Looking East -- Mount Adams is right above Marc's head
Looking North -- Crystal Lake is in the center of the picture
Looking South -- Mount Rainier
I took the van pool home from work on Monday and Tuesday so I could get home at a decent hour and get out with Marc. Monday night we packed quickly after I got home at about 5:30 and the two of us (We tried to get others to go along but could find no takers – where are Steve, Emilie and Julie who are always ready to go on a good hike. This young group -- Paul, Andrew and Rebekah, don’t have the same sense of adventure) drove up to the trail head for Crystal Lakes and Crystal Peak.
It was a gorgeous night and I was excited to try the Crystal Peak trail. It is 3.5 miles (one way) and has a 3,100 foot elevation gain. Marc and I went up it very quickly -- one hour 23 minutes, which is a great pace to cover that kind of elevation gain. Marc was right behind me every step.
The first mile and a half is in quite thick woods, but after that it opens up and each step is spectacular. Rainier looks so close you could reach out and touch it. As you get higher other peaks show up including Mt. St. Helens and near the end of the trail, Mount Adams comes out in a glorious way. At the summit of Crystal Peak there is a marvelous panorama. To the north you look down at Crystal Lakes (all of the snow had melted over the prior two weeks). To the South is Rainier, the west has the Olympic range and east is dominated by Mount Adams. It is one of the best views I have seen in the Pacific Northwest and the evening sunlight was perfect.
We took a bunch of pictures and then were off at a quick pace on our descent. It took us one hour 20 minutes to descend; only three minutes less than it took us to ascend. We did not see another person the whole hike. It was like we had the whole mountain to ourselves. We also saw some fresh bear scat on the trail but no bears. The trail has some exposure in a number of parts but the one thing that worried me was a large and steep snowfield we had to cross. I had crampons in my pack as I thought we would hit more snow and ice, but did not pull them out as I kicked some good steps in and we had poles. Steep snowfields can be dangerous as one slip can mean real trouble.
Tuesday night was every bit as beautiful. We loaded the bikes into the Pilot and headed for Mt. Rainier National Park. We drove to White River and there we pulled out the bikes and headed up the ten mile climb to Sunrise. Marc had the new bike as I could not adjust the seat on the old bike to make it fit for him. The climb was wonderful. The first 7.5 miles are all uphill – there is no spot in all that time that is flat where you could rest or stop pedaling. The last 2.5 miles after you get to Sunrise point have some flat/downhill areas. The grade is not too steep though and it is a beautiful and great ride.
Sunrise is one of my favorite places in the world. The view is breathtaking – especially after pedaling up that climb – and no matter how many times I go there I am in awe as I come to Sunrise point and the panorama unfolds of that majestic Mount Rainier and the multitude of peaks on the horizon. We did not stay long – I would have loved to watch the sun set -- but it was after 8:00 PM and we had a cold ride down. Every minute we stayed on top would make for a colder ride.
We were sweaty and the temperature was dropping fast. I had carried a backpack up with leg and arm warmers and a jacket for each of us. I was very grateful to have them along. The descent is quite a ride. From Sunrise Point to White River you do not need to pedal once and you are riding your brakes all the time to keep your speed below 30 MPH. My right hand has some carpal tunnel syndrome and it was in real pain from squeezing the brake all that time. I got so cold that my teeth were chattering and I could not warm up. On the ride home I had the heat to 80 degrees in the car and could still not get warm. A couple of places on the descent felt like going through a freezer as the temperature was markedly colder. Both were nights to remember.
3 comments:
Dad - wow. It sounds like an amazing and intense two nights. John and I really were feeling jealous as we thought about how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is during the summer. In fact, I think John was much more smitten with it than he thought he would be and keeps talking about how beautiful it was. The descriptions and the pictures make it sound so appealing. It's great to be part of a family that likes outside so much.
Dad - this sounds like an awesome time and I would love to have been there. You guys rock.
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