Hiking Camp Muir Trail (Mt. Rainier)

June 22, 2015June 23, 2015 ~ Jewel ~ Leave a comment

This is overdue, I apologize for the delay. May and June have been busy months for me and after each trip was another activity so it seems everything has collided. Below is my summary from an amazing hike while in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy!

We started around noon, which was the latest I’ve ever started any hike. This was due to the fact that we left Seattle at 8:00 AM for Mt. Rainier and though only 60 miles or so away, it’s not a fast road and going up the mountain was painfully slow. Anyway, I was comfortable in my nike running tights, worn and used hiking boots, racerback tank, and a sweatshirt. My waterproof shell was packed in the fiance’s backpack. My upf 50 hat is always on my head when hiking to protect me from the sun. We also applied ample sunblock to any exposed skin—I didn’t plan on shedding any of my clothes regardless of the heat. (I have an amazing Columbia long sleeve upf 50 shirt that I always hike, bike, run in but stupidly left at home. Whoops.)

The hike started off with a pretty inclined paved road. The scenery was gorgeous, and the day was clear and warm (around 70 F/20 C). I noticed pretty quickly that my breath was rapid early on. I evened out my pace and continued forward. We climbed, and climbed and climbed. In between the climbing were several water breaks. I started drinking water with the very first step, as I didn’t want to add any stress to my body by being dehydrated.

We passed alpine marmots, eyeing us suspiciously. The views were some of the best I’ve seen, like ever. I never wanted to leave and it helped that it was so beautiful because the hike started to show signs of slowing me down.

Even though we were nearing June we expected and trampled through tons of snow on this hike. Once we near the camp the climbing steepened on the snow fields and I quickly wished I owned waterproof pants or gaiters. We saw loads of people hiking with a snowboard or skis and some even passed us as the gracefully boarded down the mountain. It looked like such fun! About thirty minutes from Camp Muir I started feeling pretty sick. My head was starting to hurt despite having a filling breakfast and energy bar only a few minutes earlier. I knew I was drinking enough water because I had to pee constantly.

I told myself I could do this, and attempted in vain to hype myself as best I could. Before long I realized I just didn’t have it in me—even though quitting is something I just don’t do. I was devastated. As each step became harder I knew I had a decision to make. I made a plan to make it at least to a set of rocks not too far up a hill we were battling. My fiancé decided to push on and I would wait on the rocks. I watched him climb much faster as I fell into the background. I envied him at that moment. Why couldn’t I climb like that? I tried one last time to motivate myself and push forward faster, my body said hell no. After numerous breaks and some prayer I made it to the sanctuary of the rocks.

Once seated comfortably it dawned on me that my feet were finally showing signs of defeat as well. They were wet and numb and my fingers achingly cold. Besides being exhausted I felt dizzy and as though I might vomit. Not a fun feeling but I was so thankful to be on solid ground—even rocky ground—I didn’t care too much about my physical state. I settled into the rocks and after drinking some water decided to have lunch. After my sandwich was devoured I started taking pictures and thinking of the rest of the hike. I stared at the top of the mountain which wasn’t that much higher than me. I felt accomplished rather than defeated. So what I didn’t make it to Camp Muir, I made it pretty close (I later found out from the fiancé ). Why couldn’t I be happy that I made it so far on my own? As I reflected on the art of being thankful for the little things, I was suddenly in a state of euphoria. It was divine.

Fifteen minutes later I saw a figure that looked like my guy and was pretty excited. The break did me good and ultimately I’m glad I listened to my body and stopped when I did. We began our descent down to the hotel and slid (quite literally). I couldn’t believe how fast it was going down. I slid down one huge steep hill and it was so much fun. Then I slid down others not so intentionally but it was still fun. On the way down we saw quite a few alpine marmots and a black fox! The fox was most surprising as they’re usually pretty elusive. He or she was sleeping among the trees curled up, and I think we woke it. The sleepy amber eyes stared at me uninterested.

If you happen to plan a trip to Mt. Rainier let me offer you some advice. Wear suitable clothing! There is a ton of snow and even if it’s not cold starting out unless you have waterproof shoes and gaiters your feet will be absolutely soaked. This wasn’t a deal breaker for us, but it could make the hike miserable for you. You don’t want that. Also, if I ever did this again, I’d bring a sled on my back—a small one. It’s much faster going down. Lastly, pack more energy bars, sandwiches, etc than you think you need. Because you’re climbing the entire way to the camp it’s absolutely exhausting—and calorie zapping! The way down is easier but still tiring. You will want something to replace the energy.

This is such a long post so if you made it to the end kudos to you and thank you for reading! All in all I think it was a success. If you’re interested in our stay (Paradise Inn) just let me know and I’ll post about that–otherwise it’s not that interesting. Stay active my friends!

Live.Love.Thrive.

Discoid Lupus & Kids

August 4, 2014 ~ Jewel ~ 1 Comment

Children are awesome. They say whatever it is they’re thinking, whether you ask or not, and they’re usually pretty positive overall. So why jade all that positive goodness with talk of chronic illnesses? Because while I may not know everything, I do know that eventually children ask. Simple as that. If you think they won’t, well, then you live in an alternate universe!

All joking aside, it’s something you’re going to have to do at some point so it’s best to be ready. I say this as someone who does not know the meaning of preparation. I typically wing it, because I’ve explained to so many people throughout my life what’s on my face. Hence my blog’s namesake.

When my four-year old niece asked me, I was not ready for how she would react…

We’re laying down on an air mattress because I was able to convince my sister that to let me babysit since I’m never in California. After she discovered the joys of memory foam pillow-top and calmed down a bit we were resting on the heavenly clouds facing each other. I could feel her tiny breath on my face and remember being very sleepy and hoping that if I stopped moving and closed my eyes, she would too. Wrong.

She looked at me and in the most innocent way, asked, “Auntie, what’s that?” while pointing and touching one of my scars. “Aunty has lupus. Lupus is like a cold for the skin. My skin was sick and this is what happened. Now, I have these as reminders, but don’t worry, I am not in any pain.”

This bundle of joy inched even closer to me, and snuggled up. She kissed my face and I stared, dumbfounded. I’ve had cousins tell me, “we think you’re pretty but would be prettier without lupus.” I’m not delusional about how children perceive things. It’s hard to actually put into words the series of mini-actions that took place after I explained to her what lupus is, the best way I thought she could understand. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was surprised, after all these years, after all I’ve been through. The moment we shared was filled with love and understanding. How a four-year old was able to connect with me on a level most adults cannot is beyond my comprehension but I am eternally grateful for her. She’s my sunshine and no disease could ever take that away from me. If anything, I think lupus has actually made us stronger.

Still, while I’m no expert I think if a child asks us a question we should do our best to answer. You might be surprised by how well they handle what you say. It might even make you tear up–like me, cause I’m a huge baby. At some point I’ll have this talk with kids I will hopefully have–I can only hope it goes as smoothly and is as touching as this was.

Happy Monday everyone!

What’s on your face?

June 1, 2014June 3, 2014 ~ Jewel ~ 1 Comment

When I was a child I remember asking my mum whether she had seen anyone in the world who has “my type of Lupus.” I remember her shaking her head and looking quite sad. As I’ve grown older my fascination with the fact that I’ve only come in contact with one other person with the disease has not faded. Since Discoid lesions aren’t exactly something you see everyday, when people meet me for the first time they usually have a series of questions for me–which I am more than happy to address unless they display traits such as diarrhea of the mouth. If you start spewing out nonsense in an attempt to guess what happened to my face, I will not answer. I may roll my eyes and walk off unimpressed. Or, because I’m sometimes an evil little wench, I may lie and feed into whatever story you conjured up (I know it sounds mean, but it’s mostly* harmless). Here are some common questions along with the true answers.

Discoid Lupus is NOT contagious. It’s not going to jump off my face and onto yours. Even though some folks act like it, but that’s an entirely separate post.
Discoid lesions on my face are never painful and rarely change. Lesions on my scalp have had the tendency to make me cringe.
Discoid Lupus is not a disability. Although if someone wanted to send me a check every month because he or she believed it is, I will not stop you. ~~Message me for my full contact information.~~
Discoid Lupus has an arch-enemy. *cue ominous music* Enter Sun. *ominous music fades*
Discoid Lupus is pretty permanent. Unlike the butterfly rash that occurs in some people with Systemic Lupus, as far as I’ve experienced, Discoid Lesions are permanent. If not, someone or some Doctor has some serious explaining to do.

If you’re still itching to find out more about the different forms of Lupus, including Discoid, visit here.

*While it’s very rare I do this these days, I would be lying if I didn’t say the thought usually crosses my mind for maybe a split second before I decide to “be the bigger person.” Too bad there’s less gratification in doing so. 😉