Take It to the Lake - 2014 Race

On Saturday the kids and I headed to Cave Lake for the third annual Take It to the Lake Race sponsored by the Ely Outdoor Enthusiasts. This was my third time to race; in 2012 I did the half marathon, last year the 10k, and this year the 10k. The kids were there for the Kids Fun Run, a mile-long race. Overall there were many more participants this year than last.

The race course changed from the previous years; instead of getting bussed to a starting point and running nearly the entire race uphill, we started at the lake and ran downhill and then turned around and back uphill. I liked that better.

The 10k race started at 8:30 am and my goal was to be back in time for the kids run at 9:30. However, due to a serious lack of training (my longest run was 3 miles, and I didn't even run the whole thing), I finished in 1:04, so missed the start of the kids run. However, that time was good enough to put me in third place for the female finishers. And our friend Clint won the overall 10k! Way to go!

After the run, I "took it to the lake" and plunged myself into Cave Lake to cool off (I had been wanting to do that the past two years and finally worked up the courage to do it this year and it felt so good!). Then I went in search of the kids.

Desert Boy was running well.

He had quite a determined look on his face for this photo!

I had to go quite a bit farther to find Desert Girl, who was hanging out with friends and alternating walking and running. Some year they won't be last. But they're having fun, and that's what matters!

And they all got medals a the finish line, which they treasured.

Perhaps their favorite part was the mud foot bath after the race.

Some of the kids took a full plunge, although the lake was on the cold side.

We all had a good time and enjoyed the BBQ lunch and raffle afterwards. Maybe next year I will find the time to train a little better. At least I'm now trained up for a race I just heard about--a triathlon in Delta, Utah on October 4. Desert Boy will give it a go as his first triathlon--stay tuned to see how that goes!

Block Island Organics Sunscreen Review

I was contacted by Block Island Organics to see if I'd be willing to do a review of one of their sunscreens, and I quickly said yes. Last year I was quite unsatisfied with the sunscreens we used, so this year I did some research to try to find better ones. I still hadn't found the perfect one though.

What's the perfect sunscreen?
I want sunscreen that works, is good for the skin, and is a reasonable cost.

The first and last parts are fairly obvious, but how do you know if it's good for the skin? My favorite resource is the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database. If you haven't already checked your sunscreen, I recommend you do. Some common ones, like Hawaiian Tropic, have very high ratings, which mean they are more toxic. The database explains why. Even some brands that you think would be good for you, like Trader Joe's, score poorly. Some brands, like Banana Boat, have products that run the spectrum from good to poor. All of Block Island Organics sunscreens score 1 or 2, the best scores a product can get.

Here we all are with Block Island Organics SPF 15 sunscreen on. Desert Boy didn't get his rubbed in all the way so has white splotches on his cheeks, but the rest of us did better.

We tried out Block Island Organics SPF 15 sunscreen on a couple hikes that happened to be above 10,000 feet, which means the suns rays are extra strong due to the lack of air to filter the sunlight. The sunscreen did great, but according to the bottle needs to be reapplied every two hours, so don't forget!

What I like about Block Island Organics SPF 15:
* No fragrance
* Keeps me from getting sunburned
* Works well on kids, too
* Just a little spreads onto a big area
* Large 6 ounce bottle will last a long time

What I don't like so much:
* It's a little hard to get soaked into skin (this has been true with all mineral sunscreens I've tried)
* If you don't rub it in immediately, it leaves white splotches
* I keep forgetting that a little goes a long way and squeeze too much out!
* Cost is a bit high (but be sure to see below!)

As I mentioned earlier, cost is something I consider for sunscreen (and any product I buy). I'm willing to pay more for something if it's better quality. With that said, the full price for Block Island Organics sunscreens is too high for me. However...

Special Deal
Here's a sweet deal. Block Island Organics is offering my readers a 20% discount off their products with code gretchenb. This stacks with the sale they're offering right now (30% off), so you can get a really good deal on a great product! The code is only good until 9/24/14.

What products do you recommend that help you enjoy your times in the outdoors more?

(I received a bottle of Block Island Organics sunscreen for this review. All commentary is my honest opinion.)

A Few Sights at Mount Rainier National Park

Before my husband and I started our big climb, we had time to see just a few things at Mt. Rainier National Park. The entrance with the huge beams is impressive. Then the road continues through massive trees. Once in awhile you can get a peek at the mountain.

Since I knew we would be above treeline for most of our trip, I really wanted some time to savor the huge old trees lower on the slopes. We took a short 0.4 mile hike to some impressive trees.

I liked seeing how these two species had grown together.

My husband spotted a banana slug. This is definitely a creature we don't have around in the desert!

Then we went for a 2.2 mile-round trip to Carter Falls. I was delighted that we got to start our trip on this cool bridge over the Nisqually River.

The water was low in September, I can only imagine how scary it might be to cross in June when the water is a lot higher.

We came across this old wooden pipeline, wrapped in metal. We were clearly walking on an old road, but never found out more about the history of this area. This is part of the 93-mile long Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates the mountain. On our way back down, we found an older man who was hiking it from Longmire to Sunrise. Soon after we found two middle-aged women who were planning on hiking the whole trail, which takes 10-14 days. Only about 200-250 people complete the entire trail each year, which has over 22,000 feet elevation change. That's like climbing Mount Rainier multiple times! These two ladies had climbed the mountain a couple years ago and were now excited to see the park from a different perspective.

A close-up of the old pipe.


It didn't take us long to get to Carter Falls, one of the many waterfalls in the park. I had fun playing with a new filter as I photographed the falls.

After we hiked back to the vehicle, we drove up to Paradise, one of the main attractions of the park due to the wildflower displays. We didn't want to do any hiking here, as we would be on the trail from here up the mountain the next day. Also, some of the trails were closed due to repaving. That led to one lady who arrived to gasp, "It's closed!" She thought the whole mountain was closed and was clearly distraught. Hopefully she noticed people hiking on the detour route.

We checked out the visitor center, which had some rather unsatisfying exhibits hidden away in a corner on the second floor. It was clear that the construction had been done to support the 30-foot snows that occur some winters.

Then we went over to the Paradise Inn. It would have been fun to stay there! We thought we might each lunch there, but they started serving too late for us to make it back to our check-in for our climb.

The lobby had some interesting architecture. We hope to come back here.

We also went over to the Guide Service building. It looked like it had interesting exhibits where maybe we could have learned more about my husband's grandfather and his guiding days, but it was all locked up. The season at Paradise is very, very short, mainly July and August, with some hours in September.

We grabbed a bite in the cafe and then headed back down the mountain. We stopped to take a look at Naruda Falls. Here is the river before it drops.

And here is the marvelous waterfall. (Can you see the bridge at the top? That's where I took the photo from above.) An old interpretive sign about geology had us stymied, but fortunately a newer one helped to explain better that we were seeing a contact zone at the bottom of the falls between volcanic rock of Mount Rainier and other rock (uh, my memory fails me what kind of rock!) of the Tatoosh Range.

We stopped in at the Longmire Museum, where the dated exhibits were much more helpful than the newer ones at Paradise. The kind volunteer at the Museum was also able to answer all our questions.

I had to take a quick photo of this old touring bus. Nowadays traffic is really high on the park roads, necessitating lots of construction to try and keep up (not to mention all the floods that periodically wipe out large portions of roads).

There is so much more to see at Mount Rainier National Park, but we'll have to see it on another trip. It sure is a lot different than the desert, and it's interesting to see how people, animals, and plants adapt to so much more precipitation.

Hiking with Kids-North Schell Peak, Nevada

My husband and I will soon be off on our tenth anniversary trip. We decided to climb Mount Rainier, at 14,410 ft. To prepare, we decided we should hike one mountain peak a month, and we've amazingly been able to stick to that training plan.

In April we hiked Crystal Peak, 7,108 ft, 2.5 miles round trip, a few hundred ft elevation gain.

In May we hiked Wheeler Peak, 13,063 ft, eight miles round trip, about 3,000 ft elevation gain.

In June we hiked Mount Moriah, 12,050 ft, 7.5 miles round trip, about 2,000 ft elevation gain.

In July we hiked Pyramid Peak, 11,998 ft, 8 miles round trip, 3,900 ft elevation gain.

And in August we hiked North Schell Peak, 11,883 ft, 6 miles round trip, 2,800 ft elevation gain.

Here's the story of the North Schell Peak trip, a peak I really enjoyed.

The night before we stayed at the Timber Creek campground. Since it's not far from Ely, we fully expected it to be full, but only two other campsites (of about 11 there) had tents up. Each site had a concrete pad, fire pit, picnic table, and lots of space. Potable water and pit toilets were nearby.

It was a chilly night, and we woke to frost on our packs. So we got up, left the tent in place, drove to the end of the road, and started hiking. We followed an old road through the aspens.

The old road followed Timber Creek as it curved to the north. The scenery was gorgeous.

The trail climbed steadily along the drainage. I hadn't even expected a trail so far up, so was very pleasantly surprised. The creek went dry, but we did find an occasional spring.

I even found a few ferns in a cool, moist spot.

And also a deer skeleton. Even though it's bow season, we didn't see any hunters.

The trail petered out as the creek bed merged into alpine slopes. We stopped for one of many snack breaks and snapped a quick family photo (I've learned not to wait until the top!).

Then we knew we just needed to go up. A gentle ridge beckoned us.

The lupine was still blooming, although some seed looked ready.

We found some wood up high on the slope, above any trees, indicating that the forest used to be up higher on the slopes.

Although Desert Girl was carried for about 500 ft elevation gain, she did most of the hike. One technique that was particularly effective was for her to share her dad's hiking poles. When he moved a pole forward, that helped propel her forward.

Desert Boy was charging ahead to the summit, except that what he thought was the summit was a false summit. It was a hard lesson to learn. Fortunately the bribe of pizza after the hike helped rekindle everyone's spirits. Plus as we got higher, the scenery was so dramatic.

Finally we only had the last ridge to climb, past the small wind shelter.

I got distracted by the alpine plants, which are so diminutive due to their short growing season and harsh conditions they have to withstand.

When I looked up from photographing plants, I saw my husband and kids making good progress.

The ridge had looked so sharp from below, but was not at all hard to hike up. We were glad we had our coats, it was cold!

And then we were there! Even our dog Henry made it.

Of course the top isn't the end of the hike, it's only halfway! We still had to get back to the vehicle. We debated going back the way we had come (which would have been a good idea and easier) or following the ridge and taking the straight line down. Since we seem to be suckers for taking the hike less traveled, we followed the ridge.

A huge group of ravens hung out in the leeward side of a saddle.

The buckwheat was beautiful.

Someday I'd like to hike a lot more of the crest. The Schell Creek Range is 142 miles long. I don't think I need to hike all that, but a few more miles would be beautiful.

Can you spot the people? We didn't see anyone else on our entire hike. The register from mid-July had seven people signed in. Nevertheless, North Schell Peak is a popular peak with those wanting to hike peaks with greater than 5,000 feet prominence. (Here's a list of ultra-prominent peaks in the lower 48).

It was blustery on our way down.


Although the landscape views are superb, I like taking in the little details, too, like the little wasp. It had a variety of flowers to visit.

Some of the quartzite rocks had interesting patterns in them.

And here's a pretty butterfly.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular. Have I mentioned that already? I know that I certainly never pictured Nevada looking like some of it does. The Basin and Range topography makes for a huge diversity of habitats.

Before long we reached a huge aspen grove, with most of the aspens bent due to winter snows.

It took us four hours to get up and about 2.5 hours to get down, with a round-trip total of close to six miles. It could certainly be done faster if you didn't need to take as many snack breaks!

Before we left the canyon, we had to stop at the playground. Yes, Timber Creek campground has a playground!

I hope to get back to the Schell Creek Range to do some more hiking. It is gorgeous and uncrowded.