Sunday, July 13 - Travel, arrive at Trout Lake for dinner.
Monday, July 14 - Drive to trailhead, climb to The Lunch Counter, camp overnight.
Tuesday, July 15 - Summit Mt. Adams, descend, overnight at Trout Lake.
Wednesday, July 16 - Travel home.
What really happened...
Sunday, July 6 - Lightning strikes a tree in the foothills of Mt. Adams.
Sunday, July 13 - After a week of smoldering, the fire intensifies.
We spot the plume of smoke from our cars while traveling down I-84. We are traveling in 3 cars, and know all passengers are thinking the same thing.
We figure the fire is far enough from our destination and we keep driving.
As we cross the Columbia River, the plume is growing...
Garrett, our Mt. Adams guide, calls from Olympia to share the news... The southern trailhead to Mt. Adams is closed. The fire has spread 100+ acres. Our Mt. Adams summit is canceled.
Bummer.
A forest fire was the last thing we expected to hold us back. We thought avalanche, rock falls, exhaustion, blisters, blizzards... anything else, but a forest fire.
We were disappointed, but thankful we weren't on the mountain. We had heard there were rescue teams trying to get climbers off the mountain. We also heard the road to the trailhead was on fire and cars could not leave.
By this time, over 500 acres had burned.
The caravan pulls off the road (see all of our disappointed faces) to confirm what we have all been observing. We decide to stay in the area and climb a different trail.
We canceled our rooms at Trout Lake for emergency personnel.
We also called family and friends to let them know we are safe and sound.
We stopped at Multnomah Falls to talk to park rangers and figure out what we will hike the next day. A few teammates decide to drown their sorrows in soft-serve ice cream...
At dinner, many of those same folks continued to soothe their nerves with wine (much to the wine guys dismay).
We found the closest hotel - only 3 rooms available. We are now a completely bonded group.
Monday, July 14 - Mt. Hood Bound!
Continental Breakfast of cereal, toast, coffee, hard-boiled eggs and fruit.
Strap on boots, apply sunscreen, and hop in vehicles to Mt. Hood (OR) to the Clark Creek Trailhead, connecting to the Elk Meadows trail.
Stopped at the Mt. Hood Ranger Station - found out the Clark Creek Trailhead was washed out - headed 1 mile north to Sahalie Falls treailhead connecting to the Elk Meadows Trail.
7-hour hike.
Approximately 6200'.
And had a blast, despite the circumstances.
Lots of sunscreen.
Lots of Water.
Lots of Laughs.
Lots of Duck Tape.
And lots of Photos.
4600 calories burned.
A much deserved dinner at a local pub, then it was time to get back on the road again... Home at 1am.
What we learned... Michele is not a fan of Strawberry Banana Gu, but Vanilla Bean is tolerable... Adam can't handle tangerine Gu. In his words, it is "liquid slug." Turkey jerky is quite yummy.
Duck tape does wonders for blister prevention.
And there is nothing better than a warm tar road to soothe a tired body after a long hike.
(We adjusted this photo so you could see the smoke from this fire. We were 45 miles away from Mt. Adams.)
When we got home, we check the latest news on the forest fire. Over 6000+ acres burned, the Mt. Adams southern trailhead closed indefinitely.
Check out the National Forest's Cold Springs Fire Progression Map. News Release from the Forest Service regarding Cold Springs fire.
Good news...
We have the opportunity to climb Mt. Baker on the weekend of our birthdays (July 25-27). Tune in soon for the outcome.
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