Mom's visit to Portland

 

OK, I will admit, I was struggling for a last minute gift for my Mom for her birthday.  So I did what any great son would do:  I called my sister (Kristy).  Well, she was in the same position as I, so we decided to fly her out to Portland and overlap with Kristy's visit so we could all spend some time together.  For all that my Mom has been through lately with her selfless devotion to help my Dad during his recovery from brain surgery, she really deserved a break and some time away.  For the first part of her trip, she went to Seattle with Kristy, Pat, and Elliot.  After Kristy and Pat left, my Mom and I did a roadtrip down to California.  My Mom had mentioned before that she wanted to see the Redwoods in California.  I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to do so and for us to spend some quality time together.  We had a lot of fun and saw many things along the way.

a quick hike to see a wild patch of Darlingtonia (aka the pitcher plant), a rare carnivorous plant  that only grows in Oregon and Northern California

rivers so clear, you can see the 40 ft bottom from atop an overpass

The redwoods never disappoint.  This is my second trip to see these beautiful freaks of nature.  It is truly amazing how massive they are.  Even more impressive is their resilience to live through fire, insect attacks, floods, etc through thousands of years.  I could do this trip every month and not get bored of it.

On the way back up from California, we drove along the coast, stopping at beaches and enjoying fresh seafood in the little coastal towns.  Now THIS is living!

pristine ridges in the sand

We spent the night in Florence, Oregon.  The next morning, we started the day with a nice coffee and a walk along the piers.  There were crab fishermen setting pots and several boats arriving full of fresh tuna from recent expeditions.  Seals trolled the docks, hoping for a fisherman to toss them some scrap bait.

We continued our drive up the Oregon coast, finally arriving at the Sea Lion Caves... 

...however the caves (above) were devoid of Sea Lions, as they were all out sunning themselves on the rocky shore nearby:

We gradually made our way back home to Portland, trying to take the scenic route whenever possible.  Mom especially liked seeing the endless rows of trees as we drove through the Christmas Tree Farms.  Once back in Portland, we spent a few more days checking out local treasures:

South Falls, Silver Falls

North Falls, Silver Falls

Portland Rose Garden

Portland Chinese Garden

view of downtown Portland from the Pittock Mansion

I really appreciated getting to spend so much 1:1 time with my Mom, since usually our visits are short and we are trying to see a lot of family all at once.  The long car ride was a great time to get caught up and discuss many topics and really connect.  I think she will agree that it was some of the most special and meaningful times we have ever spent together.  Happy birthday Mom, I love you. 

Pat, Kristy, Elliot Visit Portland

 Back in August (yes, I am very behind on blogging), we were lucky to have my sister's family visiting from Chicago for a few weeks.  Kristy and Pat are both teachers, thus they had plenty of time off this summer for visiting, so we convinced them to come out for an extended stay with us.  It was also nice to spend some quality time with our nephew Elliot, as he is growing up very fast.

 One of Elliot's "jobs" while he was visiting was to help us walk the dog.  It was hilarious because the first time, when he got tired, he just set the leash down on the ground.  We reminded him that he needs to hand the leash to one of us when he is done.  :) 

We were fortunate that their visit coincided with the summer concert in the park next door to our place.  It was a free concert and the music was pretty good.  Elliot had fun dancing, but, as the music went until dark, it was getting a little past his bedtime. 

 Kristy dancing with Elliot (while carrying his soon to be little sister)

 Pat and Elliot playing in the park

To make the trip even better, my Mom's visit overlapped with Kristy's.  It was nice for all of us to spend some time together.  They took a weekend roadtrip to Seattle (we stayed in Portland since Emily's roommate from college and maid of honor, Pauline, was visiting with her boyfriend from Chicago). 

 Mom enjoying seeing all the fresh produce at the farmer's market downtown

 

 Elliot is always a fan of live music - here he is checking out a bluegrass band at the farmer's market

We did a day trip to Mt. Hood to take Elliot to the Adventure park.  It was a lot of fun to see him enjoying the rides, etc.  Pat and I even got to squeeze in some downhill mountain biking.

Elliot learning to drive:  a few mishaps, but he did very well

Dad coaching son on driving

Elliot's focus was priceless....he was very determined to make that turn!

Pat, Elliot, Kristy at Mt. Hood

Elliot enjoying a ride in the little boats

We had a lot of fun and fit in a lot of activities while they were in town.  It was great seeing them for an extended period of time (instead of our usual whirlwind weekends in Chicago, where we are trying to visit too many people in a short amount of time).  Hopefully this trip becomes an annual tradition for them?

Mt Adams Summit Climb (August 2012)

After successfully reaching the summit of Mt St Helens, I was ready to tackle a bigger and steeper mountain.  The next weekend, I ventured on a 2 day climb up Mt Adams (12,276 ft).  Adding gear for an overnight trip substantially increases the size and weight of your pack.  Climbing a snow and glacier covered mountain adds gear in the form of crampons, ice axe, snow shovel, and the cold weather clothing.  On top of all the extra gear, I decided to lug my splitboard (a snowboard that splits in half to make a set of cross country skis for the trip up) which, with my bulky snowboard boots, added 18 lbs.  My pack was tipping the scales at 55lbs, and I would learn later that I need to trim this down significantly for future trips.

my pack for the 2 day climb

view of Mt Adams on my drive to the trailhead

as I drove closer to the mountain, it loomed with an air of magnitude

The start of the climb was an old logging road, which is normally easy, but the Pacific NW was experiencing our only heat wave of the summer, so the temperature was climbing close to 100 degrees.  I drank 5 liters of water during 7 hours of climbing! 

Mt Hood on the horizon

around the next corner, I had Mt St Helens on the horizon

Finally the trail turned from dirt to snow around 6700 ft, so I was able to try out my new splitboard.  I donned the skins (directional fabric glued to the bottom of the skis) and proceeded to cross country ski up the mountain. 

Unfortunately, my quest to find better snow (instead of sticking to the normal route), led me astray and into some very difficult terrain.  The next few hours would be the most difficult and scary part of my climb.  The afternoon sun was making the snow very unstable and slushy, rendering the skins near useless.  I had several close calls where I began sliding backwards back down the mountain, but was able to self arrest. 

The section below may not look steep in the picture because the right to left gradient is difficult to see in the shadow, but trust me, it was not easy.  Climbing can very quickly become a mental game that can put you at wits end in a hurry, however it is of the utmost importance to stay in full mental control.  After several failed attempts to climb the steep snow slope (and plenty of practice with self arrest using my ice axe), I eventually decided that I must turn back and go out and around this section.  It was a setback to my route and overall time, but I had already wasted several hours on this section.  I had to get moving because the sun was setting in a few hours and I needed to get higher up the mountain before setting up camp.

I had originally planned to camp at 9000 ft, but only made it to 8200 ft by sundown, after my debacle with the steep portion described earlier.  I was at a nice rocky area, and I was not too keen on clearing the next glacier in the dark, nor did I want to have to setup camp in the dark.  The altitude was adding to my difficulties, so I figured it was a good time to break for the night. 

setting up camp at 8200ft

using my camp stove to melt snow for tomorrow's drinking water

I had to force myself to eat dinner.  I knew I had burned a lot of calories and needed the energy, but the altitude was making me nauseated.  Despite my utter exhaustion and desire to sleep, I decided I must dig out my camera for some night shots (besides, that's half the reason I do this stuff anyways!).  I'm not sure sure if it was the delirium induced by my current exhaustion, or the fact that I have never seen anything so bright at night, but the moonrise over the side of the mountain proved to be the absolutely most astonishing thing I have ever seen.  If you have read earlier installments of this blog, you will know that I have been around the world, and I've seen and done some amazing things, but, trust me, this one takes the cake!  I turned around and saw the brightest sliver of light peering over the edge of the mountain.  My first thought (seriously) was that someone was climbing over there and had an enormous halogen spot light.  I literally asked myself, "what the hell IS that?"  I was dumbfounded as it budded into a sphere and rose into the sky.  I could not possibly believe that it was the moon.  It was so bright that I had to make several adjustments on my camera such that it did not oversaturate the image.  Soon, my campsite was abask in moonlight enough to read by.  OK, now my afternoon struggle seemed justified. 

moonrise over the side of Mt Adams a few days after a full moon 

(and we would also be treated to a blue moon later in August)

As per our previously agreed upon plan, I met up with a two of my coworkers, Mike and Dan, before dawn of day 2.  They are even crazier than I and decided to start in the night, go without sleep, and do the entire climb in one day!  There are advantages to a one day climb of Mt Adams, namely the lesser amount of gear and more climbing during the cool night hours.  However, I knew I did not have the stamina to keep up on a one day climb with those guys (for reference, Dan is training to run the Portland Marathon at 6:05 min/mile avg pace!!).   Besides, I had never camped on a mountain before and Emily was out of town for the weekend for school in SF, so the opportunity was smacking me in the face. 

Surprisingly, we were able to get good cell service on the mountain, so our rendezvous at 4:45AM in the dark went without a hitch.  I left my tent, snowboard, and the majority of my gear at the campsite and only packed the essentials for the summit climb.  We donned headlamps and crampons and continued the climb.  There were some very steep sections ahead, and it was imperative to conquer them in the early morning hours, before the sun had a chance to soften the snow too much.  This was my first experience with crampons, and I was quite impressed how well they grabbed the ice and how steep of a glacier grade could be climbed.  I soon lost Mike and Dan around 10,000 ft as I struggled to maintain their aggressive pace up the mountain....oh well, it was reassuring to see familiar faces when you have been out on a mountain alone for a day.  Also, based on my rough first day, I might have been tempted to pack up and descend without reaching the summit, but I didn't want to skip out on our planned climb together.  

...taking a quick break for photos at the false summit at 11,500 ft...the true summit lies behind me after 1/4 mile and another 800 ft of climbing...I was utterly exhausted, but no way in hell am I stopping now with the end in sight!

(an aside for my non-climbing friends:  a "false summit" is when the mountain is so steep that, as you climb, it appears you are reaching the top....however, when you get to the top of that section, the view opens up to show that there is indeed more to go to get to the true summit of the mountain)

the 1/4 mile hike preceding the final climb to the summit

the summit was much larger and flatter than had I imagined (those tiny tiny black specs in the middle on the horizon are other climbers)

Finally at the summit of Mt Adams!

12,276 ft

(Mt Ranier in background)

The descent was aided by the snow, allowing glissading (sliding down chutes while seated, using ice axe as a brake) and snowboarding, such that my weary legs did not have to take near as many steps and I got down the mountain much much much faster than I went up.  :)  

glissading down a well worn chute

I stopped back at my campsite to pickup the rest of my gear and made a quick descent back to the truck.  

Mt Adams was my first overnight climb, and I could already feel the allure of conquering more mountains building like the anticipation of a fisherman drawing his nets, hoping to catch something bigger each time...

Mt St Helens Summit Climb (July 2012)

In July, I tried my second attempt to summit Mt St Helens.  Our previous attempt in March got us within a few hundred feet of the top before high winds and icy conditions forced us to turn back.  This time was much easier as the weather was much more forgiving.  Also, since more snow had melted, more of the roads were open, so we were able to drive further up the mountain and start at a higher elevation trailhead.  With much longer daylight hours in the summer, we were able to start at a later time (getting up at 3AM for the previous attempt was a little rough way to start the day).

 foggy conditions during the start of the climb

 part of our crew

 the snow, while slick in some spots, was easier to walk up than climbing over the large boulders

 towards the top is mostly scree and loose ash, making traction difficult

 

 a crevasse - 

it looks much smaller in the pic, but this one was scary enough for me...a fall into here could be devastating

 

 I finally reached the summit around lunchtime, after 4.5 hours of climbing.  

The views into the crater were breathtaking.  The steam vents are still active, reminding us that this is still a powerful volcano.  It is hard to imagine the amount of force required to blow the top off of a mountain this large. 

 celebrating at the top

 my buddy, Mike, jumps off the top of the mountain  :)

*special thanks to Mike for organizing the trip and getting the permits secured for our group months in advance (he even made T shirts to commemorate our group climb)

 the clouds on the horizon parted for about 30 seconds to give us a glimpse of our next challenge: Mt Adams

after such dramatic views of the crater, the descent is always less appealing  ;)

Our entire group of 35 made it safely up and down the mountain.  We only had minor injuries (sprained ankle and hurt knee), but they were able to hobble down with a little help from friends.  It was a very successful climb and my first summit of a "real" mountain.