Monday, March 16, 2015

5K Shamrock Walk

Sunday, 15 March 2015
5 kilometer

Jenny and I did the Shamrock 5K walk.  It was pouring rain earlier, but was only drizzling for our 9:45am start.  Had a couple of Widmer Hefs at the finish to counter the effects of the walk.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Elk Mountain / King's Mountain Loop

Saturday, 07 March 2015
7.2 mile day hike (me, TJ and Terri)

Wow, what a tough hike.  I was not prepared for this one.

TJ, Terri and I took two cars.  We parked my car at the Kings Mountain TH.  We then drove and parked at the Elk Mountain TH.  The Elk Mountain Trail gains about 1900 feet in 1.4 miles!  We were huffing and puffing for sure.  We started at about 9am and it was a little chilly, but we warmed up quickly.  Trekking poles were worthless on the more steep sections where we were scrambling on all fours. Beautiful day and nice view at the top.  Descending from the top is initially very steep, but then gets better.  Once you get to the junction of the Elk and Kings Mountain trails, the "fun" soon begins again with steep ups and downs.  There is even a section where the Mazamas have put a rope.  Probably overkill, but I can see how this would be essential when the trail is wet.  The last pitch up to the Kings Mountain summit is sublimely ridiculous.  I was literally throwing my trekking poles up the trail, then scambling on all fours up the trail to retrieve them.  After a rest and a snack, we headed down Kings Mountain.  I have done this section before and it is steep too, losing 2500 feet of elevation in 2.5 miles.

Boy was I glad we took two cars.  We avoided the 3.5 mile section of the Wilson River Trail which connects the Kings Mountain and Elk Mountain Trails.

TJ and Terri are in better shape than me and I'm afraid I held them back.  We only averaged a little better than 1 MPH.  TJ was smart enough to pack a beer cooler in the car and boy did that taste good.  After that, we had dinner at Golden Valley Brewery on their dime.  Life is good!

View of Kings Mountain from Elk Mountain summit


Descending the dreaded rope section


TJ, Terri and Reid atop Kings Mountain


TJ, Terri and Reid atop Elk Mountain



Saturday, January 24, 2015

Where Have I Been?

I thru-hiked the 165 mile Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) on my two week vacation (Sep 6 to Sep 20).  I hiked with a group of 12 hikers and 4 guides.  I did this for safety, since this was my first long trek. But it turned out that the people were the best part of the hike.  Even though it's hard to talk to people when you are strung out along the trail, you are all together in the evening in the "kitchen" and you form fast friendships.  It was a great group of people and now that it is over, I miss my "trail family".  I put together a twenty minute DVD slideshow which I mailed to everybody and I also posted a three minute YouTube video.  The scenery was amazing and it just confirmed to me that I have chosen the correct "empty nester" avocation.  My gear worked out great and I had the lightest pack of our group.  People thought I was crazy, hiking in my 9.3 ounce Air Terra Kiger Trail Runners, but they performed admirably.  I will admit that I had "tent envy" as I was cowboy camping or camping under my tarp.  For that reason, I bought a cuben fiber Solomid XL tent from Mountain Laurel Designs.  I expect to get it in the mail any day and I can't wait to try it out.

I have not hiked much since the TRT.  Work has been busy, gearing up for a huge software "Winter Release".  Now that I am done with this, I plan on slowly getting back into shape, so expect more regular blog entries in the future.

What is my next challenge?  I'm not sure.  Some candidates are the Wonderland Trail (93 miles) around Mount Rainier, the Timberline Trail (41 miles) around Mount Hood, the Mark O. Hatfield Trail (56 miles) from Multnomah Falls to Starvation Creek State Park.  Eventually, I want to do the Colorado Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, etc.

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