2012 Edition
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This is the second BCEP hike and the first official conditioning hike.
We were out here in 2010 and again
last year.
GETTING THERE: The trailhead is right on Washington State highway 14 just a few miles
east of Stevenson and the Carson/Wind Highway turn off so it's pretty easy to find.
It's the next significant mountain east of Wind Mountain.
A NW Forest Pass (or equivalent) is required and the Forest Service routinely gives
tickets to those without one displayed on thier dashboard.
Once again, this was a "take no prisioners" Mazama hike. I'm guessing that most of
the crew is more or less ambivalent as far as my abilities (or lack of) are concerned
although a couple were visibly pissed off about my inability to keep up. Mea culpa..
my main problem is that I just don't have the wind to do sustained, steep uphill inclines
without stopping for 30 seconds to catch my breath every few hundred feet of elevation
gain. Oh well... my ability to actually complete these hikes was never in question,
at least as far as I am concerned. But being able to keep up with a group of people
who are a LOT younger than me and who are in a LOT better physical condition than me
is something else again.
As I've said, it would be really keen if everyone (or at least some) on the team
actually liked me. But being liked or not really has nothing to do with me reaching
my goals for this course, which is increased knowledge, skills and experience. I
already pretty much knew this, but today's hike confirmed that it is *HIGHLY*
unlikely that I will be going on any Mazama led mountain climbs after graduation.
Pushing way beyond my comfort level, going so frigging fast that you don't have time
to take a drink of water or take a picture and being out of breath half the time is
just not my idea of a fun outing. I may be a turtle compared to these guys but
slow and steady wins the race, right? I am definitely *NOT* looking forward to
the Table Mountain hike even though Table is one of my most favorite destinations..
Fortunately, John and Dave, the two team leaders, are *VERY* supportive and encouraging
which is really nice especially since I am not worthy to carry their tool bag much less
do the sorts of things they do on a regular basis. But I'll get there (...maybe...)
This sort of reminds me of the Amphibious Assault training course the USMC ran at
Little Creek, VA in 1966. Running 20 miles with a full pack and an M1 at port arms.
I'm really looking forward to the "fun" part of this course, when ever that begins.
No time (or breath) to take pictures going up or down... here's a view of Wind
mountain from the Dog Mountain summit.
Pretty overcast but the sun did come out (sort of) for a while. At least it didn't
rain which would have made this a totally unpleasant hike.
Team 5 hauled enough crap up here to open up a small restaurant. I guess my
adventure could have been worse.
Here's my crew... Team 3. David (center, foreground, standing) is our co-leader.
He's a really good guy...very knowledgeable but also very mellow and laid back. He is
all about enjoying the journey, same as me.
Although this was a mandatory hike, only 5 of the 12 students participated. There
were as many volunteers as students which made for great 1:1 coaching but doesn't say
much for the missing members' commitment to the curriculum. In contrast, Team 5 was
quite the caravan. Looked like 20-odd people.
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