In order to increase the odds of reaching the top you have to put in enough sweat, training, and hard work. With Louise busy studying this weekend, and no soccer games on the schedule, I decided to head for Camp Muir, the base camp for the Rainier ascents. My immediate climbing buddies were all busy, so I decided to make a solo attempt. The weather was supposed to be mild, the avalanche danger was low, and I wanted to get some higher elevation training in. Well, the short story is that I ended up having a blast up on Rainier today!
I spent the night in the Paradise parking lot in my van, and woke up to socked in soup... crappy visibility, and thick, wet fog. I had set my alarm clock for 5am, as I wanted to get on it early. Waking up to the poor conditions took a little wind out of my sail, but I was determined to get in some training.
As I left Paradise, I could barely see 30 feet in front of me... thinking how on earth am I going to get to Muir?! Luckily, I found the trail, which had been marked with Park Service wands all the way from the parking lot to Muir. Despite the less than desirable conditions, the temp was mild and the wind non-existent. Just above Panorama Point, the sun started to glow behind the clouds... within 30 minutes, I was hiking above the clouds in the sun for the remainder of the trek... in my t-shirt.
The Muir snow field was the calmest I've ever experienced, which made the climb really enjoyable. I was carrying a 25 lbs pack, wanting to set myself up for success and not go too heavy. I won't say I felt strong, but I will say I felt really good and not that tired on the climb. It is a 9.3 miles round trip hike, and the elevation gained is 4,836ft. So it isn't a hike for everyone, especially when the conditions can change so quickly.
As I reached camp Muir, I had feeling of relief inside. Having been hit with the flu this past month, and out of training for a week, I was nervous that my fitness level had significantly suffered. But that was not the case... and the weather held, and I felt really good! And to top it off, you will never guess what greeted me at the camp... a flippin' keg of Rainier! A group of wacky, Boeing Engineers hauled a keg of Rainier up to Muir, and have done this for three years in a row. I couldn't believe it! Yes, that is a blue polyester suit that dude is wearing! They were fun, and kind enough to share the "Vitamin R" prize... I had a couple brews with a cool guy named Jason, shared some stories, ate some lunch, then headed down feeling great!
It was a very satisfying outing... looking forward to hitting it, with full packs, a couple/few more times before our summit adventure in August.
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