Day 3 Mt. Shasta - A downward breeze...

Scary Right?!?!?!

6:00am - After a 15 hour day under our belts, believe it or not I was fast to wake up with the sunrise! Our guides...not so much! :) It was quiet, the areas around us that were filled with energy and curiosity seekers the evening before were now quiet and deserted...I slept so soundly I never heard the groups depart for their ascents at 1am, 2am and 3am...they had a beautiful day for their summit. 
I started my day with meditation, soaking up the energy from the sunrise, filled with a sense of accomplishment and lots of thankfulness for a safe summit and safer descent the day before. I turned to stretch and look back at the mountain that kicked my butt and couldn't help but wonder...should I come back again when its all snow? How different would that ascent be? 

7:00am - Started packing my pack, gathering smelly socks and layers of clothes that never really air out, went to the magical stream to hydrate and fill a bottle for today's journey down to the trail head. I am restless and ready to go. My tent mates are up...stirring...ready to pack as well...tent down and dissembled in seconds, my pack looks bigger and feels heavier than the first day and I haven't even gotten everything in yet!

8:00am - Oatmeal. Birthday celebration (cupcake and singing) for one of our fellow hikers. War stories starting about the up and downs of the day before. All of us a little sore, definitely smellier but pretty psyched that we all made it.

(What?!? What the hell is in my pack?
And why does it look twice as big as everyone else's?? Too many luxury items...??? ;) ) 

The morning came and went...picked up and packed up all that we brought, and more it seemed.

We started our final descent of our Mt. Shasta climb. No helmets, harnesses needed on this leg of the journey.

I enjoyed a peaceful trek down - Happy I trained, happy I  went, happy to meet and learn from our guides and the other hikers, happy I made it up and down safely, and overall, happy. 

Where should I head next????

Day 2 Mt. Shasta - 10 hours up, 6000ft., 9 miles over snow, rocks and ankle deep sandy scree...then 5 hours down

Mt. Shasta:

 

-is the fifth tallest mountain (it is a stratovolcano) in California (14,179 feet (4,322 meters)
-is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Oregon-California border and midway between the Nevada border and the Pacific Ocean
-last erupted in the 1780s
-is host to seven named glaciers 
-the first ascent by women was by Harriette Eddy and Mary Campbell McCloud in 1856
-they say 50% of people summit Mt. Shasta without a guide and 80% with a guide
-is a sacred site and mystical power spot, it represents much more than a mere mountain, they say it can be considered as one of the most sacred places on and is a mystic power source for this planet.

Did I lose you yet?

Well, I believe!! 

My magical experiences...??? 

No blisters, no "stomach/digestive" issues, and no altitude sickness and
inspired to start looking for my next hike.

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Here is how our summit day went...

 

 

2:00am - after sleeping on and off (mostly off) for 5 hours, under the most gorgeous full moon, my two tentmates and I rose for an instant oatmeal breakfast chased down with 1/2 liter of spring water (fingers crossed about this spring water...i am hoping i don't get dysentery) ...our directive from our guides..."Show up to breakfast wearing your helmet & headlamp" ...I did!

 

2:30am - after breakfast, we started reloading our packs with the day's essentials: rain gear, snow gear, puffy jacket, food and water...ahhh 30lbs. on my back never felt soooo good!!! I slept in my clothes so getting dressed was a breeze...hopefully no one will be downwind  of me though!!!

 

 

3:00am - helmet on, headlamp on, pack on, puffy jacket off, poles in hand...off we go. Scheduled to stop every hour for a quick water/food break...what?!? We will never get there...ooo eee ooo, oeo, ooo eee ooo, oeo (guard chant from wizard of oz...) and off we go!

5:15am - we are on the trail for two hours, at a little over 9000ft, feels like we have been at 9000ft for 5 hours, sun rising, headlamp still on. Feet feeling good, no blisters. Have eaten one power bar and serving of dried apples and more spring water... 

6:30am - sun and moon up together, our night melding into our day! Headlamp off...lost track of our elevation seems like we are getting slower already.

 

 

 

 

Mt. Shasta is made of lava and ash...when not on snow we were ankle deep in soft, sandy scree...wowza! Like walking on a soft sandy beach...in mountaineering boots...

 

 

 

Don't look down!

 

 

9:30am - We have been on traveing 6 1/2 hours...are we there yet? We now have on our harnesses fulltime, have had our crampons on and ice axes out and on and have been roped to my tent mates french stepping up, Up, UP ...we received our summit passes...no blisters, no dysentery... :)

 

 

 

 

Hi puffy!!! Eye level with the clouds!

11:00am - Weather has moved in again, we see a couple of groups turn back...what?!?!?!...we just had blue sky and white clouds...I am tired, 8 hours on the trail, and now no summit in sight. Clouds are thick, sky is grey, our guides are deciding whether we should move on or turn back. I'm a little torn...but a quick cliff espresso gel shot sways me to the MOVE UP and ON side of the vote...

12:45pm - We are within feet on the summit! We have traveled nearly 10 hours, over deep sandy scree and vertical snow masses, no lunch, just grabbing quick energy boosts every hour along the way...my heart has raced with fear, pounded with pride and purred over the glorious sights...

 

ONTO THE TOP!

 

 

The top of Mt. Shasta!!!

 

 

1:00pm - Summited, took a few pix, signed the guest book, grabbed a quick bite and swig of water and...no time for basking in glory! Turn it around ladies...we need to be down the mountain by 6:00pm...

 

So off we went...the descent...as slowly as it took us to get there, it would take half the time to get back to base camp.

We were all happy to have reached the top, each of us for a different reason, but all feeling empowered just the same.

 

3:30pm - Almost there doesn't count...Even though I am smiling, inside I am a 48 year old whiner! I am fatigued! Just when I just want to sit down and not move another inch (by the way, our guides said this does/has happened before)...I see the beautiful Shastina...I am reminded again, to appreciate the beauty along with the challenge and triumph!!!

We glissaded, ran, marched, slipped, fell (my knees gave out, i fell three times!) and stumbled down Mt. Shasta from summit to base camp, never stopping to eat and barely stopped to grab some water...

We met and helped stranded hikers, turn arounds and day hikers as we got closer to camp and as we turned around a huge rock outcropping we saw our camp, but now the area had three times as many tents set up, and many eager happy clean rested people... we were greeted by inquiring minds..."did we make it? what about the weather? how long did it take? and comments like... "wow! you are the first group of the day we know to have made it to the summit, many turned around, that's awesome, we are going to leave @ 1:00am". I was too tired to speak, my tongue felt swollen, my mouth full of dust...I just smiled and let my guide engage in joyful conversation...she does this hike almost every week!!!!

 

This was the longest, most challenging summit I have ever undertaken, I learned so much and used almost every skill they taught us and know this magical mountain looked after me the whole way.

 

I never got a blister, never got sick, got the adrenelin rush I was looking for and although I will not climb this mountain again...I am inspired to climb our planet's other magical mountains!

 

 

Stay tuned for Day 3...the descent from basecamp to the trailhead...

Day 1 Mt. Shasta - 49lb pack, 3tent, beautiful scenery

PSA* - don't start a blog when there is 

a great chance you won't get cell service...

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Day 1 - Mt. Shasta

Pouring rain...

9:00am - meet/greet, gear check, safety and trip instructions and first leg of climb.

Meet/greet - Met our 4 guides and the 10 other climbers. 6 women/5 men. Age range mid 20s to mid 60s. We were broken into two groups with two guides for each group.

Nerves were racing...its hard not to be a little nervous, size up the other climbers and hope you "brought all the right stuff", physical and otherwise!!!!

Gear check - I rented - a helmet, ice axe, crampons, mountaineering boots (ugh...all i can think of is blisters, blisters, blisters...) and a sleeping bag from #fifthseason . They were knowledgable, efficient and super super nice! 

Every climber had to "explode" their bag so guides could evaluate our items. 

I was pretty well packed...and was able to lose 1lb of my goods and gain 5 lbs of communal goods and more snacks (they want us to eat every hour summit day and we should "each" consume 7000 calories--what what?)...pack net net= 48lbs

Question--- do you want to share a 3 person tent or add another 5lbs to your pack? Hmmmm, ok, i can barely pick up my pack with two hands now as it is, and i seem to sway & wobble when i finally do get it on...soooo....

i will take the three person tent!!! OMG!!! 

Yep! That's the 3tent...one roomie in background. 

P.S. - I forgot to mention...Mt. Shasta is wag bag territory...oh boy!!! I have not been lucky on the digestive front on all of my last hikes...sweat beading on my brow...

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1:00pm - Clear Creek Trailhead @7000 ft. - 2mile hike in to camp, 1100ft gain, roughly 2 hours. 

Rain ceased just as we donned our packs...

Boy this pack is heavy...always smiling though...sights are majestic! I say it alot, but I like to remind myself, we live in a beautiful country!!!

Onward and upward...

3:00pm - Landed at our base camp @ 8100 ft. Guides scouted a flat area close to the water source and we set up camp...I couldn't drop my pack fast enough. We set up the 3tent, negotiated sleeping arrangements...i lost - i was the monkey in the middle...we exploded our packs (outside our tent of course), and refilled water bottles...before mountaineering class

No filter, no tablets...straight from the source...must be a magical mountain!

5:00pm - Mountaineering school- "hikenese" - ready to be impressed by my ever expanding hiking vocabulary?

Ice axe - (adze, shaft, pick, spike)

Self arrest -

Glissading - 

Scree - (ok, i knew this one already...)

French step -

Punch step -

HAPE -  

Harness, carabiner and crampons - perhaps you know these words? Know their meaning or even know if you put them on or suffer them? 😜Or perhaps you could care less... :) 

7:00pm - dinner was on. Cup and spork in hand, we gather around a rock formation and pulled up a stone seat. Dinner was amazing - potato/leek soup and vegetable cous cous with chicken sausage and chocolate chip cookies. 

A full moon lit the sky, temp mid 30s. Seemed like a perfect time to wind down the day, meditate on my day tomorrow and do some yoga to stretch out.

My luxury item...an electric toothbrush! Happy to add those few extra ounces!! 

In  sleeping bag by 9:00pm...

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Stay tuned for Day 2 - Summit Day

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*public service announcement 

Travel Day to Mt. Shasta

Made it to the town of Mt. Shasta last night! Everything that could go right, did go right...starting with showing up a little late for my 1st flight but still getting on, bonding with an eclectic group of travelers on the second 2nd flight to ensure we all made it on even after the 4th gate change, renting and driving my blue "shark" 3 hrs north from sacramento without a speeding ticket,

to enjoying the magical landscapes along the ride. 

Check out Shasta Lake...beautiful, but water looked a little low...

Staying at Cold Creek Inn, people are super nice, room clean and comfortable. Grabbed a quick bite of real food after my 14 hour travel day of airplane food and black licorice, at Andaman, awesome Thai food! 

Walked back to my room and this was my constant view...

Hmmmm, much bigger in person...but where is all the snow, did i mention the draught? 

We shall see how we are climbing Mt. Shasta...perhaps no ice axes are needed? 

Stay tuned...for Day 1 Mt. Shasta

Mt. Shasta 2014 - last days of training...

Count down begins...only a few days left before i take off...

I still need to: 

find out if i can carry hiking poles on the plane, 

figure out how much food I need to bring,

pick up my diamox order and 

a few last minute things, like socks and alleve... :)

I have two more training days...don't know if they actually help, but walking around town in my boots with an 85L pack on makes me feel official and prepared...

Bad news...Let the heels begin! Ugh!! If you have followed my previous hikes you have seen these horrors before...

I have tried most everything...except for getting new boots!!! I am superstitious...something about better the devil you do know...These heels are pre Mt. Shasta, say some prayers and send any suggestions...In the meantime, I have manged to band aid a temporary solution together--- a layer of 2nd skin, then a dressing layer all wrapped up with duct tape...

fingers and toes crossed!

What does an 85L really mean?! 

Here is a great backpack breakdown 

I am used to a 30L pack...that does not hold 30lbs, 

basically a 30L pack is fit for a good dayhike...

On the other hand, thanks to the awesome Ty at REI Norwalk, I am pictured above with my new 85L pack that can hold 50lbs of gear; enough food, shelter and clothing for several days and for various climate changes. 

Lucky me!

Haute Route July 2012

http://montblanctothematterhorn.blogspot.com/?m=1

Mt. Shasta Summer 2014

Many people have been asking me what mountain I am climbing next,

well its Mt. Shasta this July.

 

I first started on my hiking journeys several years ago. I was inspired by a friend who showed me the fun, beauty and satifisfaction in the process of identifying a mountain/challenge, training for it and going for it. This is an annual winning formula for me!

 

Since June 2012, I have hiked the Haute Route, climbed Mt. Toubkal and Mt. Whitney, ice climbed the Gunks, completed the Spartan Race (give or take 90 burpees) and enjoyed many many day hikes with my family and friends.

 

I am inspired, intimidated and thrilled by seeing and learning about everyone's adventures, obviously there are people that have trekked further, climbed higher, and lived out life more dangerously than me, I love it all!

 

I like to search out new excitements, mix in a little danger and try to push my mental and physical limits but always experience the same respectful, excitable nervousness and fear for each one.

Mt. Shasta seems to hit all the above for me and more!

I have respect for the mountain, mother nature, my guides, the climbers before/after me and the ones I climb with!  I am never a know it all and my nervousnes and fears leading up to and on my adventures usually pertain to performance anxiety and the new unknowns.

 

I have worked myself into a Mt. Shasta tizy over...

Am I in my peak shape? Will i slow my fellow climbers down?

Will I be able to carry an 80L pack? I am carrying everything myself this trip,

no mules, no sherpas.

This is the most technical climb i have ever done, crampons, ropes, helmets, ice axes...

Should I rent all this stuff or just buy it?

Will I get my usual heel altering blisters?

Will the altitude affect me like usual? (Even with diamox)

Will I be able to take a deep breath, relax, enjoy and admire 

the ride all the way up and down?

AND...is this, as advertised, high intensity trip really my bag? Will I be ok? I am going on this adventure solo, meaning, my usual hiking buddy already knows this trip is not her "bag" and I am off to climb with with six people i do not know...

Check out Mt. Shasta:

 

Next up...training and packing pix and complaining... :)

Follow me on my Mt. Shasta 2014 adventure on twitter too - @hiking_mama