Summing Up: My Western Trip From An "Eastern Perspective"

My trip West began, and ends, with thoughts of family.  Zach's graduation brought us all together to Walla Walla, Washington on May 20th.  We were thrilled, and continue to be awed, by the kind of men our son's are and what they have accomplished.  It is from that solid foundation and the support of my wife Debby that I have the opportunity to pursue my dream to reach distant summits.

Zach is now on his way to his own dream, a different summit from mine, and a very impressive one.  And Chris is just beginning on his new journey to pursue his dream, the goal in mind, but the trail ahead not yet clear, as he takes each step fearlessly making his own trail.

On my journey there were surprises, obstacles and at times different outcomes than I'd hoped . I felt joy, accomplishment and satisfaction, and intense disappointment.  What a great time I had!!!  Life is amazing!

Rainier during an evening hike

Reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier has been the goal that drove me for over a year.

Mt Rainier from near the Pinnacles

Mt. Rainier's Summit is a big, stretch goal for me, and although it's continued to elude me this time, it led me once again on an adventure, as my friend Max described it, of EPIC proportion.  I feel blessed, and disappointed at the same time.  Ultimately, achieving this goal will require me to reach deeper than I ever have before.

My new high point 12,300 feet, above Disappointment Clever

There were many successful "high points" on this trip: Half Dome, Mt. Whitney, Mt Diablo, Dickerman Mountain to name a few.

From Mt. Whitney's Summit

On the Summit Mt. Whitney

On the Summit Half Dome

On the Summit Dickerman Mountain

Top of Mt. Diablo

But, some days were just about getting out there and making the effort, only the dim idea of my goal in mind as I slogged up hill on Marin Street or the Dipsea trail, or spent hours on an elliptical machine at 180 West End Avenue .

Berkeley, California's Marin Street: It's steep!

50 lb pack on the Dipsea Trail

I feel blessed by the people who supported me on my journey.  It was so satisfying, exciting, joyful and humbling to experience the kindness, generosity, and joy of my friends and to get to know them better!  Thanks everyone!

Sister Judy on left, with Lavi

Wow, two months living with my "sister-in-law" Judy and I love her even more.  I think she feels the same.  Sorry I only got to break bread with dear friends Lavi and Arshad once on this trip.  Another reason to return.

My friend Arshad

Not only did my cousins Joan and Frank, and their son "Max" host me in their home for a week, they took me to a Giants game, drank with me, hung out with me at the US Open, made dinner for me several times, lent me a car, and hiked with me!!!  They also provided my "go to" washing machine!

Joan and Frank

Frank, and "Max" born on the 4th of July, really!

Then, there is the Sands family! Dean, Jill, Chris and Lynn! I also have to include the Freddo's in that grouping, another honorary Sands, (sorry I did not get a picture of Gail).  They housed me, lent me cars, trucks, and motor homes!  They took me places I did not even know I wanted to go.  Dean went with me to the mountain top!  Chris accompanied me to new heights in Lake Tahoe, as I finally experienced Mrs. K's Cabin where my lovely wife, Debby, declared our relationship into existence nearly 30 years ago!

Chris and Lynn on their boat, Lake Tahoe

Dean and Jim

Nicholas Freddo, Jim's son

Thanks Nick for some outstanding Mexican Food and for showing us the great places where surfers eat!

That's Jill on the left!

 Spencer and Josie are making their way in Santa Barbara.  That gave me a great excuse to stop and smell the Roses, Avocados, Lemons and other things in their garden, break bread and marvel at the wonderfulness of Spencer and Josie, the new american gothic pictured below:

Spencer and Josie!

Once again, as I headed to Mt. Rainier, David West was there to welcome me, feed me and join me on a hike, this time up Dickerman Mountain with Lulu.

David and Lulu

My experience with friends and family was so lovely and nurturing.  Thanks!  Please come and visit Debby and me in the "urban jungle".

I know there are those of you that doubt the existence of God, I am not one of them.  This trip took me to some of the most beautiful aspects of God's creation.  At times I took pictures, but mostly I just passed through these places, absorbing their energy, letting them wash over me and flow through me.  The beauty was breath taking and life affirming.  I wish I knew the name of all the flowers, etc., I don't....But sometimes trying to name and categorize everything gets in the way of just experiencing it....That's what I chose this time.  Just look, isn't nature spectacular?

I had the chance to experience nature in a deeply personal way in pursuit of my goal to Summit Mt. Rainier.  I fell short of that goal, stopped at the top of Disappointment Clever, by a combination of factors that I am still unsure of.  Was it lack of preparation, altitude, pace, some other intangible?  I'll never really know.  Sometimes things are simple, face your fear and pull yourself up a cable to the top, like the metaphorical "boot strap".  Other times you have to wonder if you have chosen something that is beyond your reach, outside of your ability....On Mt. Rainier, that still remains to be seen.  But, I know that my pursuit of its Summit has been a blessing in many unforeseen ways.

Mount Whitney: Highest Point in the lower 48

Dean and I began our trip to Mt Whitney in a luxurious motor home, which served as our base camp in Whitney Portal and later in Death Valley and on to San Diego, but I diverge. On the way from Placerville we blew a tire at about 8:30 pm and nearly an hour and a half from our campsite on June 2nd.  Fortunately, AAA and Dean's initiative led to  a quick resolution to our problem, with a very hard working road service man showing up with heavy duty equipment to change our tire and send us on our way.  The road up to Whitney Portal at night was steep and harrowing, but we were determined to make camp and did so successfully that night, just before midnight.

The next day we used our time to enjoy a cowboy museum in Lone Pine and prepare our supplies to begin climbing Whitney on June 4th.

Mt Whitney is dramatically different from Yosemite Valley.  It's much more wild and rustic, at times it seems prehistoric, a moonscape.

We had our work cut out for us on the first day.  The plan was to gain nearly 4000 vertical feet and over 7 miles with 50 lbs of equipment in our packs.  We began climbing just before 6:00 am.  As it turned out, we received warnings regarding 50-75 mph winds that night.  So we chose to camp lower at Outpost Camp nearly 1500 feet and 3 miles lower than our original plan.  We stopped at 2:00 in the afternoon and set up our tent about an hour before the wind began to howl.  It turned  out to be a great decision.  Our camp afforded some protection from winds that did approach 70 mph during the night.  At one point Dean held the tent down from the inside while I wrestled it from the outside and re-hammered the stakes that had pulled out.  We piled giant stones on the stakes to hold them in place for the rest of the night and tried to sleep.  At the first sight of daylight we were up and packed, leaving our camp behind to return that night after our summit attempt.  We faced a 14 mile round trip hike with 4000 feet of elevation gain to reach the top at 14,497 feet.

The water on the edge of a running stream was frozen, the temperature had plunged during the night, but the wind was beginning to die down and we finished our breakfast determined to make our best attempt.

At first we continued to have wind gusts approaching 30 mph, but by mid-morning it was sunny and beautiful.  We paced ourselves and stopped to eat and drink about every hour.  The climbing was nearly constant once we reached our intended camp at 12,000 feet.  Most of those who camped there had abandoned their attempt with their tents shredded by the high winds with little or no protection.  While we faced a much longer day, we were happy we still had a clear shot to climb the mountain.
Much of the trip up the 99 switch backs to Trail Crest is a blur of cardiac max out and the shear will to put one foot in front of the other.

As we reached the top of the switch backs we stopped to catch our breath, eat and drink.  We were not aware until we began again how close we were to the most magnificent view of the entire hike.  We stepped through an opening in the mountain and from horizon to horizon nothing but beautiful mountains and the Kings Canyon/ Sequoia National Park below us.

A small sample of the view near Trail Crest

It was getting late enough in the day that I was now having doubts about the wisdom of going to the summit.  I was pretty sure that we were facing some portion of the hike down in the dark, but the weather was perfect and promised to continue that way.  AT some point during the next hour very close to 14, 000 feet on the Pinnacles, Dean sent word that he wanted me to go for the summit and he would wait for me back at Trail Crest.  When I heard that, I " put the throttle down and went for the summit.  It was approaching 4:00 pm when I arrived, only one other climber was there and he left quickly.  I signed the register, took a few good hard looks around and headed back for "home".  It took me about an hour and a half to get back to Dean.  We made it down the most dangerous parts of the climb before dark, but had to hike for two hours on a dark trail with our headlamps before finally reaching camp, about 7 hours after leaving the summit.  It was a spectacular and exhausting day!

The Summit Plaque On Mt. Whitney

This hut atop the summit can be used as shelter in an emergency

On Top, Tired but happy!

The next morning Dean and I awoke again at dawn, quickly packed out and got to our morning chore, new tires for the motor home.  Then having conquered the highest point in the lower 48, we headed to Death Valley for a swim, a drink, a good meal and some relaxation near the lowest point in America, Badwater.

That white sign on the hill marks sea level!

Death Valley