JustKev.in  •  From Lazyman to Ironman, one inactive guy's journey to triathlete (and everything else under his beer helmet.)

report from mitchell & beyond

When a trip starts off with blue lights, things could get interesting…

Friday:

Jenn called to tell me that she unfortunately would not be able to join us on the trip.  She was sick.  Huge bummer!  She told me that she still wanted me to go and have fun, so I decided to stay with her Friday night and head up with Althea on Saturday morning.

Saturday:

I left the house about 10 til 5:00, about 5 minutes late.  I was to meet Andrew (who was driving Karen, Chad and Stephanie) at some point on I-485.  I called him to let him know that I was a little behind, and after a little chastising from Andrew, he told me he would stop along the shoulder of the exit for Tryon and I would flash my light when I saw him.  Well, the boys in blue beat me to him.  When I arrived, there were blue lights ablaze, so of course, I did not stop and let Andrew deal with that.  I got off onto Tryon and figured once Andrew got out of jail, he would give me a call.  Just kidding no jail time, but they were most interested why someone was stopped on the shoulder at 5 AM on Saturday.

After the excitement, we headed on.

We decided to stop at Waffle House along the way, of course.

We arrived at Mount Mitchell State Park parking lot about 30 minutes late of schedule, but not too bad.  We decided to summit Mount Mitchell first since the clouds were all low in the valley and there was a good view.  Also, there were very few people on the summit at this early hour.  1 down, 8 to go.

Next, we headed south to summit Mount Hallback.  This consisted of a bushwhack through relatively thick forest up a fairly steep hill about a 1/4 mile off of the trail.  There happened to be a sign (albeit a little loosely anchored) to mark the summit.  2 down, 7 to go.

After we returned to the trail, we continued on where we hiked past the first gate to the park, a few miles from the summit of Mount Mitchell.  We could tell at this time that the park we getting very busy as the weather was still nice on a Saturday of a holiday weekend.  Several motorcyclists were riding on the scenic roadway.

From there we hiked up a long gravel roadway that led us near to the summit of Mount Gibbes.  This was a slight bushwhack that took us near some very creepy buildings (some abandoned) that apparently were used at times by NC State University.  We found the summit that was not marked, but we are certain we were there.  Snapped some pictures and headed back to the parking area.  3 down, 6 to go.

Along this stretch, Karen, Andrew’s wife, let us know that her knees had been bothering her a good bit all day.  The terrain we were covering is very technical, especially for someone that has had a couple of surgeries and zero cartilage in one knee.  By the time we got back to the cars, we all needed a break.

We ate lunch and rested up before packing our overnight packs to head in the opposite direction towards Deep Gap for the night.  We got about 1/2 mile in and Karen was not doing well.  We could all tell she was in a lot of pain and we decided it would be wise to turn around before it got worse.  The last thing anyone wants is for someone to be 4.5 miles into the back country unable to walk.

We headed back to the cars and decided to still camp in the area so we set out to find a place.

All of the campgrounds we came to were full.  Apparently we weren’t the only people who decided to go camping in the area for the long weekend.  We finally came to a trail head where, after hiking along the trail for about a 1/4 mile, we found a decent place to make camp.  We headed to the cars, packed what we needed for the night and returned to set up.

We got a fire going and made dinner and told stories for a while before turning in.

The next morning we took it easy for a while before breaking camp.  Little else happened, but we did stop to eat at Sonic (since Zaxby’s wasn’t open yet) before heading for home.

All in all a great trip, but we will be back for the remaining 6 peaks!  Get well soon Karen!

P.S. The special places ended up being in restrooms, so nothing to note on that here.

mitchell & beyond!!!

Tonight, Jenn, Althea (Diego would not want to come…) and I will travel to Mount Mitchell State Park to be ready to start our hike to climb 6 9 peaks on the South Beyond 6000 list (SB6K).  We will meet up with Andrew, Karen, Chad and Stephanie tomorrow morning to start the hike.

First, we will head south to climb Mount Hallback (6320 feet) then on to Mount Gibbes (6560 feet).  From there we will return to Mount Mitchell State Park to eat lunch.  After lunch, we will head north on the Black Mountain Crest Trail to visit the peaks of Mount Mitchell (6684 feet), Mount Craig (6647 feet), Balsam Cone (6611 feet), & Potato Hill (6475 feet).  After we summit Potato Hill we will arrive at camp for the night.  We will camp at Deep Gap, where we hope to find a water source. 

Sunday morning we will set out for more peaks on the trail which will include Winter Star Mountain (6212 feet), Gibbs Mountain (6224 feet), & Celo Knob (6327 feet).  We will return to Deep Gap to camp again on Sunday night.

Monday morning we will return to the parking area and make our way back home.  I am sure it will be a fun and exhausting weekend, but I am so excited to be taking Jenn on her first backpacking trip!  I hope it is a great one and she will get hooked like the rest of us!

If we have views anywhere close to this, I will be happy!

new running shoes

I just got a lunch time run of 3 miles and it happened to be the first run in my new shoes!

Of course, I bought them at my favorite running, cycling, swimming, triathlon store, TrySportsMelissa has written on her blog several times about how great they are at TrySports.  Yesterday’s purchase experience was no exception.  Once I walked in, Jenn (an associate that has been there since I have started shopping there) recognized me, said hello and asked how I was and asked how Melissa is.  Now that is customer service!  Keep in mind too, that it has probably been 2 or 3 months since I have been in there.

Once I told them that I think I needed new shoes, they started their fit process.  They put me in a pair of Brooks, had me run on the treadmill to analyze how my feet contacted the treadmill when I ran.  They determined that I still needed a neutral shoe so she got a few out for me to try on.

I ended up deciding on a pair of Mizuno Wave Creation 10’s.  They have a different feel than my old Saucony’s.  Not that I didn’t like them, because I loved them, I just wanted to try something different to see if there was something possibly better out there.

After my first run, I still like them.

They are interesting because the cushion is really different than that of a normal shoe.  Instead of cushion all over the bottom of the shoe, your foot rests on a sturdy foot-bed and the ankle area is supported by several cushion “points” so-to-speak.  I will show the picture so you can see what I am talking about.

Of course, I had them put a pair of Yankz! in for the ease of use that they offer.  When they asked me what color, I said “white, I guess” to which they promptly told me that was boring so we compromised and I ended up with reflective white.

After getting the shoes, I met up with Andrew, Breanna, Chad and Stephanie at REI to get some food for Mitchell & Beyond coming up memorial day weekend!  Two of my favorite stores in one day woohoo!  Oh, and did I mention that I was able to convince Jenn to join us this time for her first backpacking trip!?  So excited!

unorganized training

I am less than 3 weeks from my first triathlon of the year and I am in no way training like I “should” be.  I have battled back issues, lack of motivation and job stress this year, but those are all excuses.  I am extremely excited that the race is coming up and although I am not training correctly, I am fitting in workouts.  I wore my Garmin while we walked around the Greenway at Earth Day festivities and for mowing the lawn and walked a total of 4.41 miles.  I rode my bike to a pub last Saturday night to meet up with a buddy before he goes to Afghanistan with the Army (4.44 miles and 3.87 miles).  I ran at lunch on Monday (3 miles).  I wore my Garmin while I went to the zoo on Tuesday with Jenn, Mia and Sadie (6.31 miles).  I rode to work on Wednesday (9.79 miles) and back home (9.59 miles).  Since Saturday, I have logged 41.42 miles and burned 4,050 calories.  Again, this is not ideal training, but I am finding things to do that work with my schedule.

I hope to get some swimming in this weekend and possibly a “long” run of 7 miles or so.  Also, I want to get Melissa back on her bike!

Speaking of Melissa, she fired me up for Tri the Rock coming up on 5/8/10 with this post that includes a reference to one of my favorite stickers on my “new” 4Runner:

running…harder than it should be these days

I had a great long weekend with my girls this past weekend.  We went to the mountains (my favorite place to be) for the holiday weekend.  I was able to go on a couple of runs, but it was so much harder than it should have been.  I am not in as good of shape as I had gotten prior to the marathon last year and I am not used to the heat we are experiencing right now.  Add to that, I was in the mountains and my first run on Friday was very hilly.  I went back out for another runon Saturday, but this time I found a relatively flat course at a nearby park.  On Sunday, we went for a hike to visit Tom’s Creek Falls and even that was tougher than it needed to be.

I have signed up for Charlotte Racefest 1/2 marathonthis Saturday, but I have decided to switch to the 10K race to avoid injury.  I will also begin cycling to work again to get extra cardio in.

Any other suggestions?

April Fools

Today is April 1st, 2010 and I am stuck at work.  This weekend should be nice, as I have a holiday tomorrow for Good Friday and Jenn, the girls, our dogs and I are all going to our in law’s cabin in the NC mountains. 

I plan to get a couple of runs in over the weekend as well as a little hiking.  My training as of late has been lacking and I need to get it in gear with a half marathon coming up next weekend.  I was able to get some miles on the bike last weekend and I will try my best to ride to work and home some next week.  With my first triathlon coming up in a little more than a month, I need to get bike time in.  Is it bad that I haven’t been for a swim in 6 months!?

I hope this isn't me at Tri the Rock!

Roan Mountain Trip

This past weekend’s trip to the Roan Mountain Highlands was fantastic.  I joined Melissa, Althea (my dog), Andrew, Karen, Chad, Stephanie, Tyler, Chris and Aaron for a trip to summit 3 of the peaks on the SB6K list of 40 peaks in the southern appalachians that are over 6,000 feet in elevation.

The weekend started late Friday night when Melissa and I drove up to the trail head and arrived around midnight.  We slept in the car with Althea and ended the short sleep at 5:30 to get ready to start hiking.  Andrew and the others arrived around 6:00 and we set off on the hike a little after 6:30.

Althea

We first summited Grassy Ridge Bald.  This hike is phenomenal.  Especially with perfectly clear skies and the sun rising over the mountains in the distance.  Almost a surreal, inspirational experience that reminded me (not that I needed it) of why I do these things.  To experience such a beautiful landscape is a feeling for me that I cannot put into words.

Sunrise on the way to Grassy Ridge Bald

The group minus Melissa (photographer)

Self Portrait

This was an out and back trail that brought us back to the cars.  After finalizing our packs for the rest of the trip, we set out in the other direction for the second peak, Roan High Knob.  This peak was 100 feet or so away from the Appalachian Trail Shelter that we were to sleep in on Saturday night.  The peak itself was somewhat disappointing with no sweeping views; not even a sign or marker to tell you of your accomplishment.  We made it a little more interesting, thanks to Melissa’s camera angle.

Me "climbing" to the summit

Andrew "climbing" to the summit

Lunch cooking!

Roan High Knob Shelter

After some lunch, we set out for the third peak, Roan High Bluff.  At this point in the day, the snow had warmed up quite a bit and very often, we would find that a foot would randomly fall about 3 feet into the snow.  This made the hiking much more difficult than we thought it would be.  Once we reached the third summit, we were all exhausted.  We made it back to the shelter and even experienced some trail magic: a timely encounter with a snow plow!

On the top at Roan High Bluff

Stuck in the snow again...

Yay for the snow plow!

Check out the massive amount of snow there!

That night, we ate dinner, sat around a warm fire and generally celebrated the day.  We hiked down the next morning and in the end, hiked 12.62 miles in 8 hours, 19 minutesand had a total elevation gain of 3,202 feet.  It leaves me with one question: when’s the next trip?

Me (with my right leg in the snow) & Althea

An awesome bench and "wall" of snow that Chris and Chad built

A very warm fire!

Roan Mountain!

250px-Roan_RhodiesWith only 2 days to go before I leave for Roan Mountain, I am getting very excited.  I have been going through my pack and trying to think of anything I have left out.  As Andrew pointed out, I failed to list a bear bag on my previous post.  I use the waterproof stuff sack that I pack my food in as my bear bag.  I also bring an Opsak to store food in that makes it undetectable if used correctly.  The bear bag will be hung in a tree far from our campsite to keep the bears away!

What have I missed?

4 days to go!

ENOWith only 4 days until we set out for Roan Mountain, things are coming together.  Final plan is to meet up with Melissa, and she, Althea and I will drive up to the trail head on Friday night.  Andrew and his crew will meet us Saturday morning and we will start hiking no later than 6:30.  I got most of my things packed over the weekend and if I can keep Mia and Sadie from rummaging through my pack, I should have everything I need!

Roan Mountain To Pack List

grassyridgeFor those of you that might think a back country hiking trip is intimidating, I hope to simplify the task by sharing my pack list.  This trip is a one night trip that includes sleeping in a shelter, so it is more or less a very light weight trip compared to those that require a tent and more food and clothing.  I plan to drive to the trail head the night before and be back at the car for breakfast the morning after we camp, so I will be able to leave some things in the car, too.  I will also bring my dog, Althea, along and she has her own pack to lighten my load (and expel some of her abundant energy!)

For my backpack:

  • Food/snacks (a little extra just in case)
  • Stove
  • Gas
  • Pot to boil water in
  • Spork (an all in one fork, spoon and knife)
  • Lighter, fire starter
  • Extra Clothes – socks, liners, underwear, undershirt, rain jacket
  • Pack cover
  • TP and shovel (for the special places…)
  • Multi-tool
  • Cordage
  • First Aid Kit
  • Water bottles, bladder
  • Steripen (water purifier)
  • Tripod
  • Camera
  • Sleeping bag
  • Hammock
  • Slap straps (to hang hammock)
  • Sleeping pad
  • Flashlight
  • Headlight
  • Spare Batteries
  • Summit/day pack

To wear when I set out hiking:

  • Hiking pants
  • Socks
  • Liner socks
  • Boots
  • Hiking shirt
  • Undershirt
  • Garmin watch

For Althea’s Pack:

  • Dog food
  • Leash
  • Dog bowl
  • Water bottles
  • Bear bell

To bring & leave in car:

  • Tent
  • Extra sleeping bag/pad
  • Cooler with water and Mountain Dew
  • Fleece Jacket, hat and gloves