Rainier Training

So, I'm not sure if people know, but I'm going to climb Mt. Rainier. Everyone knows about Mt. Rainier? Well, as usual, wikipedia does a better job explaining than my words.

Mt. Rainier is an active^[1] stratovolcano (also known as a composite volcano) in Pierce County, Washington, located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is the highest peak in the Cascade Range and Cascade Volcanic Arc at 14,410 feet (4,392 m). The mountain and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Rainier National Park. With 26 major glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states with 35 square miles (91 km²) of permanent snowfields and glaciers.

It's a freakin active volcano! Holy shit. I hope I don't get attacked by the magma monster as I'm glacier travelling. Well, a bigger problem than getting attacked by the magma monsters is my physique. I've always climbed ever since college, but this is quite an anaerobic exercise. Additionally, I've never been the one to be an endurance athlete, and this worried be quite a bit when I decided to do it.

My co-worker, Annie, has a blog of our training so far: www.rainiergirl.blogspot.com Check it out if ya'll want to see our past training minutes. Continuing with my story: so I decided to give this a try, and actually train for this climb. It'll be a long and hard climb, and I was not entirely sure I was ready for it. Sooo, I broke bank and purchased a road bike, which I started riding to work whenever I could (it's about 6-7miles?). I still climb at Stone Gardens, and I do an ab workout pretty much 2-3 times a week. Having a strong core muscle is especially important since you'll be carrying a 30-40lb pack.

So that brings us to my day today: Annie and I went to this beautiful spot called Wallace Falls near Stevens pass. It was quite a ways from Seattle, but the hike was beautiful. We're both trying to get used to hiking with heavy packs and our uber stiff moutaineering boots. During this hike, I found my first geocache with Annie's help! Holy crap, I was ecstatic. Here is the photo to prove it.

Here is Annie and I:
Annie has a digital SLR, and when she posts pictures, I'll probably update here. Overall, I can see myself improving, I'm not panting the first few minutes on the trail like I used to. 6-7 miles of hike used to frighten me, but I feel relaxed and comfortable these days. We have a Tiger Mt. cable line training hike this Wednesday. We'll probably have 40lb in our backpack, and die with thousand blisters from our boots. Hopefully not- this hike is pretty much up up up with a steep incline, so good luck to our group. Woot!