Mt. Shasta climb

On Thursday, May 20, I headed down to Mt. Shasta along with five other climbers. Kent and Steve drove, and Amy, Adam, John and I were the passengers. It took us about nine hours to make our way from Steve's house in Des Moines to the lovely town of Mt. Shasta just south of the mountain. We stopped a few times on the way down to get gas, eat lunch, and check out the northface outlet just south of Portland.On Thursday night, all of us met up for dinner at a local italian restaurant. Although I knew most of our group of 17 climbers, there were still a few new faces to meet. After a few beers at the local beer place called The Goat, we were off to bed in preparation for breakfast and gear check early the next morning.

After a nice breakfast and a last look at the mountain before the clouds rolled in, we converged on the Fifth Season to meet our guides, separate into smaller groups, and do a final gear check and group gear dispersal. My group consisted of five climbers -- Amy, Denise, Bob, John, and myself, along with our two guides, Kevin and Andrew. Then, it was a short car ride to the Bunny Flat trailhead, elevation 6900 feet. By this time, it was snowing. Not the best of conditions, but better than rain!

We started hiking a bit before noon. We arrived at Horse Camp a bit more than an hour later. Horse camp is at an elevation of about 8000 feet and surrounded by trees. There is also a cabin owned by the Sierra Club that is open to everyone. Horse Camp was completely covered with snow, and the cabin was still buried almost up to the roof.

We set up our tents (in the process disocovering that one of our two tents was missing two poles), and then did "snow school," practicing self arrest, rope walking, and general climbing skills. The wind and snow continued, and eventually we went back to our tents to escape the weather and warm up. We braved the elements for dinner, then walked over to the cabin to hang out with the rest of our Climb to Fight Breast Cancer teammates. I also hooked up with a friend of mine from last year's Kilimanjaro climb. Dean lives in San Francisco, and when he heard I was climbing Shasta, he decided to climb it with a friend of his on the same schedule as our climb. It was a nice treat.

Day 2 started out with sun, although it was mighty cold. We took our time climbing to our high camp at Lake Helen, 10,400 feet. We didn't see any lake at the camp, just lots of snow. High camp is located at the base of a 2000 foot slope which is the ramp to the summit. It can get very windy. The night before we were there, the rangers said that gusts reached 70 mph.

Because of the concern for wind, we dug way into the snow to create high walls around the tents. It was a good thing we did. The digging kept us warm as we were doing it, and kept us from being blown away that night.

Right before dinner, the snow started and the temperatures plummeted. At one point, there was a complete whiteout. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and it was snowing hard. We quickly ate dinner and crawled into our tents to warm up. Fingers and toes were crossed in hopes that the weather would improve so we would be able to make our summit bid early the next morning.
We were supposed to wake up at 2:30 or 3 am to head for the summit at 5. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. Our guides elected not to wake us up until 5. They told us that it was really cold. If we wanted to head up, wear. Couldn't say whether we'd be able to summit, but we would get as high as we could.

We put on our warm clothes, dug out our boots and packs from the 2 feet of new snow that had come into our rainfly during the night, and got ready to climb. As we were doing this, the wind picked up once again. I knew what was coming. The guides came back around and said we weren't climbing. We were bummed, but understood the reason for the call.

As we headed back down to our cars, the weather looked beautiful. As we moved below Helen Lake, the wind subsided. It looked so innocuous. But we made the right call. Temperatures were -1, wind was 20-30 mph, and wind chill was -26. Although I wanted to summit, I wanted to be safe and have fun. We all did have fun, and we all were safe. The mountain will be there next year. I look forward to challenging myself again next year, and hopefully the weather will be with us.

One positive aspect from the shorter hike on Sunday was that we had more time to hang out at the Goat for post climb celebrations. Much fun was had by all at the Goat. Beer, burgers, and tshirts were the big ticket items that afternoon and evening. Small tshirts.

Office Fun

I work in the best office. Where else would my co-workers go bowling to help me raise money for breast cancer research and have this much fun?

Scottish Lakes

March 8 was John George's birthday. It was a great time to spend time with good friends at Scottish Lakes High Camp. For those who have never been there, it's amazing. High Camp is a collection of A-frame cabins set at the end of a private road at 5000 feet east of Stevens Pass. The only way to get there in winter is to ski or snowshoe in, or to take snowmobiles. Fortunately, the lodge will carry your gear and food for you if you choose the manual option.

Sherell and I chose to ski up. Even though I'm not a good cross country skier, the road was freshly groomed and the weather was perfect. It took us about 2 hours or so to ski up the four miles.

Our group had several different cabins. We did the bulk of our cooking in the main building, as feeding the twelve of us in one cabin would have been challenging. We pretty much monopolized the place.
Of course a mountain retreat whose primary activities are skiing and snowshoeing wouldn't be complete without a hot tub and a sauna. Scottish Lakes has both. No electricity, but who needs that when you have lots of wood to fire up the amenities.

From the great food (including Kandace's amazing cakes for both breakfast and dinner), to the awesome friends and perfect weather, our 2010 Scottish Lakes adventure was perfect. Well, maybe fresher snow, but I'm being picky.

Winter/Spring hikes

Lots of great hikes during the past several months, some more strenuous than others. One of my new discoveries was Mercer Slough park, which I traipsed around in late January in a light rain. Even though its right between I-5 and I-90, it was a little oasis. Red blueberry bushes, a kayakable slough, herons, hawks, and quiet. The rain seemed to make it even prettier.


In early February, taking advantage of some unseasonably beautiful weather, I did a loop trip through Wallace Falls state park. I hiked up the newish Greg Ball trail to Wallace Lake. Still wanting more, I hiked around Wallace Lake to the lake beyond, Jay Lake. I then hiked over to Wallace Falls, hitting both the upper and lower falls. I think I did somewhere around 13 or 14 miles when all was said and done.

Several weeks later, I took a 3 days Wilderness First Responder refresher class in discovery park. Again, unseasonably good weather. One day, I got to the park ridiculously early so that I could walk the 3 mile loop before our class started. What a great way to greet the day!
Somewhere in the hiking mix, Amy and I did a nice loop through Cougar Mountain State park. Nothing strenuous, but we did see this lovely waterfall along the way. I'm a sucker for waterfalls.

In late March, we hiked up to Lake Serene, near the town of Index. This is a great hike, and one that gets you into the high country fairly early in the season, as long as you don't mind a bit of snow. It is a great workout, as the trail is quite steep in places. Rewards are great. Not only do you get to see an amazing waterfall on the way up, but there is a super lake at the top, and in the spring, you can see and hear the avalanches coming off Mt. Index on the far side of the lake. Last year, I hiked up here in May and there was more snow then than there was this March. I think that the swimming will have to wait a bit, though.

This spring, I also visited Lake Dorothy for the first time. I had driven by the turnout many times, but this was the first time I actually checked it out. Though it's not a strenous hike, the rewards are pretty good. It's a giant lake surrounded by some nice peaks, and a bunch of campspots. We encountered a good deal of snow, but looks to be a nice, easy backpack in season. Perhaps I can convince Roy to join me for a camping adventure. Lake, fire, easy. What's not to like? And, for me, passes beyond to enjoy.


In late April, another great hike previously undiscovered. The north cascades, which I always want to visit, but they seem so far away. A CLE in eastern Washington gave me the perfect ex cuse. As we drove home across the North Cascades highway, Amy and I stopped at Colonial Creek campground and hiked along the Thunder River trail for about four miles. It was incredible. All these great waterfalls, so much green. Flowers were just starting to bloom. It was a spring wonderland. Of course, I left wanting more. As we hiked the trail, we could look up into the glaciated basins above. I want to explore them. The trail continues, and you can hike all the way to Stehekin. Alternatively, you can take the trail up to Fisher Basin and drop through Easy Pass down to highway 20 further east. I definitely need to come back and do that!

Winter, 2009-2010

Since I last posted, I have been busy with a number of hikes and trips around the west coast. In November, I took advantage of dirt cheap tickets ($39 each way) and flew to San Francisco with Roy for a fun long weekend in the city and a night in Sausalito. On our last day, while everyone else was working and it was pouring in Seattle, I rented a bike and rode from Sausalito to Tiburon and back under sunny skies in shorts and a t-shirt. Poor Roy was stuck in bed with some sort of ugly cold.

The following week, I headed back east to family Thanksgiving in Cleveland. I missed it last year due to recovery from knee surgery, so it was great to see the extended Dingledy family and friends, all 35 of us.
The weekend before Christmas, Roy and I took the train down from Portland to enjoy a long weekend at the Nines hotel, a gret place right in the downtown core above Macy's. We discovered it last year and loved it. It was a great chance to explore the city, do some tax free shopping, and be car free for a few days. Although the city was all decked out for Christmas, the weather was rainy and bleary.
A few days after we got home from Portland, Mom and Dad drove up from Indio, California to share the holidays. We had great holiday meals, and a fun white elephant party on Christmas night, complete with a wide variety of exotic and interesting gifts. Mom, Dad and I spent a day up north, checking out the snow geese and trumpeter swans on Fir Island. I don't know how many geese we saw congregating in the field, but it was in the tens of thousands. The din from their honking was incredible. And, when they all took off at once, it looked like a snowstorm. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and their giant nest and a short eared owl hunting in broad daylight. After our wildlife experience, we spent the afternoon in LaConner eating lunch and exploring the town. Caught a great sunset along the channel before we made our way back home.
After Mom and Dad left, I was still in the mood for wildlife viewing. That following week, I finished morning court early and took a field trip before afternoon court, heading up to Rockport to check out the bald eagles. None were feeding in the river, but a bunch were hanging out in the surrounding trees digesting their salmon breakfasts. I also saw a beaver or otter hanging out in the river below me doing it's thing. I couldn't figure out what it was at first, as I've never really seen one in action before, but that had to be what it was. It disappeared before I could take it's picture.

The first weekend in January, we had a girls trip to Whistler. Laura, Rachel, Haley, Cassie, Anna, Sonja, Sara and I drove up Thursday afternoon for two full days of play in the snow (actually rain). Despite the uncooperative weather, we had a great time. I tried out the new ACL for the first time and it was fine. I also went for a nice snow walk with Laura. We used the snowshoe trails, but the snow was so consolidated that there was no need for snowshoes. At least it didn't really rain on us!

We spent MLK Jr. weekend near Lake Wenatchee for the 11th Annual Dinglerama. Again, the weather was not optimal, but we still had a great time snowshoeing and cross country skiing around our house on the Chiwawa River and at Lake Wenatchee State Park.

At the end of January, Roy and I visited Camano Island and stayed at a great cabin in Cama Beach State Park. I first saw the cabins in Sunset magazine. They are really popular during the summer, but we were able to get a reservation for the January date in September. I guess the motto is plan ahead. The cabins are tiny, have no bathrooms and no bedding, and were built in the 1920s. They do have heat, running water, a coffee maker, and a microwave oven. And, they are right on the water. Roy was a bit skeptical at first, but is now sold. Truly incredible views right out the window, a great beach, and nice walking trails just out the door.
In addition to my mini vacations and day trips, I've been doing a bunch of hiking. Training for my Shasta climb officially started after New Years with a hike up Tiger Mountain 3. Since then I've done a number of training hikes around Tiger Mountain,

Mt. Si, Wallace Falls State Park, Discovery Park, and Mercer Park, most with 30-35 pounds of weight on my back. Thanks Amy for being my training partner.

Fall Hikes

Taking advantage of the nice fall weather, Amy and I hiked to Ingalls Lake on October 3. It was chilly, but no rain! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the larches were just starting to turn. I love larches, but last year I missed them turning. It was great to have a taste of them at Ingalls Lake. It also inspired me to search out new larch hikes for the following weekend!

During the next week, I did my research. Altough it was a long drive, Amy and I decided that we would head to the north cascades in search of larches. After all, larch season only comes once a year, and only for a short time. So, it was worth it to us to drive 3.5 hours each way to catch them.

We started early on October 10 so that we could drive to the east side of the north cascades and do our 7 mile loop before it got dark. We did it, and even had time to hike to Rainy Lake with plenty of time to spare. Another fabulous weather day, but it was COLD!! As we drove through North Cascades National Park on highway 20, the thermometer in my car dropped to 29 degrees. This was at 10 am!! We saw frozen waterfalls on our way.

The loop was amazing. Lots of larches, lakes of gorgeous colors, and high passes. In some cases, the larches seemed to be at their peak, but on others, they were not quite there. The hike made me want to come back again the following weekend, but alas, I had other plans. I was cutting wood at Scottish Lakes High Camp, which happened to be in the vicinity of another larch haven. Despite thoughts of spending another night at Scottish Lakes and hiking to Larch Lake on Monday, I just couldn't do it. Work and the weather forecast got in the way. Unfortunately, the larches will have to wait until next year.