Dottington, wow some beautiful pictures! I must say you are incredibly lucky to live so close to so many awesome sounding hiking areas Have fun tomorrow!
Oh, I wanted to add a picture from the one and only mountain I've actually summited - Ampersand Mtn. (3,352') in the Adirondacks (New York). This was just about a year ago. I would love to do it again and see how much I've progressed...it took me about twice as long as most people to do the hike, but I don't think we'll get back there anytime soon.
But man the views were worth it!
Last edited by nonameslob; 06-11-2014 at 08:53 AM.
noname-I do know I'm VERY lucky to have so many beautiful natural places around me I've heard the Adirondacks are beautiful, looks like a great hike! It would be really cool if you could go back and see how much faster you are now, when I started hiking I was sooo slow and its been fun to keep track of my times and see progress away from the scale.
pattience-I do hike alone. My parents and fiance worry about me hiking alone, but I like going alone I like going my own speed and having me time. Thanks for the tips on India! Did you take all those photos?! They are so beautiful! I went through them all!
Did 8.5 miles today up Mt. San Jacinto. Had originally planned on doing the peak, but didn't think I'd be able to make it in 4 hours. I was filled with energy today though and ended up going REALLY fast. I did my fastest time ever up to Wellman's Divide, 1 hour and 10min! I could probably have just made the peak, but knew I'd have to really push myself and probably run so decided to just go down Wellman's Cienega which is a really beautiful decent towards Humber Park in Idyllwild. The side of the mountain is covered in ferns and cabbage plant that are watered by some natural springs. I took a bunch of photos and will include them. It was a little warm so splashed some water from one of the springs all over me and it was very refreshing. I then found a nice rock to climb and relax on for a few minutes. It was kind of embarrassing though bc I pulled up my top to tan my stomach and think I accidentally flashed a guy hiking by hahahaha! Then I know another man and his son caught me taking selfies, I cringe writing it, I felt so vain! They were probably like, "What is that crazy girl doing up on that rock half naked?!" Oh well
Its a pretty steep drop down the cienega trail from the divide(which sits at 9700') so hiked back up that and then went down. I didn't realize I would be going so much faster today so didn't plan a long enough hike. This one ended up taking 3 hours even though it was longer and more strenuous then Monday's hike which also was about 3 hours. I thought about extending the hike another mile by taking a slightly longer way back to the ranger station but decided against it bc I was really hungry and figured I'd gotten in a really good workout and was feeling fatigued from going so fast.
A funny thing happened on the hike. There were these 3 buff guys who were bragging and trying to show off while waiting for the tram and before they started hiking and kept trying to talk to me but I just blew them off. They got a head start on me since I was talking to my friend in the ranger station and I ended up not only catching up with them but passing them. They really didn't like that! They then ran to pass me again even though they were obviously suffering from altitude sickness. I told them they were too, and then they really were angry at me bc not only did I not respond to their earlier advances, but I passed them, and then informed them they were suffering from altitude sickness Man they hated me! They couldn't stand a girl was faster and more experienced then them! I was so glad to finally lose them when I went down the cienega trail.
Wow you are really gunning it if you are doing hikes like this everyday. The pictures give me a nice indication of what the place is like.
I haven't done so many hikes on my own. I find it hard to motivate myself in that way. When i'm cycling on tour its easy because i am going from place to place. I really need to start my running again. Maybe I will try again this afternoon. And if i can get it going, maybe soon i can do the Bump Track which is just down the road.
Here where i live, we have some hills and while covered in forest, they have lovely little rocky creeks coming down the hillsides. Its fun to rock hop up them. Bushwalking/hiking is not actually big around here but mountain biking is a growing phenomenon and i should think about exploring some of those trails in the future.
We did a day in Denver, two days in Boulder and then took a shuttle out to Rocky Mountain National Park to begin the backpacking part of our trip. Not all of the park shuttles were running yet so we had to do some additional unexpected hiking to get from the first night's campground to the back country office for our permit and then back onto a shuttle. We did about 30 miles in three days. My pack was probably about 40 pounds (way too much stuff but we had to carry everything for the whole week long trip, not just the backpacking part of it!). Our total ascent was about 4-5,000' (max elevation was 10,500 or something like that).
After the first night at the campground, we hiked up to the first back country campsite. It was all uphill, and the last half was in snow that was sometimes knee deep. Since it was the afternoon, the snow had gotten soft so it wasn't easy to walk on even with poles and spikes. Our campsite was in the snow, so much snow we couldn't find the real campsite and had to pick a spot near the trail. The next day we kept going on our loop but it was way too dangerous at one point (my bf actually took a terrifying, could-have-been-deadly fall...he is ok aside from some skin abrasions) so we turned around and hiked back to the trailhead and took a shuttle to the other side of the loop, where we had to hike uphill again. No snow on that part of the trail - in fact it was really hot out! Great campsite near a waterfall that night. Our last day hiking we decided to take a longer trail back to see some new sights instead of backtracking again. Which of course ended up being lots of uphill, but by then I actually felt like I had adjusted to the elevation and my pack.
I'll have to load pictures later, but wow. Pictures couldn't capture the amazing sights we saw. There's nothing like being so far removed from civilization...no sounds from traffic, no light pollution. Pure nature. The Rockies are just stunning.
My body is killing me now though! But I feel like I could hike at home so much better after doing all of that at elevation with a pack. So hopefully we will get to do a few shorter trips on the east coast in the next few months.
I don't think I had any symptoms of altitude sickness at all. The only thing I noticed was it was obviously move difficult to do things! But eventually I coped with that as well. The dry air caused me more problems than anything - I had a stuffed, bloody nose the whole trip.
Here's a few pictures. My bf has most of the good ones, but he hasn't edited them yet so hopefully I'll have some better ones to share soon.
I love outdoor adventures. I've done two 5-day ocean kayaking adventures in past years and I try to do overnight backpacking adventures throughout the summer currently. I'd like to get into longer trips but have a diabetic pet that requires my care on a more constant basis so for now overnighters are all I can do.
Thanks, Pattience. I was using my cell phone and in most of the snow pictures I was standing in precarious, uncomfortable positions so I wasn't interested in taking much longer than I needed LOL! My boyfriend is the hobbiest photographer so his pics will be much better :P My iphone isn't very good at adjusting when there is too much white or too much dark, but you get the idea.
EagleRiverDee - I am really curious about your ocean kayaking!!! Do you just kayak near shore, or do you have to be out very far? I would think that's very nervewracking, but I'm sure it all differs depending on what ocean and where you are That sounds like an amazing time, though. It's a shame you can't get away for longer, but what would life be without a loving pet to come home to?
noname-What an amazing trip! I love the photos, thank you for sharing them It sounds like you really owned that trail! haha Great work! And the altitude didn't bother you, that's awesome So when's your next trip? Every time I get back from one trip I can't wait to plan the next one lol Hiking at lower elevations is going to be a breeze for you now. Exercising at elevation really is the best.
Eagle-Where was your kayaking trip? I think that sounds like a lot of fun. I like kayaking too, but don't get to go out that often.
pattience-You are an amazing photographer! I can't get over the fact that your took all those photos. Are you a professional photographer? Is that your career? Really, the photos on your blog are so beautiful. You really know how to capture the atmosphere of a place.
I did San Jacinto Peak again recently. San Jacinto Mountain is where I do most of my summer hiking and the peak is a 3800 elevation gain and goes up to 10800'. For me, I start getting bothered by elevation after 10000'. I went with my exercise buddy who's going backpacking with me. She did incredible for her first time up. I couldn't believe it actually. We did it in 5 hours. I was really fatigued from earlier hikes/exercise from the week. I think I could get my time down if I tried more. I'm including some pics from the peak. I love the first one bc you can see the desert floor below.
Next week I'm heading to the North Palisade in the Eastern Sierras. Its a killer hike to the base and I'm really nervous actually. I timed myself last week for what my speed is when I'm not pushing and just breathing normally while hiking uphill at elevation and it seems that speed is 2.6mph. When I'm really pushing I'm going 3mph. Good speeds, but this is a very steep trail and goes to 12000' with a 5000' elevation gain. The ideal plan is we get to the base hopefully in one day(last time it took 2 but we're in much better shape and thinner). Then we take a day to recover, explore, whatever. Then I really want to do a major peak. 12000' is the highest I've been and I'd really like to tackle one of the 13000' or 14000' peaks. Then the next day recover, explore, whatever. Then head back down the day after that. I hope there are no injuries this time. Last time my sister got injured while scrambling up some rocks and it was pretty awful for her and for the rest of us to help her down the mountain. My dad and older brother had to relay her pack and I had to help walk her down. It was a nightmare. This time we will NOT be taking any crazy shortcuts
Wow dottington sounds like you have an epic trip planned! Blows mine out of the water :P you certainly have been training a lot. It doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. Do you have a certain campsite you need to get to or can you set up camp anywhere? I know its stressful when you have a time line to keep but hopefully it all works out and everyone has fun. Enjoy and take lots of pics!
First day back at the gym today and I killed it! I thought after a week all the effects of hard work at altitude would have worn off but looks like it was great training. I should be able to do a lot back home this summer if I keep up with it at the gym. Sadly I don't have any vacation time left so it will have to be short trips. Hoping to meet up with a friend who is through hiking the AT. He is in PA right now. But no plans set in stone yet.
Pattience makes me curious - Dott, what do you do for food on trips like that? I know you're vegetarian (and lactose intolerant?) so I imagine it's more difficult to plan. For our Colorado trip we ended up buying those freeze dried Mountain House meals. They weren't terrible, but weren't great (for the ease of not having to carry as much fuel and since we weren't really able to bring our own food from Delaware, I would say it was worth it). I would like to eventually get a dehydrator so I can make my own food for trips like that though! Of course now I'm getting off topic, but I am interesting in talking with other health-conscious backpackers about how they eat on their trips!
I've never heard of the glucose tablets. Honestly, lack of breath is what usually causes me trouble towards the end of a hike, not lack of energy otherwise. Sigh. Asthma sucks.
pattience-Yeah it really was just depletion, I'd been training too hard and not eating enough calories. I will will try not to make that mistake again. I always make sure to carb load for breakfast, it does help a lot. Where was your 10 day trip to? Sounds fun I don't like to snack on the trail either. I get into "hiking mode" and I really don't like to stop or do much of anything till I get to where I want to be haha I haven't done glucose tabs, but have done the gels. I will be picking some up for the trip, they'be really helped me before getting through some tough spots.
noname-I'm vegetarian(so is my exercise buddy and my dad), lactose intolerant, and gluten intolerant. Basically that means no packaged meals for me! haha I'm making my own packaged meals. It took me 3 hours last night planning them out and doing the recipes for them/shopping list. Here's the menu for the trip:
Sunday
D: Veggie tacos
Monday
B: Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts
L: Bars, trail mix, dried fruit, jerky
D: Curry Noodle Soup
Tuesday
B: Cheezy Eggs with Bacon
L: Bars, trail mix, dried fruit, jerky
D: Pesto Pasta with beef
Wed
B: Gluten free breakfast couscous
L: Bars, trail mix, dried fruit, jerky
D: Chili Mac and Cheese with meat
Thursday
B: Cheezy egg and potato skillet with sausage
L: Bars, trail mix, dried fruit, jerky
D: Curry coconut rice with chicken
Friday
B: Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts
L: Bars, trail mix, dried fruit, jerky
Obviously all the "meat" and "cheese" is imitation and all the noodles are gluten free. If you're curious about any of the recipes I can share them too Great job getting back into the gym, I knew you'd kill it after training at elevation! As far as getting to campsites-I have a place I want to get to the first day that will put us right next to all the big peaks so we would have easy access to them the next couple of days to climb.
I'm getting so excited guys! Can't believe its almost time!
I didn't realise noname was training at elevation.
Heh, I just meant that after three days of hiking at elevation, I'm now in good shape to do some pretty epic hiking at sea level! I'm still doing REALLY well at the gym (abnormally so!), so I think I've managed to build on whatever progress I made physically while at elevation.
You have me daydreaming about the dehydrator again. Really hoping I can get one used somewhere.
Now that it is summer, my boyfriend is on call for work a lot AND it's very hot and humid so there won't be much hiking in the near future All I can do is daydream.
Day1: Drove in to camp at the base of the Eastern Sierras and the trail head. It was a 6 hour drive and we stopped twice. Once for food and the only place to stop was a Burger King, so I had salad and some french fries Then at the grocery store for supplies for the veggie tacos for dinner.
Day2: Woke early to strike camp and get our packs in order. It rained most of the night and was raining hard on and off that morning. Really slowed us down. Decided not to take climbing gear and just stick to class 3 routes because weather reports said the rain would continue throughout the week(it didn't and I really wish we'd brought the gear, but its so heavy and it really did not seem like the rain would let up any time soon). Started out at close to 8000'(2438m) at 9:30ish. Me and my friend's pack were about 40lbs and my dad was probably more like 50. By making all the meals myself and not taking the bear containers(they are suggested but not required ) we cut down on a lot of weight. Also by not taking the climbing gear that cut down on weight too.
We were grateful for the cloudy and cool weather since the hike up is really steep and very exposed. Last time we were here it was super hot and miserable. We had a pleasant hike up though. I started feeling the elevation after 10000'(3048m) which is normally when I really start to feel it. My exercise buddy is in incredible shape and left me and my dad in the dust! The entire trek to our base camp was 8 miles and took 5 hours(including breaks). The elevation gain was 3000ft(914m) and we set up camp in the early afternoon in Sam Mac Meadow(also known as one of the most beautiful places I've ever been) which sits at around 11000'(3353m). It rained a little off and on still throughout the afternoon and evening, but cleared up for good after that.
Day3: Did an attempt of Mt. Gayley(13500') but unfortunately that didn't go so well. The hike up was awful. Obviously there isn't a trail for these peaks and you kind of have to figure out from people's descriptions where to go to find the route up. We were looking for a 3rd class route but ended up getting on this awful gully. It was pure scree(loose little rocks) and we had previously been on a ton of talus(bigger fields of rocks, these ones were loose and there were giant rock slides every hour from the melting glaciers. Made us very uncomfortable) and at about 13000' I had to put an end to it. I told my dad, "This is unreasonable. If we don't die going up, we will die coming down." He had to agree and admit defeat. Turns out the route we wanted was over across the glacier and without ice gear we couldn't have gotten there anyway. Also, we might not have wanted to get on the glacier even with gear bc it was in bad shape. Headed back to camp but my legs had been pushed past the point of exertion and I slipped a few times since my legs couldn't take the weight being put on them. One thing I learned from the trip is that I've gotten too skinny and really need to build up muscle if I want to last on even harder/longer trips.
Day4: Rest day. My buddy on the trip was suffering from altitude and mentally wasn't doing well. She's one of the physically strongest people I've ever met, but obviously she was scarred a little from the previous day. Also, we went so hard 2 days in a row and needed a break. My dad being the crazy mountain mad he is went and explored the peaks and glacier(that's when he found out about the route going over the glacier) and was gone the entire day. I did my own exploring for a few hours, washed my hair in the glacial melt, made a birthday card for my fiance, cleaned the tents etc. A rest day was really needed.
Day5: Exercise buddy still wasn't doing well, so she stayed behind while me and my dad attempted Mt. Winchell. While exploring on the rest day I found an alternate trail not on any maps that looked like a short cut and I'm so glad I found it! Saved us easily 2 hours. We hiked out of the meadow up a waterfall then over some ridges past huge lakes fed by glaciers and dotted with icebergs.
Then the talus fields began. And it was torture. Me and my dad both agreed we are never coming back so late in the year and never coming back without at least cramp-ons and ice axes. We could have saved HOURS if we had been on ice with ice gear instead of the awful, mindnumbing fields of talus. Finally we just gave up and jumped onto the glaciers. We figured its just as dangerous as the talus and would rather die on a glacier then in a rock slide
It was so sad bc even without gear it was so much faster going on the snow, even with me falling down so many times. My dad is an expert mountaineer so is a pro on snow, but I'm really unsure on it since I grew up in the desert.
Finally we reached the base of Mt. Winchell. And it was a giant pile of scree and really unclean rock(hand/foot holds would just breaking away). Also the route, again, was really hard to find. Even when back on the correct route, it was not class 3. It was class 4 and there were some times we were doing some technical climbing that felt like almost an easy class 5. It was also VERY exposed and all you're looking down on is a 2000ft drop onto a glacier. I would have really liked to have a rope at many times. At one point I lost it a little and started crying. I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it. I'm not a person who cries often or easily, but I got really scared. My dad had to yell at me to pull it together. Later he admitted that not until the last 25ft did he think we would for sure make it. Finally we got to the top of the peak which stands at 13776'(4199m) and the view was insane. Miles and miles of mountain ranges and towards the east you could see the desert valley below. We wrote our names in the peak register, had a snack, took some pics, and headed down.
The way down was so much easier. Everything that had seem hidden before was now so much more clear coming down. I slipped a couple times bc again, my legs were giving out. We bypassed the talus fields and headed straight for the snow. I fell so many times. My dad has video of me falling again and again while he laughed We finally made it back to camp. The entire trek was almost 9 hours.
Day6: Headed down the trail back to the car. Couldn't believe how fast we made it down! Only took 3 hours and 20min. When we were almost down there was this older man day hiking. He was from Spain and started talking to me and asked me to go to Spain with him and promised me lots of good food and cheap wine lol! My dad who was a little ways behind got stopped by him too, but the man didn't invite my dad to Spain haha
I was so bruised from the trip, but not from any injuries. Of course my upper thighs were really, really sore and my whole body was stiff. It was the sleeping that did it to me. The ground was very hard(super rocky) and even though I brought my normal sleeping bag and blow up sleeping pad I got super bruised while sleeping! Also got bruised from my pack. The front of my hips got bruised from my pack, the back of my hips got bruised from sleeping(which almost everyone experiences), the sides of my hips got bruised from sleeping on my sides, my ribs got bruised from sleeping, and my knees got bruised from knocking against each other while I slept. It was shocking to realize how much my bones stick out, I'm now taking a break from intense cardio since I'm no longer training for this trip and I'm going to be letting my exercise buddy train me doing heavy weights to build up some muscle as my main form of exercise.
The food turned out really good! I'm only going to make and plan the food from now on. It was the perfect amount. The curries and the chili mac came out best. Also I really liked the brown rice breakfast couscous recipe and will be making it for my own breakfasts at home! At such high altitude I naturally lost my appetite and forced myself to eat as much as I could, but still just from loose calorie counts I was eating around 2100 calories a day. Which is my normal maintenance for my activity level and no where near enough to maintain my weight on the trip My goal had been maintenance but I obviously lost weight. My face is slimmer and my waist too. My legs are still really swollen and the scale is showing me at 7lbs heavier than when I left haha Also my period which had been due to start the day of the trip completely stopped in its tracks along with all the symptoms. Finally after being back a couple days and eating enough the symptoms are coming back and it looks like it will be starting back up soon(probably today). After my period is over and my muscles are done repairing I think I'll have a better idea on how the trip effected my weight.
Over all its been my favorite trip and I'm really excited for next year and attempting some fourteeners(14000'+ peaks) now that I've done a thirteener
Wow Dott, what an amazing trip!!!! Sounds like you had a lot of fun despite from scary moments...I must say I had a few flashbacks reading your post and looking at some of the pictures to when my bf had that fall. Eep! Glad you and your dad made it safely.
Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing. Time to rest your body!
noname-Thanks It was a really incredible trip. Have you thought more about where you'd like to go next? If you get a chance, you really need to make a trip to the Sierras!
Have fun tomorrow!
I like going my own speed and having me time. Thanks for the tips on India! Did you take all those photos?! They are so beautiful! I went through them all! 
hahahaha! Then I know another man and his son caught me taking selfies, I cringe writing it, I felt so vain! 
They were probably like, "What is that crazy girl doing up on that rock half naked?!" Oh well 
Man they hated me! They couldn't stand a girl was faster and more experienced then them! I was so glad to finally lose them when I went down the cienega trail. 
All I can do is daydream. 
My goal had been maintenance but I obviously lost weight. My face is slimmer and my waist too. My legs are still really swollen and the scale is showing me at 7lbs heavier than when I left haha Also my period which had been due to start the day of the trip completely stopped in its tracks along with all the symptoms. Finally after being back a couple days and eating enough the symptoms are coming back and it looks like it will be starting back up soon(probably today). After my period is over and my muscles are done repairing I think I'll have a better idea on how the trip effected my weight. 