Month: May 2022

The amount of snow on Mt. St. Helens is closer to what we normally see mid-winter. Chatting with a Mt. St. Helens Institute ambassador(?) at the summit, he said there is about 60 feet of snow on the Swift Glacier (at about 7,000 feet). Fun fact I learned from the very same guy: The glacier in the crater is the only glacier in the US that is growing. Wind blown snow and collapsing cornices accumulate in the shaded north facing crater. Super cool.

T and I left Marble Mount Sno Park around 4:45 and got to Chocolate Falls just before 6. We stayed on the rocks of Worm Flows route and picked our way up. Apparently after the last snow the first person to climb set a boot pack far left of the normal route. Everyone then followed that boot pack and that’s the current spring route. It’s far climber’s left of the regular route. If someone were to go skiers right from the summit, you would be in very sketch terrain (cornices and wet slides) and be 2 drainages over from the Chocolate Falls drainage. It was a long day but we had warm temps, sunshine, soft snow and very little wind. Perfect Sunday dad/daughter outing. Her request after we got back to the car was for a large Dairy Queen Blizzard. Done and done 🙂

Spent last week visiting my family in Maui. My brother sailed solo overnight from Oahu and anchored in Lahaina. My family flew from Portland and set up base camp in Kihei where my mom lives. I’m grateful that I could see my mom, brother and niece and tour around the island with my wife and children and have these experiences with them – we often get so caught up in our day to day lives that it becomes difficult to step out of the flow and just pause to experience this beautiful world.

I was quarantined with Covid the week before we left and then masked up for the journey. The sunshine and salt water was probably the best medicine for beginning to feel better. I had about 48 hours of miserable body aches, then minor congestion, then no symptoms.

We said goodbye to everyone yesterday, my brother will spend the next 2 weeks sailing back to Oahu around Molokai with his daughters, my mom leaves for the Azores for a month to work on her novel.

We returned to rain and 50 degree temperatures in Portland – the wettest spring in 11 years. Fingers crossed the wet spring will delay or mitigate the summer fire season.

There were so many highlights and everyone hustled to tour around from sunrise to sunset, but spending the day with family, snorkeling at Maluaka Beach with my daughters and brother and eating fish tacos from the food truck on the side of the road was one of the simple highlights of the trip. Maui is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.

Last week I had 2 threshold workouts on the trainer, and one hard running hill workout, max HR. Thursday my watch was telling me “Your current training load is going in the right direction, but your fitness is declining. Try reducing stress and get more rest.” Weird. I knew something was going on.

Friday I was tired. Afternoon nap tired… then my lower right lumbar started to feel sore. I thought maybe it was from being on the trainer… or I need new running shoes. Saturday I decided to rest and was planning to run on Sunday. Saturday night was rough. I started sneezing before I went to bed, then couldn’t sleep as the inflammation started to kick in and my back became more and more sore. I was waking up and falling asleep, my nose was running. I got about 6 hours of sleep Saturday. Sunday morning I woke up and realized I probably have Covid. I took a test and before the 15 minute timer went off, I was lined up. I have Covid.

I’m proud to have made it this far. The new variants are extremely transmissible. I think I was exposed at the soccer match or at the pizza place. It doesn’t really matter. Sunday night I had chills and sweats, no sore throat, no loss of smell, not really any congestion. Today is Monday and I almost feel back to normal.

Mild so far. I’m grateful that I have a place to quarantine away from the rest of the family. I missed going to see Hamilton with everyone yesterday (it would have been the 2nd time). I’m going to test again on Wednesday, then again on Friday. I’m scheduled to fly soon and would like a negative test before I fly. Fingers crossed.

I’ve been extremely careful the past 2+ years… but with the relaxed masking rules and more transmissible variants, I guess it was bound to happen. We’re set up for a 4th wave, just like the Spanish flu. I’m just hoping being vaxxed, boosted and now infected will give me as much protection as possible.

That’s the story of how I got Covid-19 in May 2022.