Learning Lessons at 12,280 Feet- Day 2

 
The next morning, we arose early and grabbed the pack we had put the things in we needed for that day (leaving a lot of the heavier gear like the tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, etc. there while we summitted.)  Then we were on our way.

 After we walked over the rock area, we stopped to put our crampons on.  I have to say that those were one of my favorite pieces of gear... they helped me feel much more secure.  However, they were pretty tricky to put on so Grant had to help me.  The first section was steep and pretty tough.

But the worst part was that after all that work, there wasn't really anywhere good to stop and rest.  Here is Daren at our resting point after the first section of the day...

Lesson #5- If you follow in the footsteps of your leader, who has done the hard work, you will be safer and much happier.  The next section became really steep and I was feeling pretty nervous.  The worst parts were when there was ice on top of the snow and I felt like if I slipped, that I might just slide down the whole section.  I didn't know where to step and couldn't get a good, steady step.  So Grant went in front of me and started kicking foot holds.  He literally kicked 5-6 kicks just to take one step.  By the time he took the steps though, they were nice, deep, secure footprints for me to step right up in.  It was so much easier for me and I felt totally safe and secure.  I couldn't help but think of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and how hard He has worked to create the steps for us to follow.  Through His life and His atonement, He has paid the price for us, so that if we will simply follow in His footprints, we will be so much happier, so much more safe and secure.  I was so thankful that Grant did that for me.  However, he definitely paid the price for doing that during that whole steep section.

When we arrived at the false summit, we stopped for a while for lunch and made a few more friends.  They gave us some great advice about what routes to take to get to the top (that totally helped us!!)

Grant was totally exhausted and his legs were killing him.  He wasn't even sure if he wanted to continue to the summit, which is saying a lot for him!!  Daren and I were pretty tired too, and I couldn't believe how much we still had to go to get to the top.  However, I was not about to quit when I had come this far, especially because I was thinking this would probably be a one time summit for me.  I was very determined to finish what I had started.

After a nice break, we began again... unsure if we would make it... or if we would regret going on...

We crossed some rock, and then a giant snow field.  Then we came to more rock.  We followed the trails of switch backs all the way up the rock and it actually was pretty secure rock.  This part ended up not being as bad as it looked.

Above-- This is a picture of a 12 year old with his parent... I was super impressed!!
Below-- Our cute little selfie!!  ;)

Before we knew it, we could see the little shack at the summit and we knew we were almost there!!  It was such a good feeling!  It definitely helped us go faster for that last little part to see our finish line before our eyes!

And then we did it!!!  We made it to the summit... all 12,280 feet!!!  I couldn't believe it!!  It seriously was such an adrenaline rush!!  I felt so high... literally!!  ;)

And (with all the layers to block the howling, very strong winds and my camera and ice ax), I looked like a ninja, to boot!!  LOL!!  (My friend, Celeste's, little girl, who is 4, commented that I looked like a ninja in this picture, when I posted it on Facebook.  And Grant said, "Yeah, a mountain ninja!!"  LOL!!  I was laughing so hard!!)  Grant sent out a text to my phone (which he always does because I am not usually with him) with his satelite/locating device, that can send out a signal if help is needed.

One of the most interesting parts of being on top was that in certain places the wind was so crazy strong, but if you stepped down into other spots that were even a bit protected the wind quickly died down or was almost absent.  It was amazing!!  (I was so thankful for all the amazing gear Grant had purchased for me, including the baby blue, my fav color, down coat, he bought for me the day before the hike.  I have never liked the way down coats look, but this one was super cute.  Plus I don't think I would've cared much because of how much warmth this coat brought me!  I loved it!!)

We were lucky to be able to be the only three on the summit, for the entire time we were up there.

Here is Daren, standing with the pole on top of the shed, which has several scarfs tied on it.

Here is Mt. Rainier inside my hand and some pretty awesome snow/ice formations... and then just some pictures of us!  :)

I DID IT!!!!!!!

How many men are lucky enough to get to kiss their wife on top of a mountain??  ;)  Grant absolutely loved every single second of mountain climbing with me and he let me know it about every other second... LOL!!  Okay, maybe not that often.  But I definitely knew he loved it... when we got back, this is what he posted on Facebook, "My incredible, amazing, beautiful, and strong wife just made all my wildest dreams come true by summiting Mt. Adams with me!!! She pushed through the scary parts and conquered the peak! I'm a proud husband! — feeling proud," to which he received 90 likes and several comments!  It definitely made it worth it to spend that time with him!

 

Even though it was a bit foggy, I had prayed hard that we could at least see each mountain peak, and we were able to see quite a bit, which apparently was pretty amazing that morning from what I had heard.  I was really thankful for all that we were able to see and made sure and said a prayer of thanks!

 

 

After we spent enough time enjoying the top, we chose to take our first glissade of the trip.  We had to climb down about ten feet to avoid some rocks, but then as soon as we got going, we knew we had made the right choice.  It was so much fun!!  And I was so thankful for these shorter (and less steep) glissades so that I could feel more confident on the longer and steeper ones!

 After that first glissade, we were back to the snowfield, which was probably my favorite part of the whole hike... it was just fun because it was straight across and gorgeous!!  I was practically running.

 Above- Here is a cool picture that Daren took of the two of us on my favorite snow field!   :)
 Below- Daren coming into view.  And me, just chill-laxing in the snow.  ;)

We stopped for a bit again at the false summit, where I took a picture of some rocks, which was engraven many years ago.  They were stuck by lightning back in the 60's and the 90's.

Then Grant took some pictures of the beginnings of our favorite glissading paths!  They were so deep, so it felt really secure, because you knew you would stay right in the path.  We felt like we were on a waterslide!!  I was actually the most worried about this one, looking down it, because it was so steep!  However, I was seriously squealing with delight because it was SO much fun!!

 

Above-- At one point, I just layed down in the glissade path and took this picture of the beautiful clouds above me.
Below-- One of the few times Grant will ever look as tall as Daren... LOL!!  ;)

Below- These cute little yellow flowers were right in the middle of a huge rock field.  It was pretty amazing.  I wish I would've thought to take a picture of the flowers from further out to show the contrast better, but it was really neat to see them.

Almost back to our tents... notice the red snow in places... Grant said it was from different bacterias in the snow.