Ron’s Hike for Discovery Weblog

After a weekend off from hiking to spend time with Australian friends Greg and Ruth up at Orcas Island and San Juan Island, I hit the trail with my teammates again this morning. Today’s destination – the summit of Little Si. There are two mountains in the Cascades about halfway from Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass with the name Si (pronounced “sigh”) – Little Si and it’s bigger brother Mount Si. Towering over the town of North Bend, Mount Si tops out at 4167 feet. We’ll hike Mount Si later in the summer. Fans of the mid-90’s TV show “Northern Exposure” may remember both North Bend and Mount Si having prominent roles! To the west of Mount Si is Little Si, with a 1576 foot summit. Total length of our hike today was 5 miles with an elevation gain of about 1200 feet.

Today was my first time to hike with trekking poles. At first, I thought trekking poles must be for sissies – sort of like training wheels for hikers! ) I couldn’t have been more wrong! Two weeks ago at Twin Falls I borrowed a set of poles to see what a difference they made, and it was amazing! When used correctly, the poles transfer a lot of your weight from your knees to your arms and shoulders. They are helpful when hiking uphill, but a real lifesaver on the downhill. They not only take a lot of weight off the knees, they help keep you steady so you don’t twist an ankle. I got my own set of poles from REI (awesome sporting goods store!) this past week and they are worth their weight in gold! I heartily recommend them as required hiking gear!

Along the trail we passed the sheer cliff face of Little Si and the remnants of an enormous rock slide – see pictures of both below. Most of us agreed that we would like to have been there when that pile of rocks came down. The trail was spectacular with some long flat stretches through dense woods; sharp switchbacks with rapid gains in elevation, and then the exhilarating moment when we came up and around a corner to find the bare rock and breathtaking views from the summit – Mount Si to the east, Rattlesnake Ridge to the south.

Our group of about 35 hikers spent 40 minutes or so on the summit getting refreshed with water and snacks, taking photos, reliving the hike up, and generally just enjoying the moment. I got a chuckle when a couple who were not part of our group arrived on the summit. He was wearing a shirt with the one word “SOLITUDE” printed across it. I thought “buddy, you are in the wrong place for that!” They moved on to find a quiet spot apart from the territory we occupied, but we headed back down the hill shortly after that leaving them in quiet peace.

Each week before our team begins the hike we circle up at the trail head, and anyone who wants to can dedicate the hike to someone they know who is battling, or has succumbed to, cancer. It is very humbling to be blessed with good health and the opportunity to enjoy a vigorous hike, and know that there are so many who must be focused daily on fighting a disease that seeks to rob them of their health, and even life. This week we hiked in honor of Bobbie’s friend Ted who passed away last Sunday from leukemia. It’s always an emotional and yet motivating way to set off on the trail knowing that it’s not our hiking that is helping, but the prayers, good thoughts, and financial support of family and friends like you who are making a difference.

To date you all have donated over $1300 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my Hike for Discovery campaign! Amazing, and I say “THANK YOU!” from the bottom of my heart for your generosity. If you haven’t donated yet and would like to, go here: http://pages.hikefordiscovery.org/wa/waalhike08/rchurchill

Come back for details of next weeks hike on Tiger Mountain. And don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know you were here!!

Cheers!

Ron