HILLS HURT, COUCHES KILL hiking log

Nordrum Lake trail is flat for 6.5 miles and then gains 2k ft elevation in 2.5 to the lake

 

I'm starting to jog more and more on the way down from these things. Switched to a running vest a few weeks ago, makes jogging much more tolerable

Getting my gear more and more dialed. Filter kit, dual chest bottles, food that isn't so bulky. I got a nice pair of Salomon trail runners last spring that are working out great. I got a thin hooded long sleeve that's SPF 40+, sunscreen on the legs. No more pants and gaiters, at least in summer

It gets funner when a light jog isn't so hard on my joints anymore. I've progressed quite a bit this summer

 

It is dry. We haven't had much water the last 10 years.

I'm 48 and have been pretty active my whole life. I used to fly down trails. Now my knees don't like the downhill so much so I had to switch to going fast uphill. Which hurts. lol

 

I have those problems with joints now, I was naïve when I was younger, now I know better but it’s to late.
Our joints and cartilage can only take so much. Reputation and stress feels good when your young and healthy, but you pay the price when you get older.

 

Necklace Valley to Tank Lakes - 23 miles/ 5,000 ft climbing, completed in 8.5 hours


East Fork Foss River



Jade Lake and Necklace Valley











And then another 1,000 ft up to the Tank Lakes area

 

Melakwa Valley evening hike - 11 miles, 2,800 ft climbing, completed 3:15





Tried to make it to Melakwa Pass (in the distance) but didn't want to rock hop in the dark with a headlamp



Breezy east wind blowing through the valley

 

Did this loop for a 3rd time, went even farther and made it to Spectacle Lake.

Roughly 29-30 miles, 9k feet climbing, completed in 10.5 hours. Only saw 2 other people all day

Fall colors on display





Spectacle Lake




You can see the moon above the ridge



The long hike out



Alta Mt always looks cool

 

Nice. That's a solid time for that distance and elevation gain.

 

This hike looks spectacular

 

Thanks, that's a PR for me. I've done about a dozen 23-25 mile hikes, nothing close to 29-30 before.

It's snowing up there now, I got this last one in under the wire

Also realized its time for some tech, like a GPS watch. I can track mileage and elev better and also safely bush-wack without worrying about getting off course and wasting time

And like @Sprig mentioned, it would have a locating beacon so people could find me if I got hurt

 

Yep, I've had a lot of fun getting to know the area. The trick is getting up and over East Alta Mtn. That gets you into the Park Lakes Basin and behind Chikamin Ridge in relatively quick time (like by noon for example). That opens up options to explore before having to jam back down the PCT to the car.

 

I use Backcountry Nav Pro on my phone. Have for years. I can see how a watch would be quicker to check but the phones screen real estate makes it so much easier to see your position relative to the objective. I still carry a paper map and compass as back-up but they haven't been used in a long time. It's funny because 15 years ago when GPS started to really ramp up. I was the guy totally against it. I can admit then I'm wrong. lol

 

The future is near. Space X and T Mobile are working to make smart cell phones connect to satellites so you have no dead zones and like a SatPhone can call from anywhere on earth. Pretty much will end stand alone Sat Phones. Apple, Verizon and other companies are also working on this. They plan availability by late 2023.
Best of all, according to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, the service will be a free add-on to T-Mobile customers who currently subscribe to its most common wireless plans (other customers with lesser plans will likely have to pay a small monthly fee if they want to use it). To help drive global satellite coverage, T-Mobile has also pressed other worldwide carriers to join in via new reciprocal roaming.
Your cell phone will then be a cell phone, a sat phone, a gps etc. you’ll be ably to make contact anywhere in the world. This will be great for so many people and purposes, especially for people going deep into remote areas. Wish that was available when I was doing 10 day plus backpacks into remote primitive wildernesses.

 

Crushed Mt Si last Sunday evening. 4 miles one way, 3,500 ft climbing, got to the top in 70 minutes. Jogged back down in 50 minutes. My previous best time climbing was around 90-100 minutes

Looking East



Looking west, Seattle in the distance

 

Hiked to Carbon Glacier, about 18 miles RT. Not much climbing, only about 1,800 ft. Took 7 hours

Most of the hike is on the old road to Ipsut Creek CG. The river kept washing the road out so they stopped fixing it back in the early 2000s. It's the least busy entrance to Mt Rainier NP, at the NW corner. I grew up right down the road and have been hiking in this area since I was a little guy.

The Carbon Glacier is the lowest lying glacier in the lower 48 at 3,500 ft. The valley has set rainfall records for North America, similar to the Hoh rainforest out on the coast in the Olympics

Super cold in the valley, warmed up a little when we got up to the glacier and out in the sunlight





The glacier


Ipsut CG


Some cool icicles at the stream where we filled up

 

Resort skiing now in full swing, no trail running for a while. Took a little walk up the Snoqualmie River and took some pictures today

 

Nice!! I was up there yesterday, a little sun nothing like that tho!

 

Took my level 1 Avy Rescue course at Mt Baker this weekend. Saturday was bitter cold and windy, we practiced beacon search and recovery, dug some snow pits and talked about layering. Lots of shoveling kept us warm.









Saturday night a storm moved in and woke up to a foot of snow Sunday. Absolutely beautiful in the Bagley Lakes Basin adjacent to the resort. We were on the move more, talking about BC travel techniques, group management and more snowpack testing. Got to ski a few runs too, the kind of powder that will make you quit your job and start living in your truck





The whole weekend was a blast, learned a ton and gained confidence. Our instructor was a younger local guy, super nice and had a ton of experience to pass on. We basically rented him for the weekend and he graciously showed us around his home turf. Good dude.

Also saw a badass 1st gen in front of the patrol hut

 

Night tour with the homies