Mt. St. Helens

I texted my sister Michelle.

Want to climb St. Helens with me?

She replied simply: Yep!

And with that, it was on.

We arranged our schedules, got time off, and bought some necessary supplies. Sarah didn't go with us and we tried to get another sibling to come, but he wasn't interested enough. It was just us. She bought the permits.

A guy at work advised us to go up the winter route when there was still snow as it made for better hiking. Apparently it can be a pain to hike up the slope in summer as the ash is loose and you end up sliding back quite a bit on each step. That meant we were taking the Worm Flows route.

We arrived at the Marble Mountain Sno Park the evening before and set up the tent. Miche wanted to sleep in the truck, but we brought the tent and I though stretching out to sleep would be better. We went to bed around 10.

I was excited to be there.

Apparently she was too.

The alarm rang at 0400, or Oh-Dark-Thirty. I managed around 4 hours sleep total. The combination of nerves and discomfort kept me from sound sleep. Miche slept a little better, but not much. We rose, packed up the tent and made sure our gear was together. Then, we started out. We hit the trail head at 0507. Girls take so long getting ready. :-)

Signing in so they can rescue us later.

The trail starts out in the woods. It was damp ground, but no snow. That lasted all of a quarter-mile. We started hitting patches of snow and by about the half-mile mark, it was mostly snow. The slope was gradually upward, but nothing strenuous at all.

A couple left a little before us, but were a little more conservative with their energy than we were, so we passed them and ended up leap-frogging them all day. The sky grew lighter, but there was no sunshine.

Soggy, foggy day.

We climbed up and watched the sky get lighter.

Up a little.

And up some more. Stop checking out my butt.

The trail kept wandering up through the woods. I tried to get my GPS/running watch to track us, but I didn't think about it until about 1.5 miles in and then it had trouble hooking up with the satellites through the clouds.  We just followed the tracks. A couple miles in we reached Chocolate falls. I think it is named that because it darkens with sediment when the melt starts.

Some sky peeked through.

The melt hadn't started yet.

About this time is when I realized I had made a mistake. I filled the bladder in my backpack with water from a jug in the truck.  It was horrible. I don't know how long it had been in there. I filled Michelle's from a different jug and hers wasn't great, but wasn't too bad I guess. Mine was essentially undrinkable and I didn't have any other liquid.

Oops.

I started eating the cleanest snow I could find and we trudged on.

Eventually we started to get above the clouds and the sun tried to show up.

Trying hard to shine

And the mountain made an appearance.

The trees thinned out more and we followed a ridge above Swift creek. Eventually we saw a sign that meant we were on the right path.

Literally. There was a sign.

There were a few signs really.

The trees grew thinner. Then, we hit the ridges called the worm flows. These are made of scree and boulders. It was nice on one hand to get off the snow for a minute, but the rocks were unstable in places and it made for less snow to eat.

I put on the headband for inspiration. And perspiration.

We finally broke above the clouds.

And time for a snack. Om. Nom.

We picked our way through the boulders and kept climbing. The view was incredible. When I wasn't searching for the next footstep, I was watching the shadows of the clouds on the tops of the lower clouds. It was pretty awesome.

We watched the clouds lap against the mountain like waves

The worm flows went on and on. It seemed like we scampered up those rocks for a long time. But, eventually, they ended and we had to put the spikes back on and hit the snow. We could see the snowy mountain rising above us, it couldn't be far.

Right?

It was pretty steep.

Surely that rise up there has to be the peak. I'm getting a little tired.

It's like some demented stair master.

The cool thing was we could see Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood out above the clouds.

Mt. Adams

Hood is out there, promise

I was starting to feel the strain.

The dehydration was starting to get to me a little bit. Somewhere around here, I dumped all the water out of my camelbak and replaced it with snow. It cooled down my back and gave me the occasional sip of not terrible water.

Surely that's it right up there.

We started up the slope. The path now seemed to be just go up until there isn't anymore up.

So we went.

Still steep.

This weird thing kept happening. I would get so used to walking forward and up that when I looked to the side and saw the horizon, it looked unlevel and I would get a little disoriented. It was discombobulating.

Weird angles and just wrong

Probably should just stick to up.

But I had to look around if only to see the shadows of clouds on lower clouds

It turned out the rim we saw wasn't the top. There was another one beyond that one. And another and so on.

And on...

It started to get a little depressing. Each time I would look up and see people so far away they looked smaller than ants and I would think surely they must be near the top. Then, when we got to where they were I would look up and see more people so far up they looked smaller than ants. I started to believe the mountain was still growing just to taunt me.


It was better just to watch your step.

Most of the day looked like this. Except with my shadow.

We had been eating a little as we went, but it was time to break out my secret weapon.

Trader Joe's sour gummies.

I wasn't sure, by that time, what the question was, but the answer was Trader Joe's sour gummies. The sugar rush was instant, but short-lived. Miche and I shared them and kept on trekking.

We lost the will to take pictures it was so bad. There aren't any pictures of the approach to the rim because we were never sure anymore if it was actually the rim or just another fake out and we didn't have the energy to fiddle with the camera. 

We just walked up.

Sometime after noon, we reached the top. The up finally ended.

And it suddenly got cold, like really cold. Wind whipped across the top and my hands and face grew numb. I got a good snot-cicle going. We watched in horror, along with everyone else, as a guy started to chase a dropped trash bag out onto the corniced edge. Luckily, he let it go. I hate litter too, but damn. We watched as the others started their descents. One or two were on skis, but the rest grabbed trash bags or put on ski pants and started sliding down on their butts.

It was fun.

Eventually, my hands regained feeling and my butt went numb. The trip down was much faster and more fun than the trip up.

Miche was rumbling something about climbing Adams or Hood for the next day.

Always an adventure waiting.

Until next time.

Happy Mother's Day!

We moved here for a reason and it wasn't all goats and chickens either.

Western Washington is a fabulous and beautiful place. It's easy to get so caught up in normal life, that you forget just how awesome it is out here.  Luckily, Sarah remembers these things and uses her special days to force us out of the bubble and into the actual, beautiful world.

We paid a visit to the Ape Caves just south of St. Helens. We hadn't been there for six years. It was our first visit to Washington when I did a contract in Vancouver.  There are a few pictures.

It was May of 2011

There was snow in the bottom of the holes on the first hike

We marveled at the ash under a fallen tree.

"It's not safe to go alone, take these."

We had a great time. Great enough to return again today. So we hopped into the new ride, Sarah finally let me drive, and headed south to Mt. St. Helens.


This time we had better cameras.

Our first stop, just like last time, was here.

It is a short trail with a boardwalk through an old lava flow. It has little signs that interpret what is going on and how the formations came about. It is a neat, short walk in the woods.

The place was the same. But we may have changed a little.

2011

2017

The rocks haven't changed.

There was still snow at the bottom. Probably not the same snow.

Max still had to climb in and explore.

The trail only takes a few minutes and then it was on to the Ape Caves a short way down the road.

Last time we came, we had snacks, a few dollar store lanterns and optimism. This time, we came a little more prepared with lights and cameras that might work.


The entrance is along the middle of the lava tube. It was discovered in the fifties after the roof caved in and a guy on a tractor almost drove into it.

Luckily they have made some improvements.

Luckily not too many though.

The tubes were formed with fast moving lava cooled on the outer surface of a flow,but the inner part stayed hot an fluid. The lava inside kept moving until the tube emptied.

Time for a walk inside.

Upon entering, there is a dark pit below.

There are stairs leading down into the tube. That's the last improvement

Then it was down into the lower Ape Cave proper.

In some places it is pretty big.

They boys had a great time. They loved lights out.

This picture shows how wet it was. There was a constant drip of water from the roof.

These pictures came out pretty well. There wasn't much light, despite what we brought. So, most of the pictures turned out like this.

But sometimes there were cool rock formations.

I imagine little dwarves commuting over the bridge.

And little ledges for kids to scamper down.

We found a few small openings

Then we found a bigger one and it sparkled.

Look closely and you can see tons of little sparkles on the walls.

The different minerals sparkled with different colors.

Eventually we made it down toward the end where the tunnel tapers down. Some places are large enough to drive a bus through.

And some are smaller

No, smaller.

Way smaller

And cold and damp enough to see your breath

The first time we came, it wasn't as wet and the boys and I belly-crawled all the way to the end. This time we turned around and went back to the entrance.

But, unlike last time, we went a little into the upper cave. The lower cave is pretty tame. The floors are mostly flat and there aren't any real holes. The upper cave has cave ins, holes, rock tumbles and even a lava falls.

We didn't have time to go far and we didn't get to go all the way to the lava fall. Darn it all. I guess we will just have to go back.

Back up to the land of light.

Happy Mother's day Sweetie. You're the bestest in the whole universe infinity I win.

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Yeah,


I know, I know. It's been busy. I haven't abandoned the place, but is sure is dusty.


We are still homesteading in Washington. We have goats, chickens, ducks, a little bit of a lot. Things are keeping me really busy these days.


We got rid of one problem vehicle, the Subaru and are working on selling our beloved IRV. The place has wheels for a reason. If they aren't rolling, they're wasting away. Someone should use him.

I had an idea for a book that I am working on in the spare minutes I find, which is keeping me from blogging as much as I usually might.

But fear not.  Work progresses apace.  I shall return.

First night in the goat shed. The boys didn't wan them to be lonely

They were only four days old.

They have become more comfortable in their new home

 We had to build some fencing for the goats. Chicken wire only slows them down for a few days.

Max had to see what his voice sounded like in the post hole

Micheal too.

Gotta hold your mouth just right.

Did I mention the ducks?

Someone showed up on our doorstep with a mama and ten babies

Brother goats can be cute

Did I mention the chickens?  Seven chickens

Yeah, things have been busy.

Life on the farm.


Michael has hijacked the post. I have been procrastinating for months telling..uh... you guys, that we(I) got a new pet (drumroll please) Socks

she is a cat...obviously

she was a christmas kitten and is a nutjob, dedicated solely to the destruction of my brother


we dont have enough pictures of her but I have trained her to come and sit on command and walk on a leash.






on an unfortunate darker note the death counts of the ducks are a 6 and chickens 1

R.I.P duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck and guenevere

Homeschooling Life Skills: Budget

I wanted to start a series of blog posts for homeschoolers and perhaps even for parents that just want their kids to be prepared for the world when it smacks them upside their face.

And it will, we all know this.

I polled many of my Facebook people and asked what they wished their parents had taught them when they were young and that helped build my list of topics. One of the highest on the list was money. How do we deal with money?

So, here's what I did.

Today's subject was Michael. Michael is ten, almost eleven. I thought he would be a better candidate than Max, who at eight, sees money only as a way to get more toys.  His turn is coming. 

Thanks Michael, for being the oldest child I can experiment on.

I asked Michael to pick an occupation. I told him it wasn't a life choice, just something we could use for a lesson.

He couldn't think of anything. So, we had a brainstorming session. I had him think of ten or so occupations he could see himself doing, which was easier. Then, he picked one.

Animal trainer.

Sounds like a good choice, fitting for his personality.

We looked it up on the Occupational Outlook Handbook.  If you don't know about his little gem, you're welcome. 

Animal Trainer

The median pay for an animal trainer is $21,260 per year. I subtracted ten percent for taxes (I am a generous overlord) and divided that number by twelve.

We had a monthly income.

Next, I asked him where he wanted to live. He decided Seattle was a good location. So, I had him look up one bedroom and efficiency apartments in Seattle. This was a great time to talk about room mates and the problems and benefits of living with someone.

Next came transportation, groceries, insurance and so on. He realized pretty quickly that he couldn't afford a car on that paycheck in that apartment. So, he decided a bicycle and a bus pass were the way to go.

We worked the budget with some basics. The real lesson was about to happen.

Next, I asked him to look up another occupation he had mentioned in the brainstorming session.

Computer Programmer

The median annual pay for a programmer is a bit better at $79,530. I subtracted twenty percent for taxes (I am a benevolent overlord, but also somewhat realistic) and divided by twelve for a new monthly income.

Michael said he could probably afford three cars if he wanted them.

Then he noticed something. The education requirement for a computer programmer was a Bachelor's degree minimum. The animal trainer didn't require a degree.

Hmmm.

So we looked up some other professions, nurse, doctor, accountant. And he discovered that the more education you had, the more you likely made.

Suddenly there was new light shed on all that math and science stuff we keep trying to teach him.

Then, we had a talk about value. Is it better to do something you love and get paid less or something you might not love and get paid more? Is there something that you think sounds fun that pays well? 


It was a good lesson, I think.

Round one in the books.