watermelon, wine, wy'east swine spine (finale?)
Posted: August 31st, 2019, 7:04 pm
It's a venerable tradition, a pilgrimage, maybe even a rite of passage: On sunny warm days between Memorial and Labor, you'll see stalwart hikers carrying a watermelon and a bottle of wine up to Mt Hood's crater. I ran a little late this year; every weekend there was something better to do, but today I knew I'd better get it done. Yeah, you can buy a watermelon in September, but it just doesn't feel right. Yesterday, in preparation for this hike, I almost picked up one of those cute little personal watermelons and a 375ml bottle. But no, I decided to go whole hog, with a big ol' Hermiston and a 1500ml jug of wine.
At Timberline Lodge I hoisted my 40 lb pack and headed up the trail. I was amazed it was that heavy. Watermelon 13 lbs, wine 5 lbs, milk and yogurt 2.5 lbs, water 3.5 lbs, ice axe, crampons, helmet, a big heavy pack to carry all that. I've been traveling extra light the last few weeks, and my torso isn't used to bearing weight.
It was an extra dark night. No moon, no groomers. I wasn't sure where I was, but it didn't matter. Just go up.
I put on crampons much earlier than usual. I was getting tired of struggling to avoid icy patches. Once they were on (around the bottom of Palmer) I started moving fast. Well, faster anyway.
Above Palmer it was a dry crumbly mess. I figured I should veer over to White River. That worked out great, as I was able to ascend a combo of snow and trail. Passed an out-of-state visitor. I didn't think I'd be passing anybody.
As I approached Devil's Kitchen, I met a pair descending. Their first time on the summit. I found it encouraging that they succeeded, and considered going to the top myself. I had been hoping to get at least as far as the west rim. I didn't ask for beta, figured I'd wing it.
At Devil's Kitchen I was dismayed at how heavily crevassed Coleman Glacier is. I had no idea. I look back on all the times I walked around up there, and wonder how safe it was. Even the standard route seems sketchy now that I know there are days when snowbridges are about to melt out. People talk about the rockfall danger this time of year, but that's only half the problem. Anyway, from Devils Kitchen I didn't see an obvious route to the Hogsback. I tried skirting around the glacier, where it meets Crater Rock. I managed to get to the point where I was in line with the Hogsback, but no apparent way to safely drop to the snow (moat and delicate bridges). I could see it would be very straightforward to walk to the east side of Devils Kitchen and ascend a virtually crevasse-free section of the glacier, but rockfall risk was high. I gave up and turned back. Along the way, I looked for a boot-track that I might have missed on the ascent, but no luck.
I've had a string of failures lately. Not as discouraged as you might think. Today's trip was more interesting than expected. I was just repeating a previous hike today, so success wasn't a big deal. Next year I'll go earlier. I really want to get to the west crater rim again, mostly for nostalgia.
At Timberline Lodge I hoisted my 40 lb pack and headed up the trail. I was amazed it was that heavy. Watermelon 13 lbs, wine 5 lbs, milk and yogurt 2.5 lbs, water 3.5 lbs, ice axe, crampons, helmet, a big heavy pack to carry all that. I've been traveling extra light the last few weeks, and my torso isn't used to bearing weight.
It was an extra dark night. No moon, no groomers. I wasn't sure where I was, but it didn't matter. Just go up.
I put on crampons much earlier than usual. I was getting tired of struggling to avoid icy patches. Once they were on (around the bottom of Palmer) I started moving fast. Well, faster anyway.
Above Palmer it was a dry crumbly mess. I figured I should veer over to White River. That worked out great, as I was able to ascend a combo of snow and trail. Passed an out-of-state visitor. I didn't think I'd be passing anybody.
As I approached Devil's Kitchen, I met a pair descending. Their first time on the summit. I found it encouraging that they succeeded, and considered going to the top myself. I had been hoping to get at least as far as the west rim. I didn't ask for beta, figured I'd wing it.
At Devil's Kitchen I was dismayed at how heavily crevassed Coleman Glacier is. I had no idea. I look back on all the times I walked around up there, and wonder how safe it was. Even the standard route seems sketchy now that I know there are days when snowbridges are about to melt out. People talk about the rockfall danger this time of year, but that's only half the problem. Anyway, from Devils Kitchen I didn't see an obvious route to the Hogsback. I tried skirting around the glacier, where it meets Crater Rock. I managed to get to the point where I was in line with the Hogsback, but no apparent way to safely drop to the snow (moat and delicate bridges). I could see it would be very straightforward to walk to the east side of Devils Kitchen and ascend a virtually crevasse-free section of the glacier, but rockfall risk was high. I gave up and turned back. Along the way, I looked for a boot-track that I might have missed on the ascent, but no luck.
I've had a string of failures lately. Not as discouraged as you might think. Today's trip was more interesting than expected. I was just repeating a previous hike today, so success wasn't a big deal. Next year I'll go earlier. I really want to get to the west crater rim again, mostly for nostalgia.