Mount Olympus in December!

Saturday morning I had the chance to bag another peak - one that my brother had also never been on.

Matt picked me up and we drove down to the Mt. Olympus trailhead - where we met Craig and Jeremy. Craig handed me a pair of hardly used Altra Lone Peaks, and I switched to them from my much used and bald New Balance Minimus while everybody else put on their MICROspikes. Since I didn't have any spikes - my brother brought me his trek poles to use. Boy were they useful to have!

Craig, Matt, and the poles

Even in my new Lone Peaks there were a lot of really slick spots. Also - I wore short socks so my ankles were COLD!

If it hadn't been so windy at the top - I totally would have taken my shirts off because... How often do you get to be shirtless at the top of a mountain 3 days before Christmas?!

WINDY!!

 

Woohoo! I'm on top of the world!!

The wind is trying to blow me away!

The weather really was great, except for that wind - the wind continued from when we got to the top and on - heralding the storm that was to come on Christmas Eve.

I still got in a Mayurasana at the top!

On the way back down, we had some fun taking some downhill pictures and having fun!

Then out of the snow, I grabbed a few more fun yoga-type pics!

Find the Sasquatch!

The Wilderness? Really!?

Fallen Angel

Brothers! (Literally)

I ran into a tree...

The total for the trip was 6.86 miles in 3 and a half hours! Steep and slow! But a lot of fun.
It was really interesting to see hikers in full gear and we passed them while we were halfway up - they were going down - and we beat them to the bottom! People don't realize that you don't need as much STUFF to be up in the mountains. It is good to know your own limits and requirements - but with a little planning and effort and faith in your own abilities (of course, don't be STUPID!) you really can do amazing things quickly and with a more minimal approach.

That was Saturday. Next up - Christmas and Lake Mountain the next day!