Little Stony Man - Shenandoah National Park

Between my work schedule and traveling, I haven't made it to as many of the training hikes as I would have liked, unfortunately. This past Friday night, as I was leaving the office, exhausted, at 9pm, I decided that there was no way I was going to make it to Shenandoah by 8am the next day. Instead of bailing on a training hike completely, I called my friend Patrick. We decided to meet up at 10am instead so I could sleep in a little and still have plenty of time to get out to the trail.

Patrick and I decided to hike Little Stony Man, a moderate trail whose trailhead is right on Skyline Drive. It's not a particularly difficult hike, but it is pretty much straight uphill for half a mile, then it levels out and the woods open up to a stunning panorama of Luray and the Shenandoah Valley.

It was much colder than I expected it to be. I didn't have a windproof jacket, only a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece vest. It was nice in the sun, until the wind whipped up. We reached the cliffs and took picture after picture of the scenic valley. It was so blustery, with the wind trying to carry my camera away, I had a hard time getting a single non-blurry photograph. We started up the rest of the trail toward the summit of Stony Man mountain when a frigid gust of wind whipped across my body. I said to Patrick, "I'm done. Are you done?" He concurred and we got the heck off that ledge as fast as we could.

So I didn't get in an all-day training hike, but at least I got outside and made it up and down one good hill. I still have a ways to go before I am prepared for a 2-night backpacking trip...

Training Hike - Billy Goat Trail

I've probably hiked the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls a dozen times, but it never gets old for me. My favorite parts are the rock scrambles and the places where you have to hop from rock to rock. I love taking people on this trail for the first time so that I can see them really enjoy it. The best part is the feeling of accomplishment they experience when they get up that one really steep climb (it looks harder than it actually is). I've never lost anyone yet!

Most of the trail follows the Potomac River, and there's usually all kinds of wildlife, including a large blue heron who is always hanging out at the same spot along the canal. I've also seen owls, water snakes, turtles, deer, and hawks. We had beautiful weather and a fun group for our first official training hike. 

More photos are available here.

Training Hike Schedule

This is what our training hike schedule looks like for the season: 

Date	Hike	Duration
3/1	Kick-off Party Burke, VA
3/7	Billy Goat Trail Potomac, MD	4 hours
3/14	Prince William Forest Park Prince William, VA	Orienteering course
3/21	Little Devils Stairs Shenandoah National Park, VA	4 hours
3/28	Sugarloaf Mountain Comus, MD	5 hours
4/4	Jeremy's Run Shenandoah National Park, VA	6 hours
4/11	Plan your own
4/18	Old Rag Mountain Shenandoah National Park, VA	6 hours - strenuous
4/25	Overall Run Falls (long & short routes)* Shenandoah National Park, VA	6/7 hours
5/2	White Oak Canyon (long & short routes) Shenandoah National Park, VA	6/8 hours
5/8 - 5/10	Final event - Overnight backpacking
5/16 or 5/23	Final event - Day hike

 * Overnighter

Hikers Wanted

I am currently recruiting volunteers for this year's hiking and fundraising event to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year's event is a little different in that we are reducing administrative costs by staying close to home (the Washington, DC area) and offering an overnight backpacking option.

The season officially kicks off March 1, but you can decide to join at any time. You can even come on a couple of training hikes with us before signing up. We train as a group on Saturdays between March 7 and the event date, but there is no requirement to participate in these training hikes.

There are two final event dates:

May 8-10 for the overnight

May 16 or 23 for the day hike (exact date to be determined)

Your commitment is to raise at least $1,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by the hike event date. Even if you've never done a fundraiser before, this is not as hard as it sounds! You will have plenty of support and guidance along the way. 

If you choose to participate, you will get to meet some incredible (and fun) people, spend a lot of time outdoors (Shenandoah in the spring is gorgeous), and raise money for an incredibly worthy cause that has saved countless lives and helped patients undergoing treatment for blood cancers (and raise your karma factor). What's not to like?

If you are interested in finding out more, want to sign up, or know someone else who might be interested, please email me directly. 

Thank you for helping out!

 

 

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!