Paradise, Glacier Vista Snowshoe — Friday, Nov. 30, 2007

Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise

One of my buddies has been wanting to do an overnight snowshoe trip with me for awhile now. He does some hiking in the summer and loves the outdoors, but I think after this trip he will think twice about going with me. We decided to head up to paradise and hike in about a mile or so and find a good safe place to set up camp. I do a lot of hiking up here and new of a good spot. We set up at the base of the steep section that takes you to the top of Alta Vista.(off to the side and out of avalanche zones of course)I knew the storm was coming in and we would get a lot of snow but I did not expect it to be the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. I have climbed Rainier twice and lots of other mountains but nothing compared to this 1.4 mile hike down from camp to the upper parking lot at Paradise. We had the gear to stay another night but knowing we were only 1.4 miles away kept us from setting up shelter and staying. Plus we did not want to be on the news as 2 missing hikers found 1/2 mile from their car. GPS stats: from truck to camp on Saturday = 1.5 miles in 1 hour 36 minutes camp to upper parking lot Sunday = 1.4 miles in 8 hours 20 minutes I know some of you might be laughing but believe me, you wouldn't be if you had been there. No matter what kind of shape you are in. To make matters worse they did not even open the road on Sunday so we didn't get any relief from others breaking trail. Besides the hike out it was a great trip. I love the snow and being out in storms but I will think twice about heading out for an overnighter when I know a storm like that is expected. With every step we would sink to at least our hips and sometimes up to our chest with snowshoes on. Some of my muscles are still recovering and it is Friday. Oh well, we made it back safe and have a good story to talk about.