Are you a day hiker? A backpacker, who likes to camp? I’ve never been much of a hiker. In fact, I admit, I’m jealous every time I see a friend’s social media pictures of some great vista or alpine lake they hiked to. I think I would really enjoy camping, but my husband doesn’t camp anymore. He said he lived a lifetime of camping in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and doesn’t care to do it again.
But when you live in Washington State, it’s what people do right?
I do hike and camp, at least in the form of climbing at least one mountain every year, for the main purpose of raising money and awareness for cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. And believe it or not I’ve gotten Terron up a few with me. He too, has camped in a tent and reached the summits of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and Mt. Baker!
And so this is the weekend of my annual trek! This year, for the second year in a row, I’m climbing Mt. Shuksan, on my birthday! Mt. Shuksan is one of the most photographed mountains in the world.
She is truly breathtaking!
Mountain climbing is a lot of work! The training, the gear, the packing, the long drive to get there.
So why do I do it? Because I so believe in the incredible work being done at the Hutchinson Center and because as hard as training, packing and climbing may be, it’s nothing compared to the pains of going through cancer treatment.
Last year, my backpack weighed 47 pounds. This year, I’m really trying lighten my load, since I really haven’t trained as hard as I probably should have.
I’m now packed and ready to go! I’ve loaded my backpack with my sleeping bag, sleeping pads, warms socks, pants, jackets, gloves and mittens and I’ve readied my mountain boots, ice axe, trekking poles, crampons and helmet. I’m still decided on which pair of gloves to bring and how many sets of hand and toe warmers I’ll want. In the end, every ounce counts! I didn’t weigh it yet, but it feels good, not too heavy.
Next, I work on the sparse toiletries I’m taking: toothbrush, toothpaste, saline solution, contact lens case, wet ones, hand sanitizer and toilet paper! Again, weight feels good.
Then I’ve got to add my bowl to eat out of, utensils and water bottles, which aren’t full yet. That adds a lot of weight! 
And now to food. Every climb, I always come back with extra food, which means I packed too much, which means I’m carrying extra weight for no reason. I’ve trail mix, a few bars, chocolates and salmon jerky. And I’ve got the stuff to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which I eat for lunch each day. This year, I’m treating myself to my homemade plum jam. (I make pear and plum preserves, jams and chutney every year and usually give it all away as gifts, but this year I made enough to keep a jar for myself!)
Oh and then there are my chocolate covered espresso beans! Another treat I eat usually only once per year, on my mountain climb! And this time, unlike the motorcycle trip I just took to Key West, I’ve packed my camera!
We’ll see how much my backpack weighs when it’s fully loaded, but again, it’s virtually nothing compared with the hardship of going through treatment for cancer. That is something I cannot fathom; the fatigue, the pain, the sickness, the looks others give, the family members and friends who don’t understand, who don’t look at you the same way. This is why I climb, to get money to the incredible researchers at the Hutchinson Center. I’m constantly amazed at their breakthroughs, as the lives they’ve already saved and the countless more I know they will. I believe they will solve the mysteries of cancer; they just need the tools to do it.
Please help them, by making a donation. Every dollar truly does make a difference.
I’ll do the climbing, if you’ll help me pay for the life saving research at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center.
Donate here: http://getinvolved.fhcrc.org/goto/DeniseWhitaker16
adventureckr 