If you can image the combination of an all girls weekend combined with mountaineering and camping combined with socializing and making friends combined with a self awareness seminar you might get an idea of the intensity of this wonderful weekend. We began the trip with the sad news that one of our climbers had to drop out, AL, due to flight difficulties and this was a major blow to all. Losing a climber on a team, even one that hasn't stepped one foot onto the trail is the loss of memories that were to be created and conversations and thoughts to be shared. Next time Amy!

We ended up getting up to Bunny Flat very late...leaving our cars behind with packs on our backs at about 9pm. Still just barely enough sunlight but emerging moon light created a wonderful scene with the snow covered trail and trees. For all of us it was a shock to place that full pack on our back! But we did and despite encounters with wild animals that could have easily hunted us down had we not so successfully chased off, we made it to Horse Camp by about 10:30. I am sure we were the conversation of a few of the other campers as we bulldozed ourselfs through the camping area looking for flat terrain to lay our tents, despite trying to be quiet but when we discovered one of our tents was similar to a optical brain teasing puzzle the quiet solitude was impossible to maintain. The efforts by our group to attempt to piece this tent together was hillarious and I only hoped it was not a sign of our future abilities. AB finally propped her backpack into the tent sufficient to maintain some cover and we all hit the bags by about 1am only to rise to the beauty of this place.

if i can sleep tonight it will be amazing as my mind is constantly running at full speed analyzing and evaluating so many different aspects of our trip that begins tomorrow. Some times i think i over plan and cross check one too many times but today as i was in the process of performing one of my obsessive ideas....where to get the fuel...i discovered this may be an issue as the few stores in shasta city were running dry on the stuff. so i obsessed for an hour or two and have map quested my self till i can't do no more and have maps and directions to 1, 2, 3 and yes even a 4th alternate location for fuel. Do I seem a bit ocd? i have to say i think most good climbers, divers, runners..anyone totally into their sport are a bit this way...it's a wierd but welcoming place to get to and while i am not always there....i know when i enter the ocd world.

anyway....

i always am amazed to think 24 hours ahead and try to physically and emotionally imagine where i will be tomorrow at this time when i have a big event coming up.... tomorrow at 8:30 california time I imagine donna and amy and I will be just getting to know our other fellow climbers as we will have only arrived 30-+ minutes earlier.. I hope they have a nice camp site and stoves burning but that may be pushing it. no matter...it will be wonderful to be out of this humidity and heat and into the coolness of the mountain and fresh crisp air.... with our true challenges ahead of us. Challenges that are only our own. This is the beauty of climbing... to know your own limitations and if you don't ... the opportunity to learn where they might be and how to help them reach beyond where they are.

I hope we can communicate with friends and family during the trip but not too sure of our technologic capabilities but check in just to see....here's to a fun, safe, and glorious weekend.!!!

weighing in

tonight we came together in chicago to review our gear, comment and compliment and try to figure out what weighty gear we would eliminate....not too effective of a meeting given the fact that taste testing our possible non glass wine selections and chilling with friends, was way too easy and so being, created a mind set for the focus of this trip...a mind set where the priority is about having a good time while trying to climb a mountain. a bit of a different mind set than most climbs, as having a good time is usually a hoped for fringe element usually occuring but not typically the agenda at hand. Not that having fun, laughing, sharing, relaxing, chatting, drinking, isn't a wonderful element to have during a venture like this but it's just typically not at the forefront.... I think that we have selected a climb that is grand in many ways but still allows us to do this....to be together in an element that is imposing but possible but at the same time exposing of ourselfs and allowing us to be removed from our daily grind... Not something most women give themselves the opportunity to do but so very necessary to maintain our sanity.....
so girls get rid of those binoculars and make sure you have the fleece! but most of all bring your life stories, loves, fears and love of the world to share as we lay in our tents at night talking about them all..... one week from tonight we'll be up high!

gettin ready

whew...chicago is filled with a million distractions right now so very easy to put training to climb aside. I believe a classic "mom' issue is we put everything and everybody ahead of ourselves and in this situation it can harm he experience...we need to tell everyone we are going to be gone for 2-3 hours focusing on OUR goals. How amazing...just ours? how can that be? but it is trueand accurate......focus girls...10 days to go!

whew....tonight we had our planning evening to review schedule and required group equipment and personal gear.... the level of responsibility i felt was pretty significant as these guys haven't done this level of "hiking" climbing ever before....not just for the physical challenge but the emotional committment..... for that very reason the level of excitement i feel for them and me of course to experience this amazing episode is hard to explain.... I can't... one of my most fond and elevating moments on the mountain was on rainier... at a lower camp but it was totally snowed in.... I got up early to utilize the one luxury of man...the open air out house. It was about a 25 feet away from camp walk but once there...in the trees ..pure solitude. I sat on the top of what must really have been a large containment tank but with a wooden cut out seat..watching the moon set and sun rise ....with not a sound...except for the periodic gurplunk of my own doing. it was really amazing. fresh, quiet, reflective. if these novices have the opportunity to experience this (save the gurplunks) they will look back on this experience as one of the best of their lives...