Bucket List Hikes
I don't know if everyone has a "bucket list" or Life list... I don't have an official list. I would say that I have a few items I would really like to do and it is certainly not a finished list.
One item that was def on the list was hiking a volcano. You may have noticed from previous posts that I enjoy a good hike here in there. Living / growing up in the Fraser Valley hikes have always been accessible. If you want something easy there's always something close to home. If you want something harder? You can drive and hour or two in almost any direction and get some pretty cool hikes in.
Some of my fave hikes include a high reward at the end. Whether a glacier, mountain, waterfall or just some scenic views it's almost always worth while. I've been scared on some hikes, worried about wild life and learned some things along the way.
Now, in my hiking (day) pack I make sure to have lots of water, extra food and a first aid kit. Recently, I added micro spikes, first aid/safety blanket, a knife and a head lamp to the collection that comes on even the most average of hikes.
Being safe in the outdoors is super important. I always say that I don't want to become a statistic today. I have zero interest in being that person in the paper that took a foolish risk and lost their life because of it
It's important that someone else knows your route, where you're going and your estimated return time. I keep my cell phone on me (for pics and safety) and a portable charger. Sometimes the weather is quite cold and it zaps battery power. It can also freeze your water tube so bringing an extra bottle of water, although heavy, can be very helpful
So, a little back story on this hike. At a previous 'friends-giving' dinner Oct 2016 I mentioned to my friend Meghan that I had a new fitness goal and that was a sprint triathlon. I wanted to do one for my bday, and there was a race in Oliver, BC that I had my eye on. She, immediately got excited and offered to join me. One of my besties was at dinner as well, Amanada, and she said she wouldn't race but was excited to join to cheer. Meghan had already done one sprint previously, but I had not and being the cardio bunny I tended to be it seemed like a good sport for me. I can swim, (or so I thought I could) I know how to ride a bike (but didn't own one yet) and I'm have decent at running (still true)
Fast forward, June 2017. My 31st bday sprint triathlon (750M swim, 20km bike, 5km run) completed! It was a trip, I borrowed the bike from my uncle, I borrowed a wetsuit from another competitor and it was the biggest endurance race I had ever done. I felt on air.
Not to be outdone, Meghan suggested a trail race for HER bday (Oct) and I completed my first trail 10km for her bday. My 32nd birthday the race was back in Oliver but we did a Half Iron Man (2km swim, 90km ride, 20km run) and Meghan's thing this year was hiking a volcano
The volcano that was chosen was close(ish) to home, south of Seattle in a town called Cougar. Mt St Helens. You have to get a permit in order to climb the mountain, and passes went on sale Feb this year. Each day for the season gets 100 passes and all of them sold out for the entire season and I didn't get a pass in time. I was hoping my husband and I could go hike it together with the group but it wasn't meant to be.
We went out for dinner for Meghan bday earlier last month and my friend Amanda had an extra pass! I couldn't get rid of my shift that saturday (that 6 day work week life) and I ended up heading to Morton WA solo to catch up. The group hikes Mt Rainier on saturday and that's certainly a hike for another time because it doesn't require a pass and looks amazing. Reminds me a lot of Manning park that we have here
So, 4.5 hrs and torrential downpour through Seattle later, I've arrived! Just in time to go to bed haha 5am wake up and a 2 hours drive to the mountain and we were off. Taylor (meghan's boyfriend) was our trail leader. He had mapped the route and looked at conditions, probably one of the handiest people you will ever have on a hike with you. Or a triathlon for that matter.
our route, Monitor Ridge, wasn't in peak condition, there was ice, snow, heavy winds and only 8 people on the mountain for the day (including our group of 4) Hike started out in the forrest, and then moved into a boulder field. Having hikes Mt Cheam the weekend before with my dad, I opted to bring poles this weekend.
We had our passes handy and water, but as we got closer to the top the weather got worse. The winds got up to 70km/hr windchill to -20 and by the time we decided to turn around it was snowing and then we were treated to a thunder and lightening storm! We made it roughly 2100M of a 2400M hike. We had approx 1km to the top and it was 300M of elevation. When we did turn around everything was covered in ice and the wind was so strong it pushed you around. No, I didn't fall down on the hike, which was a concern. Our group of four decided that it was best to come back down together. I spoke up and raised the white flag to stop and turn around and at least two others were OK with continuing on but no one that day made it to the summit. I'll include the views we were hoping to see alongside what we did get treated to
Would I go back for another round? Yeah. I think so. Hopefully a little earlier in the season as even a few weeks can make a big difference in conditions
Hopefully there's a few more hikes in my immediate future. I also own snow shoes so hoping to get out for some snowy hikes/trails as well
One item that was def on the list was hiking a volcano. You may have noticed from previous posts that I enjoy a good hike here in there. Living / growing up in the Fraser Valley hikes have always been accessible. If you want something easy there's always something close to home. If you want something harder? You can drive and hour or two in almost any direction and get some pretty cool hikes in.
Now, in my hiking (day) pack I make sure to have lots of water, extra food and a first aid kit. Recently, I added micro spikes, first aid/safety blanket, a knife and a head lamp to the collection that comes on even the most average of hikes.
Being safe in the outdoors is super important. I always say that I don't want to become a statistic today. I have zero interest in being that person in the paper that took a foolish risk and lost their life because of it
It's important that someone else knows your route, where you're going and your estimated return time. I keep my cell phone on me (for pics and safety) and a portable charger. Sometimes the weather is quite cold and it zaps battery power. It can also freeze your water tube so bringing an extra bottle of water, although heavy, can be very helpful
So, a little back story on this hike. At a previous 'friends-giving' dinner Oct 2016 I mentioned to my friend Meghan that I had a new fitness goal and that was a sprint triathlon. I wanted to do one for my bday, and there was a race in Oliver, BC that I had my eye on. She, immediately got excited and offered to join me. One of my besties was at dinner as well, Amanada, and she said she wouldn't race but was excited to join to cheer. Meghan had already done one sprint previously, but I had not and being the cardio bunny I tended to be it seemed like a good sport for me. I can swim, (or so I thought I could) I know how to ride a bike (but didn't own one yet) and I'm have decent at running (still true)
Fast forward, June 2017. My 31st bday sprint triathlon (750M swim, 20km bike, 5km run) completed! It was a trip, I borrowed the bike from my uncle, I borrowed a wetsuit from another competitor and it was the biggest endurance race I had ever done. I felt on air.
Not to be outdone, Meghan suggested a trail race for HER bday (Oct) and I completed my first trail 10km for her bday. My 32nd birthday the race was back in Oliver but we did a Half Iron Man (2km swim, 90km ride, 20km run) and Meghan's thing this year was hiking a volcano
The volcano that was chosen was close(ish) to home, south of Seattle in a town called Cougar. Mt St Helens. You have to get a permit in order to climb the mountain, and passes went on sale Feb this year. Each day for the season gets 100 passes and all of them sold out for the entire season and I didn't get a pass in time. I was hoping my husband and I could go hike it together with the group but it wasn't meant to be.We went out for dinner for Meghan bday earlier last month and my friend Amanda had an extra pass! I couldn't get rid of my shift that saturday (that 6 day work week life) and I ended up heading to Morton WA solo to catch up. The group hikes Mt Rainier on saturday and that's certainly a hike for another time because it doesn't require a pass and looks amazing. Reminds me a lot of Manning park that we have here
So, 4.5 hrs and torrential downpour through Seattle later, I've arrived! Just in time to go to bed haha 5am wake up and a 2 hours drive to the mountain and we were off. Taylor (meghan's boyfriend) was our trail leader. He had mapped the route and looked at conditions, probably one of the handiest people you will ever have on a hike with you. Or a triathlon for that matter.
our route, Monitor Ridge, wasn't in peak condition, there was ice, snow, heavy winds and only 8 people on the mountain for the day (including our group of 4) Hike started out in the forrest, and then moved into a boulder field. Having hikes Mt Cheam the weekend before with my dad, I opted to bring poles this weekend.We had our passes handy and water, but as we got closer to the top the weather got worse. The winds got up to 70km/hr windchill to -20 and by the time we decided to turn around it was snowing and then we were treated to a thunder and lightening storm! We made it roughly 2100M of a 2400M hike. We had approx 1km to the top and it was 300M of elevation. When we did turn around everything was covered in ice and the wind was so strong it pushed you around. No, I didn't fall down on the hike, which was a concern. Our group of four decided that it was best to come back down together. I spoke up and raised the white flag to stop and turn around and at least two others were OK with continuing on but no one that day made it to the summit. I'll include the views we were hoping to see alongside what we did get treated to
Would I go back for another round? Yeah. I think so. Hopefully a little earlier in the season as even a few weeks can make a big difference in conditions
Hopefully there's a few more hikes in my immediate future. I also own snow shoes so hoping to get out for some snowy hikes/trails as well
The group just before we opted to turn around. Myself, Meghan, Amanda & Taylor
aka - the good vibes gang
Comments
Post a Comment