By benhandrich on April 26, 2014 • ( Leave a comment )

August 2011 – Hiking Mt. Adams

Mt. Adams is a challenging hike. It can technically be done in a day, but when I did it, I only saw one or two people attempting to do so. As a two-day hike, it is very manageable, but not easy. You’ll gain 6,740 feet in elevation from the South Climb Trailhead #183 starting point, and cover a distance of 12.4 miles. That may not sound like much, but it is when you consider the elevation gain, it is truly a challenging climb.

I did this climb with a close friend who had just recently moved to Oregon, two older adult friends who had climbed the mountain before, and their nephew and brother-in-law. All told, there were six of us ready and willing to tame this beast of a climb, as you’ll see in the pictures that follow.

The South Climb Trail #183 is the trail towards the summit.

At the start of the hike, there wasn’t any snow accumulation.

Our fearless leader.

Stopping for a quick water-break.

We decided to settle down in a small forested section of the mountain, somewhere around 8,500 feet. Most people hike another 1,000 feet up to a more populated overnight spot called Lunch Counter, but we wanted a bit more privacy.

My tent’s setup.

Leon’s tent set-up.

Scott and I had brought along discs for disc golf and decided to hike up a couple rock scrambles nearby our campsite and see who could throw them the farthest.

I don’t know what Leon was cooking, but I’m glad I didn’t have to eat it.

Eating dinner at the campsite.

Playing some cards to pass the time.

A shot taken from our campsite.

Mt. St. Helens.

Another sunset shot at the campsite.

This is Lunch Counter, a common overnight site that sits at 9,400 feet. You can see the false summit, Pikers Peak, in the background.

One thing we learned on this hike is DEFINITELY wear sunglasses. None of us thought much about the fact that Scott hadn’t brought any, but on our ride home his vision started blurring, and by the time he was home, he could hardly see. Luckily, his father-in-law is an optometrist and was able to call in a prescription for him to go pick up in the middle of the night. He said that in the morning, his eyes were stuck shut from all the drainage that had accrued during the night. Moral of the story: snow burns your eyes. Wear sunglasses.