A semi-secret project: October OMG

I should be honest, I do best when I try to focus on one project at a time. Maybe a side project, like the scarf I bring along to crochet by the fire when we go camping. But CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

So when I heard about the "One Monthly Goal" link-up, I thought it might be helpful. The challenge, of course, is that the intended recipient is a reader of this blog. So we'll see how this goes. The link-up provides group motivation by encouraging you to focus on, well, one monthly goal. So my goal for October is to actually get started on the secret project, prep my fabric, get it on the frame, and stitch the center section. This section isn't challenging to stitch -- not a ton of counting, no color changes, though the stitching is pretty dense. Still, getting started is the biggest hurdle!

I do still really want to make progress on my big Swan tapestry -- if I can finish the outlining on the right-hand swan plus the center leaves before the next stitch-a-long check-in on October 21 I will feel like an absolute ROCK STAR. 

Here's a closer look at some of the outlining, along with a bit of "proof-of-concept" filling. Doing these little patches has shown me that I can just do the outlining and save the white and cream stitching until last. 

There's still a little time to join Elm Street Quilts's October One Monthly Goal link-up; click on the link below to learn more!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal October Linkup

Mount St. Helens weekend, day 3: Windy Ridge, and the long way home

After our successful Mount St. Helens climb we slept like logs in our little cabin at the Lone Fir. 

We got up early on Saturday hand ad a slow-moving morning, both of us feeling a little stiff and sore. I consulted the Googles and determined that we could go up to the Windy Ridge viewpoint -- which we had never been able to visit, since the road is often closed -- and then on to either the campground we were considering for the night, or home. So we packed up the car and set off for Windy Ridge.

It's a funny viewpoint -- not too far opposite, it seems, from where we were on the rim the previous day. This is, apparently, the closest you can get via car to the volcano.

From the parking lot there's a trail called the "sand latter" that goes up to a viewpoint. And, well, it's a pretty good name! It's 368 steps up, up, up the hill.

Lots and lots and lots of steps.

But the steps lead up to a nice viewpoint, with interpretive signs (my favorite!) and great views of Spirit Lake and the Pumice Plain.

Oh, and the big blown-out crater, of course...

You'll note that the skies are grey and hazy ... did I mention how lucky we were to get such glorious weather for our climb???

There's the parking lot waaaaayyyy down below.

And, yes, we needed to go down all of those stairs.

Verrrrrry slowwwllly....

We made a few more stops on our way back out to the highway, admiring the view of the volcano over and over again. 

Then we hit a bit of bad news -- the highway to Randle was closed just north of the Windy Ridge turnoff... and Google didn't know. So our trip home from the Lone Fir via the Windy Ridge Viewpoint went from this:

To this:

Sigh. Looks like our theme of things taking longer to get home than to go out continued! Between the traffic and the tiredness, we decided to forego camping and just head home to sleep in our own bed. But the weekend had been a success!

Wil, looking tired immediately after our climb

Mount St. Helens weekend, day 2: the climb

We were up early, got dressed, made a hearty breakfast, and were en route to the trailhead before 6:30. First thing to do? Sign the Climber Register with our names, our permit numbers, and our expected return time. A lot of folks had headed up just before us, and several others had gone up in the wee hours, I assume to see the sunrise from the crater. Very keen!

We would be following the Ptarmigan Trail for two miles through the forest until we crossed the Loowit trail and started up the Monitor Ridge Climbing Route. 

Only 4 miles to the rim? Easy, right?

We set off into the woods, trying to go at a relaxed pace.

We had timed thing perfectly -- and the sun was lighting up the ridge as we emerged from the forest. Well, those 2 miles went smoothly!

As we approached the edge of the treeline we caught our first good look at the lava on Monitor Ridge. Ummm, does that look high and steep to you, too?

We caught a few glimpses of some luxurious autumnal colors. Look at those ferns!

Then it was time to leave the forest and start the real climb. 

We had to make our way up this ridge, where there wasn't so much a "path" as a set of marker posts to give you a general idea of the direction you should be heading. 

This is an overstatement:

See the white poles in this picture? "Go thattaway." 

Except that no matter where we were, it seemed like there was a better, smoother, easier route off to our right or our left. But we didn't know whether we could really move too far from the posts, so for the most part we stuck to them.

Every so often I needed to look down to see how far we had come.

If only to avoid feeling depressed by views like this:

Or this:

I mean, at least we knew we were on the right track ... but were we on the BEST track? Doubtful. 

At one point, a man walking about 20 feet to our right called out to us to see how we were doing. He said that the climbing rangers always go the way he was going, and said we could cut over and follow him up. The rest of the day Wil and I wondered if he had detoured to "rescue" us from the boulders!

A word about this section -- it was steep, very irregular, and did I mention that's lava rock, guaranteed to scrape you to pieces? At the last minute we stopped off at Fred Meyer on our way out of town on Thursday to buy some inexpensive gardening gloves to protect our hands. These were essential -- seriously, drop $5.99 and get a cheap pair of cowhide gloves. You will thank me. 

Finally, we were past the boulders ... and into the scree. One tiny step forward, half a step back. Repeat. Wil went on ahead and I tried to get into a rhythm. At least I could see the rim, so it didn't feel hopeless. It just felt... frustrating? Not even so much HARD as ANNOYING. 

How annoying? The look on my face says it all:

Just. Keep. Going.

Finally, in painfully slow motion, I arrived at the crater rim. And, bam. WHAT A DAY!!!

View to the left:

View of the lava dome in the center of the crater... note the steam rising out of it!

View to the right, with Spirit Lake in the middle distance, and a surprisingly snowless Mount Rainier in the distance:

We took a seat well away from the edge of the rim, sat, relaxed, and whooped for and high-fived other climbers who arrived -- many of whom we had been leapfrogging all day. 

The whole time we kept thanking our lucky stars to have such a perfect day -- not too hot, not too windy, and nice clear skies with views of Rainier, Adams, and Hood!

But, of course, what went up must go down... first through the scree, which I really enjoyed. In this pano you can see Adams on the left and (very faintly) Hood in the middle. 

Then the scree became the lava rocks... 

... and then we stopped taking pictures on the way down as it got harder and harder. We reached a point -- on a different route than we came up, so nothing looked familiar -- where the "path" seemed to disappear. We could see a pole marker far below us, but had reached what felt like a drop-off. So we were milling about, wondering what we were missing, when a threesome we had been leapfrogging with all day arrived and said hello. We said we weren't quite sure whether we were on the right route ... or on a route at all. The leader -- a woman who has been up and down 10 or so times -- said we were on "a route" and said we were aiming for the right side of the big outcropping a couple of hundred yards below. And, then, as we watched, she led her little group straight down the drop-off. Slowly, with a lot of butt-sliding and arm strain, we followed her lead. 

During this part of the descent, at one point Wil dislodged a HUGE rock, which went slowly rolling down. We called ahead "BELOW!" and the threesome made sure they were out of the way, and then thanked us for the heads up. 

Eventually we got to a smoother stretch, but then we got intertwined with a family group -- a strong dad, a slightly struggling mom, and a devil-may-care teenager who kept sliding and dislodging rocks. Nothing huge, but it felt like a collision waiting to happen. So Wil and I stopped to get some space between us and the family, even though it meant we would lose touch with the trail angel. I tried to keep an eye on her, however, and when we passed the family group a little while later I was still able to see the way they went over another edge. 

But then we lost them, and got to a weird section with signage but no sensible route. In the end we decided to "choose our own adventure" and just make our way off the ridge to the treeline below. Once back on less rocky ground we checked ourselves on the map and were only a few yards from the Ptarmigan trail ... heaven!

As soon as we entered the forest we found the trail angel and her gang again... which made me wonder if they were waiting for us, or if they were just taking a break?  

Then down down down through the forest ... nothing memorable, except something amusing that I had read in a number of different trip reports: the way down feels longer than the way up. I have never experienced that -- I mean, the return trip of a hike ALWAYS feels shorter to me. You know where you are because you've been through there before, and even though you're tired you know the end is coming soon. But somehow the descent through the lava boulders and even the gentle trail through the forest felt painfully long. 

Eventually, however, we arrived at the trailhead, where we kissed, signed out of the Climber Register, high-fived our trail buddies, and headed out.

Back at the Lone Fir, we showered, made dinner (did I mention we were hungry?), and collapsed into bed around 8:30. It had been a good day! We felt proud of ourselves ... but of course, it's not as difficult as it used to be to climb MSH:

Mount St. Helens weekend, day 1: to the Lone Fir

Hi everyone! Let's cut to the chase here ... we made it to the top of Mount St. Helens and back down safely.

We had wanted to climb MSH last year as part of our Kilimanjaro training -- trudging uphill through ankle-deep screen seemed like the perfect way to prepare. But 2017 was a very snowy year, and the trail remained snow-covered until late July... too late for our comfort. So we sold the permits (for face value, of course!) and planned to go in 2018.

We managed to secure a pair or permits on the first day they became available -- managing to patiently navigate the overwhelmed system. Our date: Friday, September 28, 2018.

The challenge, of course, is having no idea what sort of weather we would encounter, nearly 8 months after purchasing the permits. All we could do was hope for the best.

We took the Thursday and Friday off and decided to make a long weekend of it. The same day I secured the permits -- February 1, 2018 -- I also booked a cabin at the Lone Fir Resort, a cute little place half an hour from the trailhead at Climber's Bivouac.

The Lone Fir is, frankly, adorable. They have a few cabins, some motel units, some tent campsites, and some RV sites, all gathered around a game room, pool, restaurant, and gift shop.

We checked in right at 3, then dropped off our things in our sweet cabin, #6.

This cabin has a really well-stocked kitchen, a sitting room with a couch that converts to a queen-sized futon, and a separate bedroom with a comfy queen-sized bed. Oh, and a bathroom WITH BATHTUB, of course!

We wanted to make sure we could find our way to the trailhead early the next morning, so we drove out there. On the way back we stopped at Ape Caves to take a peek, but guess who forgot her headlamp? Sigh. My favorite ape was disappointed.

But we walked to the entrance to the caves...

... and went a little way in...

... before deciding to head back out into the light. The last thing I needed was to turn an ankle!

Then back to the resort, where we relaxed by the pool -- though neither of us had thought to bring a suit, the day was super hot!

Later we made some dinner in our little kitchen, and then built a fire in the communal fire pit by our cabin.

This attracted the neighbors, so we had a little chat and met a nice couple from Louisiana. But we knew we had an early morning and a long day of climbing ahead of us!

Up next: the climb!