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Hike into Maiden Peak Ski Shelter

December 12, 2014 (Night)

Exercise Type: Walk

Weather: right around freezing, dark

Comments:
BUSY day: I worked 'til noon, but then had an extra pool visit on top of that 'til one. Then I had my own PT appointment - learned some good new stretches to work on my hammies, which are brutal. THEN I had to stick around because one of my old patients was going to start seeing Mike (he's a 22 year old with autism and some other neurological stuff), and his family wanted me there to bridge the gap, and *I* wanted to be there to learn from Mike!

Unfortunately, that went way long, and I barely left Junction City before 4. Drove back to EUG, picked up Kelly Woodke, then went back to my place to finish packing. I had Callie Alice drive to my place, and by 5 or so we were finally on the road.

The plan was to meet Dan-O and the Hammer up there, who left at 1, and new girl Ann, who left even earlier.

Really pumped to have Kelly come along. Since I've known him, he'd been drifting away from ultras toward other stuff (yoga, cross-fit), but now that he's signed up for Bighorn 100, he's doing more of this stuff. He's a great guy...and a bit of a smart ass. Maybe ten minutes down the road he asked Callie about her boyfriend, and (in a snarky-slash-humerous way) asked how he's OK with her going off with all these guys.

Lolz. It's interesting. At my massage on Wednesday, I talked to Kelly about Callie. I told him that I thought she was cute and nice (and had a boyfriend), but I didn't reveal my hand. But it seemed like he knew already and was pushing buttons for us both.

Drove to Oakridge and stopped at Subway to eat, then hammered up to Willamette Pass. It was raining down in Oakridge, but thankfully there ws no active precip when we parked at the PCT trailhead, about 0.75mi from the Waldo finish. Once we got there, Kelly got an email from Ann: she had gotten lost and couldn't find the cabin, so she hiked out and wasn't coming. Bummer!

From there, the three of us mounted up and - with snowshoes on packs - we started hiking.

It was a LONG hike. The packs were jammed full and heavy, including a total of about 21 beers or so, in addition to the food and water. I rolled behind Kelly, who set the pace, and Callie, whose butt I got to look at for a couple hours. :-)

Good footing all the way to the Upper Rosary, and only around then was there appreciable snow, but we avoided the 'shoes and kept going. Above the Rosaries, I took over and pushed just a bit faster, with Callie Alice right on my tail.

The last section took FOREVER - to the point where both Kelly and I were a bit worried we'd missed the teeny cabin, which is well off the PCT. But finally, 6.5 miles and 2.5 hours later, we saw a little yellow light in the trees.

Thankfully, when we pulled in, there was Dan-O and the Hammer! Rejoice! We piled into the drafty cabin into some good warmth from a solid stove fire. I was officially excited.

Just as we'd changed and cracked our first beer, another light appeared. The cabin is 100% free and unreservable, so it's first-come, first-serve and everyone welcome. This guy Matt appeared, and, a few minutes later, two of his friends: all late-30s to early-40s. A little buzzkill at first, but then we learned that they do this as a birthday weekend tradition, going on 7-8 years.

We all sat around the fire for an hour or so, then most of us retired. Down below were Kelly, and Matt and the other guy; up top, in the (much warmer) attic were Zach (the 3rd birthday boy), Hammer and Eric...and Callie and me. Callie, of course, placed her bag and pad RIGHT next to mine.

Uh-oh. :-)