Picture this; you’re on a small, 32’ sailboat, on your way to Alaska and in the darkest moment of the night, in the middle of wide open water and you hit something hard!  Really hard.  This, the members of Team Sail Like A Girl now say was their scariest moment in R2AK; the Race to Alaska.  I first met some of these ladies in January, at the Seattle Boat Show and now I had the chance to interview them, upon their return from R2AK.  

      They had just crossed one of the waypoints in Bella Bella in the Race to Alaska, in first place and were moving on, trying to keep their speed and pace, on their way to potentially win the race at its finish in Ketchikan.

    What is the Race to Alaska?  It is a true test of physical endurance; no motors, no support.

These women say it’s about getting way, way outside of your comfort zone.  When they formed Team Sail Like A Girl, 9 months earlier, some of them had never met before.  At least one, had never sailed before!  But they came together, because they each shared a determination and a goal to empower each other and other women, in what they call a rather male dominated sport.

   They bought a boat designed for day sailing, so this boat does not have a head.  There’s no galley and it’s small, just 32 feet long and for this race, now crammed with a life raft, 45 gallons of water, food, warm clothing and survival suits for 7 women.  They described it like being in a spacecraft, completely self-contained!

   They knew they couldn’t, wouldn’t be able to sail all the way up, so came up with another way to power the boat without a motor.  Bicycles!  They spent months designing, building and welding two bicycles onto the back of the boat, each attached to a propeller under water, so they could pedal when there was no wind to lift their sails.

“It was sort of like two different races going on, on one boat, because when you were on the bikes you could help laughing,” said team member Allison Ekberg Dvaladze.

        There was no laughter, that scary moment, in the middle of a dark night, when they hit something big.

     “…pitch black, little-bit foggy, no moon, um, couldn’t see the water, we’re navigating through a narrow channel with rock kind-of formations in the center of the channel so I was standing there with the GPS in my hand and it was a car-crash. I mean, we came, we were going 6 knots and we went to an abrupt stop, and I thought we hit rocks,” said Captain of the boat, Jeanne Goussev.

   But she said she had the GPS in her hand and it showed no rocks.  They scrambled around in the dark to see what they hit and they discovered that they were on top of a log!

     “And the log was 20 inches wide, it was pinned against our keel, and it was leaning off the stern, so we figure it was somewhere from 15 to 20 feet long, and we didn’t know what kind of damage we had, we had flashlights out on deck, we had all hands on deck” said Goussev.

            I was terrified, I heard this loudest noise I’d ever heard in my life, it felt like because you feel it in your soul right like ‘oh my god’ who knows what’s going to happen and where’s the lifeboat?” said team member Anna Stevens.

     They figured they were at least 30 hours away from any kind of Coast Guard rescue if it would come to that.

“And uh, then looking at the log as I saw it underneath the boat and I was like, this is like looking into the eyes of a lion that’s about to attack me, this is the thing that’s trying to take us down,” said Stevens.

    They freed the boat of the log, but didn’t know if it damaged the hull, if they were taking on water so they pumped the boat dry of water and kept a close eye on everything, taking it very slowly for hours, until daylight.  When the sun came up they realized they were in good shape, but feared they had lost their position in the race, that is until they suddenly got cell service again and family members, following the tracking of the race, texted them that they were still in the lead!

    “Never in my wildest dreams, you know I’d hoped that; I didn’t know that we would place first so that additional just exhilaration, to have so much energy it was wonderful. and to have the love and support of everyone chiming in from home. It was just so special,” said Goussev.

 They sailed into Ketchikan and gathered as a team to ring the winning bell together as one!

   “So much perseverance and courage in this team. I really hope that we can encourage women to step up and step up outside of their comfort zone and tackle things they’re afraid of and do it with grit and determination,” said Goussev.

  They won $10,000.  Whatever is left over from paying their bills, Team Sail Like A Girl will donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

     And what will you do today?  Empower yourself?  Someone else?  I’m headed out on a run right now, to empower my health!

Another Spring weekend, means another series of construction zones!  I would suggest anyone planning to drive through Seattle, do exactly what I did last weekend; avoid I-5 through Seattle at all costs!

We decided to dust off the motorcycles last weekend.  When it came down to choosing a destination, I automatically wiped a large portion of the state off our list of possibilities, because I didn’t’ ‘want to deal with any part of the Revive I-5 project.  I wanted to head south and hit the coast, but our neighbors were joining us and the guys decided Hurricane Ridge would be a good destination.  I reluctantly agreed.

Now, the quickest way to get there, would mean using I-5, but I absolutely would not budge on avoiding it, so we found a creative, back road-filled, scenic way to get up there!

From Burien, we headed North to the Fauntleroy Ferry to sail over to Southworth.  Once we exited the ferry, over on the Kitsap side, we headed south to Belfair, picked up State Route 106 to State Route 101 and then headed North all the way up the West side of Hood Canal.  It’s a beautiful drive past Alderbrook, through Union, Hoodsport and Lilliwaup, passing by so many family cabins, docks and boats on the water.

Before we reached Dosewallips State Park at Brinnon we stopped off at our favorite lunch spot, The Geoduck.  We got there just in time (at 11:00 am) to snag the last table out on the deck, overlooking Hood Canal.   Our bikes were the only ones parked at the time we got there and soon after about another bikes lined up next to ours, bikers filling the tables inside the restaurant.

After we feasted on our lunch, we hit the road again.  We continue up through Quilcene, Sequim and Port Angeles and made the turn off to Hurricane Ridge.  Almost immediately after the turn off; construction!  I was slipping and sliding and bouncing over gravel patches on the road.  I was just about to say, let’s turn around when we hit the entrance to Olympic National Park.  I verified with the park ranger that we had come to end of the construction mess, before paying $20 per bike to get in.  Thank goodness!

So we start up the winding road to the visitor’s center when we come upon a bunch of cars pulled over the side of the road and people with camera lenses trained up the gully.  What is everybody looking at?  Then I see them!  Two bear cubs up the hill, their mother positioned between us and them!  How incredible, to see them so close, just eating and minding their own business.  It was very interesting to see momma bear turn and look toward the road at one point.  Someone must have made a move or a noise that caught her attention, but after a brief glare, she went back to eating.

My husband snapped some great pictures and we moved up the visitor’s center.  There were still a number of large snow patches, even a big area of snow on the back patio of the visitor’s center.   I couldn’t resist running up into the snow and making a snowball to play a super short game of catch with myself!  We walked around, took some pictures and were headed back to the bikes, when we spotted a bunch of deer grazing on the hill below us.

Then a guy walked up to me and said, “it is you!”  I responded, “I don’t know, is it?”  He then explained that he recognized my purple seat and helmet, that he follows me on twitter and Facebook and my blogged adventures.   Gavan let me know he lives in Tacoma and that his wife wanted to go to Hurricane Ridge for Mother’s day, so they went.  So many families and couples up there enjoying such a gorgeous day!

We then hit the road home, crossing the Hood Canal bridge this time, headed back down through Bremerton and Port Orchard, to the Southworth ferry terminal.  Because it’s mother’s day, the boats are running way behind schedule.  So we sit on the dock, chatting with other motorcycle riders.  After leaving the house at 8:00 am, we arrived back, 12 hours later.

It was such a perfect day weather-wise!  It was not too warm or cool at all.

Thank goodness the guys picked Hurricane Ridge and I had the patience to go with the flow, or I would have missed those bears!  Oh and there are still 3 more weekends of Revive I-5 work ahead this summer, so plan your adventures carefully!

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 82^nd 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

  Where in the world did June go?

     Oh yeah, I spent most of it criss-crossing the country on my motorcycle.  Then I launched right into back to back weekends on the water, enjoying our boat.  Hey, I deserved some relaxation time, after all the riding, right?  Doesn’t everyone want a vacation after their vacation?  A little lounging…a little shopping….sleeping in!

    Less than 72 hours after getting off the motorcycle, my husband Terron and I hit the water, cruising in our boat from Seattle over to Bainbridge Island for the 4^th of July weekend.  The businesses and community groups there really do a great job with this holiday.   This is the first year I’ve ever experienced it.  We enjoyed yummy food vendors, artists, an all ages street dance Sunday night, a great parade on Monday and then a spectacular fireworks display!

    Now unfortunately, I worked on the holiday, so I had to sneak in sleep time before dinner on the 4^th, so that I could stay up for the fireworks.  But I have to say that 5 day work week in which most had a 4 or even a 3 work week, really went by fast for me.  Before I knew it, it was time to hit the water again!

     So, we buttoned the boat up on Tuesday, July 5 and slept at home 3nights, then went right back to the boat on Friday, July 8.  Hey, I really can’t help it that our weather is awesome and there’s a different fair or festival going on every weekend!

   This time, we motored over to Shilshole Marina, just outside the locks, so that we could walk up to the Ballard Seafood Fest and Ballard Farmer’s Market.

  Where else could I eat fried frog legs, a Denmark Herring sandwich and Alligator on a stick, in all one city block?   Those are the three delicacies I opted to try, passing on other scrumptious looking foods, like scallops, alderwood smoked salmon, crab cakes and more!  Full of the stuff I tried at Seafood Fest on Saturday – I ate a light breakfast Sunday, so that I could go in for more great tastes, walking through the Sunday Farmers Market in Ballard.

    I puckered up for some great, locally grown pickles.  Down the way I tasted smoked salmon and bought a package to take home and I left with fresh beets.    Our group ducked into Noble Fir for a little refreshment and we ended up sharing a glass of the Brandy Barrel-Aged Angel’s Share Dark Strong Ale.  Wow!  That’s about all I can say, other than this is truly a sipping beer and I’m glad that 6 of us shared 1 glass!

       Now there are still a lot of weekends left in summer and many, many different events to attend.

   Please share your favorites with me!  I love trying new and different things.  I last went to Seafood Fest about 6 years ago.  I do have some perennial favorites that I frequent; like Opening Day of Boating Season, but for the most part I like variety, not only in the setting but in the journey to get there.  I’ve explored many miles and regions of this great state, but not all of it, so tell me where I should go!

    You’ve got time, since this weekend is taken care of.  I’m going to climb a mountain!  All in the name of cancer research.  Stay tuned to see all the gear I need to carry!

So you wouldn’t think that there’d be much to do after returning from a Corner to Corner motorcycle adventure, but there’s more than meets the eye!

I’ve settled back into my work schedule, no problem, even though my alarm goes off at 2:00 am so that I’m at work by 3.  But there’s the yard, that’s now very tall after growing without being cut for almost 3 weeks and the laundry and the what not around the house that needs to be done.

The clothes washed up in 1 load.  We carried only 4 days worth of clothing and did laundry every 4 days on the road.  There’s not a lot of space for luggage on a bike.

Here’s how it breaks down on my bike.  The right side luggage compartment holds coat and pants liners, heavy gloves, a wool sweater, an extra coat; the stuff you need to put on if you hit cold weather.

The left side luggage compartment holds the bag I carry into the hotel every night;  my toiletry & makeup bags, my clothing, flip flops and slippers (I don’t travel anywhere without a pair of slippers!).

The top box on the back of my bike holds running shoes, chargers, snacks and extra water.  And my tank bag, which sits affixed to my gas tank with magnets, contains a water bladder for drinking on the go, my hat and my purse.

All of that’s easy to launder, clean and put away.  The hard part comes in taking apart and washing my riding pants and coat.  After 18 days of riding, it was full of road grime and I have to admit, it didn’t have the sweetest smell, after I really got hot and sweat most days.  This stuff needed to be washed!  To do that, I have to take out all the protective pads, which are cinched in there pretty good, just in case you get hit or go down on the bike.  Once those are removed, I can throw in the washing machine and then hang to dry.

Crash pads removed from my pants so I could wash them.

Can’t figure out why it’s upside down, but this is my coat with the Back, Shoulder and Elbow pads removed.

I finally got everything clean again!  And tonight, we rewarded ourselves for mowing the lawn and finishing the clean up with dinner on the deck!  Terron grilled up corn on the cob and chicken, smothered in Willie Williamson’s famous, homemade barbecue sauce! Yum!  I made us a kale salad and cut fresh roses and flowers from the garden.

Now tomorrow, I’m off on my next adventure; a weekend on the boat!