I had my eye on this mountain for a while. With the extensive permit system established, I tried every month in the summer of 2022 to get permits but was not met with success until August. My buddy and I had been trying for months and both succeeded for the month of August, so we both got 6 permits each, totaling 12 permits. Rather than cancel half, we decided to invite our friends. When we drove to the trailhead, we were greeted by rangers telling us the trail was closing due to wildfires in the morning. I heard an opportunity in that statement and realize that if we tried to summit at night, then we would still be within regulation. Two friends of mine hiked to the base and were greeted with high winds and ash blowing into our eyes. Not having eye protection, we decided to turn around and for the first time, I understood the stubbornness of nature. Although the trip was a failure, we hiked in the moonlight and saw nature in a way that many would never see.
In February of 2023, we set out for the summit again. Working Monday through Friday, I always have my eye on the weekend. This particular weekend, there were no storms, and the weather called for clear skies and sun. I talked with a few of my buddies, one that attempted the night summit a few months prior, and we made a plan. We all gathered and slept at my house the night before and woke up around 4:00am for the 2-hour drive to the trailhead. We went to Mcdonald’s and grabbed a few McGriddles for the drive, and I played one of my favorite bass artists, “Of the Trees” as we drove to the mountain. When we arrived, we were greeted with snowy conditions and after parking, I pissed in a nearby snowbank around 6:30am.
The day consisted of a 12-mile hike with about ~5k elevation gain to the top of a blown-off volcano. I strapped on my snowshoes and began the hike. For the first 4 miles, we hiked in the dark and stripped off our layers since it was warmer than we thought it would be. The sun came up and we all stripped down to our t-shirts. We passed “Chocolate Falls” and talked with some other hikers as they clipped their crampons to their skis. We hiked another mile and reach the last trees we could see and stashed our snowshoes for later return. Then, we strapped on our crampons and began climbing up. We had a climb of 2 miles and 3k ft elevation and trudge along. We made it to the false summit and the giant crater that had been created during the 1980 eruption and looked at the steaming lava vents and vast landscape. Then, we realized the summit was another quarter mile away and started hiking toward the real summit for a more fulfilling sense of accomplishment. After about an hour, we reached the snow-covered summit and reveled in the glory. We looked at the nearby peaks only visible on a clear day, Mt. Adams, Mt Hood, and Mt Rainer. Then, wishing we had a ski-touring setup, we began our descent down. We glissaded most of the way and had a ball doing it. We recovered our snowshoes and strapped them on and hiked back to the car. We reached the car around 4:00 pm. We all piled in the truck and drove back home, happy that we had conquered the peak that had conquered us before.
