Why Mountain Bluebird: My Short Story

<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/1572219451/embed/e0bfdd61523c7f31ba38966ab9e897b79a73945d'></iframe>May 13, 2018 - Solo Kaiser Hike.

6:00 AM - Sunday, a new 70 liter aqua blue backpack (thanks mom) sat on my floor fully packed with weights, gear and snacks. Lauren signed us up to hike Mount Rainier, a 14,411' glaciated peak in Washington State, in two weeks. Of Course there had to be a dress rehearsal for the big show or in this case, hike. This was my rehearsal day with a literal ice axe strapped on.

The Sierra's are close to my home and with early season snow conditions, Kaiser peak looked like the best option for my final high altitude training day. Originally, there were a few friends interested in coming along, but as the time came to strap on my last heavy training pack the interest by others faded and the hike morphed into a solo adventure. I know it's not the best idea to go into the mountains alone, but I also have a breadth of knowledge from growing up in the mountains (and a pack full of stuff) that made this solo trip manageable. So, I jumped into my lil blue Subaru, threw on a mix of all my favorite songs and headed up into the mountains.

10:53 AM - Trailhead of Kaiser Peak, 10 miles and 3,100 vertical feet to go with a 40-lb pack. The hiking began in beautiful weather, my legs moved with ease up the hill and I clipped along at a great pace with intermittent breaks to take in the views and some calories.

Kaiser Peak Trail Lookout over Huntington Lake

1:00 PM I started to run into snow and the trail disappeared within the trees of a large meadow. Trail markers etched into the trees lead me zig zagging along the meadow like a game of hide and seek until I could see the way up to the first clear peak above the tree line. The trail was now completely covered in snow. As I looked around I spotted an older couple hiking down the slope to my West. We ended up exchanging greetings, they commended me on my push up the slope with the pack and let me know a storm was expected in the late afternoon. I assured them this was only training weight and I was not planning to be out for the night. Looking around I made an assessment of the clouds and the forecast and with the pace I was holding I could be safely down by the time the storm hit. So, I made the decision to push to the summit.

Trail?

2:40 PM - Complete mountain silence and no soul in sight. I hit three places I was sure were the summit. My Ice axe was holding me up like a cane with the blue pack heavier than ever and the fog began to roll in. The last mile took me three times longer than the preceding 4 on the trail and I sat down feeling defeated and just plain stupid.

I - know - better - than - this.

It was only a few minutes into my personal pity party when when a small vibrant blue bird flew over and landed next to me. The bird then jumped up and flew to a post around the next bend and started to tweet. I walked around the corner to see what all the fuss was about to find the little blue bird on the summit post for Kaiser Peak. I made it.

Kaiser Peak - 10,320'

Hello Storm

With a few quick pictures it was time to quickly get off the summit. The way down was fast because I could slide down the snow slopes (glissade) using my ice axe to stop and direct like a rudder. I followed a clear path to a saddle, down the saddle and then into the trees to discover that I was not in the meadow I had followed before. The trees were fully socked in with fog and there were no tree markers to be found. Getting fancy, I pulled out my phone to use the GPS map I had downloaded and the map confirmed that I was way off trail.

3:15 PM Bushwacking, sitting, bushwacking, crawling, cursing, picking small spiky things out of my butt, legs & elbows, climbing up rocks, oh and more bushwacking. I had cried once (or twice), sang terribly hoping someone would hear, and had started an inventory of the contents inside my bag to analyze if I could actually spend the night in the rain and fog. Not really sure what the ankle weights would have done for me, but I'm sure they could come in handy... right? Exhausted, I sit down and accepted the fact that I was in deed lost, alone, and I may never get all the prickly plants thorns out of my body. I closed my eyes and asked for a sign, anything, just anything. Calming my breathing I tuned into the silence and present moment...the tweeting of the birds were there and as I focused in, pulled myself together, and followed the direction the sound was coming from the trail started to get closer on the map and eventually appeared out of the snow.

6:05 PM - Seven and a half hours, 4,083' and 13 miles later I was safe and sitting in lil blue the Subaru. The drive home was in silence, no music, just thought. I reflected of a trying and difficult past few years and realized this day hike was much more than just a training hike. It was the first time I had pushed myself to fully rely and trust in MY passion and MY abilities while being truly vulnerable and alone.

Western Mountain Bluebird (Male) - Sialia currucoides

I remember this small blue bird as my guidance. A reminder to trust my gut when bushwacking through the beautiful and sometimes difficult forest of life.

Guess you can say I found my spirit animal. With that said, welcome to Mountain Bluebird Yoga and my Blog.

​#mtnbluebirdyoga #kaiserpeak #hike #trainninghike #westernmountainbluebird #spiritanimal