Hey Ma, Look....

Above: Camp Muir, Mt Rainier - our last "training" hike before Mt Adams bid.....

Look... Pretty slick, eh ? About time I up-date the page a bit. Appropriate as well. So, we've been doing a tremendous amount of hiking in the rain. Yes, the Pacific Northwest & Seattle are known for rain, however nowhere near as much as the rest of the world mistakenly believes ! And no where near as much as what we've been experiencing lately. Once every 5-6 yrs we fall into a rare weather pattern of a summer that just never materializes. Dare I say this may indeed be one of them ? Unbloodybelievable, considering we were legitimately worried about lack of snow-pak and draught back in an unusually Gorgeous Jan, Feb & March !! Am now up to 42 lbs, 2,200 ft in 3+ miles. Urrrg ! Grueling. And personally, a challenge for me. Yet I'm also a bit proud of myself. Been doing alot of online looking into the actual Adams ascent, info, topo maps, aerial shots, etc. We've all been discussing logistics & formalizing plans. Have three lovely friends that have volunteered to act as part of our Sherpa support group for the Climb. They will accompany us to base camp laden with some of our gear. One is Portland Paul, the Originator of this web-page, and devoted writer of my earlier Transplant journey. And I am Honored to have him with us, as well as Leigh & Jeff ! Have likewise been checking out the same info for Camp Muir (above pix), which is on a Mt Rainier glacier. This will be our last training "hike" before our Mt Adams climb. Several of us on the team are opting for the "full effect": camping at a lower elevation the night before, only to wake up, roll out of our bags, and trek up to Camp Muir in the early am, again - only 1 week before our Adams Bid. Hell, I've done crazier before....

Speaking of Camp Muir, it happens I will be far up at Muir during my High School reunion back on the East coast ! Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it. Too much on my plate, and honestly, still a bit leery of long flights while still on such immuno-suppressants and med's, post-transplant. Just not willing to risk getting sick on an already compromised immune system before a Summit bid. However, Trish, one of our HS contacts, has very kindly made me write a "Bio" for the non-attendees. Can I please express how truly sucky it is to write a bio on such short notice, no prep, and when my arse and mind is exhausted from training.... Crap ! I ended-up cheating by pasting the thing together with bits of several speeches I've been asked to give.... Still it wasn't easy. And I fear it's not a bit "objective". Oh well....

At the same time, I am also looking forward to my Donor Bruce and his wife coming to Seattle. Exciting, humbling....and admittedly a bit scary all in the same breath. How does one begin to express and acknowledge the unmeasurable gratitude of both giving & receiving life, yet still be normal & grounded peeps.... ??? This simply may be a speechless moment kids.... Yep, believe it or not. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that we will be blessed with far cheerier weather than we've been having. There are many things on the wish-list for their short visit: Mt Rainier, Olympic Nat'l Park, Rialto Beach and the wild coastline, Hoh Rain Forest.... Breathtaking as the PNW is indeed, they would be far more spectacular if we could mop all this chilly wet crap away for their visit. Had a seemingly rare beautiful day yesteday & got a Sail on Elliot Bay in with Steve. However there wasn't any wind.....just 77 degrees and lovely sun ! Cheers.

Memorial Day Wknd...

Yet again I am hopelessly overdue for a posting, and I am sorry. Training has been evolving. Or rather my pack has evolved it seems into a heavier and larger beast which has taken on a personally all it's own. This Saturday was 11 laps on the Howe St stair-climb, with 30 lbs on my back. Argh...... Here you can see us trudging up and down in the drizzle. And what you see is actually the 2nd flight of steps, 272 of them, one way. Memorial Day was a soggy affair here in Seattle. Even our hike in the North Cascades was cancelled, which is rare.

We are all now starting to assemble the bits and pieces we will need for the climb. Presently, the largest group issue is the climbing boot "strategy". And this seems rather daunting for many of us on several levels, myself included. REI has graciously agreed to donate the heavy double-layered insulated expedition climbing boots required (which typically cost $250-$500 new) among other things. However, I personally am not thrilled about having absolutely no "break-in" time prior, only getting to wear them for the first time on the very 1st day of the climb. One certainly doesn't want to start off an epic adventure laden with lethally debilitating blisters from the very start. Not to mention these suckers are about 4-6lbs of unwanted weight ! However, taking my own precious lighter boots might not be the wisest choice either, as tho they are sturdy alpine trekking boots, they simply aren't high enough to protect against a dratted tweaked ankle climbing over loose shale...or covering distance on the glacier locked into crampons. On a lighter note, I finally broke down & purchased a Big Agnes expedition insulated sleeping pad weighting only 24 oz. I have also arranged for the teams mountain-top caffeine jolt to be graciously donated by Jim Eustace of Forza Coffee in Tacoma. We are both truly honored and utterly grateful to say the least.

In a wonderful side note, my bone marrow donor Bruce and his lovely wife Beth will be coming to Seattle to meet me, for the very first time (!!)....several days after my climb ! I am both thrilled and humbled in the same breath. What an immense honor.