Goat Rocks

[VINMAN]

Happy B-Day Supe!

Theres nothing like a view of a full moon from high atop a mountain...

I summited Rainier a few times. Plan on doing it again next winter.

[Dantilla]

Goat Rocks are the best. I haven't spent enough time in the mountains this year.

[vash]

those are definately NOT PILLOWS! thanks for this evenings nightmare theme.

happy belated birthday supe.

[Superman]

Thanks, Angela. And the rest of you guys.....I hope I did not cause nightmares. I do love rattling you guys' cages, but only enough to wake you during the day.

Adams is easy? Hmmmm....... I really want to stand on top of Rainier, but I'm not so stupid as to imagine it's a cake-walk. Typically, you camp at Camp Muir (this is simply a location on the mountain.....there is no "camp" involved except what you bring on your back) at 10,000 ft, summit starting VERY early the next day and glassade down that same day. That's 4,400 feet in a day, all of it above 10K feet.....and then all the way down. People die there. I want to do it (summit that is.....not die).

Snoqualmie Pass is something like 3300 feet. I parked my truck at 4400 feet, walked up to Snowgrass Flat which I believe is something like 6000 feet. My topo map is lousy. As I say, the summit of Old Snowy is just under 8000 feet.

As I say, I quit smoking. It will take some time, but my body is likely to recover somewhat. That stuff is poison. Poisons. But I have good genes apparently, and a fairly 'engaged' approach to life. I do not exercise, but I also don't sit on my ass much. Okay...that said....backpacking is open to almost everyone. I cannot keep up with the young bucks now, though I may close the gap in the future. But I can maintain a slow trudge, even up a slope, with a full backpack.

And, as you can see, the rewards are high. Washington State is breathtaking. Getting away from the noise and mind-clutter of my regular city life.....pushes my "reset" button. If any of you folks want to take a hike, let me know. I'm thinking of Cascade Pass next. And then there is the narrow strip of Olympic National Park that runs along the Pacific coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Look it up. It is a perfectly-manicured stroll that includes some of our best-in-the-world temperate rain forest, but mostly just walks along the beach. Virtually no roads. It is a multi-day event. The offshore rocks are calendar-picture stuff. And.....it's right at sea-level. That means it's a legitimate (not snowy, not dangerous) winter backpacking route. Days would be short, so campfires would be long.