Disappointment Cleaver

Hey hey hey! So many of you know that I was out on an adventure on Friday and Saturday with Aaron, Blair, and Camden. But do you know that the adventure involved hiking uphill for 8,900 feet over the course of 6.7 miles? This adventure is also called Mount Rainier. Yeah, that's right - the tallest mountain in Washington, second tallest in the lower 48, 17th tallest in the USA, and the 30th tallest in North America. Also, I just want to point out that although it is the 30th tallest mountain in NA - it is the FOURTH most prominent peak (base to summit height) in North America. Yes, I'm bragging. It's an accomplishment.

View from the parking lot. That folks, is 9000 feet worth of mountain you're looking at.

First of all, I need to thank my friend KC for trading shifts with me so I could hike Rainier on Friday and Saturday (it turned out she needed to trade shifts too)! On Thursday night, we packed the trucks and drove to Mount Rainier National Park. After a restful night of sleep, we woke up early to wait in line at the ranger station in hopes of getting climbing permits. There are needed for camping on Rainier or climbing above 10,000 feet. We were really hoping we could get a permit for camping at Ingraham Flats because it would help make our second day of hiking be a little easier. WE WERE IN LUCK - WE GOT THE PERMITS :) We went back to the truck and used our engineering skills to pack our packs with camping and mountaineering gear. We waited until the last minute to put our oh so comfortable mountaineering boots on and then left Paradise for a different paradise.

View from Camp Muir. You can clearly see Mount Adams in this photo. I promise that Mount Hood is in the picture too off to the right!

The two miles after leaving Paradise (5,420 feet) are the "easy part" where you have a paved or gravel trail to follow. Since we did it very late season, and it was a very low snowfall year, we didn't hit snow until about 7,300 feet right after Pebble Creek. Then comes Muir Snowfield where in the next two miles, you gain 2,700 feet. You just follow the bootpack. It's like walking up 225 flights of stairs (assuming 1 flight = 12 vertical feet). Now imagine that with a pack stuffed to the seams that's not exactly light. Now that is what I call a 'Buns/Thighs of Steel' workout! Anyways, it took us about 4 hours to make it to Camp Muir (10,080 feet). There we took a little break and got prepared for the next mile and 1,000 ft gain leg to Ingraham Flats. From Camp Muir, we had a beautiful view of Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Saint Helens! On the down side, I was starting to feel the elevation and was developing quite the headache. We hydrated and then got ready to trek to Ingraham Flats (11,100 feet). We took out our ice axes and roped up. 

And it goes on forever and ever and ever and ever...

**Okay, let me explain because I know most of y'all have no idea why we rope up while hiking. Getting from Camp Muir to Ingraham Flats involves crossing Cowlitz Glacier. It's good practice that while hiking on glaciers and steep/icy snowfields to be tied to one another. We do this because on glaciers there are big cracks called crevasses that can be small or big enough that you could fall in and have to be rescued out or worse. The theory is that if everyone is tied together and someone slips downhill or falls into a hole/crevasse there are other people (besides themselves) to use their ice axe as a way of stopping the fall. This involves jamming one end of the ice axe into the snow and leaning over it to put pressure on it so it digs into the snow and hopefully stops you from sliding or falling further (self-arresting). That is why we rope up.**

Crevasse

So we roped up and crossed Cowlitz Glacier to Cathedral Gap. There has been a lot of active rockfall in this area this season so we had to make sure we were moving fast to get out of the danger zone as fast as possible. Then we hike up a rocky section of Cathedral Gap to gain the Ingraham Glacier and shortly after we reached Ingragam Flats where we were camping. There are two things we started almost immediately: 1 - melting snow and 2 - digging out a flat section of snow for camp. I had the honor of melting snow while Aaron set up camp. Once we were in shade it got cold pretty quick. We crawled into the tent and made dinner in the tent to maximize our comfort. At 7:30, we went to bed. We had the alarm set for 12:03 am but I'm pretty sure we beat the alarm and woke up before it was technically Saturday. Why were we up so early? Well, the snow is more solid when it is colder so you try to hike the most dangerous part of the route when it is coldest - late night/early morning. This way, it is more likely that the crevasses aren't as open, snow bridges are solid, and snow is more stable. Anyways, we made breakfast in the tent and then started piling the layers on to keep warm until we started hiking. 

Little Tahoma Peak as seen from our campsite on Ingraham Flats.

Then came time to assemble gear. Have I ever mentioned how fun it is to put crampons (metal bear claws for your feet) on in the dark? I didn't even stab myself! We roped up again and had ice axes in hand. We ascend Ingraham Glacier, crossed the Bowling Alley (named for the boulders that go bowling for humans), and onto Disappointment Cleaver. Here we took off our crampons because crampons and rocks don't mix very well. We started the ascent up Disappoint Cleaver until we hit snow again and had to put our crampons on again. Then it is just a sloth trudging pace on Ingraham Glacier what feels like eternity. There were some huge crevasses that we had to cross but the park rangers had anchored ladders for us to cross. In the steep parts, there were also fixed ropes to hold onto or clip into for extra security. It was getting hard to breathe and at one point (maybe around 13,500 feet) I had to sit down and catch my breath. There was a lot of motivational pep talks from Aaron: "Come on Megan! You got this! We are almost there! Megan I know we are getting close now! I can see the summit from here!" Although I knew he was lying about being close, it kept me shuffling my feet forward and sucking wind as we traveled the Emmons Glacier to the crater. Once we reached the crater, we unroped and took off the crampons to cross the crater. You would think that being on relatively flat ground would feel like a breeze, right? Well, it is hard to breathe up there and the trek across the crater to the true summit was harder than expected. But anyways, I made it to the true summit of Mount Rainier at 6:10 am on Saturday morning. I DID IT. Look, even a picture to prove I was indeed there and didn't just sign my name in the register.

Getting my bear claws on!

And we were told not to take photos here because it was a danger zone where that could collapse and take us out. But I took one anyways. 

Then we reassembled our gear, and booked it down the mountain which is surprisingly difficult when it's hard to breathe! I mean, we were moving much more quickly but it wasn't a sprint or anything. Anyways, we got stuck behind a guided group so that took a little while but eventually we were able to pass them and cruise back down to camp. We took a short break, ate some food, and then packed up to get the hell down that mountain. Once we got to Camp Muir, we were essentially home free. We ran/slid/skied down Muir Snowfield. Yes, I did wipe out hard onto my bum with all four limbs in the air. I felt like a turtle with that big pack on my back. But please note that I did not wipe out or trip during the difficult part of the hike. Anyways, with very sore feet, hungry bellies, thirsty mouths, and mentally exhausted minds, we made it back to the truck. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, better than taking off mountaineering boots after hiking Mount Rainier. It's the best feeling ever. Then I drove home while Aaron slept (lucky dude). Oh, and to guilt trip a little more, I had to get up at 5 am the next morning for work while they all got to sleep more. Don't worry, I caught up on sleep eventually. I discovered that I can sleep like a hibernating bear if required.

Cool snow/ice feature on the crater!

View from 14,410 feet!! 

So there is my story guys! Do you feel like you were on the summit with me? Did you join me in the sufferfest it truly was? Well, now everytime I see Mount Rainier I can rejoice in knowing that I have conquered the tallest mountain in Washington. Who wants to go again next weekend?!

Proof I was on the summit of Mount Rainier!!