Ruckel Creek--AKA beauty and the beast

Ruckel creek hike yesterday (in the gorge, another nice decently-steep training trail). We had a beautiful day for the most part, warm enough for tank top--woo-hoo!

Flowers were blooming along the side, and no rain to speak of. 

Great views of the river up and back.

And the best group of fellow hikers anyone could ask for.

The crew--smiling @ the top of the trail

Eric in the Rock Pit

All of the above were the Beautiful parts of the day.

Enter: The Beast!

Challenging trail, made tougher on my part by the decision to break in new mountaineering boots. Good news: I made it up and back, and we were on a 5 hour training hike instead of a 2-day climb. Bad news: it hurt, and I think my feet broke more than the boots. (Scroll all the way down for photo of blister fun IF YOU DARE).

All in all though, a good day,  and I loved the trail.

The Tally: 
Mt Rainier                          17 mi      9,000 ft elevation gain
Training Hikes So Far       79 mi     27,100 ft elevation gain


FUNDRAISING: Up to 65% of my goal! Keep track of my progress or donate HERE. Only 9 more days until the final deadline!
























































The beastly blisters. Could be worse, can't see bone yet!

In a word: Ouch :(