Plan A was to climb up to the summit of Mount Adams (woohoo!) with my buddy David. However, dear ol' Mother Nature suggested we come up with a Plan B! With wind speeds of 45 mph, we took her suggestion seriously. You can't climb in that. Instead we went backpacking on the north side up to Glacier Lake at 7508 feet elevation (burr). The hike was beautiful with a little bit of everything ... trail, no trail, snow, boulders, lots of elevation gain, Mountain Goats, etc. It was amazing! The scenery was beautiful with fantastic views of Mount Rainier and of course up close and personal views of Mount Adams. We camped over night at the gorgeous lake which we had all to ourselves. The weather was perfect during the day but as night rolled in, so did the storm. We watched it form over the top of the mountain and make its way down. We knew we were in for a big one and made sure all tent stakes were used and large rocks were on top of each one. We hunkered down for the night and got very little sleep with the loud roaring winds and pouring rain. I was a bit nervous the tent would collapse on us but it proved to be strong and sturdy and a good shelter. As the sun came up the winds eventually died down again and it was another perfectly peaceful, beautiful day. Plan B turned out to be just as awesome and spectacular as Plan A would have been but without the need for crampons, helmets and ice axes. It was great practice with heavy packs too. Great adventure!
12+ miles; 4000+ feet elevation gain
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