Freedom Weekend

Fourth of July weekend was full of new friends, an amazing home cooked dinner (thanks, Teresa!), copious amounts of cider and Fireball (just me?), and lots of fun on the water. Such great company to enjoy over a long weekend!

We started the weekend with a trip to the dog park with Porter and his best bud, Stout.  Yes, Stout is just as big as he looks in the picture, if not bigger. 

By the time we got boat side that afternoon, we had wind and cloudy skies. Nonetheless, we loaded up and enjoyed the ride!

With Candi, Erin, and Teresa!

After boating, I hit a milestone: I stepped inside my very first houseboat! Peggy and Doug, friends of Matt's, host an annual 4th of July party. I had heard wonderful things, and even so, my expectations were exceeded. Upon entering, Peggy immediately asked, "Jaeger or Fireball?" Before you know it, we're doing ski shots. And so the night began.

No idea how this picture turned out as awesome as it did. Sheer chance.
Eli, Candi, Kristina, Erin, moi.

The view from Peggy and Doug's rooftop deck.
Also the point where Matt and Doug dove off the top later in the evening.

Well that's just completely untrue... 

Before the fireworks, an American flag is flown across the sky.

Such a great view!

Oh why not.  What's one more shot after 4 or 5? 

No massive hangovers were had the next morning, so, all in all, it was a huge success!! Ending the weekend on an even higher note, the weather really came through and gave us a great showing! Can't ask for better than that! 

An(other) ode to Seattle's Garden

The earth laughs in flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Home Engagement!

"Your feet don't anchor you, your loved ones do." 

From June 5 - June 16, I returned home to spend time with my family. It was an action-packed 11 days filled with family and friends. While there were many highlights, the best was obviously when my favorite twin got engaged to the love of her life! But first...

9th Annual Walk with Rachel. Just before she passed in 2004, my best friend, Rachel, had been on a mission, raising money for Make A Wish. Carrying on her love for philanthropy, every year, family and friends participate in the Walk With Rachel. This year, we raised $10,200 for Make A Wish; enough to make two children's wishes come true!

With my Ch/Kris's! Chris, Christina, Kris!

Kristin Serna Photography

Raffle time - somebody won 4 tickets to Disney! - Kristin Serna Photography

Rachel would be so proud. -Kristin Serna Photography

I spent every moment I could trying to catch up with family and friends. I was fortunate to meet my best friend, Katy's, baby girl, Franny. 

There was a delightful beer tasting with my dad, a birthday party with my best friend from high school, bowling, swimming, ping pong, and breakfast with dear friends and family. I saw friends that I hadn't seen since January and others that I hadn't seen since April. Family time was abounding and it was so refreshing to catch up with everybody.

Of course, the most exciting part was being home for my sister's engagement on June 13! It was hard to keep a straight face during the 8 days before the proposal (and even harder to sneak away to get a peak at the ring!). However, it was all worth it to see Christina the next morning as we were on our way to get manicures. :) So many congratulations to my favorite twin and future brother-in-law!

I love my family!

My First Alpine Climb!

"Sun-blindness is a real thing."

"Do you have an axe?" Why would I need an axe?! "In case you fall."

"You can get sunburned inside your nostrils and on the roof of your mouth."

Ok, maybe that last one wasn't as scary, but it certainly didn't sound fun. 

These are all things I heard the day I agreed to go alpine climbing on the InterGlacier. This would be a challenge. There would be no resting once the climb began. This was out of my comfort zone. But I moved here for THIS. I moved here because I want to go outdoors and go on these adventures. So I said yes - and that's where our story begins. 

For my mom's sake, I feel I should specify up-front that this hike didn't require an axe.

We hit the road Saturday afternoon on May 31. Kristina and I picked up Matt, a fellow adventurer, and we drove two hours to camp near Rainier National Park. Upon arrival, tents went up, and we met up with our group. Soon after, we went down to the river to soak in the gorgeous views. 

Tent buddies!

At this moment, I knew I made the right choice. 2 hours from Seattle!

Um, the river was really cold and RAGING. Sooo... I had help crossing.

Don't forget flip-flops next time, genius. 

That evening, we all enjoyed drinks and s'mores around the campfire. Fireball was passed around, as well as some awesome stories. I went easy on the beverage center as I wanted to be on top of my game in the morning. 

You know it's a party when there's a sombrero.

FIREBALL! A Seattle staple, it seems.

After a solid night's sleep, Kristina and I awoke early at 4:30 to start the day (others may have awoke later...). Bags were packed, filled with lots of layers, sunscreen, and chow. We drove to our starting point and that's where it started to get real.

Group shot!

Trekking poles are a Godsend.

We started our trek at 4400 feet at the White Salmon Trail Head. We hiked for about 90 minutes before hitting snow. Then, the skiers and snowshoers strapped on their skins and snowshoes, respectively. Soon after hitting the snow, I crossed my very first snow bridge. For all the midwesterners who don't know what a snow bridge is, it's as simple as it sounds: a bridge made of snow. You tread quickly and carefully.

At first it wasn't so bad. "I got this! I could hike for days!" 15 minutes later, I started to get nervous... "We're not even halfway there. They said it would take another 4-5 hours to summit, and that doesn't even include the trek back. I'm an idiot. An out of shape idiot." Nevertheless, I ventured on. I didn't want to slow everyone down, so I kept climbing. Not to mention, my snowshoeing buddy, Casey, was trucking it like a champ!

Theresa leading the charge! She's goaling to climb 50,000" in June - AMAZING!

Snowshoers can climb too!

The InterGlacier is a small glacier on the northeast face of Mount Rainier. It's beautiful. It certainly helps that it was a gorgeous day! You wouldn't think it when you're trekking across the snow, but damn, it gets hot! Lots of sunscreen was reapplied throughout the climb.

Luckily, skinning up and snowshoeing up are done at about the same pace!

Me: "This sucks. Bad mistake. Must work on quad muscles."

Hey! You see that tiny dot behind Casey?
That's me.

Just as I thought, ok, I have to stop soon, there was an end in sight. Of the 8 who had started, 5 were sitting a little bit above me. After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached them and learned this was our stopping point - 8200 feet. I laughed a little maniacal laugh, my legs shook, and I sat. I SAT. FINALLY. I learned that the other two climbers, Theresa and Josh, had continued upward to summit the glacier - because their badass level was just that much higher than everyone else's that day. 

Once I caught my breath, I was ready for reward. Yes, the view was incredible, but I was damn hungry and I had a sandwich with my name on it. Beer too. Once that was taken care of, I felt awesome. I looked out and looked down, not even able to see where we had started. The reward was equivalent to the challenge. Great. 

Summit Beer!

I live here. <pinch pinch> Still real. 

Then, I had a bad thought. Two, actually. 
1.  I had to pee. Badly. Look at these pictures, do you see any trees? bushes?!? 
2.  I still had to go all the way back down.

These were closely related as #2 really made me nervous for #1. Well, when in Rome, (or at the top of a glacier in the middle of nowhere), one does what one must 20 feet behind friends. Or people you just met the day before.

Once #1 was settled (ha! toilet humor!), I was no longer as concerned about #2. Little did I know what a treat I was in for. Far and away, the best part of my day was glissading down the glacier. Glissading is the AMAZING way to get down a hike such as this if you don't ski/snowboard. You sit on your butt and scoot. Gravity does the rest. It was so much fun!!! I laughed the whole way down.

HAA!!! I'm literally sliding down a glacier!

"This feels fast, maybe I should slow down for a second... Okay GO!"

Glissaders in their natural habitat.

I wish I could say glissading took Casey and I the whole way down, but that's not how life works, kids. Thankfully, what took us about an hour to climb up, was glissaded in less than 10 minutes. Then, it was back to standard, good old hiking. 

I was on the one in the back right corner, far off in the distance.

Water Feature!

Couldn't have asked for a better group!

When we arrived at the parking lot a few hours later, I took off my boots and socks as fast as I could, for they were soaked. You can't slide feet-first down a glacier without giving your feet a swim. We sat and ate. Then, we drove to a restaurant and sat and ate again. Exhausted, satiated, and happy, we parted ways.

That day, I walked 13.45 miles (that's 32,757 steps). The hike took 9 hours and I climbed 3800 feet. Equally as exciting (not really), I didn't totally roast myself in the sun! I had one weird sunburn on my elbow and had a slight sunburn inside my ears (seriously! the sun was everywhere). Sure, I was sore for the next three days but what are sore muscles compared to climbing a mountain??