Tired and Sore with Lingering Happiness Part 3: To the Top

To the Top

Beyond the rock island it's all snow and hiking is harder now. Crevasses yawn in the distance and avalanches sound like the beginning of squirrel season. Some time ago, I stopped putting my water bottle back in the backpack and carry it with me, taking frequent sips.

Our third rest, sitting on top of the backs of our backpacks in the snow. A group of hikers with a guide service go past. It conserves energy to hike in single file stepping into the footprints ahead of you. They are wearing gaiters to keep the snow out of their boots and we are not. If the snow is too slushy and we end up sinking to our knees in it, we may have to turn back, but they won't.
Brenton is warm and has begun to remove layers. I have developed an altitude sickness headache, pressure all around, and take an Advil that Phil has packed. Sometimes we take one step and rest and then take another. Phil shows us how to breathe out forcefully to get more of the oxygen thin air out of and into our lungs. Phil explains that at about 9,000 ft. hikers often hit a psychological wall and decide to turn around having gone far enough. Phil's last two trips ended about here with a hiker getting altitude sickness in the form of vomiting. Just one day ago hikers had to turn back because of snow falling. I finish one water bottle and take out another, glad to have a slightly lighter pack.
We have made it to Camp Muir, base camp for summitting Mt. Ranier. You can see the guide service's cooking hut in the background. On the snow field to the right are the barrels where a woman is shoveling snow to melt for drinking water. Any hking done to the right of the rocks requires a permit and being strung together with rope.










Phil checks the GPS locator.

Brenton relaxes at Camp Muir. His feet are wet by now so he borrows a dry pair of socks from me. The solar composting outhouses are in the background as well as a stone hut for overnighters.
Camp Muir scenery in a balmy 32 degrees.
The rocks are warm.
Tent campers in the snowfield beyond Camp Muir.

Clouds are starting to move in. While Phil chatted by the bunkhouse with these three women from Redmond, Brenton and I stretched out on some warm rock to sunbathe and catnap. A little brown bird landed on my back and hopped down to my bottom. At this point I felt compelled to share my experience with Brenton for a possible photograph, but it scared the bird away. You can see an A-frame hut with solar panels in the background.

Same view taken minutes later by one of the Redmond gang. It is definitely getting cloudier. The Redmonds are going to summit in two weeks. This was their practice run to Camp Muir with their heavy packs. One of the girls who attends a local Christian school plans to do her senior project by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

We have had our tea and Clif bars and brown rice bars and salami on bagel for Phil and are ready to begin our descent.