Last weekend we were visiting Dan's parents who were getting rid of a bunch of stuff because they're moving, and we scored some sweet camping things, so we decided to take advantage of the late summer warmth and squeeze in a hiking trip before the weather cooled down. Dan had been wanting to hike up Tatoosh Peak for a while so we decided to go up early, hike all day (up to the summit and back) and then drive back to Skate Creek and camp there over night. It turned out to be a pretty challenging hike, with the heat really adding a lot of difficulty. At least half the hike was out in open sun with almost no shade from trees, except for the occasional bunch of trees to hide behind and rest for a bit. I ended up getting heat stroke at the very summit and had to rest (and vomit... TMI?) for about an hour and a half before I could get back on my feet and hike down. I'm so not used to hiking in any kind of hot weather and had on dark jeans and a winter pack that provided no ventilation, so that really didn't help. But once I cooled off and hydrated more, I started feeling better and overall the hike was really fun. Overall, you gain about 3,500 feet in elevation from the start of the hike to the peak, and round trip it's an 11 mile trek.
The view of Mt. Rainier from the ridge. Click the photo to view it larger.
It was really great being out in nature. We'd like to figure out a way to do more traveling and adventuring. Dan & I both grew up being pretty outdoorsy, so getting back to our roots is nice. I have a photo somewhere of tiny me hiking with my parents in Juneau, it's one of my favorite photos.
