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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



Joined: 01 Nov 2007
Posts: 4830 | TRs | Pics
Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostSun Feb 08, 2009 10:27 pm 
The OSAT decided on having Mailbox peak for a conditioner hike, and the name really says it, for me it was difficult, although the EastKing bragged at the end saying he wanted to summit another mountain. Anyways, we meet up and gather in a cirle and say the OSAT outh which ends with "Keep Climbing Mountains and Don't Slip.
Mailbox Peak at Sunrise
Mailbox Peak at Sunrise
(Tiger) Kitty Mountain at Sunrise
(Tiger) Kitty Mountain at Sunrise
Trail Sign
Trail Sign
The trail started out hard for me not because it was a difficult trail, but because the group had a very fast pace, it took a lot of training to get in shape for this kind of stuff, which my previous training is now considered training for the training if I want to climb Mount Rainier later this year. It became difficult to the point were I could not feel joy nor exitment as we went up. I usually don't say this about any hike, but the speed was much more than my usual pace, or even other groups of hikers I go with. I became sore fast, and got dizzy fast, and was constantly out of breath, and in total on the way up we took perhaps 3-4 breaks... which when your going at a fast pace is sorta hard, or perhaps I'm not as in good shape as I had hoped. We later got to the ice which for this time of year was unusually high, and was snowier back when I came here in April 2008. Unfortunatly I was not allowed to have my ice axe out because I almost hit the leader guy in the face when I had my ski polls in my pack that stuck out and as I was getting up... well he was'nt happy about that, so I had to have my ice axe with him. The ice was at first slippery but was'nt to bad, perhaps this was because of the traction thingy someone in the group let me borrow.
Heading Up
Heading Up
The Mid Day Sun
The Mid Day Sun
Looking off to the Side
Looking off to the Side
Hiking through the Woods
Hiking through the Woods
Looking up the Mountain
Looking up the Mountain
Later my brother fell behind and the main leader had to have us stop, to be honest I thought to myself "Sweet an oppertunity to eat" which I took advantage of my brother missing, which I should'nt have, but I was so tired and so terribly hungry, this was one of the breaks of the trip. Going up the summit was'nt as hard as the first time due to having food, and I attempted to rush ahead and ran in exitement to make the final push and wanted to be first even though I was probably the weakest of the group, but sometimes strength is a mental part of us. I was held back, because the leaders had to remain in front even at the end hmmm.gif , but I was still happy to achive the summit.
The East King
The East King
Me on the Summit
Me on the Summit
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Modified Rainier Photo
Modified Rainier Photo
Black and White Mount Rainier
Black and White Mount Rainier
Looking East (B&W)
Looking East (B&W)
Summit Panorama
Summit Panorama
Bird in Mid Air
Bird in Mid Air
My Brother Checking the Mail
My Brother Checking the Mail
Us together on the Summit
Us together on the Summit
(Sorry for a couple similar ones, but because I'm a photographer, I am very picky and cannot make up my mind which one I like best, plus it's nice to get some diffrent color effects.) There I took lots of photos and such and I glissaded back down some of it, and found out that tractions in snow do not mix because not only could it potentially slow you down if you have your feet in front, but can easily damage them. Later I became very dizzy due to dyhidration on the way down, but the group was very nice and speared lots of water. But for the East King this was a walk in the park and he had 40 pounds of gear. In total it was around 3 hours up and 3 hours down.... I think. It was still a good trip, but very tiring.

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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.



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Hulksmash
Cleaning up.
PostSun Feb 08, 2009 11:26 pm 
Those photo's make Mail box look inviting up.gif up.gif

"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
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bobbi
stillaGUAMish



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bobbi
stillaGUAMish
PostSun Feb 08, 2009 11:47 pm 
congrats on making the summit... unless the group conditioning requires you to be on the summit by a certain time, you should go on your own pace...forget about the others. i feel that when i attempt to keep up, my heart beats faster because i was anxious on being kept behind and that makes me even more tired. nothing worse than feeling hungry/thirsty..stay hydrated and eat. keep that pack of gu close by to give you a boost. be careful with your ice ax...safety first! leaders like to keep an eye or two!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Hikingqueen
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 6:11 am 
Nice report and beautiful photos, I've heard alot about this trail. I will have to check it out.

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Highwalker's Daughter
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 7:42 am 
Fantastic photos! I have planned to do that one this year so good to see what I'll be seeing. I would only take it at my own pace, though. I would not want to be rushed up it. I can go for miles at my pace but not at someone else's. Probably a couple of the others felt pushed also but didn't say anything. Congrats for getting up it - one of my friends has nicknamed it "hell peak". She went up it with a full backpack - a masochist. lol.gif

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Curtissimo
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 1:22 pm 
hi josh, nice pics. if we can just get a muzzle for your mouth you might be allowed to go on another one of these!!! (plus work on your littering, stabbing people in the eyes, etc etc etc, etc etc etc) smile.gif curt

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DIYSteve
seeking hygge



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seeking hygge
PostMon Feb 09, 2009 3:10 pm 
Josh wrote:
I usually don't say this about any hike, but the speed was much more than my usual pace, or even other groups of hikers I go with. I became sore fast, and got dizzy fast, and was constantly out of breath
Josh, you went anaerobic. See Want Speed? Slow Down, by Dr. Phil Maffetone Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to reading about your next adventure. P.S. I won't ask about a 16 y.o. doing the OSAT thing. biggrin.gif

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raising3hikers
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 4:04 pm 
Great effort by all on a very steep winter climb up.gif Nice pictures of Glacier Peak and Rainier

Eric Eames
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Opus
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 4:34 pm 
BigSteve wrote:
P.S. I won't ask about a 16 y.o. doing the OSAT thing. biggrin.gif
I went up Rainier with OSAT three years ago. They're a good bunch of folks and were kind enough to let me stay in even though I wasn't there for their official purpose. Actually a friend of mine signed me up for their training without explaining what "One Step at A Time" meant. It was a real eye opener when I went to the orientation meeting at REI, a woman walks up to the podium and says: "Hi, my name is _____ and I'm an alcoholic." I thought I'd walked into the wrong room. embarassedlaugh.gif

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DIYSteve
seeking hygge



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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
PostMon Feb 09, 2009 5:15 pm 
Great anecdote, Opus. lol.gif I've run into numerous OSAT groups through the years and, yes, they seemed like fine folks. I have climbed with a top notch person (who shall remain nameless) who was introducted to the alpine arts via OSAT. Two peaks in the Cascades are named for OSAT's founder, Jimmy Hinkhouse, i.e., Hinkhouse Peak, near Cutthroat Peak, and the other Hinkhouse Peak (sometimes called "Not Hinkhouse Peak"), the high point between Longs Pass and Ingalls Pass. Both would be called Hinkhouse Peak but for the fed's ban on giving the same name to two places in the winderness areas. Beckey I calls the latter "Hinkhouse Peak."

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tigermn
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 5:27 pm 
Quote:
Unfortunatly I was not allowed to have my ice axe out because I almost hit the leader guy in the face when I had my ski polls in my pack that stuck out and as I was getting up... well he was'nt happy about that, so I had to have my ice axe with him.
hmmm.gif hmmm.gif So you can't use the safety equipment you brought up there becuase of a near mishap? How about just don't hike so close together? There must be more to this than meets the eye (pun not originally intended but what the hey). In any event the one time I did Mailbox it was surely at my own pace. I would never attempt to race/keep up with anybody on this one, especially in snow/icy conditions. Of course I don't know how an official "group condition hike" works or what the rules are. Interestingly enough this one in on my radar to do again. It doesn't look though like the boulder field is all snow covered which I thought it might be. I guess it hasn't snowed much of late. I remember how much I hated going up/down that boulder field over the boulders because everyone else was going that way and the trail at that point was very icy, I let someone talk me out of it. I'm sure with microspikes I would have been fine. Where did the snow/icy conditions start? Was it at the talus/boulder field or well before that in the woods?

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Schmidt Altitude
Whippet Entourage



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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 5:36 pm 
bikejr: When we did Mailbox last Sunday, February 1, the trail was covered with ice/snow at 2800', in the woods well before the talus field. It was so slick we ended up wearing crampons and saw a number of parties turn around without summitting.

"Forest 101: These big wood stick things are called trees. The big rocks are called mountains, and the little rocks are their babies." Elliott from Open Season
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wamtngal
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 6:07 pm 
Where was your TR? I don't believe you went there. tongue.gif wink.gif

Opinions expressed here are my own.
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yukon222
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PostMon Feb 09, 2009 6:12 pm 
Josh, I hope you use your ice axe next time. I wouldn't let someone else tell me whether I could use a particular tool or not. That is my decision to make, not theirs. If they think it is dangerous, they can ask you to keep a certain distance away. Wamtngal - here's the pics from when I was there with the Schmidts last Sunday (after we did Union Peak on Saturday).

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Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis



Joined: 01 Nov 2007
Posts: 4830 | TRs | Pics
Josh Journey
a.k.a Josh Lewis
PostMon Feb 09, 2009 8:56 pm 
Hulksmash wrote:
Those photo's make Mail box look inviting up.gif up.gif
Thanks! It was still an interesting experience, but has changed my understanding of what some people's version of a hike. In my personal opinion it was like rush up, enjoy the summit for a while, rush down.... now if this were'nt a conditioner, I would say that it sucks out the enjoyment of the hike which it does, I also was'nt able to get as many photo's as I wanted on the way up because of our haste.
bcfc53 wrote:
congrats on making the summit... unless the group conditioning requires you to be on the summit by a certain time, you should go on your own pace...forget about the others. i feel that when i attempt to keep up, my heart beats faster because i was anxious on being kept behind and that makes me even more tired. nothing worse than feeling hungry/thirsty..stay hydrated and eat. keep that pack of gu close by to give you a boost. be careful with your ice ax...safety first! leaders like to keep an eye or two!
It was'nt that I was'nt careful with my ice axe.... which I only got to hold for a moment as the leader guy took it away, it was the fact that my ski polls do not fold out, and we required me to wear those jack track thingy's which give me better foot grip, he was nice enough to help me put them on, but as I was getting up, I nearly hit him with it, which concerned him, I told him I could put it in the woods, but he said I would need it, and that I would not need my ice axe, which in my opinion was sorta wrong, and he knew as well as I did that if I had my ice axe, I would use it, so he took it away. I have had training with an ice axe, and know how to use it, but i'm not sure if he trusts me. hmmm.gif
janwalker wrote:
Nice report and beautiful photos, I've heard alot about this trail. I will have to check it out.
It's a great conditioner if your tring to get in shape, or you can take it easy and it makes a good hike.
Highwalker's Daughter wrote:
Fantastic photos! I have planned to do that one this year so good to see what I'll be seeing. I would only take it at my own pace, though. I would not want to be rushed up it. I can go for miles at my pace but not at someone else's. Probably a couple of the others felt pushed also but didn't say anything. Congrats for getting up it - one of my friends has nicknamed it "hell peak". She went up it with a full backpack - a masochist. lol.gif
The reason I did'nt mention everything was because I was very tired from the hike, and I know how East King tells me that I can take the report, but if I wait until the next day... he takes it anyways. smile.gif I would have most certainly wanted to go at my pace, but for a few reasons I went fast, for one I did'nt want to look weak in front of the EastKing wink.gif for two I did'nt want the OSAT thinking I was weak, for three it was a conditioner and I realized that if I'm Climbing Rainier not only would I have to be in shape enough, but I have to be fast enough for everyone's past, and not mine.
Quetzal_Curtissimo wrote:
hi josh, nice pics. if we can just get a muzzle for your mouth you might be allowed to go on another one of these!!! (plus work on your littering, stabbing people in the eyes, etc etc etc, etc etc etc) smile.gif curt
It's always fun to say the truth... now if I were a real rat, I would have said names, other events on the trip, ect. hmmm.gif embarassedlaugh.gif As for the littering, the wrapper was in my pack, and the wind blew, and by the time I looked back, the granola bar wrapper flew a ways away until it went off a cliff, and I did'nt get it in time.

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