degrees.  I just using my cellphone camera, so the snow flares but you still get the picture.

Then we broke out onto the snow in the second avalanche chute, which was full of snow. Here is a picture looking up, which is way steeper and higher than it looks.

And here is another one looking down, which again was way steeper and further down than it looks.

Bottom line was that it was just too spooky for us to continue. I have years of mountain climbing experience, and probably could have continued, but without a safe runout, it was no place for Robert to be learning ice axe arrest.  We need a safe slope with a safe flat runout.  So I demonstrated a few snow travel techniques on the snow, a bit of traversing, ice ax arrest and glissading, and then we called it a day, and headed on back down. Due to the steepness and rockyness of the trail, even though we only did about 2000' elevation gain, Robert said it felt as difficult to him as Mt Si at 3500' elevation gain. Here is a picture of Granite Mountain taken in summer. We did the yellow part, but not the red part. The upper part of the mountain that has no trees was all covered with snow when we were there.  Also, the second avalanche chute, where the yellow line stops, was also full of snow, both above and below us.

So we feel we did a good job, and are happy with the outing. We were really bushed when we got back, and shared a cool brew at the cars before we headed home. Our next outing is planned in about a week, to do Mt Si itself.  Finally :).

June 16 - Twin Falls State Park

Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at Twin Falls State Park, at about 11 am.

Ok, can't call this a climb, as a busload of Kindergarten kids got out and took off so fast, I never saw them again.  But Lacey and I had a good time strolling along the river, and going up the 500' or so to the bench overlooking Twin Falls.  Here they are, if you can see them through the trees.  This was at the far point of our hike.

Here is Lacey on the bench overlooking the falls. She is panting because we both did hard work to get to this elevation.

 

Here she is exploring the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.

And here she is asking why I am sooo slowww going back!

Ok, now after I get home, Robert calls and wants to move our REAL climb up to TOMORROW.  The good thing is, he wants to do Granite Mountain instead of Mt Si, which I am really excited about. I spent the evening getting snow stuff ready (gaiters, ice axe, snow pants).  Now, just have to remember to put sun screen on in the morning.  It should be a beautiful day tomorrow.

June 14 - Rattlesnake Ledge

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011, at Rattlesnake Ledge.

After climbing Little Si, I actually wasn't as sore as I expected, so on Tuesday, I climbed Rattlesnake Ledge, which is the same elevation gain as Little Si, but has a much smoother trail and so was a lot easier for me with my trick knee.  I got up up in an hour and 45 mins, and down in an hour and 15 minutes, so that was pretty good.

Here is the start of the trail, at Rattlesnake Lake.

Here are several photos of the trail, complete with big rocks.

Here is the sign just short of the top of Rattlesnake Ledge.

Here are a bunch of people on Rattlesnake Ledge.

Here is ME on top of Rattlesnake Ledge, with Mt Si looming across the valley in the background..

And not to be outdone by Robert Smith's planking efforts, here is me planking on top of Rattlesnake Ledge. Robert said "side planking" is not fair, but there it is. The girl is sure looking at me like I'm wierd. Which of course, I am.

June 12 - Little Si

Sunday, June  12th, 2011 at Little Si.

Okay, Little Si is a wussy climb, only 1200', but it was a good way to be sure my knee would hold out, before trying the big one, Mt Si (at about 3,600').  Robert Smith asked if I would hike with him, and agreed to Little Si as the first outing for me. He has been romping up Mt Si with 5lb weights on each leg and a weighted pack, so it was quite a downgrade for him.  He entertained himself by "planking" his way to the top of Little Si.

Here are Robert's comments on our "Little Si" hike:

"Last week, as part of my conditioning climb for my Peru service in August, I planked Little Si. Not Mount Si, but Little Si, the runt mountain next to the real Si. I did this because of my friend, Roger, who didn’t set his alarm clock right, and so arrived at our rendezvous site late. This gave me time to read a  a Wall Street Journal article that alerted me to the fact that photos of planking have gone viral on the Internet, but the fever has broken  and the fad is dying out. Sunday might be my last chance to catch the wave.

There have been too many critical things I've missed in life. Like the time in the 1960s when I got to Haight-Ashbury. The free-love flower children had all left, and instead I got picked up by a guy who took me to a meeting of gay maoists,. Being in the Air Force with a secret clearance, I naturally felt uncomfortable, particularly after he shared his vision of how he wanted to spend the night.   Having missed the flower children, I definitely didn't want to miss planking.

Roger, being out of shape and all, had already negotiated me down to a wussy hike up Little Si instead of the real Mount Si, and now he was late. So  I decided I would recover the momentum by planking my way up Little Si. And to recover his reputation, Roger spent a good deal of the time convincing me he’s not a wuss by suggesting we climb Mount Adams in July. At 12,300 feet, the summit of Mount Adams is 5,000 feet higher than I’ve ever hiked. It’s higher than Cuzco, Peru. You can do it in one day, but Roger suggests two. So maybe I’ll try it to see what I’m in for."

Okay, Robert, I agree, it is a wussy mountain. But I am very glad you are considering Mt Adams. First, it is most definitely NOT a wussy mountain. It is the second highest mountain in Washington state, next to Mt Rainier, and is higher than all of the other major volcanic peaks in Washington:  Glacier Peak, Mt Baker, Mt St Helens and Mt Olympus.  Mt Adams does have 12 glaciers on it, 4 of the seriously big, fully equipped with crevasses and all, but it also has a delightful south slope that only has a snow field on it, making it easy to climb without glacier travel equipment, suitable for mountain climbing beginners.  Like Robert :).  Ok, now for Mt Si, also not a wussy mountain.

Here is a shot of Robert looking like a figurehead on a ship as he planks on a mossy log below Little Si:

And here he is on the summit of Little Si, with Mt Si looming massively in the background. In Robert's words: "This is the position we used in the dorm room. I call it the reverse two-point supine plank. Note how impressed those kids are at my ability to do this 40 years later."

June 1 - The Idea of Mt Adams

I Love to Climb Mt Adams. The first time I climbed it was about 1980, while I was taking the Seattle Mountaineers climbing course. I've climbed Mt Adams about 10 times as best I can remember. I love getting above treeline, the beauty and grandeur of the high country, the camaraderie, and most of all, the great snow glissades coming down. With a pure snow route with no glaciers or crevasses, it is easy to climb with just an ice axe, gaiters and crampons.  The most enjoyable way to climb in my book is to base camp at the Lunch Counter (a flat spot at about the 9,500' level), and go for the top in the morning.

By the way, I am Roger Matthews, living in Maple Valley, and a retired snowbird spending part of the year in Washington State and part in Arizona. Today is my birthday, which adds to my motivation. I injured my knee three years ago, and was unsure if I could ever climb again. But in the past two years, I've climbed Casa Grande Mountain in Arizona twice with my old climbing buddy, Norm Wight. And most recently, I've climbed Little Si (1,200') last weekend, June 12th, 2011, with my friend, Robert Smith, which will be the subject of my next blog post. My goal is to climb Mt Si with Robert. Mt Si is about the same as climbing to base camp at the Lunch Counter, so if I can do Mt Si, I've got it made....I will be able to climb Mt Adams again!  Yay!

But back to Robert Smith. He is engaged in a very worthwhile charity endeavor.  He is climbing Mt Si to get in shape for a volunteer trip to Cuzco, Peru, and wearing ankle weights while doing so. In his words, , "I was wearing the weights to prepare myself for the 3,000-meter elevation of Cuzco, Peru, where a team of us will be going in August on a public health mission for the descendants of Incas, who are living in tough conditions. Many of these people will speak only Quechua, the Inca language. They live in tiny homes that are filled with smoke from the open wood fires they rely on for heating and cooking. Three months after they obtain an enclosed stove with a chimney, their lung capacity improves by as much as 12 percent."  Wow!

•  Climbing Mt Adams - Forest Service Website
• Mt Adams Climbing Conditions Report - Another Forest Service Website

Here is the map that forms the background of this blog.  It is of our hiking/climbing route on Mt Adams. Did I mention, that I love to climb Mt Adams :).