09 CLIMB MT WASHINGTON

Fanconi Anemia Research Fund Raiser

August 10, 2009

On Saturday August 8, 2009, Anne and I drove north to Climb Mt Washington and spend the week at Higgins Beach in Maine and Block Island, Rhode Island. The purpose of the climb was to raise funds for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund (FARF) a very rare genetic disease with which our grandson Sean suffers.

We spent Sunday at Camp Sunshine, a camp for kids with life threatening diseases on Sebago Lake in Casco, Maine. While the kids played inside and outdoors with counselors, we attended several sessions of presentations by medical doctors of various disciplines on the latest research developments with questions and answers afterwards.

We got up at 5:00 am and assembled in the Camp Sunshine cafeteria for breakfast at 6:00. We started the 90 minute drive to Pinkham Notch in three cars at 6:20. The team of 11 climbers was Bill, Jennifer and son Drew (11) McCorey; FA child Sean McQueen's grandpa Dan McQueen, father Kevin, mother Lorraine and sister Kelsey (13) McQueen; FA fathers Tanner Lindsey and Yavin Atzmon from Israel; epidemiologist Blanche Alter and hematologist Sally Kensey from the United Kingdom. Bill originated the idea of mountain climbing for FA last year with the successful Rainier climb.
             

We started up the rocky Tuckerman Ravine Trail in Pinkham Notch 2034' elevation at 8:30. The trail has a good incline from the beginning and slowly increases as it follows a mountain stream up to Hermit Lake about 2.3 miles into the climb. It is overcast, cool and breezy. As we enter Tuckerman's Ravine we can see the dense cloud descending down the headwall and then the lower headwall. We encounter the cloud as we start the rocky steep ascent of the lower headwall.

The cloud becomes very thick cutting visibility to a minimum and beads of water form on all exposed hair as the temperature drops. We are climbing the upper headwall along a small rocky stream. The trail rises ever steeper requiring us to climb over huge rocks and boulders. The wind picks up and the temperature drops some more. Spirits are high and everyone seems to enjoy it despite the increasingly difficult climbing and deteriorating conditions. Everything is wet adding to the challenge. We reach the top of the headwall at 3.4 miles into the climb.

We continue the climb for the summit on a huge very steep wet rockpile. The climbing is the most difficult yet. The wind is constant now at 25-30 miles per hour with stronger gusts adding to the difficulty. It is impossible to see the trail and the huge cairns marking the trail are barely visible in the dense fog. Drew and Kelsey are leading the way. We reach the very windy summit at 6288' elevation with virtually no visibility at 1:12 pm. We climbed 4254 vertical feet in 4 miles an average grade of 20.01% in 4 hours and 42 minutes.
             

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a very rare life threatening genetic disease that attacks the bone marrow until it cannot produce enough blood cells to support life. Currently, the only treatment is a bone marrow transplant but surviving recipients are not beyond peril as many develop leukemia or head and neck cancers in early adulthood. The Fanconi Anemia Research Fund (FARF) has funded $12.3 million in research with many successes. FARF funding has helped bone marrow transplant recipients survival rate for imperfect matches with donors to increase from about 29% to 89% over the last 10-15 years. FARF is currently looking at research to produce stem cells from an FA patient's skin cells from which bone marrow cells can be grown. FARF has an outstanding record with less than 4% of funds going to administrative costs. Less than 3% goes to family services leaving about 93% for research. If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution to:

            Fanconi Anemia Research Fund
            1801 Willamette Street, Suite 200
            Eugene, OR 97401
and designate it is for "Your Rope Team".

Daily Data

		Day/		Cum		Drove	Elev	Up	Trail	Road
Day	Aug	Time	Activity	Miles	From	Miles	Feet	Feet	Hours	Hours	Gas	Cost
1	8	Sat				1316.4	6288	4254	4.72	28.19	45.7	$1,614.76
	7:14		Drive	3.2	US-29 north	3.2				0
			Drive	5.0	I-70 east	1.8
			Drive	86.6	I-695 north and east	81.6
			Drive	93.1	I-95 north	6.5
			Toll	94.0	Maryland	0.9						$5.00
			Toll	162.1	Delaware	68.1						$4.00
			Drive	166.1	NJ Turnpike north	4.0
			Gas	199.0	NJ Turnpike Sunoco	32.9					15.3	$38.57
			Toll	217.7	NJ Turnpike north	18.7						$9.05
			Toll	224.8	Georgw Washington Bridge	7.1						$8.00
			Drive	225.0	I-87 north	0.2
			Drive	228.4	ramp right for Cross County Pkwy East	3.4
			Drive	239.2	straight onto Hutchinson River Pkwy N	10.8
			Drive	304.0	name changes to SR-15 North / Merritt Pkwy	64.8
			Drive	321.3	exit 68N-E, ramp right I-91 North toward Hartford	17.3
			Drive	321.8	exit 29 ramp right US-5 North	0.5
			Drive	323.4	straight on SR-15 North	1.6
			Drive	364.2	straight on I-84 East	40.8
			Lunch		Subway							$11.13
			Drive	392.2	right I-90 / Mass Pike East	28.0
			Drive	456.0	exit 11A, ramp right I-495 North	63.8
			Drive	517.5	straight on I-95 North	61.5
			Drive	518.4	exit 45, ramp right for Maine Mall Rd	0.9
			Drive	518.9	right on Maine Mall Rd	0.5
		5:08	Arrive	511.3	363 Maine Mall Road South Portland, ME 04106				Hours=	9.90
			Dinner		On the Border in S Portland							$34.13
			Lodging		Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel #523 363 Maine Mall Road South Portland, ME 04106 207 775-6161							$110.74
2	9	Sun	Juice		McDonalds							$2.13
			Breakfast		Friendlys							$18.25
			Drive		363 Maine Mall Road South Portland, Maine 04106
			Drive		Depart Maine Mall Rd
			Drive	4.0	ramp left for I-95 / Gold Star Memorial Hwy / Maine Tpke North to Lewiston / Augusta	4.0
			Drive	4.5	exit 48 ramp right to Riverside St. / Larrabee Rd.	0.5
			Drive	6.0	right onto Riverside St	1.5
			Drive	14.2	left onto US-302 / 10th Mountain Division Hwy / Forest Ave	8.2
			Drive	27.1	roundabout, take 2nd exit on US-302 / 10th Mountain Division Hwy / Roosevelt Trail	12.9
			Drive	27.1	Arrive at 549 Roosevelt Trail (ME 302) Casco, ME 04015				Hours=	0.75
			Lunch		Camp Sunshine Cafeteria
			Dinner		Camp Sunshine Cafeteria
			Lodging		Room #5 Maplewood Inn 207 655-7586 549 Roosevelt Trail (US 302) Casco, ME 04015							$104.86
3	10	Mon	Breakfast		Camp Sunshine Cafeteria
			Drive		549 Roosevelt Trail (US 302) Casco, ME 04015
			Drive	36.5	Route 302 West to Route 16 North (at North Conway, N.H.)	36.5
			Drive	57.5	Route 16 North to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center/Joe Dodge Lodge on left	21.0			Hours=	1.5
	8:30		Hike		From Lodge	1.3	2034
			Hike	1.3	On Tuckerman Ravine Trail to Huntington Ravine Trail	0.8	3018	984
			Hike	2.1	On Tuckerman Ravine Trail to Raymond Path Junction	1.3	3740	722
			Hike	3.4	On Tuckerman Ravine Trail (up headwall) to Tuckerman Jct	0.6	5381	1641
		1:13	Hike	4.0	On Tuckerman Ravine Trail to Mt Washington Summit		6288	907	4.72
			Shuttle		Honda Odyssey							$29.00
	3:15		Drive		NH 16 south	21.0
			Drive	21.0	US 302 east	6.0
			Drive	27.0	US-302 / 10th Mountain Division Hwy / Roosevelt Trail	12.6
			Drive	39.6	roundabout 2nd exit on US-302 Roosevelt Trail	8.4
			Gas		Glen Ledge Corner Store, NH						15.0	$38.50
			Ice cream		Glen Ledge Corner Store, NH							$7.00
			Drive	48.0	right onto Riverside St	1.5
			Drive	49.5	left onto road	0.1
			Drive	49.6	ramp right for I-95 Maine Tpke South	3.7
			Drive	53.3	exit 45 ramp right Maine Turnpike Authority Approach Rd to Payne Rd.	2.5
			Drive	55.8	right on US-1 / Blue Star Memorial Hwy / Main St	0.7
			Drive	56.5	left onto Pleasant Hill Rd	3.3
			Drive	59.8	Turn right on SR-77 / Spurwink Rd	0.5
			Drive	60.3	left onto Ocean Ave	0.5
		6:20	Arrive	60.8	2 Bayview Ave Scarborough, ME 04074-9494				Hours=	2.25
			Dinner		Wing's beach house
			Lodging		The Breakers Inn 207 883-4820/9177 2 Bayview Ave Scarborough, ME 04074-9494 Higgins Beach							$199.50
4	11	Tue	Breakfast		The Breakers Inn
			Groceries		Shaws in Portland, Maine							$17.89
			EZPass	30.0	Maine EZPass Portland							$46.25
			Lunch		Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, Maine		Lobster Roll					$36.36
			Dinner		Wing's beach house
			Lodging		The Breakers Inn 207 883-4820/9177 2 Bayview Ave Scarborough, ME 04074-9494 Higgins Beach							$199.50
5	12	Wed	Breakfast		The Breakers Inn
	9:43		Drive		Depart Bayview Ave	0.2
			Drive	0.2	left onto Pearl St	0.1
			Drive	0.3	left on Greenwood Ave then immediately right on Ocean Ave	0.4
			Drive	0.7	right onto SR-77 / Spurwink Rd	0.5
			Drive	1.2	left onto Pleasant Hill Rd	3.3
			Drive	4.5	right onto US-1 / Blue Star Memorial Hwy	0.7
			Drive	5.2	left onto Maine Turnpike Authority Approach Rd	1.7
			Drive	6.9	ramp right I-95 Maine Tpke South	85.5
			Drive	92.4	exit 46, take ramp right for US-1 South / Newbury St / Newburyport Tpke toward Boston	14.5
			Drive	106.9	ramp for I-93 South	11.7
			Drive	118.6	Keep right to stay on I-93 South	6.6
			Drive	125.2	exit 1, take ramp right for I-95 South to Providence RI	45.5
			Drive	170.7	Keep left onto SR-4 South	10.0
			Drive	180.7	name changes to US-1 South	7.5
			Drive	188.2	ramp right for RI-108 toward Point Judith / Scarborough	0.1
			Drive	188.3	left onto SR-1A / SR-108
			Drive	188.3	roundabout 1st exit	4.2
			Drive	192.5	right onto Sand Hill Cove Rd	0.8
		1:28	Arrive	193.3	on the right at Galilee, RI				Hours=	3.4
			Lunch		Cumberland Farms		Wrap,milk					$13.21
			ATM		Cash							$103.00
			Parking		Across street from Ferry Terminal							$30.00
	3:00	3:55	Ferry		Galilee=>Block Island 8:00,9:30,10:30,11:45,1:30,3:00,5:30,7:00
			Ferry		Senior round trip different day		2	$21.15				$42.30
			Dinner		Mohegan Café		Clams, fries, English ale					$34.15
			Lodging		Confirm #216986 Almira Room Hotel Manisses 800 626-4773 Block Island, RI							$167.24
6	13	Thu	Breakfast		Buffet 1661 Inn & Hotel Manisses
			Walk		Southern Block Island	8.2	SE Lighthouse, Mohegan Cliffs beach & rock art, airport
			Lunch		Aldo's		Chowder, salad, tea					$36.83
			Dinner		Rebecca's							$30.00
			Lodging		Confirm #216986 Almira Room Hotel Manisses 800 626-4773 Block Island, RI							$167.24
7	14	Fri	Breakfast		Buffet 1661 Inn & Hotel Manisses
10:00		10:55	Ferry		Block Island=>Galilee 8;00,10:00,11:30,12:45,2:45,3:45,5:00,7:30
11:20			Drive		Galilee, RI
			Drive		Depart Sand Hill Cove Rd	0.9
			Drive	0.9	left onto SR-108 / Point Judith Rd	4.0
			Drive	4.9	left onto Woodruff Ave	0.6
			Drive	5.5	left onto Salt Pond Rd	0.2
			Drive	5.7	ramp right for US-1 to Westerly	18.9
			Drive	24.6	right onto SR-78 / Westerly Byp West	4.4
			Drive	29.0	right onto Liberty St	1.5
			Drive	30.5	ramp left for I-95 South	124.7
			Drive	155.2	exit 38 right for Merritt Parkway CT-15	11.3
			Drive	166.5	I-287 west over Tappanzee Bridge	12.1
			Drive	178.6	Garden State Parkway south	37.4
			Gas	216.0	Garden State Parkway exit 172	68.1					15.4	$39.37
			Drive	284.1	NJ-507 & NJ-502	0.5
			Drive	284.6	I-287 south	5.6
			Drive	290.2	I-78 west	60.5
			Lunch	350.7	McDonalds	22.3	Wraps					$9.35
			Drive	373.0	I-81 southwest	2.8
			Drive	375.8	I-83 south at Harrisburg, PA	1.5
			Dinner	377.3	Cracker Barrel Shrewsbury, PA	1.3						$22.21
			Drive		I-695 west
			Drive		I-70 west
			Drive		US-29 south
		9:43	Arrive	436.4	Columbia, MD				Hours=	10.38

COSTS

Lodging	6	$949.08
Breakfast	6	$18.25
Lunch	6	$106.88
Dinner	7	$120.49
Toll	4	$26.05
Shuttle	1	$29.00
Gas	3	$116.44
Ferry	3	$42.30
Parking	1	$30.00
ATM	1	$103.00
EZPass	1	$46.25
Groceries	1	$17.89
Ice cream	1	$7.00
Total		$1,612.63

PACKING LIST

Hiking	Clothes	Papers
Boots	Sandals	Visa
Liners	Shoes	Mastrcard
Socks	Run shoes	Debit card
Boxers	Dress socks	Cash
Burmudas	Jacket	Checkbook
T-shirt		AMC card
Shirt	Toiletries	Medicare card
Jacket	Razor & blades	Drivers License
Backpack	Shaving cream	GEHA card
Poles (2)	Deodorant	Golden Age card
Fleece	Brush	Map
Rain gear	Comb	Plan
Water bottle (2)	Soap
Multi tool	Nail clips	Equipment
Light	Razor comb	Camera
Camera	Scissors	SD card
Running	Knife	GPS
Shoes	Vapor rub	Spare batteries
Socks (2)	Shampoo	Battery charger
Shorts
T-shirts (6)
Briefs (2)