This will hopefully be my way of documenting experiences and reflecting. Plus, it’s easier to share a link than explain the same story over and over to people so that’s a plus. Free range yapping to a blank document that’s public. Doesn’t get much better than this!
Three years ago
I had plans to do the South Climb in late September. I invited a couple friends to join me, but at the last minute, they dropped out on me. It was the last weekend I had to do a mountain before going back to school in LA, and with no one to go with, I knew I had to do it by myself.
So at the last minute, I did it.
Nothing went overly wrong. I was able to make it to the summit and back relatively safely. But what also happened that day was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. I got caught in a storm that arrived two days earlier than the forecasted date. 50 mph winds, -2°F chill, ice frozen to everything on me, total physical exhaustion, zero visibility, an overly heavy pack, and being totally alone on the mountain. It was a total ego death. Any feelings of happiness from summiting that day were eclipsed by anger and frustration from how poorly I executed that day. I realized I had let my ambition get the best of me. I wasn’t patient. I so desperately wanted to spend time on the mountain before I returned to LA. What I did that day was arguably not within a reasonable boundary of my physical capabilities. I endangered myself with a slow pace and didn’t approach the climb with a good mindset to begin with.
Present day
Three years later…
Lots of time has passed. By now, most people in my life have tried to convince me to stop doing mountains. I always had a hard time listening these people. Through perseverance or obstinacy (whatever you want to call it), I grew. I had experienced significantly more, learned a lot, and improved my fitness significantly. But Adam’s still scared me. Sometimes you never forget the feeling of how much pain you were in, and I was terrified at the thought of reliving it. In a similar fashion to my experience three years ago though, summer was coming to an end. I acknowledged my growth, and with my curiosity getting the better of me once again, I decided to go for it.
I tried reaching out to friends in hopes they would join me for Adams or even Middle Sister. I told myself it would be a fun way to do a mountain with a buddy, but deep down, I knew I was avoiding what I really needed to do. Luckily, everyone turned me down. Solo it was.
On Sunday evening, I gathered my belongings and left for Portland. Every time I do a mountain up north, it’s a ritual for me to go to the Sandy blvd Dave’s Hot Chicken prior to a climb. Always a medium #4 with a regular sized Dr. Pepper. Not sure why, but yeah. Had to mention it.
Once the ritual was completed, I sent it to Pahto. I arrived to the South Climb trailhead a bit late. The stars were absolutely beautiful and it was a brisk night. I walked out and met a couple guys from Northern Washington who were super cool. They arrived just before me, and it was going to be their first time attempting Adams. We had a nice conversation, and we agreed we’d probably see each other on trail the next morning. I crawled back into my car ready to test my new car camping setup. My old mattress topper from college laid out in the back of my Forester with a comforter dedicated to the mountains. Quite the upgrade from years of simply reclining my seat back or curling up in the backseat if I don’t say so myself.
The night was a little chilly, but I woke up feeling half decent. Six pack of powder donuts, an Arctic Vibe Celsius, some good music playing, and the car heater going. Beautiful. The stars were still out, and I admired them through the sunroof while I was waking up. Pretty quickly, I was ready. Like—I was ready to CRUSH this shit.
Running vest on, poles in hand, Strava activated, selfie by the trail sign, and pure stoke. Hit the trail around 4:45am in power hike mode. Almost immediately transitioned to being shirtless after starting, and with 200mg of caffeine in my system and great music in my ears, I was clocked in. I half expected to not recognize the trail, but as I made my way, it all started coming back to me. Saw places where I was at my lowest three years ago, the exact spot I got nearly scared to death by a couple guys and their dog when I was descending in the dark with a half-dead headlamp, and so on. I made it onto the ridge quicker than expected and I got slightly jump scared when I ran into the two guys I met the night before. We exchanged a few words, and I continued on. I found myself on the snow and I knew I was about to hit the lunch counter at this point. The night kept the snow firm, and it made for the perfect surface to cook with my trail runners.
I reached the lunch counter in just under 2hrs 15mins. The sun was just starting to rise and it was a beautiful day. Was able to see Helens to the west, and Hood, Jeff, the Sisters, and Broken Top behind me. Even better, the snow leading up to Pikers was starting to have an alpine glow and I was hyped to get up there. Initially attempted to go up the steep snow with my bare shoes, and while it was possible, the Yaktrax I had just bought ended up being quite nice.
Made it to Pikers in 3hrs 45mins, and was feeling great. I continued on for my final trek, hoping to make it to the summit within 4hrs 30mins. At the base of the summit switchbacks, I took off my Yaktrax and slogged up the scree. It went by surprisingly fast and was pretty chill. I was approaching the shack and checked the time. I was going to make it. I was in a state of pure bliss as I made my way to the true summit. 4hrs 29mins was my final summit time. Nothing insane, but to me, it meant the world. Just a few years ago, it took me over 10 hours to reach this point, and halving my time was a testament to myself about how far I had come. The best part was being alone up there. Moments where I can experience the wind, cool temperatures, views, and a blue sky above me make me grateful for my health and ability to be there. I know it’s not something everyone can experience, and I try to never take it for granted. My life wouldn’t be the same without those moments.
I begin making my way back down. As I approached the base of the summit switchbacks, I ran into my two friends again. We had one last exchange, and we all carried on. By this time, the sun warmed the south face a bit more than I anticipated. From Pikers, my Yaktrax/trail runner combo wasn’t ideal. The snow gave away easily enough to slip, but wasn’t soft enough to actually plunge. Nevertheless, I simply took my time and used the ridges and concavities of the snow to make it back to the lunch counter just fine.
I was just below 8500ft or so when I was running down the snow and ran into a mountain goat. He was laying in the snow, unbothered, and was enjoying his day. I took a moment to appreciate him from a distance and carried on.
Continued making my way down and made it back to the trailhead in 7hrs 33mins.
Generally speaking, I don’t like comparing myself to others. What I do love is comparing my past selves to who I currently am. Three years ago, it took me nearly 16 hours to C2C Adams. This time around, I more than halved my time and still felt great afterwards. In no way am I intending to boast about myself. I simply talk about this because as I reflect, I see it as proof that you can improve with time and commitment, and I have no doubt that in three years from now, I’ll be viewing this day in a similar light to how I am with the past currently.
In terms of a “days of the week” ranking, Mondays are typically low on the scale. But this Monday was one of the better ones I’ve had. It made me forever grateful to call the PNW my home. Hard to imagine a life without mountains and the ability to have a casual weekday adventure. Until next time!
Preesh.
