Sleep

On 12 July, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

If you think you are tired, think again… it can only get worse. Sleep is an interesting thing. You can barely stay awake, your eyelids close with every step you take, every paddle stroke. You close your eyes and sleep a few minutes without stopping. And then after a few days you get into T.A. Drop your backpack and all of a sudden you feel so light, you take your shoes off and it’s party time. You know you need to sleep, it’s only a few hours until you need to pack up and go again but it feels so good to chat with the volunteers, drink something warm, warm your wet and stinky feet by the fire. You take your socks off and hold your breath waiting for the worst, and count your toes and nails.

I somehow lost a few hours when we got off the glacier. I am 100% sure I stayed awake since we walked on a dirt road. If you can sleep with your eyes open, that’s probably what happened. I had a bottle with warm tea in my hand and suddenly the tea felt cold and I asked how long we had walked. Over an hour. And I turned around and realized that I had no idea where I was. At the same time I saw a big group of deer dancing on the side of the road and a black bear waving. That road was of course empty but that’s how I realized I was hallucinating. And it kept going. I saw animals, TV screens and houses. The first time was after 20 something hours on the glacier. I saw a group of big houses and a big playground. And I was looking for the helicopter because it would be impossible to get there by car. And when I told Eric about the nice looking houses he just nodded and said that he saw them too… liar. I laugh a little bit and feel really stupid but at the same time I think I am so right and I am a bit sad that they can’t see it.

Napping is great. Sitting on a tree stump, laying down on rocks, standing and leaning on your poles, floating in the pack raft… everything works. A rescue blanket on and it feels like the Four Seasons. I used a lot of blankets. As soon as I stopped someone wrapped me up knowing that I would be a big problem if I got cold again. 10 minutes felt like 8 hours. And when you finally get in to a TA, get some of your wet clothes off, get your sleeping bag out and lay down on the asphalt or the gravel, it takes less than 20 seconds and you are out.

Sleep got a bit more complicated after the race. Exhausted the first short night in a too hot hotel room, woke up like the Michelin man. Swollen. Could barely open my eyes and legs, feet, arms, hands, etc. were double sized. Flew back the second night and thought I would get a good night sleep on the plane but stayed awake the whole flight. And then, finally home. And the nightmares started. I woke up staring out the window at the mountaintops (our neighbors’ house) and couldn’t find a way to get down from the glacier. Steep climbs, lots of ice and no shoes. And all my gear was gone. The rope was tied wrong. Sweaty and breathing really hard, impossible to sleep. And I woke up coughing, not able to breathe, under water. And it goes on… I wake up every night looking for my shoes… I am really looking forward to a good night’s sleep. And a long, slow run with dry shoes.

Surviving Alaska

On 10 July, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

Expedition Alaska is over. It was all we could wish for and so much more. 7 days of extra everything. Every single step had a meaning and not one mile were there to fill the course or get teams from one activity to another. Even a 7 mile hike became a 10 hour steep climb uphill with a view, with all your gear in your pack. The course was designed with a purpose. This race followed the footsteps of the classic races from the golden age of Adventure Racing, when races included survival and adventure in the same sentence. When it came to the term survival, I think we got value for our money. Chip on our team summed it up one morning saying OMG, they are really trying to kill us, every day!! And that’s how it felt. Things could go wrong the whole time but we managed to stay alive and keep moving.

Before I write more gibberish I need to mention all the volunteers. The small group kept everything running. They had our gear in place, they made the TAs great and kept everything running smoothly. They probably got less sleep than the racers. Warm water and noodles, fire pits and endless smiles… what more can you ask for. Thank you all! And the team… Thank you guys!! You saved me more than once and I am pretty sure I wouldn’t be alive without you.

For many racers this race ended early. People got injured, sick, and cold and got airlifted from the course or got picked up by boat. Our goal was to stay together, all four as a team until the end. I’ll have to admit that I had my moments when I just wanted out, to be beamed up, transported to a better place. But those moments usually didn’t last more than a few minutes and you keep going and forget that there’s another world outside the race. I also felt my limits a few times and that’s even worse when you feel like your body can’t take more. Paddling and rafting the last two days really got to me and it felt like I couldn’t move my arms. I realized when I got home that my right shoulder was really out of place and frozen so that gives me an explanation why. It’s still a non-working body part that acts like an alien.

When I think back to each and every leg there are a few things that stands out, that I will remember as long as I live. The glacier was in every way fantastic but also so unpredictable. We managed to do well, slow but steady and without any surprises or falls into crevasses. The route we took got a bit longer than expected but we stayed out of trouble. We started out the glacier trek with wet boots after a grueling river crossing. It’s been a long time since I felt so cold. I thought I would get frostbite on all 10 toes, it took days in to the race before they got the right color again.

The Soul Crusher (day 3-4) really crushed me. I felt broken and ready to go home after day 4. We hiked with all out pack raft gear for a long day and ended up far away beside a river in the middle of the night. We fell asleep on our rafts on the riverside after deciding to wait for daylight. We all woke up 45 minutes later so cold that we couldn’t take care of ourselves. We were lucky to have another team close by that helped out with fire and sleeping bags. Second round of close to hypothermia. We warmed up for a few hours and took off. The visibility was bad and I didn’t make a corner. I ended up on the side of the river, caught in a strainer upside down. I couldn’t flip out of the boat and I got all tangled in branches. I heard bad words echo in my head thinking this is it, what a horrible way to go. And then I saw Chip pulling, dragging me out and I refused to let go of my paddle. After puking up water and sitting for a few minutes it’s time to go again. It took me hours to get back in the game and I will be forever grateful for the rescue and guidance for the rest of the pack rafting in the race. I left all my confidence at the bottom of that river and I wouldn’t have made it without the team.

I thought sleep would be a big problem but it worked surprisingly well. Tired has a new meaning. You can be tired and keep going, and you can be tired and not be able to move. It takes a long time to reach the state of not being able to move. I remember the naps more clear than the race, like a great birthday present. Sleeping felt so good, even for 5 minutes. We took a nap at the 70 miles bike section by a river that I will remember as long as I live. I didn’t even take my backpack off, just laid back on the wet grass and closed my eyes. Someone got my feet up on the back wheel of my bike so my feet wouldn’t swell up. I snored so hard I woke myself up. The best nap of the race.

The race course was monstrous, evil, amazing, and didn’t have one mile were you could recover. I waited for an easy hike or bike, like a transportation to the next leg but the course just kept a constant ON mode. When you thought you had seen the most beautiful mountain top, lake, or ridgeline there was always a new waiting the next day. The landscape really took your breath away every day and night and you had the feeling that you were the first human to see this.

When we did the 30 mile paddle over Kenai Lake on evening/night 6 Robin tried to keep us awake and took us through the racecourse in detail. I must admit that I can’t remember some parts of it, and I don’t remember in what order it all happened, it’s more in chunks for me. I will write some kind of proper race report and post pictures when it all comes back. This is it for now. I am still waiting for the nightmares to end and my appetite to get back to normal, I eat every hour.

Chip, Eric, Robin – I LOVE MY LIIIIFEEEEE!

Home from Alaska…

On 9 July, 20159 July, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn In English, Tävlingar/races, Utflykter/outingsLeave a comment

…and so many things to tell. Happy to be alive and so glad I got to experience this epic race. So many experiences to share. Don’t know to how to start or where. Icecold glacier water, grueling, hard, tough, exhausting mountains, pain. A never ending glacier. Hypothermia. Gorgeous views, great teamwork, sleep monsters, fatigue, fear and tryhard moments. Falling asleep standing up, walking, sitting, paddling, biking… Never been so scared in my life but at the same time had the time of my life. Highs and lows. Need a few more days to process before there will be a story to tell. Need to heal my body and get more sleep, get over the nightmares and hunger.

Nu är det dags

On 27 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Tältsaden där vi förvarat all utrustning är riven. Cykellådor, TA bins, klätterutrustning och glaciärutrustning är packat och placerat i olika lastbilar. Vi har packat våra ryggsäckar och hänger på rummet och försöker lugna våra nerver. Kartorna är packade och vi har en viss aning om vad som kommer ske de närmsta dagarna. Glaciär och tundra trek första etappen, straxt under 60km. Finfint. Det kommer bli tufft från första rycket. Följer ni oss på trackern så kommer pricken inte rusa fram direkt.

Vi vill gärna ha trailmail. Skicka en hälsning eller många via hemsidan så får vi den när vi kommer till nästa TA där vi byter till en ny etapp. Det piggar upp!

Följ oss på ExpeditionAK.com

Tjing

Sista rycket

On 27 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Sista frukosten innan avfärd imorgon. Sista koppen kaffe. Igår fortsatte förberedelserna med björnsäkerhet och kartutdelning. Vi vet var vi ska nu. Glaciärtrekken första två dagarna kommer bli brutal. Om ni följer oss på spotten så bli inte förvånade om den knappt rör sig. Björnkunskapen var egentligen inget nytt mer än att det finns grizzlybjörn här omkring och brun och svart vanlig björn. De räknar med att vi kommer möta björn många gånger per dag.

Vi fortsatte med glaciär genomgång och test. Allt som vi faktiskt kunde innan kändes som bortblåst. Efter ett antal räddningsförsök och uppsättningar så känns det faktiskt som det sitter. De gissar att flera av lagen kommer behöva använda sina räddningskunskaper och vi tänker inte bli en av dem. Det är oerhört mycket glaciärsprickor. Vi kommer välja att ta oss långsamt fram för att hitta en säker rutt, eller så säkert det kan gå.

Vi packade och packade igår. Och idag ska jag åter igen packa om. Det finns ju ingen chans att vända eller fixa något när vi väl är på gång.

Nu följer wilderness first aid. Och ompackning. Och mer kartgenomgång.

Fortsättning

On 26 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Denali, Alaska. Lång bussresa norr över. Björnspan från bussen. Incheckning och upplockning, urlastning och allmänt kaos. Packade upp och monterade ihop cyklar som varit nerstuvade i lådor. Lite vint framhjul. Började packa matpåsar och klädpåsar. Maten håller inte hög standard.

Idag har vi i timmar fått mer utbildning i glaciär räddning, sprickor etc. Strålande sol och blå himmel. Alla blev aningen uttorkade och dammiga. Framåt kvällen cykling med full packning ner till floden där vi gick en snabb genomgång i hur man tar sig upp i flotten om man tippar. Torrdräkt och flytväst gör det hela lite meckigt. Strömt och väldigt kallt vatten, ännu mer besvärligt. Tur att vi är aningen vana efter träning i WA och har lite skinn på näsan. Läskiga saker. Efter turen packade vi ihop cyklarna och stoppade ner dessa i lådorna igen. Japp, cykelmeck och sånt pysslar vi också med.

Imorgon fortsätter vi glaciär träningen med prov och sedan björnkunskap. Pust. Och gear check. Hoppas att vi inte glömt något hemma.

Nu sover vi så gott vi kan. Lite lägerkänsla. Något taskigt och fuktig lukt. Och tydligen så snarkar jag.

Då bär det av…

On 24 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Efter 8 timmars shopping och matintag har vi hyrbilen full med konserver och allmän skräpmat som klarar sig ute i rabarbern.

Vi hämtar också upp björnsprej och insekts sprej som ska kunna ta död på mygg stora som svalor eller örnar, cykelpump och lite annat smått och nödvändigt.

Nu bär det av mot wiffi fritt land… Tjing

Bunkring

On 24 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Då var det dags. Okristligt tidig uppgång och färd norröver. All utrustning dök upp på bandet och vi lastade kärror, hyrde bil och lämnade cyklarna på hyrutrymme bland älghorn och frusen fisk.

Nästa stopp lunch och sedan upphämtande av lagmedlem nummer 4 från östkusten. Nu gällde det att tänka till bunkra upp för långlopp och stora kaloriintag.

Hey out there

On 14 June, 201514 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn OkategoriseradeLeave a comment

Sun is out and it’s Sunday. The family is out and about. One car took off Friday for a climbing comp in Oregon. The rest of the bunch have other things to do. Going in different directions. I’ve been enjoying lots and lots of pictures from graduations and last day of school parties from Sweden but we are not quite there yet. We have another week of school and finals. I know my former colleagues are now taking a deep breath and have cleaned out their classrooms after a long school year. Happy summer to you.

We have less than two weeks left before takeoff for Alaska. We met up yesterday morning at a park and ride in Lynnwood and drove up to Baker, a nice two hour drive. I couldn’t sleep the night before and got more and more stressed until I just accepted that this would be another sleep training weekend with a good chunk of training without sleep. I got up at 4.45 after about 2 hours of sleep, packed up and left. It was a gorgeous day, not too warm, sunshine and lots of snow. Heavy backpacks on with all race gear, crampons, ice axe, tent, 50yrd rope, harnesses, food etc. After walking uphill for 2 hours the mountain opens up and leaves you breathless. It is beautiful! And I instantly understand why people go mountain crazy and don’t want to leave. We started walking up on the snow. Avoiding crevasses, big and small, and finding the best route. We met other climbers, saw a few tents and chatted a bit with a bunch of guys. We came to practice roping up and climbing together, so that’s what we did. Around 2 in the afternoon we sat on a tarp at 7600ft, ate a little, drank a little and talked. The summit would only take us a few more hours but today is not the day for that. We definitely have to come back. We packed up and started walking, gliding down. I even tried gliding on my butt. An absolutely fantastic day. I wish I had good pictures but somehow I messed up with sunglasses on and sun in my face all the time.

And we are back on the trail, walking and walking. We walk for miles on a ridge and there are marmots everywhere. They are whistling and heat up their furry bodies in the sun. I am trying to figure out the Swedish word for marmot but I can’t think of it. I don’t know why it always takes forever to walk back. The pack feels heavy, I am sweating, my face hurts from not using enough sunblock on the glacier and the car feels far away. And after about 14 hours I am back home and the oldest and the youngest have dinner ready for us and I fall asleep in front of a movie. One day closer.

17 days

On 10 June, 201510 June, 2015 By lillahjarnanIn Blandat/mixed, In English, Träning/trainingLeave a comment

It’s summer. Nice, warm days and long nights. We’ve had dinner outside the past week and the volleyball net is up for after dinner runarounds. We have a bunch of rabbits that moved to our yard but I feel like it’s a nicer family than the deer family last year so I’m just going to let them stay. They don’t take up as much space. It is nice, lovely, beautiful and all that. School is still in full swing for two more weeks. Finals and more finals. Lovely! Food changes a bit when it’s warm. Lots of barbeque, salads, fruit, cold yoghurt sauces, cheese and of course olives every day.

Less than two weeks to take off. And the weather is not very good in Alaska right now. I move stuff around from the car, garage, kitchen. I have piles of clothes in the bedroom. I have bins with stuff that goes wherever I go. I use most of it since we are still rafting, paddling, running and biking. My PFD smells and I am a bit worried that it will attract animals. I still need to get my bike in for a last tune up and there are a few things that I need to buy. I made a trip to REI today and I hope it was the last one. I might need a few bungees, food, more wool clothes since watched the weather channel this morning. And I probably need more socks. But I did the last body repairing today. Got my foot drained again and it will hopefully do well until after the race but still need a few days of rest before I see the result. It looks very blue right now so it can only get better.

What I am really thinking of is food. What to bring and buy. How much and what do you really want to eat after a few days without real food. And what about coffee? I am doing my best to cut back so I won’t miss it too much. I’ve got different kinds of jerky to try, espresso beans covered in chocolate (thanks Eric), nuts mixed with chocolate and all sorts of good stuff to try and decide before takeoff. I found bacon jerky, sounds brilliant! And so does salmon jerky.

We have done some rafting the past week. We drove to Wenatchee Saturday for some speedy rafting in a fast river in almost 100 degrees. And we got some nice barbeque in Cashmere before the actual rafting. Cashmere, the center of earth. Really good barbeque. It felt like I was going to sink when the actual rafting started. I ate half a cow. We stayed local yesterday. We met up by the fall in Snoqualmie and blew our rafts up and took off. Got up after a few rapids and hiked back up and did it again. On the way to Fall City to pick up the third car a dog started following us, swimming behind our boats. We got our own Arthur. We thought it would be a bit of a problem to bring him to Alaska so we called his owner instead. A couple of beavers swam by too. Those would be even more of a problem to bring as mascots. We will conquer parts of a big mountain Saturday. Crampons, ice axes and ropes. Very exciting.

Rafting is interesting. I felt really worried a few weeks ago and I don’t even know why. Of course you can tip over, flip and get really wet. You can hit your head since there are rocks all over but that’s why you wear a helmet. I think it’s the feeling of fast moving water that is a bit scary. Well, it doesn’t feel scary anymore. More like an intense ride, a wet rollercoaster. But it will be different in freezing water with a dry suite on…

Stuff learned this week:

Driving to Eastern Washington for a quick bike ride, a short but intense rafting session or a hike is no big deal. It’s just a 3-4 hour drive and some mileage on your car. And then 3-4 hours back home when you are tired.

River rafting, it’s just fast moving water. You will somehow move forward. And get wet.

Blow up your raft. Your once crushed tailbone really hurt when you hit big rocks and get stuck in the river. It kind of moved all the way up your spine. But that’s a good thing, you’ll know that your nervous system works.

Sunscreen is essential.

An ice cream bar melts very fast in 100 degrees.

Your body gets tired from thinking too much.