Mt. Rainier Hike

After ending my night shift, my friend Vlad and I headed to Mt. Rainier National Park for a hike to Mystic Lake from Sunrise Visitors Center. This 21 mile hike starts at 6,400 ft. elevation, goes over Skyscraper Pass, down a 2,000 ft. descent, past Winthrop Glacier, and eventually emerges in the beautiful meadows that surround Mystic Lake. Interestingly, this mountain lake got it's name after two visiting professors reportedly saw a mysterious whirlpool near the lake's outlet.  

As we began our hike, Vlad kept asking people about Mystic Lake and everyone kept telling us that it would be impossible to complete this hike in one day, especially since we started around 11 pm. However, I was determined to press on. Things were going well until we got about 8 miles into the hike and the lack of sleep began taking it's toll on my body. Exhausted, I pressed on. It was at this point that I began to regret having taken so much useless items such as my 70-200 mm lens. Not even once did I end up using this expensive 1.47 kilogram chunk of glass and metal!

Having arrived at Mystic Lake around 4:30 pm and on the brink of total collapse, we were greeted by a breathtaking view of the tranquil mountain lake as well as a swarm of fly's and mosquitos. After eating lunch, taking a quick dip in the lake, and loosing almost a pint of blood to the bloodthirsty insects, we started heading back. To make the long story short, I basically died on the way back when we hit the 2,000 ft. ascent. Vlad was kind enough to let me take a 20 min. nap and offered to carry my extra lens. It was only by God's mercy that we were able to make it back to the top of the ridge. There we were greeted by the most spectacular sunset ever and we rejoiced and praised the Lord! By the time we hiked the remaining 3.5 mi. back to the car, it was already almost 10 pm. Exhausted we sat down on the parking lot and began eating. 

You would think this was a wonderful ending to a perfect day huh? Nope. As we started the car, we realized that the gas tank was empty. Rolling mostly in neutral, Vlad managed to stretch my car's remaining gas to the limit. We where at 410 mi. by the time we rolled out of the mountains and to the nearest gas station. Usually I get a maximum of 360 mi. on one tank and thats 30 mi. after the low gas indicator goes on. Relieved and tired we drove home, thanking God for yet another great day!

~ Filipp C.