Karin's Camino: Bring on the mountains!

Continuing on the outward preparations, I wound up hiking for hours last week on Mount Rainier in Washington State. That's a long way from my home in the southern half of New Jersey, both in miles and terrain. I

We'd flown out to help celebrate my fathers 80th birthday with family and friends. We flew in from Florida, Washington DC, North Carolina and New Jersey. Some drove in from Portland Oregon and up and down the Puget Sound. So betwixt and between us we covered the country rather well.

While we enjoyed getting together, sometimes it can be stressful when you have that many people together in one not so large apartment. Not that we were all actually staying with Dad. So off to the mountain on Friday for a day of hiking and just getting back to what really matters. We drove the 2 plus hours up to Rainier from Olympia, took off up the trail...only to turn right back and run into the lodge for sunscreen. Now the Seattle area is not noted for it's sunshine, but we lucked into absolute perfection and the sun would have scorched us but good without help from a tube of SPF 30! Off we went, each at our own pace.

After a quarter hour we fell into two groups. The I can walk farther and faster and the I don't want to be pushed, rushed or hurried! Me, I sort of fall in the middle. I wasn't out to prove anything but I also couldn't/wouldn't walk as slow as my nearly 60 year old husband and my 77 year old uncle. Nor did I want to run ahead with my 8 and 13 year old nieces, or try to keep up with my Ironman sister-in-law! So, I did what I usually do in the family, play monkey in the middle, keeper of the the peace. Half way between the two groups also means I get to walk on my very own and think my own thoughts. A very nice place to be.

We didn't get all that high up the mountain this particular hike, but the scenery was fantastic and we got to see some terrific wildlife. There was what we think was a marmot, sunning himself on a rock. Around the bend we saw a bear in the meadow far below, munching on berries. It was a perfect vantage point, as we had a terrific outlook with no chance of him coming near us. That brown lump in the lower left corner...that's the bear!

Just the right distance!

Sunday's hike with two of my sons and their wives was a completely different story. We left Olympia in full cover of a "marine" layer, aka FOG! We got up to Mt. Rainier, hoping for their Sunday brunch at the Paradise Inn. Unfortunately they'd canceled the brunch since they were closing for the season the following day. They did however have a terrific lunch, so we feasted together, all the while hoping and praying for the weather to clear.

No change on the weather front so we decided to hike up anyway, since we'd driven over two hours. The girls had never been there before so even if it wasn't perfect it was still new and exciting for them. We took a different trail than on the previous hike. Different in more ways than we could begin to imagine. Hiking in the fog was actually very interesting. You'd hear other groups further up the slopes but you couldn't always see them. Then the clouds would lift a bit and you'd see for quite a distance.

We slowly made our way up Dead Horse Creek. Great name for a hiking trail! At one point my d-i-l Adrianne, in the lead, turned back waving her hands madly for us all to be quiet. As we very slowly approached we found a small herd of deer quietly and contentedly munching away on the alpine meadow barely five feet away. Turns out we didn't need to worry about them bolting, as long as we didn't make any loud noises, they simply continued to chew their way across the landscape, occasionally staring back at us.

So close we could almost touch them.

Right after this encounter, Ray, our oldest Peter, and his wife Jen, decided they'd had enough so they were going back to the Inn. Patrick and Adrianne and I decided to forge ahead. For a bit. Then we started meeting people who'd been further up...all claiming to have made it above the clouds. So on we went. We made it to the first snow field. Someone had made a snowman in the middle. Probably waiting for the season to end so he could have the mountain to himself.

Snowman watching hikers go by.

Then we met more people who'd made it above the cloud cover. They showed us pictures. Off we went. The trail go narrower and steeper and rockier and higher and thinner. I finally had to call it quits. Truth be told, I am really quite the chicken with heights, although I'm always willing to try and test my ability to handle my fear. This time though, I'd really had enough. We'd already gone on for at least forty minutes beyond the rest of the family and although the sun struggled to clear a way thru...no luck. So now the kids went on yet further while I waited at the trail side. They were gone for what seemed an interminable time. Sitting alone by the trail, high on a mountain side can leave the imagination free to roam. Not a good thing. Just at the point when I was beginning to panic (albeit quietly) they finally returned. It seemed like it took us forever to make our way down, and I was eternally grateful for the cloud cover, which meant I never really had to face how high or steep the trail was. The clouds allowed me to come down in a lovely soft white zone, surrounded by quiet little drips from the needles of the pines around us.

It wasn't actually raining, but everything dripped quietly.

Twice more we stumbled onto deer quietly munching and ignoring us. On the final descent to the Inn, we suddenly meet up with a fox staring back at us from the middle of the trail. He too, seemed completely unfazed by people, and loped off into the pine trees and scrub as we made our way down to hot cider and cold glares from the family waiting at the bottom. The three of us agreed though, we'd do it again in a minute. Over 2,000 feet was a pretty good afternoon hike, at least for us. We'd started around 5,000 ft at least according to Patrick's calculations and so we made it to nearly 7,000! Next time, I'm bringing my boots! Talk about ill prepared!! I thought we'd go for a Sunday stroll! Not a mountain climb. So...bring on the Pyrenees!! I think I'm almost ready... mentally at least!