Mt. Rainier, as seen from a Boeing 737, on July 4th!
I must admit, when seen from an airplane, Mt. Rainier is even more amazing than from ground level. As we flew right by it, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m climbing that in a few days! Those five weeks of training will really come in handy!”
When I landed in Seattle, I tracked down my bag and waited for Anne, Kevin, and Josh to arrive. It was Anne who had invited me, and her father in law (Kevin’s dad, Bruce) was going to be leading our trip.
Anne, Kevin, and Josh are all CMCers from Denver, so I just knew we’d get along! I was also excited to meet Bruce since it was his 17th climb and he’s obviously a pretty bada$$ mountain man! Also joining the trip were Laurie and her 18 year old son, Wyatt. Laurie climbed Rainier when she was 7 years old and was (for the longest time) the youngest person to ever climb Rainier. To round out the trip, was Sue, an avid cyclist preparing for her first century.
It was 4th of July, so later that night, we went to the local YMCA camp and saw fireworks over the water. Super neato. The YMCA camp was where Kevin spent a lot of time as a youth. His younger brother is currently working there with an aquatic exihibit. He teaches the kids about snakes, fish, and ecosystems. After the fireworks, we got to check it out and hold some of the snakes! Fun!
Kevin’s parents were kind enough to put us up in their house. They have a lovely home in Tacoma. I can’t think of a nicer place to rest up before our big adventure up the mountain! Kevin’s mom, Helen, is a fabulous chef and she made very healthy and delicious food for us all weekend. We were treated like rock stars the whole time and it was truly amazing. A big HUGE thanks to Bruce and Helen for their hospitality.
Tags: Day 1, Mt. Rainier, Washington