Mount Adams, WA

We met up with Emily's brother-in-law, Nat, in Hood River, OR on Friday night. We had a beer and then headed to the Mt. Adams trailhead.

Pete and Nat started up Mt. Adams on Saturday, while Emily took Nat's car and drove to Richland, WA to spend the weekend with her sister instead.

Richland, WA

Sally and I (Emily) started off the afternoon with some wine tasting. We went to one winery, had two tastes, and then decided to buy a bottle and sit on their patio and drink it. So, it was really more of a wine-drinking then wine-tasting afternoon.

We then went out for girls' night with some of Sally's friends, which included drinks at a martini bar (or perhaps the martini bar, as I think there is only one in Richland. We were the only ones there, but they did know how to make a French martini even though it was not on the menu.), and then dinner.

On Sunday, Sally and I both did some "work" in the morning. I put work in quotations for me, not Sally. My "work" primarily consisted of deleting, I mean reading, emails. I particularly enjoyed "reading" the ones sent last week that said "URGENT: proposal due tomorrow." But, I'm pretty sure that Sally did do actual work between gardening breaks and playing with the kitties breaks.

Then in the afternoon, to beat the heat, we went kayaking in the Columbia River and to a movie.

Mt Adams, WA


While the girls were sipping Sauvignon Blanc on the garden terrace, the boys were making their way of Mt. Adams.

We (Nat and Pete) got a late start after arriving at the packed parking lot at 1am the night before. Pete took his time packing, and we were on the trail at 10am. It was pretty solid snow all the way up after about 30 minutes. We camped just below Lunch Counter at 8800ft, at the first tent clearing we could find. The whole area was pretty crowded, so it was nice to find a spot away from the crowds. We had some cheesy pasta and chicken for dinner, took a whole bunch of photos as the sun went down over Mount St. Helens, and headed to bed as the the temp dropped quickly with the sunset.

We got up and on the trail at 4am, heading up the long, 2000ft ramp to the false summit. Nat attacked the thing, while Pete took his merry, lazy time, snapping pictures and soaking up the sunrise.

Looking up to the true summit, another 900ft or so, was demoralizing, but at least a visible goal.

We were at the top by 8am, and spent about 45 minutes taking photos, laying around, generally enjoying the morning.

We descended in speedy fashion, utilizing the 3000ft feet or so of glissade chutes. We were back at the parking lot by 1:30p, and in Hood River at the Full Sail Brewery having some celebratory brews and cheeseburgers in no time.

We'll be in Richland for the next couple of days, and then we're off to the desolate and beautiful City of Rocks in SE Idaho. For this afternoon, the ladies are off to the spa while the guys go beer tasting. Pretty nice little break...

Shout-outs: Happy Birthday Kris, and Happy Anniversary Adam and Toni!