Can we talk about how I just spent ten days pretending to be a rich person? (I’m actually asking – can I talk about that? It feels a little shameful, like maybe I should be keeping it a secret?) … More 10 Rich Days in Cabo San Lucas
This, then, is what the love of glaciers means:
Yesterday, you hiked Mt. St. Helens. You climbed up 4,500 feet over the course of four miles, clambering over sharp boulders and loose scree. You then turned around and picked your way back down 4,500 feet of the same.
You woke up this morning with every muscle in your lower body wailing, suggesting maybe you should be a little kinder today.
You arrived at the Mt. Rainier National Park wilderness office, because backcountry camping was your only plan for finding a place to sleep tonight, and asked if there were any sites left that did not require a strenuous or lengthy hike.
You listened as the ranger ran through a list of unappealing options – seven miles is too many, 2,000 feet elevation gain is too many, 2,000 feet elevation lost is WAY too many, three miles might be okay except half of it parallels the highway?
And then you listen as the ranger kindly offers to check for available group sites, since those could be given away to a non-group at such short notice.
You listen as she says, “the Glacier Basin site is open, oh, but that’s four miles in and nearly 2,000 up-“
And you hardly let her finish the sentence before you say “WE’LL TAKE THAT ONE.”
“I’m afraid we’re going to have to splurge on a room at the Crater Lake Lodge,” I said.
“Are you proposing we buy a $300 hotel room so that you don’t miss the chance to buy a $100 dinner?” Dustin asked.
“NO,” I replied not-at-all too quickly. “No, but really, look: we’re coming from the north entrance of Redwoods. It’s a 4-hour drive, and if we manage to get a tour at Oregon Caves along the way, the earliest we can hope to arrive at Crater Lake is mid-afternoon. That means we’ll be in the park for less than 24 hours. If we camp, we’ll spend our entire visit hiking in and out of our campsite, and none of the campsites have views into the crater.” … More Crater Lake
“There’s not a lot of shade out there. You’re welcome to stay with us tonight if you don’t want to fight the heat.”
A sparkle of doubt crept into my exuberant plan. The hike to our camp site would cover about four miles. We’d have to wear our big packs. It would be hot. Relentlessly hot.
But… but… I wanted to be one of less than a hundred people! Also, there were volcanos back there I wanted to collect.
“We don’t have to go right away,” Dustin said. “Why don’t we go do some of the frontcountry trails, see some of the caves, then we can start out for the wilderness when it starts to cool off?”
This plan sounded eminently sensible, so I sent a note to his highness confirming my enthusiasm for hiking in three-digit temperatures, and we set off for the loop road. … More Craters of the Moon: extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme solitude, and extreme awesome
At some point about halfway through, I demanded of Dustin: “Whose terrible idea was this, anyway?”
“Yours,” he said. He didn’t even hesitate.
“Oh,” I huffed, because huffing was the only way I could get air in and out at the moment. “Right.”
“But I supported the idea,” he added. Supportively.
“It was a great idea,” I gritted out through clenched teeth as I hauled myself up over another sharp rock.
One foot in front of another, again and again. I could not refrain from checking my watch every few minutes to see how many feet of elevation I had put behind me. I celebrated every twenty feet. Climb twenty feet enough times and somehow you get there. I was grateful not many other people were idiotic enough to start this climb in the hot heart of the day, which meant at least I wasn’t being passed by every other tourist in the park. … More Lassen Day 2: in which we are finally chased out by the smoke
bump-ass hell” while talking to the ranger, and got laughed at. Apparently the appropriate pronunciation is “bumpus,” but… “bump-ass” is an easy and practically mandatory mistake to make. I even refuse to make apologies to Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, the unfortunate explorer who discovered these springs in the 1860s by accidentally falling leg-first into one of them. (He lost the leg, making him the most brilliant object lesson in park history. Don’t leave the boardwalks, kids.) … More Climbing Lassen Peak while California burns
Lava Beds National Monument: lava as far as the eye can see! Well, not hot lava. This lava hasn’t been hot for at least a thousand years. It’s cool. Really cool. (See what I did there?) So. Cool lava. Miles and miles of black, broken landscape standing testament to the power of the earth. When … More A tale of two unsolicited pieces of advice
“You want some mostly warm tea?” he asked, holding the pot out.
I held out my bowl with the teabag in it. “What about my ramen?” I asked, mournfully.
Thanks to the extra miles we piled on yesterday, the elevation gain on this lovely fourth day of our hike would be fairly negligible. Our starting point at Sunset Lake clocked in at 9,659 feet, and we would top out for the day and the trip at Hurricane Pass, a mere 800 feet higher. Still, … More Teton Crest Trail Day 4, in which I find a glacier!
Thither & Yon 