I DID IT!!

On Monday, June 9th, I hiked to the summit of Estes Cone (elev. 11,002') in Rocky Mountain National Park. With the help of my wonderful donors, I was able to raise over $6,900 towards a cure for blood cancers!

Fundraising Update - Over $6,000!

Just 2 days ago, my fundraising hit the $5,000 mark. Now, thanks to my wonderful, wonderful donors, I am just over $6,000! It never fails to amaze me how generous friends, family, coworkers, and even perfect strangers are when I simply ask. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a terrific organization with an impressive mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. We are working together to save lives!

As of $6,120, here is my Donors Hall of Fame.

Aina Irbe
Alice Hirzel
Alice Krum
Allie Pang
Amy Longyear
Ashley Carlson
Barbara Plevelich
Becky Schoepfle
Betsy Rosso
Bev Jackson
Brandy Bones
Bridget Pool
Carey Ragels
Catharina Reese
Ching Ling Kwong
Colleen McGuire
Craig McClellan
Dale Glaser
Dana Bomkamp
Daryle Lademan
Dave Howard
Denise & William Bones
Doug & Liza Larson
Doug Larson, Jr.
Doug Tinsler
Ellen Ward
Emily Dalton
Evan Parker
Jaya Chimnani
Jeanne Chou
Jen Nelson
Jennifer Hazel
Jessica McClure
John & Brooke Frassinelli
Joseph Greenlee
Karen Kimball
Karen Popular-Lawhorn
Katie Miller
Katrina Cain
Kaustuv Chakrabarti
Khang Hiu
Kris Guido
Kristin & Bruce Maynard
Kyra Grundeman
Lisa Gabel
Lynne O'Connell
Marie Lowe
Matt Williamson
Melissa McGurk
Patrick Taylor
Ramune Rastonis
Sam Edelstein
Shannon Smith
Shayna Lebowitz
Sheryl Anderson
Sridevi Nanjundaram
Sue Frick
Sunil Nanjundaram
Viengkeo & Dave Tzong

Thank you, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't do this hike without you!

Leaving for the Rockies!

I can't believe my big hike is only 3 days away! I fly out early Saturday morning to Denver, then drive to Estes Park with my hike buddy, Ellen. She's never been to Colorado, so we're planning to stop in Boulder on the way. I used to travel to Golden all the time for my old job because my client was there. I remember the first time I drove west from Denver to Golden, which is in the foothills of the Rockies. When I saw the spires of those enormous mountains rising up to the sky, I swear I heard angels singing a chorus. I can't wait to do that drive again!

The plan is to stay in Estes Park for 3 nights at the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining." It is supposed to be haunted, so I'm hoping to go on one of their ghost tours. But if a little kid comes up to me wiggling his finger and hissing "red rum," I am SO outta there. We spend two days acclimating since the elevation for the hike is higher than we're used to (my trail starts out around 9,400 ft. and climbs to 11,006 ft.). There is a very good chance there will be snow on the trail as well - I have not trained for that, so wish me luck! Then on Monday my group starts out at 6:25am. Ouch. I better get some sleep this weekend...

After the hike, Ellen and I are spending the night with a friend in Denver, then we're taking an additional week to do a road trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We're spending three nights in Jackson Hole, and two nights in West Yellowstone. On our last night, we're visiting a friend of mine from college who works at Chico Hot Springs Resort near Bozeman (where we fly out the following morning). She got us a room at the resort, which is just fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the road trip and trying out my new DSLR camera (now that I have figured out how to use it).

First I must finish packing and make sure I make my flight in the morning. Wish me luck and send "happy foot" thoughts my way on Monday!

Here is a picture of me that my hike buddy, Barbara, took when we hiked Overall Run. I think it looks like I'm wearing a crown of leaves - a very "nature chick" picture. Guess that means I'm ready to go!

Fundraising Update - Over $5,000!

Today I received a donation that put my fundraising over the $5,000 mark! Thank you, thank you to all of my wonderful donors who have contributed so generously to my hike, particularly those who continue to sponsor me year after year. Your support means so much to me, and I couldn’t do these events and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society without you. Some statistics, for those who like statistics:

Funds raised to date: $5,180
Total number of donors: 50
Average donation: $103.60
% of donations made online: 88%
Average online donation: $102.95

I also received some exciting news last night – our team of 23 people who will be hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend has raised over $140,000 this season! This is absolutely incredible. We are hoping to raise at least $150,000 by the end of June. The deadline for donations has been extended to June 20th. If you haven’t already made a donation, but still want to contribute, there is still time!

My online fundraising site is: http://www.active.com/donate/hfdnca04/mayalarson

Or you can send me a check in the mail to my home address.

I leave for Estes Park, Colorado on Saturday. I don’t know if I’ll have access to email while I’m there, but I hope to send out a note when I finish my hike. Wish me luck!

What Happens When You Oversleep...

Our group hike today took place at White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah National Park, a steep hike with views of beautiful waterfalls. I, unfortunately, didn’t make it because I completely overslept. I had set my alarm for 5:30am, and in fact, set TWO alarms and didn't hear either of them. I subsequently missed two phone calls from my carpool at 6:15 and 6:30 wondering where I was. I didn't hear or feel the phone ring, and it was on my bed, six inches from my head. Guess I must have been really tired...

So when I finally woke up at 9:00, I had an "oh crap!" moment (except I don't think I used the word "crap"). Once I figured out what happened, I realized I still needed to get one more training hike in before my big trip. I called my buddy Patrick who agreed to hike the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls with me. We started out around 11:15, and the weather was okay -- overcast but very humid. We made it to the steep part of the rock scramble before it started to rain. I took a few pictures before I had to put my camera away. Check out my photos here.



It let up a little bit until we stopped to eat along the river around 12:30. In the meantime, my friends Scott and Julie had called to say that they would meet us on the trail, coming from the opposite direction. We had just finished our snack when suddenly the sky opened up and it started to really come down. There was thunder and lightning, so we got the heck off the rocks and headed into the shaded trail. After a few minutes of hiking, we crossed a small runoff stream. I hopped across and landed on a rock with all my weight on my left foot, which slid down off the slick rock. I pitched forward and caught myself with my hands -- otherwise I would have come down hard on my right knee and probably banged it up pretty badly. Fortunately, I walked away with only a scratch.

A few minutes later, I was talking to Patrick as we rounded a corner and I heard someone say, “Yeah, that’s Maya.” Julie and Scott were crouched beneath an overhanging rock, waiting for us and trying to avoid the pelting rain. Apparently my voice carries, even in the wet woods. So the four of us made our way back to the trailhead and the towpath and the rain died down. While on the towpath, we saw all kinds of animals -- water snakes, turtles, huge fish, deer, and blue herons. We even spotted an owl just off the trail. It was making hooting noises while sitting in a tree, then it took off and flew through the woods. I didn't think I could get my camera out in time, so I just stood there and enjoyed watching the beautiful bird.

We made it halfway down the 1.5-mile towpath when it began to POUR. It wasn’t SO bad until the lightning strikes got closer and closer. We sought shelter under a wooden bridge with some other hikers to wait out the lightning. Of course, with the cold wind blowing and water drizzling off the bridge, we didn’t exactly stay dry or warm. After about 10 minutes or so, we decided just to head for the parking lot, about .4 miles away. Needless to say, we were completely soaked by the time we finished. One thing I learned is that waterproof boots, when worn in a rainstorm, make really good buckets!

So special thanks to Scott and Julie who will probably never hike with me again (at least, not without foul weather gear) and to Patrick, who has hiked with me under worse conditions. :) After hiking Old Rag last week, the rock scramble on the Billy Goat Trail was a piece of cake. I have one more week before the Rockies – I think I’m ready!!

Return to Old Rag Mountain

It's Memorial Day weekend, so there was no organized hike this week. I decided to plan my own hike to Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. Old Rag is described by most as a "strenuous" hike because it not only involves hiking straight up a mountain (with an elevation gain of about 2,500 ft over the course of 2 or 3 miles), but there is a rock scramble for the last mile before the summit, where you sometimes need to pull yourself up onto boulders and hop over wide crevices in the granite.

I made sure to take some experienced Old Raggers with me. All of us had hiked it at least 4 times before. Carey, Ellen and Shayna did Hike for Discovery with me in Yosemite 2 years ago, and Patrick has been my trusty hike buddy throughout 3 seasons now. I knew I could count on him to boost me up in places where I would need boosting... or at least make fun of me when I did something goofy (like rip the seam in the seat of my hiking pants -- yikes!). Here's a picture he took of me scrambling up a steep rock:

It was a beautiful day for hiking, though it quickly got warm when we were heading uphill. It was also a very popular day to be hiking -- I had never seen the parking lot that full before. A lot of people (couples, families, hike groups) passed us on the way up. (Of course, we passed them on the way down, but that's another story.) I just bought a new DSLR camera in preparation for my trip out west, but wanted to test it out (in terms of functionality and weight since it’s quite a bit heavier than my old point-and-shoot). I stopped a lot to take pictures of my fellow hikers, flowers and trees along the way.

It took us about 4 hours to get to the top, not including the break for lunch partway up and looking around at the summit, then about 2.5 hours to get back down the back side of the mountain and back to the parking lot. Here's a picture of the gang at the summit:

I feel like I am almost ready for the Rockies. Just 2 more weeks to go!!

Overall Run Trail and the Hill of Doom

Yesterday's hike took us on a 10-mile circuit on the Overall Run Trail, passing by Overall Run Falls, the tallest waterfall in Shenandoah National Park (at 93 feet). Now mind you, I didn't think this hike would take as long as it did, but I did not anticipate the amount of elevation change.

Our hike leader, Jon, who chooses our training trails said in the parking lot, "I've learned from Maya that there are 3 kinds of hills: 'I don't like Jon' hills, 'I hate Jon' hills, and 'I want to kill Jon' hills." Needless to say, we had all 3 varieties on this trek. (This has been a running joke for the 2 years I've known Jon -- he knows I love him dearly!)

We started at an elevation of 2900' and proceeded to hike down the trail into a canyon, and down some more. We actually kept going down for a couple of hours and then it hit us -- we're eventually going to have to get back up to the top! The good news for me as we were hiking down was that I practically run downhill (since gravity is working with me, I don't have much of a choice). The bad news was that most of my teammates have knee problems, so they have to take it much slower. Oh well, more time for me to stop and take pictures... It had also rained quite a bit the few days before, so all of our stream crossings proved to be somewhat challenging as the water was much higher than normal and it was difficult to find a way to cross without a) falling in, b) getting our boots soaked, or c) slipping on a wet rock. Oh, and did I mention that it was a bit chilly and sprinkling rain practically the whole time?

We made it as low as 900' before we started heading uphill. The first part wasn't so bad, but Jon keep warning us about the treacherous "Hill of Doom" that lay ahead. The return trip wasn't quite as long mileage-wise, but this one particular hill took us up 1 mile with 1200' feet of elevation gain. That's a pretty steep hill! I was doing fine until we got to the really really steep part:

I had to stop periodically to catch my breath. It was the first time all hike season that I had experienced any asthma symptoms and I was not happy about it. But eventually, with all my whining and "why does Jon do this to us?" complaints, we came upon the beautiful waterfall and suddenly it was all worth it...

We eventually made it back up to 2900' -- hallelujah! Then it took us another 20 minutes to get to the end of the trail. After 10 miles and 8 hours of being on my feet, I could not wait to get back to my car and get my feet out of my rigid boots and into my comfy sandals. In the end, it was a tough hike (and my calves are still cursing Jon's name), but it was good preparation for our challenging trails in the Rocky Mountains. In fact, I think we have LESS elevation gain/loss there than we did here today. But at least I am READY!

Sugarloaf Mountain Hike

It was a chilly and wet (but not soggy) day today. We met up at Sugarloaf Mountain near Comus, MD at 8:30am and set off on a hike up and down and around the mountain. Well, that's what it would have been had we not taken the wrong trail... We inadvertantly took a shortcut, so we doubled back and took another longer way around so that we could get in some decent mileage. As you can see from the photo, the trail was pretty foggy.

We had a fun crew, though, so it was a good time. My friend, Allie, joined us and got to meet some of my hike buddies. We eventually ran into another training group that had taken the correct trail (for the most part).

All in all, it was a pretty good day to be out hiking.

Hiking in the Galapagos Islands

In mid-April I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a 10-day trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The trip began in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. Our tour group of 11 people did a half-day tour of the city. The following day, we flew to Baltra in the Galapagos (about 600 miles of the coast of Ecuador). There we were met by our wonderful Naturalist Guide who took us to the Nemo I, a catamaran that was to be our home-away-from-home for the next week.

Over the course of 7 days, we visited 11 or so different islands, seeing all kinds of wildlife from blue-footed boobies and albatrosses to sea lions, penguins, and tortoises. I didn't do any long training hikes with my backpack and gear, however, we usually went on a couple of 2-hour hikes each day, plus snorkeling or swimming at least once. There was so much to do, I never had time to write in my trip journal. Hopefully this entry plus the photos will suffice.

If you have never thought about going to the Galapagos, think about it. If you've always wanted to go, DO IT. You will be amazed at everything you see and learn. Here a few photos from my "training" hikes south of the equator.

A blue-footed booby:

View from the top of Bartolome Island (where scenes from the movie "Master and Commander" with Russell Crowe were filmed). We had to hike up a flight of wooden steps for nearly an hour to get all the way up here:

Hiking on a trail of crushed coral on Sombrero Chino Island:

To see more of my trip photos, please visit my Flickr.com site.

Training Hike #4 - Buck Ridge/Buck Hollow Loop

We were originally supposed to hike Little Devils Stairs in Shenandoah National Park, but unfortunately, the road to the trail was closed. The park authorities were conducting a search and rescure operation for a local man who was reported missing and whose car was found abandoned in the park, so they shut down access. Our hike leaders chose another trail in Shenandoah instead -- Buck Ridge/Buck Hollow Loop, a 5.8-mile loop starting on Skyline Drive.

The weather called for steady rain, but we lucked out yet again. It was overcast and breezy at the trailhead, but got warmer as we descended the steep trail. The first half of the trail led us down and down for almost 3 miles. It was so steep that in some parts, log stairs were added.

We reached the bottom and turned to go up the second half of the trail, which was just as steep as the one on the way down. This trail, however, criss-crossed over Buck Hollow, a peaceful stream, several times so we could heard the water rippling for most of the ascent. I had missed the last two training hikes because I had injured my lower back, so I was pretty out of shape. Fortunately, my 3 teammates were extremely patient and waited with me as I stopped periodically to catch my breath (and snap some photos). Here's a picture of them (Kathy, Amy and Darcie):

Click here to view the rest of my hike training photo album.

Why I Hike

I didn't make it to this week's training hike at Harper's Ferry. I re-injured my lower back the previous week (doing pilates, no less!). Upon advice from my chiropractor, I decided not to venture out on any uneven trails until my back feels better. Instead, I used the time to jump start my fundraising efforts.

Within 2 days of sending my initial emails, I received over $2,300 in donations. I cannot tell you how amazing it feels to see these generous contributions for such a worthy cause. This is the fourth year I have attempted a major fundraising effort (of $3,000+), and each time I am deeply touched by the outpouring of generosity and goodwill.

I know everyone has their own reasons for donating. Some of you have a direct connection to the cause - knowing a friend or loved one who has or had cancer. Maybe you are a survivor yourself. Some of you, luckily, have not had first-hand experience with the disease, but just want to help make the world better, or you simply want to support me as a friend.

Regardless of the reasons why, or how much you donate, I appreciate every penny you contribute because it means we are that much closer to finding a cure. So thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Together we are saving lives!

Training Hike #2 - Billy Goat Trail

I have probably hiked the Billy Goat Trail in Maryland's C&O Canal National Historic Park at least 10 times, but it is still my favorite local trail. The landscape changes each time, depending on the time of year, recent rains, and how high or low the Potomac waters are. For this week's hike, the river was higher than I've ever seen it. When we reached the "beach" area halfway through the trail, there was hardly any dry beach at all!

My hike group consisted of 8 people, half of whom had never hiked this trail before. I love taking people on this trail for the first time. I especially love seeing their reaction upon seeing the daunting sheer wall about 1/3 of the way in -- usually "oh my god, we're going up there?!?" or something to that effect. But the sense of accomplishment they feel once they get to the top is priceless.

We lucked out weather-wise. The forecast called for rain, but we got 60-degrees and sunny. I snapped a couple of good photos of the river and canal, as well as some local wildlife (turtles and a great blue heron). Click to see my online album.

Here's a picture of me that my friend Patrick took on the trail:

Training Hike #1 - Rock Creek Park

I have lived in the DC area for over 10 years, and I had no idea there were actually hiking trails in Rock Creek Park. Our first training hike for the Rocky Mountains took place on a rainy Saturday, but over 20 hikers showed up and braved the weather. We started out near Pierce Mill (not far from the National Zoo) and trekked around for about 2 hours, criss-crossing Rock Creek a couple of times. We also learned one of the primary rules for our hikes -- no hiking in groups smaller than 4 people. For safety reasons, you want at least 3 other people with you at all times. If one person is injured on the trail and can't walk, one person stays with them while the other two go for help. Never hike alone in the woods, not even Rock Creek Park (known in 2001 news as the site where Chandra Levy's remains were discovered).

Because of the rain, the pictures didn't come out particularly well, but here is a link to my online photo album.

And here's a picture of a soggy me in my rain gear that one of my fellow hikers took.

It's Official!

I have signed up to be a Hike Mentor for the next Hike for Discovery season -- Rocky Mountain National Park in June 2008! I am looking forward to this event, as well as the fundraising and meeting new, adventurous people.

Stay tuned for more info...