Elevation Gain: Approximately 1640 ft.
Time: 12:00 pm - 6:20 pm
Weather: Sunny, partly cloudy, cool and breezy.
"What is the best hike you have been on?"
I get that question all the time when I tell people I have been hiking for now, 93 weeks in a row. It is an almost impossible question to answer. In some ways, the best hike was the last on I had just went on. My birthday surprise hike, week 61, was an exceptionally great hike. Others stick out in my mind too as amazing hikes: week 13 with my family, week 16 to the highest point in Oklahoma, week 50 up to Mt. Adams, week 52 around Mount Hood, week 63 up to the Royal Lake, or week 91 when I saw alligators. For now, one of the best hikes I have ever done was yesterday. Wow! What a day!
It starts with me having no confirmed hike picked, but a rough plan to hike a long distance with Creighton. I woke up at 9 am and called Creighton. No answer, but I started packing. Creighton called back, and he was just waking up but was ready to hike. I suggested the Carbon River Glacier. A hike I have now done three times. When I started this commitment I did not stipulate any restrictions on repeating hikes, and to be honest, I like repeating hikes, especially good hikes. This hike has a little of everything. The first 5 miles are along the old Carbon River road, then you meet up with the Wonderland Trail, a 93 mile loop trail around Mt. Rainier. The trail takes you up to the Carbon Glacier, the lowest-elevation glacier in the Lower 48.
We began walking right at noon. We were enjoying walking side by side on the old road up to the Ipsut Campground. We made it to the Green Lake trail, weeks 32.5 and week 35. This is about 3 miles away and we were there right around 1 pm. We drank some water and kept moving. We hit the campground and kept moving. You climb a little at this point until you get to where the trail has washed out on the south side of the river. You cross the Carbon River and get the first views of Mount Rainier. Today was as beautiful as it ever can be, a clear blue sky behind the peak, stacks os snow with beautiful seracs hanging from the glaciers, and the strange sense that this mountain before you is alive. Creighton shared with me on the hike this idea that there are "thin places" in this world. Places where the separation of heaven and earth is thinner than other places. I think this river valley is a "thin place."
We ended up taking a 15 minute break on the river. We basked in the sun and the view of Rainier. I hat some food and drank some water. We then took off for the last 1.5 miles up to the glacier, the hardest 1.5 miles of the hike. We climbed quicker than we had anyplace on the trail but maintained a good speed. Creighton got a little ahead at the end, but only by 5 minutes. I reached the glacier at 2:50 pm, a 3.04 mile per hour pace (including the breaks). I was so excited by this pace. I felt so good to finally maintained a 3 mph pace for almost 3 hours. We took about an hour and 15 minute break. We ate in the sun, i packed my feet in a little snow on the trail, and we had a great chat with another group.
We took off around 4:05. I was in front and found myself lightly jogging at times. The woodsy section on the north side of the river was cool in the shade. It felt amazing to be outside. The sunlight broke through the forest canopy in streaks. We had the place to ourselves on the way down. We cruised. I was running the few uphills on the way back because it seemed easier. We were down 1.5 miles in 26 minutes. We crossed the river and I kept a slow pace as I stared at the mountain and tried to walk. We walked the trail on the south side at a regular pace and made it the 2.2 miles in about 43 minutes. We walked to the Green Lake trail, about 1.9 miles in 20 minutes, and we jogged the last 3 miles. We made the final 3 miles in about 33 minutes. That made our total time down 2 hours and 15 minutes, or 3.8 mph.
Orchid: Crazy fast pace and running for the first time with my crazy runner friend, Creighton.
Onion: Running in hiking boots and gaiters.
Picture:
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