A week at Mt. Rainier

Here I am back in Austin, in this real world where I earn my keep that allows me to get back to the world where I spent most of last week. So we attempted to climb Mt Rainier last week. Did we make it to the top? No. Was the trip successful? Yes. In other words, we could not make it the top of Mt Rainier on our first attempt :-)

During the past 6 months, we had trained hard, pushing ourselves every week to carry lots of weight up the stairs, rocks, and rivers around Austin. The training gave us the will and energy to go beyond 10,200ft. During the training, we did not realize that attempting Mt Rainier was a race against time, and eventually, what we did not have, was the pace to reach the peak by 6:30AM, and the guides refused to take us beyond 10,200ft.

Standing over the rain clouds at 10,200ft on a clear sunny day feels unreal. Walking with a 50lbs backpack up a snowy mountain, however, feels very very real. So do the worn out legs, bruised shins, sore back, and the sun-burnt hands, nose and lips. Whether one makes it to the top or not, there are lessons to be learned and stories to be told.

Uploading the pics here