Paddles and Peaks....

Mount Rainier adventure - Intro and Day 1 (of 4)

It seems a brutal sufferfest has become a yearly Yogaslacker tradition
and this year we went to Washington for our dose. The plan was to
climb up one side of Mount Rainier, ski down the other, packraft out
the White River to the bicycles stashed at Buckley, and bicycle back
to the cars over 4 days. As usual, things did not go as planned. For
starters the weather was a bit iffy and there was a lot of fresh snow.
Then we discovered the west side road in the park was closed. The
chosen route up was changed to the Success Cleaver, with the
distinction of being the longest route on the mountain.

After stashing the bicycles in Buckley we got our park permits and
continued sorting and prepping and packing gear under an old gas
station bay which provided some protection from the rain. We had come
from all over, Andy flew in from North Dakota. I had been at Smith
Rock and drove up from Portland, OR that morning to pick him up at the
Airport. Sam drove all the way from N. Dakota in a marathon of sleep
deprivation. Jason and Chelsey drove up from California, but had just
come from Costa Rica. We were all veterans of last year's Montana trip
except for Chelsey, but she had been hanging out with Jason long
enough that she sort of knew what she was getting into - exhausted,
scared, cold, wet, and even more exhausted. But exactly how much none
of us really knew. Eventually we thought we had all the food and gear
ready (some of this was gear we were just getting for the first time -
always exciting to go on a serious expedition with new gear). The
packs weighed in somewhere around 35 pounds which is pretty light
considering they included alpine touring ski and whitewater boating
gear. Some of the weight savings were in one ultra lightweight 3
person tent and 2 sleeping bags for the 5 of us along with Alpacka
packrafts and inflatable PFD's (life jackets) for the river. We set
the alarm and slept in our vehicles listening to the rain and hoping
the forecast break in the weather materialized.
The morning was gray and dreary and it was difficult to take off our
warm clothes and head up the trail. The closed road meant we ended up
starting at the Kautz Creek trailhead at around 2400 feet of
elevation. Soon we were hiking under a foggy drizzle on snow in
sneakers for everyone but me who was in sandals and wetsuit socks. All
of our feet were cold. Eventually we lost the trail in the snow and
decided it was time to start skiing. Our feet thanked us at first. We
were using Dynafit bindings and 130 cm skis with skins to go uphill.
The skins stick to the bottom and have hairs pointing backwards that
keep the skis from sliding back and allowed us to shuffle uphill as
long as it wasn't too steep, in which case we had to switchback.
As we got higher the snowfall picked up and the visibility decreased.
Route finding got a little more interesting, but by a combination of
map and compass reading and dead reckoning we actually spotted the
buried cabin along our route. Once we approached tree line things got
a little harder. For the leader visibility was almost zero with the
slight texture of the snow fading into the surrounding whiteout as
little as 3 feet in front of their skis.
The rest of us were able to
see the tracks and the person in front for orientation. It was
incredibly taxing leading as it was hard to tell the slope let alone
where you were supposed to go. We dodged around cliffs and steep
slopes and eventually decided we were near the pyramid peak saddle.
From there we dropped down to the saddle and started up the Success
Cleaver ridge. At least the route finding was a lot easier here, just
head uphill the easiest way we could find.
We continued on uphill using the altimeter to navigate and just as we
were approaching a planned camping spot the cloud level dropped enough
to reveal the upper mountain and a little later we were treated to a
view of Mount St. Helens as well. we set up camp here as the sun set
digging into the snow and constructing a wall as a windblock. The CAMP
XLS shovels worked well for moving the snow, and the paddles worked
well for cutting it. Not the usual combination for mountaineering, but
if you are carrying it you might as well use it.

When we went to start cooking we discovered we had no matches or
lighter (we had discussed this while packing but somehow didn't
rectify the situation). Sam had a flint and we were able to start the
stove with sparks. That night we had tasty dried Indian food with
butter (one of the advantages of cold weather camping). Then we got to
test out our minimalist sleeping accomodations. As I mentioned we had
a three person tent and 2 sleeping bags for five of us. This sounds
worse than it was, but not by much. For starters the tent was a
warmlight model that had an incredible amount of space for it's
weight. It was larger than most 3 person tent's I've seen. Besides, we
wanted to be packed in tight for warmth, and we were packed in tight.
Sam, Andy, and I were under a 2 person "bag" that didn't have a
bottom. Jason and Chelsey were under a similar one person arrangement.
If 2 of us were on our sides we could barely get the edges of the bag
down to the ground. Jason and Chelsey weren't so lucky, but when they
were wedged next to us, we didn't need to get the sides between us
down to the ground. That brings me to the ground - or should I say the
snow. Immediately under the sil-nylon floor was the snow. The pads we
had were very lightweight and sort of had an hourglass of inflatable
insulation to cover your shoulders and hips if you could stay on them.
Our feet were mostly fine in ski boot liners, but it seemed that
whatever position I was in there was always some part of me touching
and being frozen by the snow. In addition my rehydration plans were
wildly successful resulting in multiple trips outside to relieve
myself. Luckily we were planning an early start, as I didn't get much
more than half an hour of sleep.

Squeezy Beans part 2 of 2

Chelsey reporting: (continued from previous post)

We arrived at the little pulperia (store) in Carate 26 k later. It was literally the end of the road. Our bellies were fairly full off of coconut meat, mangos, bananas and guavas that we had found along the way, but still had our hearts and growling stomachs set on some squeezy beans. No dice. Packets of M&M's, soda crackers, peanuts, some beers and coke was all that was left at this little store, which consisted of a small counter and a few shelves. We were quite disappointed at this point, but settled on a coke, a pack of peanuts and a pack of M&M's. Our disappointment grew when we paid the bill, $6! After living off of the land and squeezy beans it seemed as though we had gotten pretty spoiled. Our dreams of outfitting the rest of our trek from the store were dashed. Not only were the choices super limited, but we couldn't have afforded it! Luckily, however, the Pulperia wasn't the end of the road for us.

A few years back I'd volunteered at Luna Lodge which is about 1.5 k up into the rain forest above Carate. It is a beautiful spot over looking the Osa and bordering the Corcovado National Park. I had helped build part of the road up to the lodge in return for meals and yoga classes. In hopes to stay and show the place to Jason and Dan, we hiked on up the hill. We arrived 30 minutes later dripping with sweat. We were greeted warmly by "Mom" on the deck over looking the beautiful rainforest. We were sold, once you walk all the way up there and see the place, it is almost impossible to leave. After a late afternoon of relaxing and talking, the night ended with an amazing dinner and a big cozy bed in a beautiful cabina. The next morning we did yoga on the yoga deck, followed by breakfast and a full day of acro yoga play and slacklining.


To get the most out of our time we decided to stay until dinner and then hike 55km through the entire Corcovado National Park - nonstop. "Mom" at Luna Lodge was so helpful, as soon as she heard our crazy plan (most people take 3 days) she hooked us up with some granola and 15 sandwiches (9 bean, 3 cheese and 3 peanut butter and jelly) We were stoked. After another amazing dinner of fresh fish, we said our goodbyes to our new friends, filled up our waterbottles with coffee, sugar and milk and tried to get some shut eye before are 1 am wake up call. At 1:30 am we were off, hiking along pristine and remote beaches, with no need for a headlamp. The stars were the brightest we'd ever seen. There was no moon, but the light of the Milky Way almost gave us shadows. We didn't have much in the way of maps, only a cartoon map that we picked up along the way which gave us a rough estimate on the length and times of each ranger station. We had heard that high tide was at 7am, so our first goal was to get past the beach section by then. After the beach section, the trail wound for miles through primary growth rain forests. The topic of choice at the Luna Lodge dinner table the night before was about Pit Viper snakes that came out at night in the rainy season... and spiders that made webs across the trail and would bite you when you walked through them.... We did not want to be hiking in the dark! We ran much of it, stopping to marvel at the tapirs, monkeys, and leaf-cutter ants. It was so surreal to be in that place.

By 1 pm we made it out of the park and into Los Patos, the last ranger station! Sweet. We were almost home free. We kicked off our shoes and enjoyed our new favorite meal: bean sandwiches. Ahhh, not long now.... by 3 we would be in La Palma enjoying a full plate of gallo pinto con huevos! Not quite... right when we were getting ready to go again the rain started trickling... then it started raining a little bit harder.... then "BOOOOM", "CRACK"... it started to down pour. Dan and Jason were able to fill up their water bottles in minutes, just from the mini-waterfall off the roof. It didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon, off we went into the jungle, running up and down rough trails that had turned into little muddy slippery rivers. Thunder and lightning flashes were every where. It was amazing. There's nothing like being wet to the bone and trail running through the jungle. By the time it stopped raining we were onto our last 13 k section into La Palma. With 22 river crossings to go, our wet feet didn't even phase us.


Dan had hidden pack of squeezy beans as emergency rations, so with 5k to go, we all sat down in the middle of the wet and muddy road and passed around the packet of refried Super-GU. He'd been holding on to it since Uvita, the very beginning of the trip. It was a symbolic end to another amazing, epic journey.

Squeezy Beans - the new endurance superfood? (part 1 of 2)

Jason here: As an American, I often find myself falling into the trap of culturo-centrism, even unconsciously. The semi-conscious thought that the best of the world is found in the USA. We have clean water, grocery stores full of every imaginable variety of food, and all the latest technological gizmos to make life easier. As an athlete, I've become accustomed to scientifically designed superfoods to fuel me along on expeditions and endurance races. GU, RawRev bars, Perpetuem, Nuun and U-hydration tablets....

From Uvita to Osa

Unfortunately, we'd used our entire supply during our race Coast to Coast, thinking that we'd spend the next 10 days hanging out on the beach catching waves and rays. The three of us headed to Uvita, on the Pacific coast, and spent a blissful few hours playing softball with the local ex-pats (Daniel had never played and had to have the rules explained, although he hit a home run his second time at bat!), slacklining, eating mangoes, and surfing. But already we were getting stir crazy. I think that none of us was ready for the race to be over. Well not the race directly, but just that sense of purpose and comraderie and simplicity that comes with it. That afternoon, on my sixth wave, I was heading right, trying to make a section. Not quite fast enough, the wave broke on me, and snapped my (borrowed) longboard. It was a crazy feeling to have the board break while I was riding it, and I continued to ride it for a few seconds until I actually realized that I was missing the nose of the board. Like how Wiley Coyote runs off a cliff and only falls once he realizes that there is no longer ground underneath him. We hung in there for one more day, before the tension became too much. We needed Solitude. I asked Chelsey where the most remote and beautiful part of the country was, answered quickly - the Osa penninsula. At 5 AM the next morning, we boarded a bus. The bus took us to Puerto Jiminez, which is as far as busses go. A rough road continued for another 42 km - to a place Carate at the end of the peninsula. After Carate, the primary rain forest of the Cocovado National Park began. 4WD taxis to Carate were $50 - out of the question for us. So we hatched a new plan. We'd walk the coast road to Carate, visit a place called Luna Lodge (for a day of yoga) and then trek/run the 50 km of pristine beach and jungle trails through the park - coming out on the other side where we could catch a bus. So much for resting for a week. We headed to the local market for provisions, hoping for some sort of compact nutrient dense food, we were not too optimistic though. Would we find anything remotely like what we were used to carrying on our expeditions? Enter Squeezy Beans. Looking like a giant packet of GU, the shelves were stocked with variously spiced refried beans. Tear off the top and squeeze it into your mouth. Deliscious, salty, and nutritious. Why haven't they thought of this in the states? Almost every race food we use is sweet and expensive, and here in Costa Rica, we'd found a super cheap, abundantly available, easily packable savory treat. Each pack was the perfect size for splitting between the three of us. We bought 4, and set off. According to the maps there was a small town called Matapalo about halfway to Carate where we would resupply. 4 hours later, we were in Matapolo, and found that it was not so much a town, as a collection of eco-lodges. No store at all. So we gathered mango and coconuts for dinner, and taught the owners of one of the lodges a bit of AcroYoga and slacklining in exchange for a beach tent to sleep in.

From Uvita to Osa

The next day we did yoga on the beach, surfed all afternoon at a beautiful secluded break named "Germany". We'd intended to hike to Carate during the cool night, but a massive storm came up. We walked through it to a lodge/restuarant and did a series of Acro demos, and I ended up giving a flying massage to the owner of a nearby lodge. He bought us dinner. The owner of the surfboards we'd rented, said we could sleep in the open under the eaves of his beachside surf lounge and catch a sunrise session in the waves. So we spent a beautiful night in the open, and were alone (except for a few stinging jellyfish) in the warm tropical water as the sun rose. After surfing, we did yoga again, collected fruit and some coconut meat, and began the 26 km trek to Carate. We'd been assured that there was a small pulperia (roadside store) and we were very excited to get our hands on more Squeezy beans.