A week in the Himalayas - A summary

I'm finally in Nepal after a long transit and months of training. As i expected, the training wasnt enough... As soon as I arrived to Lukla which is at around 9500 ft, a set of stairs and I was breathing hard! The next couple of days were going to challenge my mind and body. Mind because as I kept looking up to the final destinations, my brain kept trying to fool me to give up. Physically... Well I'm not he fittest guy in the group and my heart keep beating super hard in any small hill. At day one I was called fat by our guide :( lol
It's ok... Well deserved. Now I regret for not going to the gym every day that last week.
Our first stop was Phakding. Beautiful day in the mountains. I was feeling pretty good and the first tea house looks extremely nice and well over my expectations. The menu items at these lodges (in general and not only in Phakding) are so extensive! that you would never imagine you will get Pizza or steak at the top of the world! but you could! and believe me after a 5 hr hike, anything taste delicious.

A look back in time... 2 years ago - (1/12/09)

Here is an excerpt from what I thought was my most difficult hike back in the days. I can just imagine what I will write about the trip to Gokyo Ri! In this trip, I was hiking around El Chalten area in the argentinian Patagonia for 4 days.

Enjoy!

"El Chalten - Lago de los 3 (Poincenot)

The sleep wasnt that comfortable in these mattresses they gave us. I kept waking up with Ed on top of me and either cold or hot. My cold got worse after that night too... sucks! Got some Mate for breakfast with Dulce de Leche and bread. Good energy content for what is coming.
Got packed and left to cross to Cerro Fitz Roy. We knew there was a 300 ft elevation gain but before that we had to cross a mountain... big ass mountain and totally unexpected. The trail was very steep and long at the beginning. We made a stop at Lago Hija and got clean a bit. The lake was very clear and the water wasnt too cold. Aaron went in naked making an spectacle for the other hikers trying to go to Fitz Roy.
After that we hiked all the way to the campsite where we had lunch: peaches, juice and cereal bars. The hike took around 5 hrs. We took a rest for about 2 hrs and then got ready for the next hike which includes a 500 mt elevation gain (I think) in a very small distance. It was suppose to take 1.5 hr but .. oh well!

Worst hikes ever so far:
1. Crater Lake
2. Lago de los tres

(Funny drawing of the hike)

There are no words tto describe how high and inclined the trail is to Lago de los tres. The only thing is that there was more wind I probably wouldnt make it. You stop and you feel the inclination plus the trail is very deteriorated. At least there was a trail... not like in Crater Lake. shhzz!
We went up and there was more... and up and more... you could even see the trail from the camp site cuz it is so high. After around 2.5 hrs of struggling we made it to the top but I lost the guys so I took a different way to the lake. I followed the trail that goes up to the beginning of climbing Fitz Roy and realized a bit too late to go back. I ended up sliding down this snow field to get down to the lake. lol.
We took plenty of pics but the sun was right behind the peak so it was making it difficult for us to take pictures. On the way down my knees were killing me but what a sight that lake is... beautiful and very light blue.
The shadow of the 3 main peaks was reflected on the valley as the sun was going down. Up there you could see Lake Viedma and all the valley that we hiked to go to the campsite. Im glad I made it! I am very happy for myself but my knees would me make pay for it.
Once in the campsite we made our pollo a la portuguesa with pasta and played face 10 until we finished the wine. It wa getting cold and windy so we went inside the tent and played a bit until we were just tired. I forgot to mention that I was hoping the letrina here was better but someone missed the hole and actually took a crap where you are supposed to stand. Disgusting! I am definitely holding it until we get back to El Chalten. I just peed in the woods around the campsite. What a day... and what a trip this camping experience was."

Mount Adams - The South Spur adventure... do not try this at home!

We finally had our last Nepal meeting on August 31st where the idea of doing some high altitude training was thrown around. Mt Rainier was known to have plenty of snow by the end of August so it was immediately out of the picture. Then MT. Adams was mentioned. I honestly wasnt planning 'summiting' (I think i just made up that verb) any real mountains during this training season. In the back of my head I knew this was a bad idea but what the heck... why not? Might as well prove to yourself that you are in good shape for the real high altitudes of Nepal... famous last thoughts.
Not all the members of the trip were having it with this idea: MT Adams summit sits at 12,281 ft and the South Spur trail promised a one way route to the summit which could of possibly be done in one day!! Awesome... nothing better than answering to someone to the question 'What did you do today?'... 'I ate breakfast, summit a mountain, took a nap'
Things started to get more and more cloudy as the list of items needed to trip came out: crampons, gators, ice axes... Probably more of the things that I have never use before. By then some of the team members were already out. I left that meeting thinking this trip was never gonna happen but two weeks later I became the victim of my random spurs of spontaneity (the same kind as the one who made me go to Nepal after all) and end up on a car heading to Oregon on Friday afternoon... I thought I could trust this random event but as you continue to read maybe the whole thing should of stay as an idea.

September 9th - 2011
Took the day off to head to pack for this trip that was probably set up on the last 3 days.
The plan was to head to REI, rent crampons and ice axes and hopefully be on the road by 3 pm. That of course did not happen and we were on the highway by 4:30pm. In order to avoid rush hour, we decided to take the I-90 route which crosses through Yakima to get to the White Salmon area. Got some nice dinner at a dinner in Ellensburg (same diner that received me in Washington back in 2006) and headed towards Yakima at around 7ish. After many stops, getting lost, getting the parking passes and driving in the forest around MT Adams (which sucks to
drive at around midnight) we got to the campsite at around 1255 am. Didnt get to sleep until probably 130AM which was probably the second thing we did on this trip besides getting there too late. The plan in order to make it to the summit in one day is to wake up and leave the campsite at around 530AM... This of course didnt happen

September 10th, 2011
Woke up at around 6:00AM and we were ready to leave by 630AM. I was feeling pretty good with the lack of sleep. We were going up at a good rhythm until we hit the snow at around 8,000 ft. Campsite was around 5,000 ft so by now we were at around only 3,000 ft elevation gain and around 3.5 hours into the hike. At around 11ish, I had to give up and stop for lunch and a break. It was 3 of us who decided to make it to Adams. I was with one of them and the other continued the hike while I took the break. Maybe its time to get into the details of what we were carrying: I was carrying 3 bottles of water, the camelback, one down jacket, an extra
shirt, a quick dry towel, a bag of trail mix, 3 granola bars, a lighter, the ice ax and crampons. I am not exactly sure of what the rest of the group was carrying but probably more than me plus snowboards... terrible idea.
At around 11:30 we started the final climb to the false summit from Lunch Counter. This is around 2,000 ft of VERY steep snow. In a clear day you get spectacular views of Mt St Helens and Mt Hood but the wild fire around the Yakima Valley was making the views very hazy to non existent. I am not sure if I was getting altitude sickness or not at this point but I was having some crazy thoughts and was quickly giving up as every step started to feel heavier and heavier. By now we were at around 10,500 ft but the climb to the false summit was getting worse as you continue. At some point I had to stop, sit down and take a couple of breaths. I think I experienced everything is this part of the mountain from paranoia to vertigo. Paranoia because I kept looking down and kept seeing a lot of people still on the way up to Lunch Counter but never saw anyone trying their way to the summit which I couldnt understand at the moment (people was most likely spending the night in the mountain to start the final climb in the morning).
It wasnt until around 2:30 when I was able to reach the top of the false summit. I had to start counting my steps in order to make it to the last 500 ft. Once in the false summit, I decided to stop my journey and wait for the others to return from the summit. Once in the false summit, there is a 800 ft drop and then a 1500 ft very steep climb to the final summit. I roamed around the false summit and relaxed under the sunny skies but started to get worried as the last group of hikers was coming back at around 5:00 pm and my party was still trying to come down. It is important to mention that the summit of Mt. Adams had no snow and it was pretty much just ice. At around 5:30 pm, we reunited again to start the descent. I had to glisade down from the false summit but I am not kidding when I say that portion of the trail is VERY steep... it took many bloody fists and soaked pants but I was able to get down at around 6:00 pm. The rest of the group was trying to get down by snowboarding but they were extremely tired for the now 12 hr hike. I got to rest a bit while in the false summit so I was trying to descent rapidly.
By now, the sun is coming down and the trail is hard to find in the area covered by snow and then followed by loose volcanic rock. I went ahead of the group in an effort to find the trail. I am not quite sure of what happened but I think my fear of being in the mountain at dark didnt make me realize that I was going down faster than what I should. I myself got lost for around 20 minutes right around the part where the snow stops but I was able to find some hikers in their way out who pointed me to the trail. At that point, I tried looking up to find the rest of myh group but it was too late. The sunset was happening and I had to decide between waiting on them or start the descent by myself. Im not sure which part of this hike is worse: the volcanic rock portion or the snow portion. Everything looks the same around the volcanic rock and I was noticing that a lot on the way up earlier. After waiting for a bit, it was now 7:30pm and I started the descent. I decided to stop by a creek and flash my light until 8:00 pm but no one showed up but the last group coming down the mountain before us which happened to get lost on their way down... I guess the flashing of the light did help. I then followed this last group all the way down to the trailhead which I reach by 9:30 pm.
Once in the campsite, my water bottle (which I lost somewhere on the way down glissading) was at the trailhead which made me believe that maybe the rest of my group made it down before me but that was not the case. At around 11:00 pm then I knew they were probably not going to show up as it was pretty windy and it was then 6 hrs after we start descending. It was a long full moon night where I could hardly get any sleep but my plan was to wake up early next day and trek to where I thought I lost my friends.

September 11th, 2011
I kept waking up all night hearing voices and thinking that the rest of the group was back but it was all my imagination. I even kept flashing my light to strangers that arrived that morning to climb the mountain... they were probably thinking WTH is that light for...
After a 6:30 am departure and notifying every hiker that morning of the situation, I had no success finding the rest of my group.

Long story short: http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/09/12/search-on-for-pasco-man-on-mount-adams

The group was finally reunited at around 3 pm. If i have to learn any lessons from this trip is that I have no business using crampons or ice axes and that you may want to consider spending the night in the mountain if you are not an avid hiker and want to make it to the top without problems. Also, consider leaving your snowboard at the false summit... you DO NOT want to carry that weight to the top.

This whole hike felt surreal... maybe because I could only take like one picture on my phone. Maybe this all happened in my head... yeah right I wish.

Mt Adams South Spur: 5/5 --> not a begginers hike. You may want to consider doing it in 2 days but if you do it in one then make sure you depart before 6 AM, and time yourself to be at the false summit at around noon. Also, if you try this hike earlier in 2012 you may find a free snowboard and boots up there courtesy of one of my friends...

View of the false summit

View of the real summit from false summit

My altimeter still shows my max altitude so far... 11,234 ft at the false summit. Cant wait to beat the record on Nepal!

The return to hiking... and the return to Granite Mountain

This time Im writing this hike information sooner after the hike so it is a more detailed information. We decided to return to Granite Mountain after reports of the summit being clear of snow and after I was recovering from a sprained ankle. Woke up that morning around 0645 and left the house at around 0720. Took exit 47 and got to the trailhead at around 0815. Even though we did this hike late in August and 'early', the trailhead parking lot was almost full. The first mile is pretty easy. Once you reach the wooden sign you are probably a mile into the hike but only maybe 500 ft of elevation gain. After this point, the hike turns into a steep climb. Once you reach mile 2, around the wooden sign of the Snoqualmie forest (3300 ft), the hike gets steeper an open which adds to the extra challenge on a nice warm summer day.
At this point you are halfway up the hike. After another mile you start traversing the mountain and the hike gets less steep, almost flat at some spots, with some really nice views of Rainier to your left.
It was incredible to see how different the mountain looks without snow. The top section was completely clear. The trail will take you around the area where we stop last time through the avalanche chute, a very different route than when there is snow present. We thought we were close to the end last time but the hike continues with another mile around the back of the lookout point. Once you start going behind the lookout peak, the trail gets full of lots of bugs that were enjoying the lack of wind and the puddles of water left behind by the melting snow. Gotta say that the last mile was my least favorite but the bugs do push you to rush to the end of the trail trying to find relief from the bug paradise but the bugs stay with you all the way until the top. Once in the top, you get some beautiful views of Rainier, Glacier Peak, Baker, Adams and the nearby peaks in the Snoqualmie. I reached the summit at around 1135.
The way down went pretty fast. You are basically running until you get back into the woods where the bugs are less and the sun is not beating down on you so much. Overall the hike felt a little more difficult this time. That extra mile was really something and I think I would add .5 to this hike but a 4 is probably what Granite deserves... Definitely not a total beginner's hike, good challenge for intermediate hikers and probably a good hike for intense hikers.
Got to the car at around 215. The ankle was a bit soar but nothing major. It did made me stop multiple times on the way down but no issues on the way up... Good times!

Lake Serene, 2nd beach and Mailbox Peak - July training

The July training consisted of a day hike, a full loaded trip to 2nd beach and the hardest hike so far, Mailbox peak.

I will start with a quick review of the 2nd beach hike with almost 45 lbs in my backpack. Besides a full loaded backpack, me and Jen were carrying a cooler that we bought the day of the trip to try to carry more food in less space... bad idea. At this point I cant remember the hike too much but just the stupid cooler and how difficult the handles were and how the cooler wheels didnt do any good at this trail. After doing this trail every July for the last 3 years (including a hike on it at 2 AM), I still can say that the trail is a beginner's trail: just a 1.5 mile to the beach and then a walk in the sand. The 1.5 mile starts with a steep increase for only .25 miles and then a level segment for .75 miles and then a drop to the beach for .50 miles. Lots of stairs which become very painful on the return to the car. The most difficult part when carrying weight is the walk on the beach. Depending on where you are camping you might have to walk a maximum of 3 miles to find a good camping spot and that extra weight and sand is just a bad combination.

Lake Serene was the day hike of the week. Located in Hwy 2 by the town of Index, this is one of my favorite hikes since I have visited the state of Washington in 2005. The views of the lake at the end of the trail are just great with mount Index in the background and depending on what time of the year you visit you may catch the lake either frozen, surrounded by snow or appetizing for a bath. The hike is pretty steep and has multiple switch backs and lots of stairs. Last time I visited the trail, the avalanches wiped out multiple sections of the trail but everything was back to normal by now. There are beautiful views of waterfalls on the way down and you can also take a 0.5 mile detour to Bridal Falls if you have the time. You will find the Y at around 1.5 miles into the Lake Serene Hike. Once you are pass a very nice bridge and the lower waterfall, the difficult sections are starting to become pretty noticeable... 1300 feet in about 1.5 miles with lots and lots of stairs. Once you are out of the woods consider yourself pretty close to the lake but get ready to enjoy a nice snack with the great views by the lake. Overall a great hike to practice carrying weight and just for general workout. I was brought here when I didnt hike at all so it might something like on the challenging side of beginners hikes. We were in the trailhead by 530pm and out by 930 pm including a 30 min snack stop.

The challenge of the month was Mailbox peak. On my opinion, this is really just a workout hike. It is a lot of work but dont expect a great reward once you are in top... probably the same views as some of the moderate hikes around or even worse. There is a lot of elevation gain in such a short distance so you will get little to no breaks without a slope. The beginning starts with a decent slope but as you get halfway through the hike the trail becomes hard to find, steeper and with some unstable terrain. Be aware of the section where the trail starts to disappear on you: look up trying to find the white diamonds stuck to the trees in the distance and make smart choices on the way you are going to get there because there is no defined trail to get to those trail markers. By this time of the year, the trail was really muddy and made this section of the hike very difficult. After you are out of the woods, you will start hiking in more clear areas until you get to a pile of granite rock where the trail goes to the left around the pile. You could go up the boulders to meet with the trail but be cautious as some of the boulders are loose. Once at the top of the boulders, you see what it looks like the top of the hike just to realize that after climbing around another 800 feet there is another 600 to go to make it to the real summit and man those last feet feel difficult with a big slope and the sun on you. Once in the summit, you get to relax and take pics with the famous mailbox and maybe consider hiking to the close by mountains via the trail connecting Mailbox peak and other nearby peaks. This is not a beginners hike and probably not a hike to do expecting to see great views. I saw a lot of people on the way down that were coming up at noon and maybe prepared for a regular 'Rattlesnake' hike but this is nothing like that... you really wanted to lie to make some of them feel good when they had another 2000 ft left and they asked: 'are we almost there?'

Here is the recall:
2nd Beach: Difficulty: 1.5/5
Lake Serene: Great workout hike. Difficulty: 3.5/5
Mailbox Peak: What a work! Difficulty: 5/5

Bandera, the return to Poo Poo point and Granite Mountain - June Training

The June training continues with an increase in difficulty to intermediate levels. The first hike was Bandera in the Snoqualmie area. It starts very easy until 1/3 into the hike. It then starts getting steep for the next 1.5 miles. There was snow in the middle of the trail but we continued the hike. Snow clears up unless you take the route to Mason Lake. The last .5 miles is a fun hike up some boulders with good views of Rainier behind you. The boulder section gets a little challenging but once on the top you get some great views of Mason Lake, Rainier and the rest of the surrounding mountains. There was a lot of snow once at at the top but nothing too difficult.
We then tried another day hike to Poo-poo point, this time hoping to get to the actual launch site. This time the hike felt a little better and we reached the top way faster than the first time. This time we were able to reach the launch site. IT was fun to see some of the paragliders around but I didnt get to see anyone launching. It was warmer this time so there were plenty of bugs specially now that the grass was pretty high at the top of the mountain.
The highlight of the month was Granite mountain (Forest Pass required). I am a little dissapointed that we didnt reach the summit due to snow but overall was a good and fun hike. The trail is pretty good until the last mile where the snow took over. Its not too crowded and the trail is a combination of steep sections with different gradients but most of the sections were pretty open which made it a little easier. Watch out when crossing the avalanche chutes... they get steep with the snow so you might consider bringing some poles if you are doing this hike early in the year.

HEre are some stats from my buddy who has an awesome Garmin tracking device
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95236115

Definetly coming back to this hike to make it to the summit this time!
Here is the recall again:
Bandera Mountain: Great views of Rainier and Mason Lake. Difficulty: 3.5/5
Poo-Poo Point: Great workout hike. Difficulty: 3/5
Granite Mountain: Awesome views of Rainier and the pass. Difficulty: 4/5

Pics from Granite Semi summit...

A look back in time... 4 years ago - Day 17 (5/25/07)

The following is an excerpt from my travel Diary to Europe in May 2007. BAre with me as I literally place what is in the diary... apologize for the foul language and innapropiate things. Enjoy!

"Day 17 - 5/25/07 (Paris)
We woke up around 10:30. WE have been trying to sleep in for a long time and we finally did it. Got up and got some of the food from the groceries we did the day before. Then we headed to the metro and looked for the catacombs were people hided on WW I but this was the place where the bodies from one cementery were transladed cuz of sanity issues but also has a lot of important people from the French REvolution. It was a long maze and really deep too. WE walked for around 2 hours but we splitted up cuz Guy and Kaare were going too fast ahead. WE walked in a tunnel with tons of cadavers... and Pedro had to pee inside this place. The kid cannot control his bladder.
We got out and then walked to the Pantheon. The place used to be a church but it was then changed for the french revolution into a political place. There was a giant pendulum that shows the time of the day (pretty cool). We walked around and then went to the crypts. There were crypts from really cool people. Scientists and writers from teh revolution times. Robespierre, Voltaire, Pierre & MArie Currie, LAgrange, Etc. It was a really cool place to visit. The we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral where the 'hunchback' lives and Napoleon was crowned emperor. WE got a Kabob before getting there and then walked for free inside the cathedral. It was really nice. The statues were cool and virgin Mary is like the icon everywhere. WE got out and then made the line for the top part of the cathedral... 436 steps! Great view btw and then we walked to waht supposed to be our next hostel just to make sure KAare did the reservations ok. We went there and the lady at the desk was like not paying attention at all. The reservations were in... That's all that matters.
We then walked through the Louvre (which was like 3 blocks from the hostel). While we were waiting, a huge storm came toward us and a tornado started forming in front of the Louvre. WE had to under the rain to a metro station... not fun... finally we got to the apartment. I was soaked so I started to hang everything so it gets dry. Then we decided to go to the Eifel tower at night. Great decision but not a good idea at midnight. The tower was beautiful. It had blinking lights at some moments and it was beautiful. We walked under it and hanged out around it. Then I wanted to go and see a mini statue of liberty. We walked for around 45 minutes and we didnt even see the front of it. We realized that the metro was closed so we had to walk back 2 miles at 2 AM. Not too fun with sandals on. We saw the Arc of Triumph on the way back...nice...it reminded me of my baby. We finally got to the apartment around 3:30... I bet we are skipping breakfast tomorrow too. Check out is at 12 so we'll see."

From Wallace Falls to Little Si to Poo Poo to Big Si

On May 26th we started the hiking training for Nepal with a visit to the hikes by Hwy 2. Wallace Falls was the season opener. The hike is about 30 minutes east of Monroe and it starts very easily under some power lines that go behind the town of Goldbar. The hike consists of 4 waterfall viewpoints and has also a mountain bike trail that loops around the area. After around 45 minutes you get to see the first set of waterfalls. If you continue to the following viewpoints, the hike gets a little stepper but nothing too difficult for beginners. It seems like, from my own experience, viewpoint 3 gives you the best view out of all 4 viewpoints.
Definetly a good hike for starters!
The following hike was the hike to Little Si. This hike is typically very crowded but since we went early in the season, it was alright. The beggining of the hike might be intimidating as it starts very steep but it then turns in a slow ascent to the top. Make sure to stay on the right trail: after the steep part at the beggining of the hike, the trail divides in two. Stay left at this fork because the right side will take you on a very different trail which takes you to Big Si via the Boulder Garden Loop trail. We did try this route on a different day which is described below.
On the way up you get to enjoy some of the walls that mountain climbers use to practice their skills. Apparently these walls, which are halfway into the hike, are heavily used to practice in the Seattle area. This hike should be pretty quick and you get some good views of the Snoqualmie pass, the mountains surrounding I-90 and of course Big Si. Definetly recommended for begginers but probably not for someone completely new to hikking.
Since the summer finally arrived and we get sunlight until around 10pm, we also tried a day hike to Poo Poo Point in Issaquah. The trail head is past the historic downtown of Issaquah, right after a paragliding center. The mountain is used mainly by paragliders as a launch site. It is crazy to believe that these guys carry all that heavy equipment up this trail to the launch site. The hike is pretty steep all the way up. The first 1.5 miles are probably the worse and then things get less steep. I will consider it still a begginer's hike but not a hike to take someone that is not into hikking not only because of the effort but because you only get a nice view of Rainier on the way there. Since we were a little late, we got to what looked like the top, had a glance at Rainier and then turned back down. It was never clear if we made it to the launch site or not but we decided to come back again at some point.
The challenge of the month was Big Si. Due to schedule conflicts we were not able to do Big Si in May but we did it on the first weekend of June. For some reason, probably the fact that we were just starting hikking around, we decided to go up Mt Si using the old trail which starts with the same trailhead as little Si. Once you get to the first fork, stay right to get onto the Boulder Garden Loop trail. Around a mile into the Boulder Garden Loop trail, you will get to the middle of the loop trail where you can get to the Old Mt. Si trail. Get up a couple of steps and make your way into the next 3.5 miles to get to the top of Mount Si. This trail is definetly not a begginers trail: lots of switchbacks, continous incline (not that bad of a steep) and lots of trees which will make things very humid and warm on a hot day! Took a long time to get up, probably because I am definelty not in shape at this point, but you get really good views at the top. This hike was rough, at some point we merged into the regular trail (at around 1 mile left to the top) and the trail was full as expected... yeah this is one of the most popular hikes in Seattle so plan accordingly. We had to park on a church 15 minutes away which btw feels like an hour after a 4 hr hike + .5 hr climb on boulders in an effort to get better views of Rainier and even Mt. Baker.
Here is a brief description of the hikes I just mentioned in this post (May-June).
1. Wallace Falls: Great for begginers. Viewpoint #3 is the best one. Difficulty: 1/5
2. Little Si: Nice views of Snoqualmie Pass. Difficulty: 2/5
3. Poo-Poo Point (picture below): Really good for a day workout. Difficulty: 3/5
4. MT Si via Old Big Si trail: Most popular hike in Seattle. Difficulty: 3(maybe a 3.5)/5

Apologize for the lack of pics! I need to make sure to bring the camera more often!

Views of Rainier from Poo-Poo point