Mt Whitney - The Journey

Applying to Join Backpacker Magazine

It's hard to believe it's been just over 9 months already since I applied to join Backpacker Magazine and their editor Jonathan Dorn to climb Mt Whitney, the highest point in the "lower" 48 states.  Knowing it would be an incredible journey if I was picked not only because would it provide me a chance to combine skills I've gained from various other climbing and hiking I've done into an actual mountaineering experience, but also because it was in conjunction with Summit For Someone (SFS).  I've seen the ads in Backpacker Magazine for years, checked out their website for climbs and have contemplated going on a journey with them because of what SFS stands for and how it supports and benefits Big City Mountaineers.

And with the help of a lot of friends who showed their support by posting comments on my "I Want to Climb Mt Whitney" blog post about why I should be selected, I found out in October 2012 I was selected.

Getting Selected to Climb Mt Whitney

I think the day I found out I was selected to go along on this journey I went through a lot of emotions.

• Excitement - wow, I was going to get to do this.
• Worry - do I have a pet sitter?  My parents will be in Hawaii in April.
• Distress - What did I get myself into?  
• I now have to raise $4,000 
• I have to train for another climb (having just done Mt Kilimanjaro earlier in 2012)

But again - all of the things I was worried about fell in place.  My parents arrive back the day before I leave - pets will be taken care of.  Training started immediately in October and I'm feeling pretty good and strong. And again, incredible friends reached out to me when I put out the call that I was going to climb Mt Whitney and helped me to raise the money for this great cause.

And Now It's Time to Climb Mt Whitney

• The training is done.  
• The gear not already owned is purchased.  
• Test packing all this gear in the pack is done.
• Travel from Las Vegas to Lone Pine is coordinated.
• Mentally, I am prepared!

And most importantly - team Whitney Four-Teeners is psyched about what we're doing, the reason we're doing it and having the opportunity to meet and make some new lifelong friends.

And as John Muir said  -  "The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go."  

The time has come, the journey begins and a summit is within our near future.  Mt Whitney - here I come!

Inspirations... Friends, Training and the Unknown

It's hard to believe tomorrow is already March 1st.  Less than two months away from my big adventure to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states.

The journey so far has been very inspiring for me.  What's inspired me?

• My absolutely amazing friends and network of support.  Because this adventure is also a benefit climb to support Big City Mountaineers through Summit for Someone, I'm really finding out how absolutely amazing my friends are.  When initially selected by Backpacker Magazine to join them in this journey, my biggest fear was not the actual climb itself, but rather the thought that I was going to have to go out and raise $4,000 for the benefit.  My friends have supported me through this by donating both their hard earned money and talents through having their bands play a benefit.  I'm just humbled by all of this.

• Training - Getting ready for an adventure requires a lot of dedication and training to prepare for the trip.  Inspiration for training comes from a number of sources, including
• My fellow climbers and I've never even met them yet. 
• Again, my absolutely amazing friends.  Joining me on snowshoeing trips.  Asking me how training is going.  Training yourselves (that always makes me want to push harder.)   

• The Unknown - 
• Having done ice climbing, hiking, snowshoeing, rock climbing, backpacking, etc - but never having to do all of it on the same trip, inspiring.  
• Getting ready to meet a group of people I've never met before who all love to do the same things I do, inspiring.
• Knowing I'll help at-risk youth I'll never meet to succeed in life, inspiring.  

There are so many unknowns with this trip, as with most trips, but that's part of the adventure.  And what is life without any adventures.  Adventures are what inspires me.  

2013 - Resolutions and the Great Outdoors

2013 is now underway and I've been starting to think about what do I want to do this year.  No, I didn't make any resolutions on New Year's Eve, but I have ideas in my head of some of the things I want to accomplish this year and here's to hoping I can make them work out.

Doing Good for a Cause - Big City Mountaineers

In 2012 I was determined to give back more which I did, but not as much as I wanted.  So in 2013 - I've committed myself to Summit for Someone and doing a benefit climb with them and Backpacker Magazine to support Big City Mountaineers.  I'll be raising $4,000 to help out some well deserved at-risk youth gain opportunities to have a one-on-one mentoring experience in a wilderness experience.  In my opinion, it's two-fold, not only will these kids come out with an experience that will provide them some great skills to help them get through school and become leaders to their peers, they'll also get a great experience in the wilderness, which is something I hold close to my heart.

And in return as I'm doing this through Summit for Someone, I'm going to get to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, meet some new people and hopefully make some new life long friends.

Summit For Someone

More Training - Wilderness First Responder

Last year - I invested time into becoming Wilderness First Aid certified to make myself more readily available when I'm out in wilderness settings.  It made me feel more confident to take other people out hiking and camping and getting them to experience what I really love.  This year I plan to take it another step further and get the Wilderness First Responder certification.

Why?  Because I really love being in the back country and experiencing life unlike the majority of the people I know.  And I would really love to take some of the people who want to see this part of the country / world with me.  But doing so requires me to be prepared to take care of not only myself, but those who have placed their trust in me as well.  By getting certified - I get trained on standards and protocols to follow to ensure that if someone gets hurt, they'll be in good hands until I can get them out or get emergency personnel in.

Driftless Area - Wisconsin

Yes - I do have more to explore.  In 2012 I found the Black River State Forest where you can go backpacking.  I hiked a few trails in the forest, but didn't get time to go back and do any backpacking.  In 2013, I'm determined to get back there and take the dogs on a weekend backpack trip in the forest.

And I would like to go back to the Kickapoo River Valley area and do some backpacking on the trails along the river.  This was probably the most magical of the Driftless area I found in 2012.  It was just amazing.

Kickapoo River Valley area.  Wisconsin's "mountains".

So I'm extending an offer to anyone who reads this to join me in 2013 to visit one of these area's with me.  Don't worry if you don't have the gear - I know where we can get it.

Exploring Beyond Wisconsin

I have a few ideas of ideas I would like to explore in 2013 beyond Mt Whitney (not sure what, if anything I'll actually get to do yet).  

• A trip back out to Colorado and Utah to do some mountain biking, climbing and backpacking.  Specifically I would like to get out to SW Utah and check out Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.
• Head back out east to explore - haven't gone in that direction in a number of years.  West Virginia's Dolly Sods Wilderness, the White Mountains of New Hampshire or something else.

That should keep me busy most of the year beyond camping in and around Wisconsin's State Parks.  And exploring my own backyard in Milwaukee.  Looking forward to a good 2013.  Join me if you want.  

2012 - A Year Outdoors

Great Outdoors

Never realized when I titled my blog the Great Outdoors that literally I'd be spending so much time in the outdoors.  And 2012 has proven to be just a bunch of experiences enjoying life outside.  I'm so glad I have the ability and opportunities to experience what I do and look forward to doing more of it in 2013 and bringing more people along for the hike.

Mt Kilimanjaro

January and February, I trained, trained and trained some more as I got ready to tackle one of the seven summits - Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.  It was quite an experience.  To not only climb 19,340 ft (5895 m), but to meet some great people, experience a different culture and throw in a safari to boot.  

Uhuru Peak - Mt Kilimanjaro

42 Nights of Camping

Yes, 42 nights - that's a lot (12% of nights in 2012).  I beat 2011 by 2 nights.  I don't intend to beat 42 in 2013.  Some experiences were great, some ok and some stressful (when you lose your phone).  The majority of the best nights in a tent came with a backpacking experience.  But also - a few camping experiences allowed me to get people out camping with me and help them (or most of them) gain an appreciation of the outdoors.  And finally I got to explore a lot more of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.  Hiking and camping in state parks I'd never been to.  I think I now have the entire driftless area covered for state parks.

Backpacking

The first night in a tent came back in February 2012 with a snowshoe trip up in the Kettle Crest Range in northern Washington.  Hanging out up in the mountains overnight in the winter was incredible.  Not only was I the first one to sign in to the log book on Wapaloosie Mountain for 2012, but from the top we could also see into Canada.  

View from camp in the Kettle Range Mountains of Washington 

Other memorable backpacking experiences of 2012:

• Yellow River State Forest in Iowa - the hilly area of Iowa.  Very pretty, quiet.  May 2012
• Superior Trail in northern Minnesota - what a beautiful area.  Need to get back here again.  Labor Day weekend.
• Kokanee Glacier National Park in British Columbia, Canada.  Beautiful and quiet in mid-September.  But sad to see the glacier is receding.  Hopefully they get a lot of snow pack this year to help build it back up.

Other Great Experiences

View from Mt Kit Carson, Spokane, WA

• Timms Hill - Wisconsin's highest point.  Not quite the same as Kilimanjaro, but still another one of the USA's 50 highest points picked off.  (1500+ ft)
• Christmas in Washington - got to visit my brother in Newman Lake and take in some great hikes and snowshoeing in the area.  Finally got to go to Mt Spokane State Park and get to the top of Mt Kit Carson via snowshoe.  (And had the peak to myself)
• Dogs - Jasmine and Wailea made it another year - ableit a few surgeries to fix a torn ACL (Wailea) and remove a ~7 lb tumor and her spleen (Jasmine).  The dogs managed to get in 33 nights in a tent and traveled to 6 states.  Hopefully both remain healthy enough to continue in 2013.  

Backpacker Magazine, Mt Whitney and 2013

Mid-year 2012 I found out Backpacker Magazine was offering up to its readers an opportunity to climb Mt Whitney with their editor, Jon Dorn.  So in July, I wrote and submitted an essay, wrote my "I Want to Climb Mt Whitney" blog post and had wonderful friends support me via posts to it to try and get to selected to join Backpacker in their Mt Whitney summit attempt.  

After what seemed like forever, I got a response.  I was lucky enough to be selected to join Backpacker Magazine to climb Mt Whitney and support a great organization - Big City Mountaineers via Summit for Someone.  

Which brings me to 2013.  This climb is in April 2013, but I've started training and am really looking forward to this opportunity.  I'll get to the highest point in the contiguous 48 states (and highest point in CA), experience mountaineering, meet new people and make new friends, help some under-privileged youth get a great experience as well and finally get to the Sierra Nevada's.  I can't wait.  I'm sure this will be one of my highlights for 2013.

Special Thanks

Thank you to everyone who has joined me and supported me in all the adventures of 2012.  And if you didn't join me - feel free to join me in 2013.

Training for Mt Whitney - the Fun Training Day

Mt Whitney Training Schedule

As I'm getting ready for my climb up Mt Whitney next April, I have a weekly workout schedule that Summit For Someone suggests we follow.  The schedule has us working out 5 days a week with Monday's and Friday's off.

The weekday schedule comprises of cross training, cardio and weight training.  Not bad, but now with it being dark in the morning and night, it means training indoors which isn't quite as much fun.  I've been trying to figure out what can I do to make it more exciting.  So I've decided to dig out my Pimsleur's Spanish CD and refresh my Spanish.  So if anyone sees me walking around speaking Spanish, don't be surprised.  Just answer me.  (habla Espanol?)

The weekend training is the best part.  Cross training and hiking.  I specifically like the hiking day.  It's not only good training for the trip, but I have some great friends who are coming along on the hikes and making the day all that more enjoyable.  You almost forget you're out there for a reason.  (Not that I really need a reason to hike.)

So a big thank you to my friends - I'm glad I have you all to make hiking all that much more fun!

Gracias!

Climbing Mt Whitney

Backpacker Magazine Makes It Selections

And yes, I was one of the lucky ones selected to join them for the summit attempt on Mt. Whitney.

First off, a big special thanks to everyone who made a comment on my blog post "I Want to Climb Mt Whitney" when I was pleading for them to select me.  All your comments helped.

And for those of you who don't know - Mt Whitney is the highest peak in the continental 48 states (find out more).  And it is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains which is on my bucket list of places to get to.

Big City Mountaineers

Why climb Mt Whitney?  Well - in response there two reasons.

1. Because as mentioned earlier - this area is on my bucket list and climbing Mt Whitney would be the best part of experiencing it.
2. Because it's going to help raise funds for a great cause - Big City Mountaineers

One of the greatest reasons I wanted to do this was because it's part of Summit For Someone.  They provide great opportunities for individuals to summit incredible mountains around the world all while raising funds for Big City Mountaineers.  This is something I've been wanting to do for years.  

Big City Mountaineers is a great cause and helps under resourced and at risk teens to gain valuable life skills through wilderness mentoring expeditions.  Some facts about the youth involved in the programs:

• 100% are eligible for free or reduced lunch programs
• 83% are from families that report an average household income of $15,000 or less
• 71% are from single parent or guardian-led households

After participating with Big City Mountaineers, 100% of the youth report significant improvements in:

• Commitment to Learning
• Positive Values
• Social Competencies
• Positive Identity

 (source: BigCityMountaineers.org)

So twofold for me.  We are able to help out youth who may never get to experience what the wilderness is like and provide positive influences through mentoring.  And (personal hope) that these youth gain an appreciation for our natural places and share that with their community of influence.

How Can You Help?

My climb is part of the fund raising program for Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.  As part of  my climb, I'm required to raise a minimum of $4,000 that will be used to help teens overcome a lifetime of challenges.

My Challenge To You

Help Me get there and help these youth get the opportunity to participate in this wonderful mentoring opportunity.

Donating is both easy and tax deductible.  

• Go to my Summit For Someone Climber Page
• Donate $100 or any amount you can give 
• Get a big thank you from me!!

Really - if you do donate, I want to thank you in advance.  Your donation and generosity will be greatly appreciated by those who are able to experience the Big City Mountaineers program.

Donate Now

I Want to Climb Mt Whitney

Backpacker Magazine is climbing Mt. Whitney for Kids.  They are offering up a contest for people to join them on their journey.

As an avid outdoors person and personally having the Sierra Nevada's as one of my top spots to want to go, I am entering this contest. 

Friends / Readers - one of the things that will help me to prove why Backpacker Magazine should select me is YOUR voice.  Leave a comment to this blog as to why you think Backpacker Magazine should pick me to help them raise money for Big City Mountaineers and join them as they push to the summit of Mt Whitney.

For more info you can also visit my website - My Mount Whitney Plea.