I finally “finished” moving out to Seattle. It was quite a process. The 11 hour drive combined with the need to arrive before 4 pm forced me to leave way too early in the morning. My early start caused me to only get 3 hours of sleep the night before, but hey, this is what Starbucks is made for. After a long drive without much drama (save for the McDonald’s worker who literally followed me out the door and puked in front of me after handing me my Breakfast–I threw it out; my digust far outpaced my desire for the ever delicious Egg McMuffin), I arrived in Seattle

I got moved in and my set up is fantastic. I couldn’t ask for more… Well maybe cheaper rent, but I am living in the middle of downtown. IPlus, in this new era of ridiculously expensive gas, I might actually save money by not having to drive anywhere.

Over the course of two days, I pretty much furnished my life at Ikea. The furniture is great, but the drive to Renton is not. Although I’m not exactly known for having superior navigation skills while driving (ahem Jamie), the number of times I have gotten lost driving in Seattle is outlandish. It took me like 20 minutes to find an on-ramp to I-5 south. Sometimes I think I’ll be really slick and try to find my way on surface streets between neighborhoods. This usually results in my driving around the intervening area for about a half an hour before throwing in the towel and finding my way to I-5.

Then there is the traffic. Having to wait at a light for more than a cycle in Bozeman, MT is a rare occurrence, here its rare if you don’t come to a stop on the freeway–at least the views are nice. But, seriously I think I want to get rid of my car. Between paying for insurance as a 23 year-old male, gas prices, and $150 a month parking, it is seriously expensive for me to drive anywhere. I’d ditch it in a second if it weren’t for the fact that a car is slightly necessary to get to the mountains to ski and climb. We’ll just have to see…

So a friend and I decided to try to ski The Great One, a couloir on the north face of Sacagawea’s southern sister peak. Our start was delayed due to the road to the trail head being closed (of course the first car through once the gate opened arrived just as we finished the 3 mile ‘extension” of the hike). The hike up required kicking a few steps and I in my running shoes obliged. The problem was that without a hard toe two things happen. First (and most obviously) your toes get smashed. Second, your foot get deflected and wrenched in odd ways. By the halfway point my right knee was starting to hurt. In any case, we ended up summiting Sacagawea a bit later than planned, but precisely when a rare 10 a.m. thuderstorm starting throwing bolts. Seeing lightning strike about 5 miles south of us, we decided to retrace our steps as quickly as possible. Neither of us felt good about being on the highest peak in the range holding metal sticks with metal skis extending 2 feet above our packs. I was especially nervous because I knew my knee was not going to let me ditch my pack and make a break for it. As we came down, another group continued their hike on the assumption that the storm will be funneled to the south of us. Whenever I see a person making the exact opposite choice as me in a similar situation, it makes me question my judgment.

While it sucked to bail, lighting is one of the few factors in the outdoors you have very little control over. It is probably the only nature phenomenon I won’t mess with. In nearly every situation there is gear or skills that will keep you alive. With lighting about all you can do is try to get to a less exposed area, crouch and cross your fingers.

The story has a predictable ending though. As the other group forecast, the storm blew to the south. So we tossed on our ski boots and got in about 1000 feet of turns. It is July, so I can’t complain. Now I just have to figure out how to move to Seattle without bending my right knee…