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By Szu-ting Yi, on March 17th, 2007
On Wednesday, March 7th, our Katahdin group was hauling sleds retreating from the Roaring Brook campsite in Baxter State Park toward Abol Bridge campground parking lot. The sky looked like a blue bird; the temperature was cold, -10 F perhaps; the air was crispy and our cheeks were rosy due to the chill. There was no wind; it was as quiet as if we could trace every step the red squirrels put on the snow; however, my heart was stormy, “this could have been our summit day! How come we had to encounter over 35 mph gusts and below -35 F of temperature due to wind chill effect?” I kept looking at the peak on our way down, “Katahdin, you awed me the other day, and why do you look so inviting now?” After a long, uneventful drive home, I’ve been putting a lot of thoughts toward this trip. I understand a mountaineer must have more turn backs than summits over her whole career, but I couldn’t get rid of the slight disappointment – the fact deviated too much from the ideal situation I was hoping for in which each of our group members had a chance to push their limits and taste the sweetness of the summit after hard work. I started to analyze every other possible scenario and finally drew this conclusion: although the outcome didn’t fulfill my ideal expectation, experiencing harsh conditions and having to make a tough decision to abandon the summit attempt catalyzed the integration and growth of our group. And this can be difficult to accomplish if we were in perfect conditions and everybody made their way to the summit without sweat. Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on March 17th, 2007
KATAHDIN, MAINE – MARCH 2nd-8th 2007 The road trip northward started on a rainy Friday morning. As I proceeded east on route 78 into New Jersey I had the first thoughts of what this drive might be like, slow and wet. Little did I know I would not make the destination until the next day? After fighting rain that changed to snow around the New Hampshire/Maine boarder, then finally to a moderate to heavy snow that covered the road north of Portland, ME I realized I needed to stop short of the destination. Thirteen hours after starting out I ended up in a motel in Bangor, Maine ready for some rest. After speaking to Szu-ting and Yaroslav who were coming from the west via New Hampshire, Alex, Heather and Pasha who were several hours behind me, we decided it best for all of us to stop when we had enough of the terrible driving. We would meet the next day in Millinocket, Maine. Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on March 13th, 2007
This year I haven’t been blogging much. One reason is that I’m tyring to graduate and the other reason is that the winter is too short and I had to use all my free time being outdoors skiing, climbing and mountaineering. Gladly, I still managed to do a 6-day Katahdin quest, enduring the risk Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on January 3rd, 2007
 A view from Chimney Pond; photo credit: Bill Steinmetz Katahdin: last winter I learned this name the first time. I was sitting in a cozy restaurant surrounded by my fellow winter hikers, enjoying the early hot coffee with a giant blueberry pancake, I overheard that the hike leader, Bill, was to attempt Katahdin in a few weeks. “Katahdin? What is it? Is it a trail and…where is it?” I couldn’t suppress my curiosity arisen from my adventurous blood. “It seems like some nice place to go,” I drew this conclusion based on the mild commotion observed from the group, “and…it must be a place to go if it requires Bill to train for it.” The second time I heard Katahdin, was on a bus ride to NOLS headquarters in Palmer, Alaska. The bus driver moved to Alaska many years ago from Maine. She described how much she was in love with the mountains in Alaska and she mentioned Katahdin when she laid Alaska and Maine in parallel for comparison. At that moment, Katahdin won its place in my to-do list. But not until I started to plan it last November, did I realize that this trip was to be a great one! Katahdin，第一次聽到這名字，是去年冬天。被眾多冬季健行者圍繞著，我在一個略嫌擁擠的早餐店，啜飲著熱騰騰的咖啡，嚼著暖暖的藍莓蛋餅，耳邊傳來該日的雪鞋健行領隊Bill即將在數週後挑戰Katahdin的消息。「嗯，Katadin？什麼地方？是步道名稱嗎？好玩嗎？在哪裡？」體中滾著冒險血液的我，按捺不住洶湧的好奇心，批哩啪啦地問了自己好些問題。看著群眾因這消息而引起的些許騷動，我想，這Katahdin一定是個好地方，要不然Bill為什麼還要加強體能訓練呢？ 第二次聽到Katahdin這個名字，在去年夏天。前往NOLS在Palmer, Alaska的根據地途中，和巴士司機對話，她數年前，從緬因州搬到阿拉斯加。她談著她是如何如何地愛著阿拉斯加的秀麗山色，比較家鄉和阿拉斯加的對話中，她提及Katahdin。我望著窗外的山景，想像著Katahdin該是怎麼個樣子，那一刻，Katahdin排進了個人要爬的山峰列表。不過，一直到去年十一月，真正開始計畫往Katahdin的行程，我才了解，Katahdin，其實是件大工程。 Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on December 21st, 2006
 Make a donation! I signed up to participate in “summit for someone” which makes me obliged to raise at least $3500.00 to help teenage youth expand their wilderness experience. I have never done any fund-raising events before – this is the first time – so it’s indeed a very big commitment for me, especially since $3500.00 is a large sum. I am doing this because I believe it is meaningful and because climbing mountains has always been my dream. If you approve of the mission and are willing to help, please denote money online through this link: Help Szu-Ting Summit For Someone . All denotations are tax-deductible and your kind help is greatly appreciated. Below details my driving forces in this fundraise: 1. I can climb and climbing mountains is my dream 2. At-risk youth can expand their wilderness horizon 我參加了由Backpacker Magazine主辦的「為某人攀登（Summit For Someone）」的活動，也因此背負了募集美金3500元款項的任務。這是我第一次參與類似的活動，而且要募集的款項還為數不少，實在很緊張，也頗擔心自己是否能夠圓滿達成任務。不過，這活動的確相當有意義，所募集的款項都會用作，帶領弱勢青少年，接觸戶外、認識戶外的用途，而同時，藉由這個活動，個人也得以挑戰Grand Teton，也把我向我的登山夢更推進了一步。如果你認同小Po的這項任務，願意助小Po以及弱勢的青少年們一臂之力，請經由以下連結：「協助思婷為青少年攀登」捐款。所有捐助的款項都是免稅的，也在此感謝大家的熱心。 以下且讓我慢慢道來，決定參與這項活動的心路歷程： 1. 我得以攀登，而登山是我最大的夢想 2. 弱勢青年得以擴展他們的戶外視野 Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on August 31st, 2006
 Early afternoon on July 14th, I arrived at Anchorage. After checking in the hotel room, it started to rain. I didn’t feel quite well because I had a complicated flight schedule. In between, I stopped at three different airports and caught a cold from a random passenger. I made myself a hot bath and ate a good meal for dinner. “Everything seems fine, and I only have a sore throat,” I comforted myself. In fact, that was a big lie; I knew this cold was going to cost me. (Lesson learned: Take good care of yourself all the time. Keep in good health before a demanding trip.) The rain never stopped, as the sunlight never really went away. The next morning, a school bus took us 11 students to Palmer, AK where NOLS Alaska branch is located. The instructors, Ben, Nate and Shawn welcomed us in suits. We soon started our orientation, and we exchanged our expectations for instructors, classmates and the expedition itself. 七月十四日，下午約莫兩三點，我抵達Anchorage。在旅館櫃臺辦好相關手續之後，陰沈的天空也等不住，開始下起濛濛細雨。我感覺身體有些不適，大概是因為這趟旅途停留的飛機場太多，不知道何時何處從哪一個陌生人處，惹上了感冒病毒。洗了個熱水澡，吃了頓豐盛的晚餐，我安慰自己說：「好像沒這麼嚴重嘛！只是輕微的喉嚨痛罷了。」唉，自己都知道這是個天大的謊言，心知肚明這小感冒會給我帶來大麻煩。（教訓：無時無刻都要好好照顧自己，保持身體的最佳狀態，尤其在邁進漫長且艱辛的旅途之前。） 雨連綿地下著，沒有停過，好比陽光從來沒有遁去。隔天清早，NOLS用台亮黃色的school bus，將我們一行11位學員，接到位於Palmer, AK的NOLS阿拉斯加分部。三位指導員，Ben、Nate和Shawn襯衫西裝筆挺地迎接我們，很快地，新生訓練展開，個人抒發自我對指導員、其他學員、以及課程本身的期望，還有對自己的期許。 Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on August 22nd, 2006
 Preface Looking at the giant K2 poster hanging on the wall in my office, I still can’t believe that I am back from the mixture of rocks, ice and snow to this pan demoniac civilization. I can’t deny that during the 28 field days, several times the thought “I want to go home” crossed my mind; however, in spite of unpleasant conditions we have encountered, living in the wilderness is easier – it is simple and it is intuitive. Now, I want to go back. Old friends and family members are shocked that I have become an outdooraholic. Before I came to the States, I had never backpacked, neither had I exercised regularly. I didn’t do any sports, and I couldn’t run 3 miles. But I have always admired mountains, I touch and talk to flowers, and I love adventures. 前言 看著掛在工作室的巨幅K2海報，還是不敢相信，我已經從混合著岩石、堅冰、以及白雪的冰河，回到喧囂的文明世界。不可否認的是，在野外生活的這28天，好幾次動了「想要回家」的念頭。一路上是經歷了許多艱辛，結論終究是：野外生活還是比文明生活容易許多—它簡單，而且質樸。 家人和老朋友們聽聞我的戶外經驗，常直呼不可思議。他們問，是什麼轉變了我？來美國之前，沒背過大背，沒走過大山，也沒運動習慣。對什麼運動都不行，也跑不了五千公尺。有的只是對山野從不改變的戀慕，喜歡碰觸花草並與其交談，熱愛冒險嘗新。 Read More…
By Szu-ting Yi, on August 16th, 2006
After successfully completing the NOLS Alaska mountaineering course, I finally got back home today. I’ll sort out all the notes I’ve jotted down during the trip and share my learning and living experience on this blog soon. Below is a short description written by Pat, one of the four outstanding instructors, about what we Read More…
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