New Boots for a Possible Midlife Crisis

I got new boots! On my last hike, I found out that my old boots were no longer waterproof. They’d been slowly losing their comfort and our trip to Snow Lake was very wet (the trail was literally a river at one point!). Wet feet while hiking doesn’t do it for me so I pretty much immediately ordered new boots as soon as I got home. A really good thing too as I signed up to do a LOT of climbing over the next 6 weeks.

Midlife Crisis?

Memorial Weekend was a bit exciting around here: in the course of two days, I turned in my notice for my job and told Snesha that I’d love to climb Mount St. Helens with her next month.

Snesha asked if I’d be interested in doing this hike with her when we first met to climb Poo Poo Point back in May. I didn’t quite laugh at her when she asked me then. I’d just met her and while I know what kind of shape I’m in, she somehow thought I was capable of doing 4500′ of elevation change over the course of 10 miles… Ha!

Well, we hiked a second time and we seem to be on the same page as far as speed and fitness (if she’s faking she’s a really good sport for putting up with my huffing and puffing!) so when she asked me a second time if I wanted to do Mount St. Helens, I seriously considered it.

I can honestly say that until this moment, I’d never before considered hiking this peak or any other momentous trail with the exception of Machu Picchu. It isn’t something that I’d ever considered but at the same time how cool would it be to say I’ve climbed Mount St. Helens?! It isn’t something I’d seek out but someone else did the leg work to get permits so all I have to do is train. How is this a bad plan?! I’m in!

Training

This is not a hike I’m ready for (yet) but, as of today, I’ve got 6 weeks to get there. We’ve got several big hikes lined up for training purposes – the next big hike on the itinerary is an 8 miler at Lake Serene with Chris and Snesha. We’re also considering Mount Si, Mailbox Peak, and Dirty Harry’s Peak over future weekends. Chris and I are also planning on upping our strength training game (hello lunges & squats!), and hiking Poo Poo Point every Wednesday for some midweek hill work.

The Bench

Eight miles an hour plus away from home is not be a good time to find out your new boots don’t fit well so I took them for a solo spin at Poo Poo Point today.

When I run I end up going too fast at the beginning and wear myself out. This is known as positive splits. Turns out, I do the same thing when I hike solo. No idea who I was trying to impress but I got on the trail and started booking it! Mistake because I was out of gas less than a mile in. The good news is that someone placed a lovely bench for me to take a break on.

After a break, I took my sweet time on the rest of the hike and a ton of pictures.

The Views

Poo Poo Point has 3 viewing areas. The first and the second both have lovely views of “The Mountain” (Mount Rainer) while the third has views of Issaquah. I think the second one is probably the most popular. There’s a huge expanse of flat area perfect for picnics while looking out over the valley and The Mountain. Personally, I like the first one the best. It feels cozier as you’re still very much surrounded by plant life but you also get a phenomenal view. That said, the weather today didn’t cooperate. Pictures below show the view from today as well as from last month.

Did you notice my photos didn’t align? There’s the weird bald spot from today’s photo that isn’t in the photo from last month? Yeah? Me too. I think I forgot where The Mountain was when I took the picture. It’s kinda hard to find it when it’s hiding in the clouds.

As previously mentioned, the third viewing area provides lovely views of Issaquah plus you can glimpse Bellevue a bit in the background. It’s also a major launch point for paragliding. There wasn’t anyone launching while I was there (too early?) but I did get to see someone take off last time I did this hike.

Paragliding is one of the numerous things on my bucket list but standing at the top of this mountain and imagining running and jumping off the side like the paragliders do makes me wonder if this is an item I’ll ever have the guts to check off my list. Fun fact, apparently you can’t take off if there are horses present at the launch point/horses can get to the launch point. I feel like there are more trails for me to explore!

The Stats

My stats for today: 4.06 miles in 2 hours 31 minutes. I used to be able to knock out 4 miles in less than 2 hours so this is a bit disappointing. That said, my usual 4-mile trail was pretty flat while this one has some elevation change to it. You know, that whole training for Mount St Helens thing.

Boot Check Results

At first, I was a bit skeptical these would work for me as they kept breaking along the top of my foot instead of closer to my toe where I thought they should but the further I went along the more I got used to it. By the end of the hike, they felt as comfortable as my old boots. Absolute win. Two thumbs up.