Learning Lessons at 12,280 Feet- Part 3

Our original plan was to sleep at Lunch Counter again that night, however the clouds looked like the storm which was suppose to come in the following day, may be coming in sooner.  Rumors were that this storm may include thunder and lightning.  We felt that it would be best to at least get down to the trees.  Plus, we were already wearing our snow/cold weather clothing and figured we might as well get down out of the snow.  So onward we went...

Sliding down the snowfields was pretty fun!  We did a combination of sliding on our feet and sliding on our bums... and a bit of walking, since not everything was steep enough.  Either way though, all of the downhill in the snow, was much, much easier and much, MUCH faster than the uphills.

Lesson #6- Don't count your chickens before they hatch!!  I was feeling pretty great about this whole thing.  In fact, I was thinking, I could totally do this again... when we came to the edge of the crescent glacier.  All of a sudden, I wasn't so excited about this downhill thing anymore.  It was such a steep dropoff (you can not tell at all in this picture-- it was a sheer dropoff!) that not even Grant felt good about glissading it.  It was making me sick just to watch him near the edge.  And I did not want to move on the snow even twenty feet up because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop.  Daren decided to try to find a path to the right and see if it was safe for the rest of us.  Grant decided to try out the rocks.  I had already slipped on a path like this earlier and hit my elbow and my bum, so I wasn't too excited about the whole thing.  He started encouraging me to come down the rocks.  I was slipping and had no control.  I started to just try to make it from big rock to big rock, but on the way was knocking down tons of little ones.  I'm surprised I didn't start an avalanche!!  Then I slipped and hit my hand and wrist really hard!  It hurt so bad that I thought I might have broken it.  I got up and tried again, slipping and sliding.  It was not my favorite!  I was also worried about Daren, who we hadn't seen for probably 20 minutes.

When we made it to the bottom of the rocks, I was thankful for the snow!  But when all you see is rock in front of you, it makes you feel quite stressed about staying under control.  It didn't help that Grant turned to me and said, "Ang, make sure you are under complete control through these rocks!"  I started going super, super slow... one foot, then the other... digging in the heel of my boots with every movement.  "You don't have to go that slow."  "YES I DO!!!"  Yeah, I wasn't in a very good mood at this point in time.  As soon as I made it past the rocks, Grant slid the rest of the way down the snow.  Not me.  I just sat there and cried... and cried... and cried.  No one could see me.  I was just so thankful to have made it safely and just wanted to give my girls a hug.

I decided that I couldn't stay there all day and then pushed off to finish the glissade down the snow. I saw Daren and Grant waiting safely at the bottom. I was thankful to see Daren. Apparently, his way down the snow wasn't much safer or any less scary. He had to self arrest (dig into the snow) with his ice ax quite a few times. (Apparently, this part isn't as bad when the snow is deeper because you don't have to worry about the rocks.) At the bottom, I stood up and to be quite honest, I was pretty ticked off. I just started walking. I wanted off that mountain... the sooner the better!  And quite frankly, I didn't really want to talk to anymore... especially Grant!  After all, he had gotten me into this mess!  (It's kind of like when you are in the middle of giving birth... LOL!!)

When we got into the bigger rocks, I kind of had to slow down.  Grant kept asking if I was okay but I just needed to walking and blow off some steam.  The guys kept looking for campsites and asking if they were okay.  I said, "Actually I just don't want to be able to see any snow... ever again!!"  LOL!!  Just kidding!  I just didn't want to have to look at the snow anymore... plus I had a headache!  During our walk, we saw a marmot on a rock!  He was a pretty cute little guy!  (We saw one the next day too, by the river.)

We finally found a good spot, right next to the river (the sound of water is so peaceful and helps me sleep.)  It was great to be able to fill our water bottles, wash our hands and faces, and just relax.  Our campsite was so gorgeous with views of a waterfall, Mt. Hood, the top of the mountain, all kinds of beautiful wild flowers, some pretty interesting looking trees, etc.  We set up camp and just spent the evening talking, relaxing, and eating some dinner.  That night, I had Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Grant and Daren both had Lasanga.  We were all pretty exhausted and so we turned in early.  It rained a bit that night.  The night passed in seconds... it was much needed sleep.

The next morning, we woke refreshed.  We had a nice hot breakfast skillet of eggs, potatoes, peppers, etc.  It totally hit the spot!!  Yum!!  A pretty thick fog was covering the summit and we were thankful that we had come down.  At one point, it completely disappeared and looked as if there was no summit!  It was crazy!  I visited my favorite rock one more time- a bathroom with a view and a lot more privacy than the spots on the top of the mountain provided.  Then we packed everything up and headed down the mountain.  I wasn't too excited to put those boots back on!  (I love them, they are super comfortable, however, my feet were just tired of having them on and I knew that blisters were developing on my toes from the downhills.)

 

We were all very happy to make it the rest of the way to the bottom... I had no battery left on our camera.  Good thing Daren had some!  And good thing he is so good at taking selfies!  I thought this one turned out pretty cute!

It was really neat getting to know Daren better.  Even though some things were awkward with another male there, I was so glad he came with us.  He added so much- someone else to talk to, humor, the safety of another man, etc.  I really feel like we are good buds now!  He is sure a fun guy to have around!  This experience really bonded us all!  :)

It was pretty incredible to look back at this ginormous mountain and realize that we had conquered it!!  What an exhilarating feeling!! 

We stopped at the Ice Caves for a bit, since it was so close by.  My feet loved having my flipflops on and so I just stopped at the bottom of the stairs.  It was crazy to drop 60 degrees, just by walking down a staircase!!

Apparently, the closer you go to winter, the more ice structures there are.  We still were able to see a couple but it would be amazing to go when there are even more!

When we finished at the caves, per tradition, we went out for burgers, fries, and shakes!!  Daren treated us all to a yummy meal!  It was so sweet of him!!  :)  It was a wonderful, relaxing meal!

After we dropped Daren off, we picked up our kids.  They were at my parents' house... and didn't even want to leave... after 3 days of being there!  How awesome!  They were being spoiled rotten, with snocones... and Grandpa candy... Aurora even told me that Grandpa let her have "cookies and milk in the middle of the night!!"  I let her know that Grandpa had turned into a softie over the years!!  I never got cookies and milk in the middle of the night.... LOL!!!  Grandma had helped each of the girls make at least one sewing/crafting project!  In my Mom's own words, it looked like a JoAnn Fabric store explosion, when we got there!!  Riana literally watches YouTube videos about crafting and dreams up all the crafts she can do, if only she had the items she needs... well, at Grandma's house, she does!  The girls were in heaven!! 

1-2) Look what we saw on our way to their house!  Who ya gonna call?  You don't see that every day!
3 & 5) SnoCones!!
4) Karina made a sleeping bag and some pajama pants for her doll!!  Tierra and Aurora also made some pajama pants for their dolls.  

6-7) Riana made a few shoes for her dolls!  LOL!  They were so adorable!  And some clothes!

8) Sariah made some clothes for her barbies and dolls.
9) Eating
10) Sewing with Grandma
11) A dress Sariah created- unforunately it wasn't permanent.

It was so wonderful to not have to worry about our kids.  I knew they were in good hands!  And my parents love having them too!!  I appreciate them so much for always being willing to watch our girls!!  :)

It was a grand adventure that we went on.  Even though it was scary during some moments, I am glad we went!  It was amazing!!!  Something I will always remember!  I felt like I was a new member of a club.  

Climbing down the last part of that mountain, I swore I would never climb Mt. Adams again... and then the next day, I was driving through town and saw Mt. Rainier in the distance and thought, "Hmm... that would be fun to climb!"  AHHH!!!  I caught the fever!!  (Don't worry, I won't be going up Rainier anytime soon... I can't justify that one with all these young kids, when Grant still hasn't even gone up that one... LOL!!  Plus the idea of crossing crevasses and roping in with 3-4 other people, is still a bit much for me to wrap my head around.)  Grant told me that after seeing how well I did climbing Mt. Adams, he thinks I could do almost any hike/climb in Western WA.  That sure opens up the possibilities!!  :)

Lesson #7- Be careful what kinds of dangerous hobbies you become a part of!!  You just might start to enjoy them!!  :)