Sunrise Spectacular

Not that we're bored with climbing Mt St Helens, but this year for the summer route climb we decided to do a sunrise summit attempt. What did that mean? That meant with the group we had going we would need to start just after midnight to give ourselves plenty of time to reach our goal. So off we went at 12:12 AM Saturday 8 strong.

Pam led us out and - as usual - we made the first 2 miles to the bathroom area in great time. We took a quick break and then headed into the waiting boulder field. From the bathroom it is only 1/4 mile to the treeline where the bouldering begins.

 

On Mt St Helens, the bouldering also signals the beginning of the steepest part of the climb. We headed into the boulders with Jean Claude, a climber from Switzerland that we met near the bathroom. His climbing buddy bailed at the last moment so he was glad to hike with others in the dark. Good thing he was since he corrected an early bad turn in our trek.

Jean Claude hung with us for a while and then excused himself to head up a little faster. We did run back into him later when we found him huddled among the boulders. By then the wind had picked up and was steady over 20 MPH with gusts over 30. He indicated that he was using "time management" now so as not to be exposed on the summit too long before sunrise. The boulders he was in were the last of them before the final stretch of steep scree fields.

Since we were all past the boulders we decided to break into varying speed groups to the summit. There is only about .7 of a mile left, but there is also over 1200 ft of elevation in that distance. Jean Claude led the way for the first group and I took up the rear in that group - forming my own group of one might be more accurate.

I was struggling with a cold for the second year in a row on the summer route and I didn't have great lungs for it. I had plenty of time so I just kept plugging away.

I crested the rim just in time to see some great pre-sunrise light acting on some clouds near Mt Rainier. In a 30 MPH wind you can sometimes bail on pretty in favor of warmth, but this kind of light makes a bad photographer look like a genius so I was determined to get my glory shot - dust storm notwithstanding.

After Jean Claude, Lisa, Garry and Chris summited then Me and soon followed by Sue. There was a break to the last three, but Pam and Brenda also made it in time for sunrise. Jeanie had become too cold for her taste so she headed back to the boulders for some wind cover. She waited on us there.

We got our glory shots and Brenda added a video and we were headed back down. Descending Mt St Helens is NOT a treat. Until the last 2.25 miles there is no defined trail - just lots of boulder and scree options, none of which really look inviting.

I had planned to make breakfast for the group so we decided on the way that Garry and I would blast off at a rapid pace once we made the treeline so we could get a start on everything. We hit the trailhead 9 hours after we began and shot down to Marble Mt Sno Park where the RV was parked and began breakfast prep. I woke Athena up so after a big, catlike stretch I tethered her outside so I could cook.

The rest of the group was about 25 minutes behind us which worked pretty well. It was only 10 minutes or so before the food was on and we all feasted. Some of us were napping a little along the way which is to be expected.

Part of the group had to leave Saturday and Bob and Sue had their trailer in the site we had reserved for Saturday night so we hung out at the Sno Park for  a good hour after they left to give them time to pack up and give us time to get our stuff together.

We said goodbye to Chris and headed to Lone Fir for the night and met Gary and Lisa there. Garry also joined us there. We enjoyed a great afternoon of snacks and wine and eventually some square dancing began on the property. They weren't all gussied up so we didn't take pictures, but it was fun to listen in on anyway.

All in all it was yet another Mt St Helens trip that will never be replicated like every other one. I guess that's why we keep doing it. Something about spending time with other like minded people doing something really cool that makes life seem better.

Be very well and more soon....

And Eagle Peak Saddle....

Sunday we headed up to Mt Rainier to hike to Eagle Peak Saddle. We park near the Ranger Station instead of the trailhead which makes the hike 7.9 miles with just under 3000 ft of elevation gain.

We started out with the morning overcast which was very welcome. We quickly were plenty hot since Eagle Peak trail is steadily steep. The trail was in great condition and there was very limited snow up in the trees just below the last uphill to the saddle.

We had Nancy and Dakota with us as well as Lance and Gay and we paced accordingly. At nearly 30 lbs himself Dakota gave Nancy a workout. We were treated along the way to a very comfortable deer who walked down the trail towards Nancy, Dakota and I and got within 15 feet of us before leaving the trail. I left my camera with my pack to bring Nancy some baby stuff in the shade so I didn't get the close up of the deer, but I did get some longer shots earlier.

This is NOT Photoshopped.

Everyone survived the trail and arrived at the saddle to fantastic views of Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt St Helens and , of course Mt Rainier. A little further up you get some Tatoosh Mt range views as well.

We enjoyed our long break at the saddle before heading back down and heading to Whitaker's Basecamp Grill for a beer and maybe meet up with Sherrie and Spence who had a Mt Rainier summit attempt in the morning. They were there, but conditions kept them from progressing past 13000 ft. We couldn't stay too long since Nancy had a flight out that evening so we headed home after about an hour.

Sherrie posing with food.

Next up is Mt St Helens which we are planning a sunrise summit (midnight hike?) first thing Saturday morning (Friday night?). The current weather forecast says we can expect dry weather in the 50's on the climbing route and a nearly 82% full moon. That should help navigating the boulders in the dark.

Be very well and more soon....