Ashika Morasiewicz
Outdoor Adventurer from the North Shore, BC
“I don’t believe you can truly conquer a mountain; if you climb her, it’s only because she let you.” These words sent chills up and down my spine as I stared back at her. 8 months of training, fundraising, and preparing has lead me to what we will begin in 4 hours time and I’m already feeling tired and defeated. I suppose I should have a word with her. ‘There are 18 type 1 diabetics wishing to summit by daybreak,’ I thought, ‘please give us the strength to summit…
July 12, 2014 This trip has been on my mind for quite some time now. Plan was to hike to Helm Lake, get around Cinder Cone to check out the headwaters, and then figure out the rest according to the temperature and my energy level (head back to the lot or check out the black tusk view point). I was already feeling exhausted during my 5am drive to the Rubble Creek parking lot. I’ve hiked Garibaldi Lake a few times and I’ve never been up Taylor Meadows; I…
Last September, when I signed up to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, I made a point of focusing on the little things through my training. Every walk, run, hike, heavy leg day, protein shake, carb load, blood sugar check, blood sugar correction, and so on was a calculated step towards the trip; even if I didn’t see it at the time. We’re almost 3 days away from leaving and I’m finally starting to feel ready. I spent a little while reflecting tonight on all of my hikes over the last…
I’ve had my eye on this trip for a few seasons. Evans Valley in Golden Ears Park is known for its snow cave formations during the spring melt season. Best time to see them is supposed to be mid June to mid July. I’m usually too early and don’t have time to get back in the area before they’re gone. Considering the Winter we’ve had, snow melt seems to be a month ahead of schedule in a lot of areas. We assumed the same for Evans Valley and…
The idea was to get into high altitude for Kilimanjaro training and Ryan’s been wanting to take me here for a little while. Aside from a trip or two in the Shulaps, I haven’t spent much time in areas quite like this – lack of vegetation, exposed rock, beautiful ridge walks, and the backcountry in general. Knowing this is one of Ryan’s favourite areas, I expected a lot in terms of terrain and views and I was surprised to see he somewhat understated the area. The views were absolutely…
38 days until I leave for Kilimanjaro and I’ve planned my final fundraising push! Here are the details: What: Ashika’s Kilimanjaro Challenge Fundraiser Where: SAMZ Pub in Pitt Meadows 19267 Lougheed Highway Pitt Meadows, BC V3Y 2J5 When: Friday May 30, 2014 @ 7:00pm Ticket: $20/person Ticket includes the following menu options: cheeseburger, chicken burger or veggie burger with your choice of fries or caeser salad, tossed garden greens, soup of the day or veggies and dip + a sleeve of Coors light or Canadian. To date, I’ve raised…
Between waking up at 4:30am and hitting the road at 5:15, I was stoked to check out a new area. I haven’t explored the Coquihalla much. This wasn’t quite the Spring day I expected! 39 days until Kilimanjaro and I’ll be squeezing in every hike (or snowshoe), run, walk, sprint drill I can. Expecting a decent snowshoe ahead, I picked up a bagel from Timmy’s and corrected the carbs with only 3/4 of the required insulin. Due to higher-than-normal blood sugars during the week (I think this was…
A few weekends ago, Ryan and I hiked to Garibaldi Lake. My blood sugars were a little tough to manage for most of the hike. It turned out to be one of those days. Blood sugar log: 12.8 @ 9:27am 8.1 @ 9:39am 6.8 & 6.3 @9:53am 11.2 @ 10:17am 12.1 @10:21am 5.8 & 6.1 @ 11:25am 4.0 @12:03pm 7.4 @ 1:21pm Our first stop was at Tim Hortons in Squamish. I had a bagel and corrected with about a third of the units I’d normally take. Depending…
A big part of my training plan for Kilimanjaro is year-round hiking and snowshoeing. There is an essence of risk involved with backcountry activities like hiking and snowshoeing. There are a number of things to look out for including avalanche conditions. To expand my knowledge of safe backcountry travel and to make sure I’m ready for June, I signed up for a level one Avalanche Skills Training course last weekend. Objectives of this course are to: – Understand the basics of avalanche formation and release. – Identify avalanche…