I did sneak one mountain adventure in between Gma's memorial service and my working weekend: I volunteered to haul gear for an amazing girls' program that is both science and mountain based. What is not to like about this program?
A friend of mine, Ginny, who might be considered elderly in some circles, as she is over 70, has for years volunteered with Girls on Ice, which is through the University of Alaska Fairbanks and North Cascades Institute. Every year Ginny has encouraged women from local alpine clubs to help haul gear in and out for this program. I finally stepped up last year and volunteered to haul gear down. It was so much fun to be with other like-minded volunteers, women who love the mountains, science, and art, for an evening camp-out and a day of hiking on the south side of Mt. Baker that I offered to haul gear up to the girls' camp this year.
The girls and their guide and instructors camp at about 6000', at the base of the Easton Glacier on Mt. Baker, for an entire week. The girls carry up their personal gear and some food but the volunteers carry up the rest of the food and cooking equipment for the week. A scouting group hauls up climbing gear and other essentials about a week prior to the actual camp departure.
On the day of the gear haul in, Ginny and I carpooled up to the Schreibers Meadow trailhead, where we met the rest of the volunteers and all the girls who would be up on the mountain for a week. It was a gorgeous day, like many we've had this summer, and not long after we arrived, the gear was divided up. I carried up an enormous red bag filled with food. The food was divided in smaller bags and other volunteers carried up two-three bags, whatever fit in their packs. The red bag of food appeared to only fit in my pack, although Ginny managed to stuff a giant cookpot in her pack. All of our packs weighed between 40 and 50 lbs, depending on how much personal gear each of us brought for the day. My personal gear was limited to lunch, a jacket, and a leaky water bladder.
The trail was dry and we easily split off into different groups. Cece, the mountain guide, has a marvelous pace where you can talk, breathe, and observe the surroundings all at the same time. She advised us to hurry like turtles. As in, not very fast. It was very enjoyable but I did eventually run out of water because of the leaky bag and the time it took to get to camp.
On the way, the group I was in observed a possible bear den under a huge fir tree. The fir tree bore claw marks from about 20' up all the way to the ground. We hypothesized that during the winter, the bear would emerge briefly from hibernation, stand on the snow, which is probably about 15' deep and claw the tree to eat the inner bark. The claw marks are only on the uphill half of the tree trunk. Then as the snow melted, more bark was available down lower. Since the snow had melted only very recently, the marks at the ground were fairly recent.
Cece had each of the volunteers and instructors walk with one of the young participants and practice active listening. It was a great exercise and made the steep-ish part of the Scott Paul Trail go quickly for all of us. Soon we were at the snow covered meadow with views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. We ate lunch then the volunteers departed to haul the gear up to camp. In the meantime Cece reminded the girls that an important part of being a team is taking care of yourself, whether the problem is blisters, hunger, the need to reapply sunscreen, drink water, or simply catch your breath. It was a good reminder to the volunteers too.
The trail continued past the tree line and over the moraine. Kelsi, our coordinator, picked a snow-covered track up a gully, which appeared to be the most direct line to camp. We could see the central Cascade Mountains, including Glacier Peak, Monte Cristo, and other snow-capped peaks. And Mt. Rainier in the distance. Laughing and talking with all the volunteers, we were up at camp by 3:30 p.m. We emptied our packs, buried the food bags under rocks to prevent ravens and critters from getting at them, took a group picture and witnessed the first group of girls arriving in camp. This was a strong group of girls. Sometimes getting to camp takes all day. They would have plenty of time to set up, relax, enjoy the afternoon.
The volunteers glissaded and plunge-stepped down to the moraine and picked up the trail again. I had run out of water at camp so at a stream that had just emerged from under the snowfield, I refilled my water bladder and drank the cold, clear water. This is not recommended due to the potential for catching a nasty bacteria but I felt reasonably confident the stream was not contaminated under the snowfield. So far my gut appears normal.
Near the bottom there was one creek crossing that required wading. We were only a mile out at that point so wet boots were kind of refreshing and amusing for awhile. By the time we reached the trailhead, the wet boots weren't as much fun but then it didn't matter. We were back and changed into sandals. It was a great day with an inspiring group of girls and instructors and volunteers. I hope to do it again next year. Here are the pictures.