sli74
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I find out time and time again that even the best laid plans that have been set for months will begin to unravel at the last possible moment. I had planned for months to do the Presi Taverse with the Rainier crew as training but 2 days before I was to head up there plans needed to be changed due to circumstances beyond my control. So, once I got over the fact that I wouldn’t be able to do the hike on Saturday, we rescheduled it for Sunday. And once again, things happen for a reason as we were really lucky to have ideal conditions for this hike.
On Saturday evening, JohnS who is always to so very kind and generous in his support of my hikes gave Regular Brian and I a ride to the Highland Center to drop off my car and then a ride to Appalachia where we would begin our hike bright and early the next day. At Appalachia we met up with Liza (Blue), Charlie (MtnTop) and Charlie’s Girls, Victoria and Elizabeth. After an exchange of our second set of car keys, we said our goodbyes as we wouldn’t be seeing each other until the hike the next day. A restless night of sleep followed with constant nightmares about the hike and strange dreams about having to be rescued and having Mohamed right me up
However, every time I looked over at Brian he seemed to be sleeping soundly, his name should be Lucky Brian instead of Regular Brian.
In any case, we woke to our alarm at midnight on Sunday, hit snooze just once and began eating the largest breakfast known to mankind, which is fine except for someone who hates breakfast. After stuffing myself full of cereal, soymilk, egg salad sandwich, donuts, and candy. I took another 30 minute nap while he got his stuff organized, I was already packed the night before. After stashing our stuff in Liza’s car, we got on the trail at 2:15 am.
We kept a nice steady pace up Valley Way, having opted for its good footing instead of the Watson Path which Liza and crew were taking a few hours later. About an hour or less into our hike, I was ahead of Brian and heard some loud noises coming from about 10-20 feet into the woods on my right. I immediately realized it was a moose as it started making a HEAVY breathing/grunting sound. Screaming like a girl and running scared back to Brian, I kept saying “It’s close, too close.” We put the largest tree we could find, which was not large enough between us and the moose. In the rays of our headlamp we could see the eyes of the female moose and she looked HUGE and sounded VERY angry with us.
I kept wanting to head uphill because she was making her way downhill towards us but Brian made me stand still and talk in a calm voice trying to reassure her that we weren’t a threat. She kept coming closer and the grunting noise kept getting more aggressive. Scared out of our wits, we finally took the chance to make our way uphill keeping our eyes and ears open in her general direction. The adrenaline from that encounter fueled us as we picked up our pace. I have been that close to a moose once before on North Brother last October but the experience is far scarier in the darkness where you can’t see what the animal is doing.
The trail was wet and muddy and the rocks were very slippery but we made it to the Hut by about 6 am and spent about 15-20 minutes using the facilities and eating a little snack. We then made our way up Madison, the rocks so slippery that with every step I’d have to tense my quads to keep myself from slipping and falling. We also put on our gloves and jackets. The views were BREATHTAKING, I cannot describe to you how serene it felt to be on the ridge with the low hanging clouds covering the valley. With the rocks so wet and slippery it took forever to make my way up to Madison summit. Once there we knew we had really lucked out being forced to hike Sunday, we got views all the way to Adams and further to Washington. There was not a cloud or mist to block our views. As if by cue, the mist rolled in as we began our descent.
Even with my careful steps and the measured slow progress, the rock jumbles on Madison showed me who was boos as I took a long tumble down about 3 feet on sharp rocks and landed on my right arm. For a moment the sharp pain running up my arm had me convinced I had broken it but after I caught my breath and Brian looked over my scrapes and bruises, we figured out that though I was bound to be sore beyond belief the next day, I was still in 1 piece. So, after sitting and wiping up the blood a little, we started back down to the Hut. After reaching the hut, we took a long break, too long to eat something substantial. By the time we left the Hut, it was past 8 am and we were already more than an hour behind schedule.
Knowing that we were an hour behind schedule and knowing that Liza and Charlie were supposed to start an hour and a half or so behind us, we were surprised those speed demons hadn’t caught up yet. Brian bought a disposable camera at the Hut because I had left my digital at a friend’s house in Boston and for that I would kick myself atleast once every 10 minutes for the rest of the day. So, someday, when I finally get that camera developed and scan in the pictures, I will post it, but don’t hold your breath even if blue is your color.
Just shy of the summit of Adams, Liza and gang caught up with us. Earlier in the day, Brian had commented on how pale and white my legs were looking lately (Thanks Brian ) and funny enough, as Liza and crew were gaining on us, Elizabeth and looked up and said she thinks Brian and I were just ahead, which brought the comment from Liza “That isn’t Seema, that’s a white girl . . . I’d be able to tell if that were Seema” . . . well, sure enough the “white girl” was the Indian girl and we had a little laugh about how I needed a little more sun. It was nice to see their smiling friendly faces and so after we exchanged some logistical information, we said our goodbyes knowing that with our respective paces, we wouldn’t see each other again that day.
At the risk of being repetitive, I have to say that at every summit and all along the entire ridge, we had blue skies and sunshine and views as far as the eye could see. I think my heart has never felt so free or soared with such joy. I was happy to share these views with Brian because his last time on this ridge was on a wet, dreary day during his thru-hike of the AT last year. It was wonderful to watch him marvel at the views he had missed previously. It was joyous to realize time and again how well matched we are for our mutual love of the mountains and of hiking. I cannot think of a more wonderful person to share my first Presi Traverse with . . . though if you ask him, he’d tell you I spent more time missing the Saturday Presi Traverse gang than being happy about having him with me . . . I did miss you guys and thought of you often as I commented numerous times how much I admired your dedication to hike that monster trip in the conditions you did.
We were on Adams around 9:30 am or so, on Jefferson around noon and at Washington at 3:30 pm . . . We spent an hour and 15 minutes on Washington, eating pizza, drinking Gatorade and making the decision to continue despite the way my stomach, head and knees were feeling. We were still happy and feeling like we could do it afterall. And with Liza promise that it gets easier after Washington, we carried on. Before getting back on the trail at 4:50 pm, each of us called our Dads and wished them a Happy Father’s Day.
We didn’t spend anytime at Lakes because it was around dinnertime and we were stuffed full from Washington. We made the summit of Monroe around 6:30 pm, stopped to enjoy the views for a bit before we pushed onto Eisenhower. Just before the climb up Eisenhower my knees and my confidence were taking a real banging and I was starting to feel as though I had misjudged my abilities. I was sleepy and tired and trying very hard to keep smiling so I wouldn’t burden Brian with my down in the dumps thoughts.
A quick stop on Ike and we pushed onto Pierce, by this time I had abandoned any grand plans for Jackson and Webster, knowing that I would be lucky to get back to the car after Pierce. The going was excruciatingly slow from Ike to Pierce, we stopped a number of times and I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any more chocolate, which is worrisome indeed . . . I managed to eat a few carrot sticks and my silence was killing Brian who normally cannot shut me up. We donned headlamps about 10 minutes before Pierce and summited Pierce at 9:40 pm before descending to the Crawford Path to make our way down.
Hiking the Crawford Path was like walking in a mud river and in the dark we took a number of spills. Both of us tired and exhausted got our second wind at the Mitzpah Cutoff at 10:30 pm and RAN, yeah . . . I know it is hard for any of you to actually picture me running BUT I RAN all the way to the car stopping only to take a close look at the Lady Slippers I knew grew on the left descending from Gibbs Falls.
We got to the trailhead at 11:50 and made it to the car at midnight, which was still safe and sound where Liza and Charlie had left it after they finished their car spot. Exhausted but happy we’d finished we took turns driving the 4 hours home, only to wake up and head to work an hour later.
19.8 miles, 8 peaks, over 2 hours of rest time and about 10 15 minute breaks, 22 hours of hiking and I can say that we are still talking to each other and still planning on doing the Traverse with Jackson and Webster next June. That Brian is a keeper, me thinks . . . Who wants to come along next year?
On Saturday evening, JohnS who is always to so very kind and generous in his support of my hikes gave Regular Brian and I a ride to the Highland Center to drop off my car and then a ride to Appalachia where we would begin our hike bright and early the next day. At Appalachia we met up with Liza (Blue), Charlie (MtnTop) and Charlie’s Girls, Victoria and Elizabeth. After an exchange of our second set of car keys, we said our goodbyes as we wouldn’t be seeing each other until the hike the next day. A restless night of sleep followed with constant nightmares about the hike and strange dreams about having to be rescued and having Mohamed right me up
However, every time I looked over at Brian he seemed to be sleeping soundly, his name should be Lucky Brian instead of Regular Brian.In any case, we woke to our alarm at midnight on Sunday, hit snooze just once and began eating the largest breakfast known to mankind, which is fine except for someone who hates breakfast. After stuffing myself full of cereal, soymilk, egg salad sandwich, donuts, and candy. I took another 30 minute nap while he got his stuff organized, I was already packed the night before. After stashing our stuff in Liza’s car, we got on the trail at 2:15 am.
We kept a nice steady pace up Valley Way, having opted for its good footing instead of the Watson Path which Liza and crew were taking a few hours later. About an hour or less into our hike, I was ahead of Brian and heard some loud noises coming from about 10-20 feet into the woods on my right. I immediately realized it was a moose as it started making a HEAVY breathing/grunting sound. Screaming like a girl and running scared back to Brian, I kept saying “It’s close, too close.” We put the largest tree we could find, which was not large enough between us and the moose. In the rays of our headlamp we could see the eyes of the female moose and she looked HUGE and sounded VERY angry with us.
I kept wanting to head uphill because she was making her way downhill towards us but Brian made me stand still and talk in a calm voice trying to reassure her that we weren’t a threat. She kept coming closer and the grunting noise kept getting more aggressive. Scared out of our wits, we finally took the chance to make our way uphill keeping our eyes and ears open in her general direction. The adrenaline from that encounter fueled us as we picked up our pace. I have been that close to a moose once before on North Brother last October but the experience is far scarier in the darkness where you can’t see what the animal is doing.
The trail was wet and muddy and the rocks were very slippery but we made it to the Hut by about 6 am and spent about 15-20 minutes using the facilities and eating a little snack. We then made our way up Madison, the rocks so slippery that with every step I’d have to tense my quads to keep myself from slipping and falling. We also put on our gloves and jackets. The views were BREATHTAKING, I cannot describe to you how serene it felt to be on the ridge with the low hanging clouds covering the valley. With the rocks so wet and slippery it took forever to make my way up to Madison summit. Once there we knew we had really lucked out being forced to hike Sunday, we got views all the way to Adams and further to Washington. There was not a cloud or mist to block our views. As if by cue, the mist rolled in as we began our descent.
Even with my careful steps and the measured slow progress, the rock jumbles on Madison showed me who was boos as I took a long tumble down about 3 feet on sharp rocks and landed on my right arm. For a moment the sharp pain running up my arm had me convinced I had broken it but after I caught my breath and Brian looked over my scrapes and bruises, we figured out that though I was bound to be sore beyond belief the next day, I was still in 1 piece. So, after sitting and wiping up the blood a little, we started back down to the Hut. After reaching the hut, we took a long break, too long to eat something substantial. By the time we left the Hut, it was past 8 am and we were already more than an hour behind schedule.
Knowing that we were an hour behind schedule and knowing that Liza and Charlie were supposed to start an hour and a half or so behind us, we were surprised those speed demons hadn’t caught up yet. Brian bought a disposable camera at the Hut because I had left my digital at a friend’s house in Boston and for that I would kick myself atleast once every 10 minutes for the rest of the day. So, someday, when I finally get that camera developed and scan in the pictures, I will post it, but don’t hold your breath even if blue is your color.
Just shy of the summit of Adams, Liza and gang caught up with us. Earlier in the day, Brian had commented on how pale and white my legs were looking lately (Thanks Brian
) and funny enough, as Liza and crew were gaining on us, Elizabeth and looked up and said she thinks Brian and I were just ahead, which brought the comment from Liza “That isn’t Seema, that’s a white girl . . . I’d be able to tell if that were Seema” . . . well, sure enough the “white girl” was the Indian girl and we had a little laugh about how I needed a little more sun. It was nice to see their smiling friendly faces and so after we exchanged some logistical information, we said our goodbyes knowing that with our respective paces, we wouldn’t see each other again that day.At the risk of being repetitive, I have to say that at every summit and all along the entire ridge, we had blue skies and sunshine and views as far as the eye could see. I think my heart has never felt so free or soared with such joy. I was happy to share these views with Brian because his last time on this ridge was on a wet, dreary day during his thru-hike of the AT last year. It was wonderful to watch him marvel at the views he had missed previously. It was joyous to realize time and again how well matched we are for our mutual love of the mountains and of hiking. I cannot think of a more wonderful person to share my first Presi Traverse with . . . though if you ask him, he’d tell you I spent more time missing the Saturday Presi Traverse gang than being happy about having him with me . . . I did miss you guys and thought of you often as I commented numerous times how much I admired your dedication to hike that monster trip in the conditions you did.
We were on Adams around 9:30 am or so, on Jefferson around noon and at Washington at 3:30 pm . . . We spent an hour and 15 minutes on Washington, eating pizza, drinking Gatorade and making the decision to continue despite the way my stomach, head and knees were feeling. We were still happy and feeling like we could do it afterall. And with Liza promise that it gets easier after Washington, we carried on. Before getting back on the trail at 4:50 pm, each of us called our Dads and wished them a Happy Father’s Day.
We didn’t spend anytime at Lakes because it was around dinnertime and we were stuffed full from Washington. We made the summit of Monroe around 6:30 pm, stopped to enjoy the views for a bit before we pushed onto Eisenhower. Just before the climb up Eisenhower my knees and my confidence were taking a real banging and I was starting to feel as though I had misjudged my abilities. I was sleepy and tired and trying very hard to keep smiling so I wouldn’t burden Brian with my down in the dumps thoughts.
A quick stop on Ike and we pushed onto Pierce, by this time I had abandoned any grand plans for Jackson and Webster, knowing that I would be lucky to get back to the car after Pierce. The going was excruciatingly slow from Ike to Pierce, we stopped a number of times and I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any more chocolate, which is worrisome indeed . . . I managed to eat a few carrot sticks and my silence was killing Brian who normally cannot shut me up. We donned headlamps about 10 minutes before Pierce and summited Pierce at 9:40 pm before descending to the Crawford Path to make our way down.
Hiking the Crawford Path was like walking in a mud river and in the dark we took a number of spills. Both of us tired and exhausted got our second wind at the Mitzpah Cutoff at 10:30 pm and RAN, yeah . . . I know it is hard for any of you to actually picture me running BUT I RAN all the way to the car stopping only to take a close look at the Lady Slippers I knew grew on the left descending from Gibbs Falls.
We got to the trailhead at 11:50 and made it to the car at midnight, which was still safe and sound where Liza and Charlie had left it after they finished their car spot. Exhausted but happy we’d finished we took turns driving the 4 hours home, only to wake up and head to work an hour later.
19.8 miles, 8 peaks, over 2 hours of rest time and about 10 15 minute breaks, 22 hours of hiking and I can say that we are still talking to each other and still planning on doing the Traverse with Jackson and Webster next June. That Brian is a keeper, me thinks . . . Who wants to come along next year?
