Step by Step

Oh hey there. Back so soon, I know. I'm trying to make this a habit rather than saving all the things I want to write about for one moment and then subjecting "you all" to word vomit when I find the energy to update. Anyways, my reluctance to turn on the heat in my house led me to don some spandex, which reminded me of the last time I wore them, which was on my Mt. Adams climb. That got me thinking again- about how much I learned about myself in three short days, how much I learned to appreciate nature, yadda yadda. Cheesy, but let me start from the beginning. I've been meaning to write this experience down for a few months and now that the details escape me I better throw it down before I forget that I climbed a mountain all together.

So. here goes.

It all started one evening during finals week of winter quarter last year. Microbiology and Anatomy II were getting me down and I was taking a breather outside of the library when my dad called. He had this “brilliant” idea that we join up with some friends his to climb Mt. Adams during the summer. At that point, I would have given anything to be on top of a mountain and as far away from Lemieux Library as possible so I gave an excited "yes" and resumed studying. As the school year wrapped up I didn't think much of it but when I returned home, I was faced with the reality that I would be scaling 12, 281 feet in altitude. I biked like crazy this summer trying to get ready for it, bought sportsman's warehouse's supply of granola bars, and invested in some sturdy hiking boots. Preparation was fun; bonding with my dad, getting to know the other family going, planning meals, getting new outdoorsy clothes. However, it didn't hit me until I was standing at the trailhead with a 40 pound pack that I was actually going to do it.

We planned to go over a period of three days, trying to make it to Lunch Counter (9000 ft) to camp on the first day and camping there after our summit on the second day. The adventurers? Dad, his friend Steve Rice, Steve's two kids Joe and Annie, and me. We started out slow and eventually divided into two groups- Joe, Dad, and me and then Steve and Annie a few breaths behind us. I was overwhelmed at first. The pack was heavy, the hill seemed to climb and climb without any rest, and we had to ration our water until we reached snowmelt (which, at that point, wasn't for another couple hundred feet of elevation). We broke away from the tree line and I remember looking backwards at Mount Hood and thinking about how beautiful our surroundings were. The trees made a perfect frame for the green hills in the distance and we were enveloped by bright flowers and huge piles of rocks. It was so picturesque and I was startled to find myself thinking "hey, I am really enjoying this." I have to confess to having a huge aversion to hiking--I don't know if it was being forced to tag along with a brother in boy scouts that did it, but that definitely added to my nerves in the beginning. Anyways, coming to the realization that I was having fun put a bounce back into my step and I was practically running up that hill. We took frequent breaks to take care of our heels and our stomachs and to just enjoy the experience up the mountain. I loved that it wasn't rushed and that we were able to step away from the trail and just have that relationship with our surroundings. It was beautiful.

By about six o’clock we were feeling exhausted and were on some pretty rocky terrain that seemed to extend forever. We happened upon some cairns that sufficiently hid us from the wind and set up camp overlooking the hood river with a grand view of Mount Hood. Joe had carried up a jar of spaghetti sauce to celebrate our first 6000 feet and the five hours of uphill we had just accomplished and we had a huge meal that even included a loaf of bread from Luigi’s bakery. Then, my dad and I unveiled our contribution—flaming bananas foster! I had carried rum up with us and we had our sizzling (and very strong) dessert in style. Midway through dinner, I glanced over my shoulder and saw a mountain goat probably 10 feet away from me, eying us. We watched him frolick down the mountain—rubbing it in that we only had two feet and thus could only go half as fast as he was. We felt good about our progress of the day, despite being 3000 feet away from our goal for the night. All of us were happy, enjoying the climb, and on the good side of the balance between being tired and sufficiently worn out. We slept soundly, knowing that a long day lay ahead.
We woke up early in the morning to quickly down simmering oatmeal and hot cocoa and power up for the big expedition. We left our heavy things at camp and took our lunch, snacks, extra clothes, and ice axes in three daypacks between the five of us. After about forty five minutes of scaling rocky terrain we hit snow!! It was slippery and scary to take each step not knowing if we were going to slip backwards or make it forward. I would kick into the mountain to create a shelf for my foot (we didn’t have cramp-ons) and hope to God I didn’t fall backwards. I was so anxious for the view that I just booked it up, barely stopping to take a breath. Joe (a seasoned climber) was right behind me and gave me encouragement and conversation all the way to lunch counter, which was a relief to reach. We ran into some people from home—including a friend from junior high I hadn’t seen in years, and another boy who had saved my friend Jake’s life during a climbing accident this summer. It was an exciting thing to see familiar and friendly faces on the climb and we hiked in close proximity to them for the rest of the day.
Because we had started so early, when Joe and I reached Lunch Counter we felt as if it was lunch time. Unfortunately, Steve challenged us to make it up the next thousand feet without taking a break after which we would be rewarded with a loaf of bread and cheese. Excited at the prospect of food other than hersheys bars in our stomachs (we brought along literally five pounds of candy as our energy source) Joe and I scaled what was the scariest part (in my opinion) of the whole climb. I felt as though I was going up a ladder and I was slipping backwards every other step. Looking down wasn’t an option and all I could see in front of me was a mile of snowy cliff. I was terrified and shaky but thankful for all of the people surrounding me and especially for Joe who hiked a step behind me in case I slid backwards. After about an hour and a half, we made it to our next resting spot and indulged in another chocolate bar. Somehow he and I had gotten stuck with carrying the candy and my dad was carrying the real food. We waited. And waited. We were on a lip of the mountain and because of the severity of the angle, we couldn’t see where we had just come from and couldn’t tell how far behind the others were. We saw people we had passed passing us as we waited. Finally we hiked down a bit and saw our families sitting on some rocks eating our lunch!! What the eff? While we were waiting for them to finish eating and climb to join us, I had the opportunity to sit by myself and just reflect on the view, which was really striking. It was fun to trace our route from a birds eye view.
We hiked a bit further to the base of Piker’s Peak which was the most treacherous part of the climb. It was like looking up a luge that was lined with loose, jagged rocks on either side. It took us an hour and forty five minutes to climb to the top. We lost my dad about halfway up because he was too tired to go any further and I left my pack with him, needing every ounce of strength I had to finish the climb. We finally reached the top of the mountain. The wind was biting cold and it was surreal to look down on all that we had accomplished and to feel that sense of pride. Then, I turned my head. There was another mountain to climb. The “top” that we had been working towards the entire time wasn’t the top at all! It was a false summit. The real summit was off in the cold distance.
I was exhausted. I did not want to continue on flat terrain and then make another 1000 foot ascent. We were all worn out but decided that we had come so far that we couldn’t turn back. It was 3 in the afternoon and we knew that we had to make the next leg of our trip in an hour. Already people were passing us on their way down the mountain, saying encouraging things but telling us to hurry because it would get dark. We made it through a half mile of flat, snowy terrain. It was the most discouraging thing in the world to stand at the bottom of the hill and feel too exhausted to walk. My stomach hurt from exhaustion. I had pushed myself so hard to get to that point that I didn’t feel that I could continue. I had taken the lead but asked Annie to go in front of me. As her foot left a footprint, I stepped into the hole, making a rhythm to keep myself going. Like clockwork the two of us fell into our rhythm—not talking and unaware of our surroundings—each of us looking at our feet, surprised they were still moving. When we were about five minutes from the summit we stopped to wait for the Steve and Joe. The four of us linked arms to do the last stretch together, finally reaching the summit of Mount Adams.
We were among the last of that day’s climbers to make it to the top, but it was breathtaking. The view was incredible. On one side we had the clearest view of Mount Rainier while the other side exhibited a striking view of Mount Adams. While our initial reactions were cheers, hugs, and cries, we each took a moment alone to just experience the experience. Eerie silence gave me the feeling of being in heaven and watching down on the world. At that moment, it was impossible NOT to believe in a higher being who could craft such a pure thing. The sense of accomplishment and self discovery combined with the surreal, spiritual relationship with my challenge (the mountain) gave me such an incredible high. I felt as though I had filled a void. My personal stresses melted away at that place rarely touched by humans. I thought of each step I took, knowing that it was a step unique to me and untouched by the materialism and insignificant details of human life. It was beautiful beyond words.
We spent a few more moments together, taking pictures and feeling proud of ourselves. We had tears in our eyes and huge grins on our faces. Unfortunately our late ascent meant that we had very little time to get down to our campsite before dark. We scampered down the actual summit and continued down Piker’s Peak to meet up with my dad. The five of us continued down to the base of Piker’s Peak where it opened up to a huge snow meadow. Previous climbers of the day had glissaded down the mountain, leaving long luge tracks down the mountain. They were beginning to freeze over. We all donned slick rain pants and sat in the tracks. Using our ice axes to control our speed we were laughing as we sped (just barely in control) down the mountain. We found track after track and even when it was only a few feet to get to our next location we would find one to slide down—just for the excuse to do it. It was awesome!!
We reached our campsite around seven. What had taken us nearly 8 ½ hours to climb we descended in 2. I went to bed, too exhausted to eat and had the best sleep that I’d had in a long time. The next morning we got up leisurely, packed up camp, and hiked back down, the entire time talking about the food we were craving. My dad and I ran through the trailhead into the parking lot, jumping and dancing despite our huge packs. We had made it!
We all went out to eat, satisfied some of our cravings, and then drove back home, playing cards in the backseat. It was an incredible weekend. I felt challenged, awed, and fulfilled, to put a label on some of the variety of emotions I felt. Although it was a short few days, it was a tough transition back to real life. How do you capture the feeling of conquering and standing on top of a mountain? You can’t. There’s nothing to compare it to. I just have to have peace that I’ve put the thoughts down and won’t forget the experience or the feeling of mutuality between the mountain and myself. I need to remember that no matter what is going on in my life, I can always find that place of peace on top of the mountain. No hatred, no stress, no nursing majors. Chaos dissolves about cloud level and the mountain is a safe place to feel a connection to God, to nature, to the world. It’s a beautiful thing.
Enjoying the view from the top,
R-