Mt Whitney and the end of my streak (86 weekends)

“2005 (August 14) Mt Whitney via Mountaineer's Route

A successful summit via the Mountaineer's Route, and a long descent via the main trail. Also the end of my streak of consecutive weekends in the Sierra/Death Valley (wk 86, pt 2)

Whitney Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/424222370Kmwptt


and my warmup day Saturday:
2005 (August 13) Kearsarge Pass and Sierra Challenge participants

I slept near Onion Valley to acclimatize, and met the Sierra Challenge group as they started Day 9. A short dayhike to see how my back felt ended up at Kearsarge Pass (10 mi/2600' gain/loss). (Wk 86 part 1)

Kearsarge Pass Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/423883500bNsvSE
last edited: 8/20/05 2:08:15 PM”

“What the heck are ya doing posting on a weekend, snowy?!”

“Nice pics...especially the sunrise one going up Whitney.

The streak ends?? Wow.

I think you should count last weekend as two weekends...and then you are OK.”

“Bowlderman,
We had a friends wedding to go to last night. No way I could drive out after, and I can't take Monday off.

I took the last two Mondays off, 1/2 day off yesterday, taking 1/2 day off next Friday, then 2 wks off in Sept. I don't have enough time off!!! I might try to do a local hike Sunday. Haven't hiked local since . . . I don't know when (been a few years).

SnowDude wants me to go with him to look for a refrigerator (whoopie! not really), but right now he's playing with his new toy. Some kind of DVD thingie that he can copy VCR tapes and make DVDs. I'm clueless with this stuff.

I was really bummed about this, knowing TT is doing the resupply alone. I would rather be there. :-(

So I'm here!”

“I'm so glad your back is doing better. That is great news. Your pics are beautiful! Glad to see you on this board!”

“Tango,
Just read in another thread that your back was not doing well. I'm so sorry to hear that. Last I read you were ready to go backpacking. Guess that was awhile ago. :-( I'm still icing a LOT. At least I can bend over now. I'm hoping this weekend off (and the past month of only dayhiking) will help.”

“Wow... Snow Nymph takes a weekwnd off .... I'm shocked !!”

“What a streak! And I bet I know what you're already thinking: Time to start a new one!

I just ruined myself on a 6 1/2 hour bike ride, so I don't know how to take it easy either. :-)”

“I saw you hiking down from Kearsage on Saturday, I almost asked if you were Snownymph. You were with a guy, I was with three guys and a teenaged girl. Pink and purple backpack, black shorts. I didn't realize your hair was so long and discounted it was you because of the long braids.
On a side note, while I was on the JMT I had two people ask me if I was Paige, small world made so much smaller by the internet.
Hope your back continues to heal, can become cronic if you don't take care of it.”

“You know Snowy...if Cal Hiker would stop putting rocks in your pack to slow you down...your back would stop hurting ;)

Nice streak...I don't know how you do it.”

“I am the ice queen! I spend a lot of time on ice too. When I took off the brace and started actually living my life, my back is about 50% better than it was so progress. I have cut down on my pain pills, I am down to 1 a day. I am thinking of getting a McHale pack when I'm ready to hike. I am not allowed to put any weight on my shoulders so I have to find a way to put all the weight on my hips, don't think the Golite Trek will do.

Anyway, glad to hear that you're on the mend!”

“Great pics SN.”

“I have heard that the Luxurylite packs are excellent for those with back problems, external frame, around 2 pounds and a hip belt that can transfer all the load to your hips.
Check em out!
http://www.luxurylite.com/packindex.html”

“I saw one of those Luxurylite packs at Vermillion Valley. The guy liked it, but was not happy with the shoulder straps. They were completely lightweight, all wrinkled up, and he had threaded his socks over them for padding. Maybe they'll upgrade them.”

“Paige, I remember seeing you now! Top of the switchbacks before the final ascent to the Pass? The guy I was hiking with was from the Sierra Challenge.

Tango, Sorry to hear about your back. I'm lucky its only advil for me. It was fine yesterday, but sitting at the computer is bothering it so I'll be getting off soon and try to do something productive today. My Golite Trek is in the garage. I should sell, only been used a few times.

Paige that pack set up looks like Reinhold Metzgers in a way, with out the frame. He had everything stacked and strapped in so he could move on the trail. You might have seen him: http://community.webshots.com/photo/424222370/425977592ntrupL
His pack: http://community.webshots.com/photo/425979094/425979094bEqCNR
I'll keep an eye on that pack, maybe wait til they fix the shoulder straps. I like the design, and I think I can get everything in it.”

“Yes that was the spot, Snownymph, wish I said Hi. We saw a lot of the guys from the Sierra Challange, one especially nice guy with curly blond hair and mulitple ear hoop piercings, cute too. ;)
We didn't see Reinhold, I am sure I would have recognized him, what a set-up he has!

Wanna, bummer to hear about the straps, do you know how much weight he was carrying?”

“Thanks for the sympathy. Hope the rest helped Snownymph. And thanks for the link Paige, those packs look interesting. I believe it'll all work out somehow.
I was checking these out...http://www.mchalepacks.com/index.htm
I heard these packs are great for back and or neck problems.”

“Hey Snow Nymph®, congrats on the gazillion consecutive weekends, that's awesome! Great pics as usual too. We saw Reinhold a couple years ago when we did the JMT, he was trying to break a speed record. We met him below Guitar Lake at around 3:30 a.m. as he was descending and I signed his journal as a witness to his location and time. Amazing guy! I think he did break it that trip too.”

“Paige, I don't know how much he was carrying, but he did have a bear canister in the middle part and the other two parts were full. Could have been a lot.”

“Paige, the cute one is Diggler, very nice guy. I’ve met him twice now and didn’t get his picture! :-(

Buck, Reinhold seemed confident he would break his record. He had everything together and was pretty excited about doing this. What a guy! And so full of compliments!

Wannabp, I was looking at the pack, and thought about putting the canister in the middle. But I just realized I would have to figure out where to put my chair. hmmmm....”

“Ahh Diggler, cute and nice, hard to find in a guy these days. ;)”

“Sorry we can't all meet your high standards, Princess Paige.

Sincerely,
Butt-ugly, mean guy”

“Is that the Calhiker I met at Kearsarge Lakes? I thought he was cute and nice.

Sincerely,
Very old, happily married woman”

“Looks like we have some new handles forming....”

““Ahh Diggler, cute and nice, hard to find in a guy these days. ;)”
paige
1:05:02 AM
8/22/05

Hard to find in a woman any day of the week..........or month.
>8^P”

“Snowy I am counting on you having the single guys all lined up when I move out your way in 3-5!”

“I love Reinhold's hiking shorts. ;-)”

“I think I've seen you in shorts just like that, Geezr!!!”

“As a matter of fact, I'm wearing 'em right now.

Oops, no those are my pajamas. ;-)”

“Ahh, come on Calhiker, you might be mean but you aren't butt-ugly.”

“Oh my goodness! Is that how big the hotcakes are there??? I had no idea they were that hugh.
Beautiful pictures SN....it really looks like there is a lot of fireweed in full bloom...I bet it looked beautiful!

Looks like you all had two beautiful days for hiking.
Thank you for sharing!”

“Man,you just don't quit, SN. Do you have lots of dirty laundry piling up at home :)

Glad to hear you are still in the running for most agro backpacker ever!

Thanks for sharing your awesome pics.

RM”

“rosey - are you back?”

“86 weekends - wow!”

“Yeah, that Calhiker guy is really mean! ;-) I saw one photoshopped picture he did of himself that was butt-ugly! LOL!

WW, I should put rocks in his pack to slow him down! Thanks for the idea.

Hey Geezr! How are you and Weezr? Guess those shorts are lightweight! LOL!

Tango, I'll see what I can do!

MiT, that's the plain one pancake. It takes 3-4 people to eat one of those. You can also get it with eggs & sausage on top! Hopefully the fireweed will still be out there and you'll get to see them for yourself.

RM, laundry gets done. But the area around the computer is a mess. Maps, trip descriptions, etc all over my desk!

WD, Yeah! Last weekend was a little depressing. I worked on photos all day Saturday, then went shopping for a few hours on Sunday.
last edited: 8/25/05 5:38:59 AM”

“LOL! I wondered about the laundry, too, but didn't want to ask. I would love to be in the mountains more , but the driving is too much, esp. the Sunday night return with the whole Bay Area.”

“Karen,

I cheat a little. We have a housekeeper that takes care of cleaning and stuff. I do laundry, only because I need it for the weekend. I take care of people all day long, so I enjoy the drive most of the time, kinda like its "my time". Some Mondays are tough though.”

“So maybe I could just do an attitude change, look at the driving time as a form of relaxation. It would be tough because there are some really busy areas to get through, but I'm sure it's no worse than getting into the LA area.”