Month: July 2015

Today I did another ‘conditioning’ hike up the Mt. WA main trail and down the Great Wall.  And about halfway up, huffing and puffing and trudging along the steep trail I thought: why treat this like an open-air gym, just a great way to get into better condition?  I have grown so accustomed to this hike I had stopped appreciating just how awesome it is.

Furthermore, it occurred to me that hiking can be like training a dog.  Just as you reward a dog with a treat for doing the right thing, a hike like this (familiar trails, solo) is doing the right thing because the ascent is a vigorous workout, and the reward – well, just look ahead a bit.

But first, here is the view north from the junction of the North Trail and the Main Trail:

Actually, this is not just Mt. Si, the sharp point that the tallest nearby tree is pointing to is Mt. Teneriffe.  And here are Mt. Si and Mt. Teneriffe from the Great Wall, that is, from the other side of the mountain:

Just a slight change of perspective, but the difference is fun.

Anyway, today I did not take stuff like this for granted:

Or this:

Or this:

You get the idea.  I am thinking like a dog and had a terrific start to my Fourth.

For the record, I made it from car to summit in 1h 54min, a new personal record.  Not sure how quickly I can shave that time, that was about as fast as I can go right now.

And, my only break on the way up was at the junction with the North Trail – I pushed past our old break spot and the new break spot beyond that.  My next hike there I will go maybe 50 yards farther and try to extend it from there.

But I’m telling you, Mt. Washington has a last trick for you.  After 3 or so miles of really tough and steep hiking, you get almost a mile of (relatively) moderate effort.  But you can look up and see there is more in store.

And how – the section just past the junction with the North Trail – I now call it ‘the final exam’ – is steep.  At the top of that section the trail hits an old logging road and moderates a bit from there to almost the summit.

Anyway, I was thinking about how lucky I am to live where I live and be able to do this stuff.  The Great Wall trail rocks!

Just imagine being able to reward yourself for doing the right thing and hiking up a mountain by being able to hike down on a trail like this.

Happy Fourth!

My brother-in-law Rick Downs is visiting with his family from Chicago and he and Derek and I did the Cedar Butte hike this morning.  Kudos to Rick because he did his best and what more can any of us do?

Rick lives in Illinois, which is Flatland, he travels on business almost every week of the year, and he is not a hiker.  But I picked a hike I thought would be challenging but doable and he came through like a trouper.  He was exerting himself and sweating and working hard – great job, Rick!  And he loved it.

Cedar Butte is about 2.8 miles round trip, and is a bit more than a mile from the parking lot.  So Rick’s total hike was roughly 5 miles.  Cedar Butte is not flat, it is about 850 feet of elevation gain in 1.4 miles, which is more than you will find anywhere in Illinois outside the walls of a skyscraper.

Although Cedar Butte tops out at about 1900 feet of elevation, look at these views:

And from just below the summit:

And along the trail you can view the Boxley Blowout historical site:

http://www.scn.org/cedar_butte/bb-main.html

And there is even a marker at the summit:

And with that it is official: Rick made it to the top, it wasn’t easy for him but he powered through and would love to do more (if he could; Illinois and airplanes offer few mountain hiking opportunities).

Tomorrow, Fourth of July, I am planning another solo conditioning hike up Mt. Washington.  Got to get in shape for another try at Vesper Peak.

We planned on hiking to the summit of Vesper Peak but only made it as far as Vesper Lake.  Hot day, extremely challenging hike.  We were eight hours on the trail as it was, so this summit will have to wait for the next time.

This hike was the idea of Darrell Hull, introduced to us by George del Campo and to Darrell I say: good on ya, mate!  This was the toughest and greatest hike of my short hiking career.  The challenge and the views were outstanding.

Part of the challenge was the four streams we crossed; the one in the picture above was one of the easier ones.

The trail was not easy; lots of rocks and tough footing.

This view looks down onto a section we have just hiked.

As for the environment around Vesper Peak, here are a few samples:

Tough as it was, Derek kept on going.  We pushed past Headlee Pass to Vesper Lake and planted ourselves.  But Derek kept exploring:

He came back and took me and George to the upper section of Vesper Lake; note that at this altitude, even on a hot day at the end of June, there is still a little snow and ice:

Speaking of Vesper Peak we almost made it:

So, all in all, a memorable and totally outstanding day.  We will be back to finish the job and make it to the summit of Vesper Peak.  I predict it will be on a cooler and cloudier day.

Update 7/2:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/walking-in-nature-lowers-risk-of-depression-scientists-find-in-mri-study

Evidence that walking in nature reduces depression – I agree!