Joe said “Let’s do an epic hike”

And with that set of instructions, I took out the map and began plotting our path for this past Saturday. Aiming for 10 miles, and some good elevation, I came up with a trail from my house (approximate 200 feet of elevation) to the top of Tiger Mountain Peak #3 (2500 feet). Joe and Sean decided that wasn't enough, so we added in Peak #2 (2700 feet) as well.

The highlight of our day was clearly the descent. Going up is never fun; it is simply a hard push up. We found a path up that had a few nice long flat sections, circling the mountain so that we came up the back side of the peak away from the crowds. And then we started down. For this, while plotting the path, I had noticed a dotted trail on my map that went straight down the peak. Perfect, that the innocent hiker. A quick, efficient way down that gets us back to the house in the shortest way possible. Who cares if that means dropping 1000 feet in about a mile. Or if it means we would be taking a trail that is "unmaintained." It's the quickest way down the mountain.

This unmaintained trail was steep. Not in the "this should be a ski run" way, but in the "we really should be roped up and rock-climbing way." At this point in the day, it was raining pretty steadily. And while the three of us were all prepared for it and had our jackets on, the trail was truly muddy. When it wasn't rocky or simply tree roots. And the whole unmaintained thing, that was definitely true. It was unmaintained mainly because it would be impossible to maintain it, and no one would be stupid enough to try and go down it.

All in all, I am happy to have crested two mountains. We had our first hot meal on the trail (Jamaican BBQ Chicken from Backpackers Pantry, yum). We added just over 9 miles and 5000 feet of elevation loss/gain to our totals for the month. A great month of February to start our preparations is now in the books and there is just 5 more months to get ready for the big one.

John

3 Hikes in 3 Weekends

To start off my post for the week, I will echo Sean's sentiments from below. No more IHOP. Tonight is the best my legs have felt in the evening of one of our hikes. It is also the worst that the rest of my body has felt, as my head has been throbbing and I haven't wanted to get off the couch much this afternoon. So, apparently after hiking 6 miles and 1200 feet of vertical gain, a brunch of fat cooked in fat doesn't sit well with us. Luckily, there are no bad breakfast places on the Wonderland Trail.

For a touch more about how I feel. I am definitely feeling better on the trail. No longer do long stretches of switchbacks frighten me, and today I was able to power up the last bit of our hike without really stopping. Over the next few weeks it will be nice to try some new trails and stretch the legs out a little more, with weight and speed.

I also want to say a little about why I am doing this, as Sean and Joe have both put out some of their reasons. So, the first reason is that I simply am unsure where my 20's went. It's not that I am unhappy with where things have gone, as I am actually shockingly surprised at how well things have turned out for me considering the strange paths that my post college years took me. But I find myself staring down a much more consistent life than I am used to.

Between 20-29 I graduated from WSU and Seattle Pacific, moved to Seattle, travelled to Spain, somehow found a teaching job in Kirkland while tasting Port in Portugal, met my now wife, and eventually found myself teaching in the suburbs of Seattle. Not to mention years working in a seafood restaurant and time spent working as a graduate assistant.

Now, with a stable job and income, a wife and a cat, and a new home purchase, I can reasonably see some aspects of my future. And I can also see how easily I could find myself working, grading, watching sports, and working on my house. Time passes quickly this way.

This is a step to make sure that as life picks up speed, I continue to do things I enjoy with people that make it all fun. Of course, ten or eleven days of walking with anyone might make me rethink that whole concept of people I enjoy. But if I am going to do this with anyone, I can think of no better partners than these two fine gentlemen.

Easier this time but next time skip IHOP

So my second hike in ten years was definitely easier than the first. However, I did learn some important lessons.

First, I need new boots like Robin Williams needs a new shtick. The loaner pair Joe lent me are fine for the up but are murder on the down. They are half a size too small and my toes are getting rocked. My fancy new hiking socks got all nice and bloody, not enjoyable to feel or look at. All around a bad time (I french fried when I should have pizzaed).

Second, skip the double daily vitamin with energy and go with one. Centrum has great multi-vitamins that are "Energy" enhanced. All that means is that they have caffeine and other Red Bull-esque additives. On a regular one-a-day regimen they're not all that bad but at 7am on an empty stomach dosing yourself with two and a large coffee then hitting the trail is a terrible, terrible idea. Again"pizaaaaaaaaaaa....crash"

Thirdly and most important. No matter how early we start and end, NO MORE IHOP. We decided, being that it was Sunday in Issaquah and most good breakfast places would be packed, to dine at the cathedral to pancakes. Nothing could have been a worse plan. Now I feel like I have a monster College level hang-over without the benefit of having gotten drunk the night before. Everything about our plan was bad from the beginning. We ate at Ihop, got the cheapest breakfasts, then to top it all off, had a pancake refill. If I vomit later I deserve it.

All in all, much better experience than last week and I'm looking forward to next. Right now we're planning a "less elevation, more weight" hike. But who knows our plans change faster than IHOP moves through the digestive tract.

Cheers,
Sean

My first hike in ten years

After fighting my way up that first hike I have officially decided that my next adventure will be to create a time machine to go back ten years and tell myself not to stop walking and drive everywhere. Really, early thirties Sean just wants to tell early twenties Sean to stop being such a dumbass and abusing himself with bad habits.
As Joe has alluded to, finishing the first hike was a big step for me. I have had no significant aerobic exercise in over a decade and was seriously considering giving up about a mile in. But I cannot take all the credit for my minor success, John and Joe really pushed me and made sure I didn't quit. You couldn't ask for a better pair of pals for this adventure.

Probably my biggest frustration with how fantastically out of shape I am is that I used to hike quite a bit. The summer of 1995 through around 2000 my brother Mike and I did annual hikes of the Cascades and Olympic mountains. We even had fancy new packs and Thermarests. But around the time I graduated college in June of 2000, it all stopped. I moved to Ireland and began a decade of beer consumption that would have killed a smaller man. But that ends now (not the beer all together, it is delicious after all).

So here we go, I will attempt to post after every hike we make from here until the grand departure and let all you out there in the interwebs how it's going.

Cheers,
Sean

2 Hikes In...

Mileage Total as of Feb 13th, 2010
John - 14.1 over two hikes (approx 4000 ft elevation)
Joe - 14.1 over two hikes (approx 4000 ft elevation)
Sean - 7 in one hike (approx 2100 ft of elevation)
Duke - 15, one hike, he covers twice the distance but is great to have around

I have to say my quads and calves are pretty sore today. Good hike yesterday but a couple of things I learned. One, bring more food. I totally bonked at the peak and my blood sugar and electrolytes crashed. Thank god it was all down hill from there... gravity and hunger pretty much pushed me home. Two, I love the fact that we man'd up and hiked in the rain. I was pleased with our early speed and I think the hike was a real confidence booster for Sean. Duke (super lab) was a stud as well. He'll be a main stay in our weekly hikes and is a real charmer with other hikers on the trail. Three; I'm also happy that without really talking about it we managed to ebb and flow together and apart as we hiked. Giveing each other a little space when necessary and staying together when it felt right. That will be important for our 100 mile journey.

We ran to REI and picked up maps of Tiger and Cougar Mountains for our training. I feel optimistic we can get in a shape conducive to 100 miles over 10 days. Especially since our winter has been so mild and it's only the middle of February.

Next big challenge will be putting Tristan on my back for some of these hikes. Time to add some weight and I can't think of better weight to add.

Look for more pics from John and some video entries from the trail as we progress.

Cheers,

J

A little more information...

I wanted to add a little bit more about us and why I think we want to accomplish this 100 mile (in our worlds epic) hike...

First; I'd say in different parts of my life I've been active but I've never participated in an outdoor adventure such as this. I've never climbed a mountain or spent more than a couple days backpacking. I feel, as I think John and Sean do as well, that this is an attainable goal that will take more than a couple training hikes to prepare for. The preperation will be great but the payoff will be as well.

Second; I've always stated that I'm a big fan of being outdoors, playing outdoors, hiking, and camping but I too easily let life take over and spend more time on the couch, working, and sitting through my week to week. This is a good opportunity to put our money where our mouth is and get outside. I'd honestly like to think we can remain in a shape throughout the year that will allow for more serious trips each summer.

Third; we aren't getting any younger and if we don't start making some active attempts at getting in shape we won't get any thinner either. I don't like my activity level over the last year (i have some good excuses) and I know Sean and John have similar goals to get in shape and drop some LB's. Say goodbye to 'junior'!

Look - you're dealing with a teacher, a theater tech, and a mortgage banker... all in our early 30's... who might be having a third life crises... we're three average guys who want to show or friends, family, and ourselves that if we put our minds to something we can attain it....

Wish us luck,

J

Who and What are the 3 fat guys

Joe, Sean and John have known each other for quite some time. John and Joe met in high school at some point in the 1990's, and Sean joined the group sometime in the early 2000's.

In the spring of 2008 Joe and John got a crazy idea in their heads. They were going to hike the Wonderland Trail. For those who do not know, the Wonderland Trail is a 93 mile hike around Mount Rainier. Joe and John planned well, going to the extremes of actually attempting a practice backpacking trip. At which point they hit snow, understood that they were over their heads, and packed it in. The late snow pack that year kept them from attempting the hike, as did being slightly out of shape and having other things to do that summer. Sean was not apart of the initial plans to hike the trail. He would join later.

The next summer (2009), John got married. Joe had a child. Sean got married. Hiking did not happen. Enough said.

We are older, we are wiser, and we are fatter. This blog is dedicated to our attempt to get ourselves into shape to hike all the way around Mt. Rainier. We are starting by hiking once a week or so around the Issaquah Alps. Sometime in August we will attempt the Wonderland Trail. We hope to lose weight and gain a better appreciation for where we live. We hope you enjoy reading about our experiences.

John, Sean, and Joe