Thu 7 Sep 2006
This Labor Day weekend I was able to head off to Oregon to visit a friend for a few days. During the mini-vacation I was able to do some trek training and even taught my friend wilderness navigation skills. We were able to to hike in a coastal rainforest near Ecola State Park; here we followed mostly trails but went off trail through one section. Off-trail in coastal Oregon (and I’d imagine Washington and British Columbia) is an interesting experience - the vegetation is very thick and moisture makes everything very soggy. This means that there is some question that the log you are about to step on will hold your weight and in many instances it did not. However, the coastal forests were a nice change from the high deserts of Reno, Nevada and it was nice to actually practice bushwhacking with real live bushes rather than relying on my usual “sagewhacking” techniques. We also headed to Mt. Hood to hike on the Timberline Trail and to get some alpine-style experience. I tested out wearing my Under Armor leggings (which I bought last winter but only used once) and they worked great as well as testing out a Buff headscarf. The Buff is an interesting article of clothing popularized by old-school Eco-Challengers and I believe it did a sufficient job in keeping the sweat out of my eyes. The temperature wasn’t too cold so I will be interested to see how a Buff does in sub-32F temperatures. Will the moisture freeze to my scalp? Either way, I think the Under Armor and the Buff will be a perfect addition to my repetoire for Moab 3-day race in case we head up in to the La Salle Mountains.
On the way back from Oregon I stopped off for an overnight trip at Lassen National Park. My intention was to summit Lassen Peak and so after camping at Summit Lake South campsite I rose early in the morning to nab the summit. My goal was to be the first up there in the morning but unfortunately as I neared the top two people intersected my path while coming down. I gotta wake up earlier next time! I did the trail in race clothing and race pack and charged the peak at a bit less than race pace. For a 5 mile distance with ~2000ft of ascent and ~2000ft descent I did the peak in 2hrs 5minutes with that 5 minutes being the summit stop. After a bit of rest at the parking lot and a stop to see some of the geothermal action of sulfur pots my vacation was over however I think a return to Lassen NP is in order in the near future. I’ve heard the nordic ski touring there is awesome…