Elain, with Mount Adams in the background
We were looking to do an overnight trip that would offer some gentle snow slopes for Steve to try some cramponing. We decided that Mount Adams via the south side would make a good outing. We had visited Adams 6 years ago with 3 others (Greg, a friend from graduate school, Steve's cousin Jeff, and Steve's uncle Tim), but I had felt ill so stayed at camp while Steve and the others summited. I had always wanted to visit Adams again. We left Seattle early on Saturday morning. We headed towards Mount Rainier and then towards Randle via US 12, where we stopped at the Ranger station to buy our climbing permits. We were glad we had taken the time to get cash in Seattle since one can only use cash or check to purchase climbing permits (though one can use a credit card to purchase the stuffed animals for sale...). We continued on 23 to 80 and then 8080. The drive is pretty, but LONG. We arrived at the trailhead 5 hours after we left Seattle and started up the trail around noon. We took a leisurely pace, stopping to change from trailshoes to boots in the large snow basin. At just under 9000', we found a large camp site on rock, complete with an impressive wind screen and kitchen area. We set up the tent and took a short nap before dinner. We miscalculated on the amount of fuel we would need and ended up using it all on melting water. Steve was kind of bummed about not having hot food for dinner, but I really didn't care since I wasn't feeling hungry. After dinner I started to get a headache and to feel nauseous. I took a tylenol and sat outside for a while (since I was much more comfortable in the fresh air and upright). It was a beautiful night with a bright moon and clear sky. I was a little worried this trip would be a repeat of the last, but soon the nausea passed and I was able to get some sleep. At around 6:30 AM we slowly got organized and packed. Steve had a mishap with his camelbak hose and it ended up spilling 2.5 liters of water into his pack. I'd been a little crazy with the snow melting the day before so we still had a liter of water each and would just fill up along the route. We left camp around 7:30 AM and joined the many others headed up the south side. It felt good to be in crampons again. The route had significantly less snow cover than 6 years ago mid-August. We had to remove our crampons a couple of times to cross stretches of bare rock and were able to leave them off from just below Piker's Peak to the summit. I was a little worried about how I'd feel up higher so I set a slow but steady pace and we reached the summit in just under 4 hours. We walked from the little summit lookout (filled with snow) along the ridge enjoying the great views and then started the descent. Neither of us wanted to glissade so the descent to camp was rather long and tiring on our ankles. We rested for a bit in camp and then started the final hike to the trailhead. We stopped again at the base of the snow basin and gratefully changed into our comfy trailshoes. We reached the car around 6 PM. We then quickly drove to KJ's in Trout Lake for a thoroughly satisfying fatty dinner (the huckleberry lemonade was quite good).
Elain, with Mount Adams in the background
Steve on the summit of Mount Adams
The summit plateau of Mount Adams, with the abandoned lookout in
the foreground
Mount Rainier, as seen from the summit of Mount Adams
Alpenglow on Mount Adams, as seen from Forest Service Highway 23