Pushing My Own Limits & Finding My Adrenaline Rush

Vacations and Comfort Zones

Vacations to me are not meant to be something that is about comfort.  Vacations to me are all about escaping the everyday comforts that we have.  Vacations are for pushing your limits, going outside your comfort zone and getting an adrenaline rush.  For me - it's also a way to grow personally and expand my world beyond the every day.

My most recent vacation took me to the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Northeast Oregon and to Goat Rocks Wilderness in the Cascades of Washington.  While both backpacking locations initially didn't appear to provide anything really out of my comfort zones, Goat Rocks Wilderness proved me wrong.

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Pacific Crest Trail & Leading Blindly into the Clouds

The trip to Goat Rocks Wilderness started out with taking a route up that connected us to the Pacific Crest Trail and backpacking into the Cispus Basin.  Cispus Basin was beautiful with waterfalls and wild flowers every where.  What a peaceful place to set up camp for the night.

Camp at the Cispus Basin on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cispus Basin - Pacific Crest Trail - Goat Rocks Wilderness - Cascades

What we didn't know on day one is that the forecast we had seen when we last had cell service had probably changed for the following day.  A few hours after the sunset and after settling in the tent to listen to waterfalls in the basin, rain moved in.  Light showers coming in off the Pacific Coast fell off and on all night.  By early morning the rain had stopped and we got up to make breakfast, pack up and get ready to go.  We knew we had a long hike in front of us to climb up, cross the ridgeline and then drop back down to where we were going to camp in McCall Basin on the opposite side of the mountain ridge.  

Shortly after leaving camp we started hearing thunder in the distance.  As we continued to hike up toward the trail that would take us up to the ridgeline and over we started to get a good glimpse of what was coming at us.

View from the Pacific Crest Trail of the storm rolling in to the Cascades

We finally took a quick break in one of the last grove of trees to put on our full suit of rain gear and cover our packs.  Once we realized the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon and that there was no sign of lightning we decided to head out and brave the rain.  What we didn't expect was what we ended up getting ourselves in to.  

The weather continued to get worse as we hit the higher elevations.  The winds picked up, the clouds rolled in and visibility went down to almost nothing.  

My brother crossing the snowfield in the fog - visibility was low.

As we continued up and hit the ridgeline with steep slopes on either side of us, the wind picked up to what we were guessing was hurricane force speed.  Just standing up at times was difficult and with the fog so thick you couldn't see the trail in front of you, this day definitely pushed my limits.  

Pacific Crest Trail along the ridgeline at Goat Rocks Wilderness.  Photo credit: Ken Vanden Heuvel

But what was most amazing up there is when the wind would push the cloud over the ridge and you'd actually get a few seconds to glance down before the next one would blow in - the brief views we had were amazing.  In the end after hiking the few miles of this ridgeline for a couple of hours and some breaks to take deep breaths to calm my nerves, we made it across in one piece.  The only incident we had was watching the wind take hold of the rain cover from my pack and blowing it out to who knows where.  

The other surprising thing that day - for as busy as the Pacific Crest Trail can be with the hikers nearing the end of their journey, we saw no one else on the ridgeline this day.  We did run into one thru hiker later that day as we headed down to McCall Basin who crossed behind us.  We figure we were probably the only 3 fools who decided to cross that day.  It was definitely a nasty day and probably not the smartest move we've ever made in our lives, but it sure did provide for an adrenaline rush and great memories that I'll never forget.

Once over we headed down to the McCall Basin to camp and dealt with the rain for the remainder of the day and night.  The clouds finally broke sometime around morning.  We spent most of the next day exploring the McCall Basin with the elk that were in the area.  No other humans around.  This made up for what we went through the day before.  

McCall Basin in Goat Rocks Wilderness - Cascades

After exploring the McCall Basin we headed back out and back up toward the pass and ridgeline - yes, we had to go back over the next day.  We camped right below the climb back up to the ridgeline and right in view of Mt Rainier.  We had great views for sunset and sunrise.

Finally the next day we hiked back up and over the ridgeline with the sun out and winds that you could stand up in.  It was an amazing hike back seeing all the glaciers and valleys below.  I was glad we were able to head back over and see what we couldn't see the first time over.

View of Mt Rainier from the Pacific Crest Trail and the trail along the ridgeline

Our last stop for this trip was a night at Goat Lake.  The most amazing thing, it was August 31, 2013 and Goat Lake still had ice partially covering it.  Beautiful lake, but a little too crowded with it being Labor Day weekend.  Thankfully we found a campsite that had a great view of Mt Adams and the valley below.  And for a place call Goat Rocks Wilderness, this was the only place I saw mountain goats.  How fitting.

A view from the Pacific Crest Trail of Goat Lake

Overall this trip was amazing and probably more amazing because I pushed my limits, went outside of my comfort zone and crossed that ridgeline.  And if I had to do it all over again, I'd be right up there taking on the hurricane force winds and crossing that ridgeline.  

Hope your vacations push your limits and take you outside your comfort zones.  Make it an epic vacation and something that you'll always remember.

And as with most blog posts, I like to end with a John Muir quote - this one seems perfect as I received much more than I seeked on this journey.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.  John Muir

Never Giving Up - Adventure on the Trails

Being an avid outdoors person, I have encountered more than my share of things that would make most people pause, stop and possibly turn around on the trails.  But not me!  I find times like that as the perfect opportunity to stop, assess the situation, analyze the possibilities and then make the next move.  This goes for encounters with wildlife and crazy weather conditions.

Wildlife on the Trails

I think of all of them, wildlife is the scariest, but is also the most amazing.  Mountain Biking has usually provided me the most interesting encounters.

Running into a mother black bear with her two cubs in northern Wisconsin.  Thankfully I saw them early enough that I was able to stop, assess and turn my bike sideways to make myself look bigger and then just wait.  Finally after standing on her hind legs, she dropped down and took her cubs back into the woods.  After a little while, I jumped back on my bike and continued on - definitely making sure to watch and listen closely as I rode by where she wandered into the woods.

The second scariest was while mountain biking in Moab, UT.  Taking a break at the top of the Amasa Back trail, I took a walk to the edge to look at the Colorado River and was standing next to a tree.  Next I know I heard a rattle - let me say - I looked, saw how far away it was and backed away quickly.  I don't mind snakes, but standing close to a rattlesnake is not where I wanted to be.  The bike ride back down Amasa Back was much more uneventful.

Crazy Weather on the Trails

Backpack with me and be ready for anything.  Because that's probably what you're going to get.  Rain - not just rain, but torrential rains, snow, sleet, wind, mud, ice...  Shall I go on?  It will definitely be a trip you'll never forget.

Cabinet Mountains and Glacier National Park

My most memorable was a vacation out west.  First three days was a trip up into the Cabinet Mountain range of Montana.  On day two as we climbed up to St Paul Pass the storm moved in.  Not a bad storm, but snow started falling as soon as we got to the top of the pass.  What makes it memorable is when you are heading down and you realize that with all the wet snow and then rain, that your Goretex boots have finally given out.  

St Paul Pass, Cabinet Mountains

It was a long hike back down to camp in the rain and snow with cold, wet feet.  At camp I had to ring out my socks and put them back on.  Still had one more day before heading out and moving on to Glacier National Park for part two of the trip.  The next morning my socks were almost frozen when I put them on and made the long hike back down to the car.  

Thankfully we found one store in Libby, MT that had a pair of boots.  I bought them and decided I would break them in while backpacking through Glacier National Park over the next four days.  And I had plenty of opportunities to make sure they were waterproof.  Almost every day in Glacier National Park it rained.  Lots of rain, lots of mud and glaciers. 

Boulder Peak - Glacier National Park

Someday I really need to go back here and see the back country without the rain.  

El Chalten, Argentina

Yes, typical Patagonia weather, hard to predict.  Woke up one day and decided to hike the trail up to Fitz Roy - it was supposed to be a nice day.  I thought perfect day to view the infamous Fitz Roy.  I packed my lunch and threw my rain gear in my backpack for a day trip.  As I headed up - the weather changed.  Rain, sleet, snow - it was all there.  At the climber's camp many people were hanging out in the shelter and turning around to head back down.  From there up to the lake and the route to Fitz Roy was where the wind and wet snow really hit.  While most people turned around to head back to town - I continued and ventured up alone to the top.  Very slowly climbing the trail of wet, snow covered rocks, I finally made it to the top.  I connected up with the two other guys who ventured up before me - the three of us exchanged cameras and turned around knowing if time permitted, we'd have to come back.  The weather was so bad you could just see the lake but no view of Fitz Roy.

Lago de Los Tres and "Fitz Roy"

Thankfully - I did have the extra day and did get to go back up and catch a great view of Fitz Roy.  Gotta love Patagonia and the crazy weather.

Lago de Los Tres and Fitz Roy on a clear day.

Nope, I never gave up and continued on with my adventures and still do so today.  I love the adventure, I love the challenges it all brings and by never giving up - I always feel accomplished when the adventure is over.  And then of course, I'm ready to start planning for the next.