2026-C

I have had a dream for some time. Decades really. It was almost twenty years ago now when I first attempted this hike. Back then it was New Year's Eve with a terrible storm hitting. As I drove East to the mountain, the radio told me that the roads were all closing down behind me (both Interstate 84 and Hwy 14). So I had no choice but to keep going as my way home was blocked. Not my brightest move, I will admit. I came close to dying on that fateful freezing hike in a blizzard. But I found snowshoe prints when I was lost on the side of the mountain with frozen water and a body barely able to move. I followed them to a shelter I did not know existed at that time and found a strange group of guys who thankfully let me spend the night. Eventful puts that night mildly, but I remember it with great fondness.

Of course, I have been on this side of the mountain many times since then, but not the way I wanted to do it. You see, there is a long gravel road that takes you really close to an old stone shelter on the mountain. That is the easy way. I wanted the hard way. I wanted to make this climb to the stone shelter when that road was still gated closed for winter and I would have to start at the very bottom. Doing it this way feels like two separate and difficult hikes put together, end to end. The elevation gain is no joke. But it also gives you access to an immensely beautiful side of the mountain when no one else will be there. Total solitary confinement in the best of ways. That is what this hike was all about. That and pushing myself physically, breaking through barriers. Doing it now that I am in my fifties was just bragging rights.

As I drove to the mountain, I grew anxious about many things. I was praying that the gate would still be locked in early May. I was praying that I would have the stamina to get to my goal, no matter what the snow conditions did to me. I was praying that there would not be other humans. I was praying I had packed the right combination of gear for whatever I might face. This is a mountain that often times has pounced on me with sudden storms when I have least expected it. He likes me to take him seriously, and I do. But the unknown was eating me up inside as I closed in on the snow park where I planned to ditch my truck.

As I came around the final corner, I gave my first shout of joy to see that old rusted and dented green gate still locked and blocking the road. Then I yelled out a loud "YES!" when I saw that mine would be the only vehicle to park at the small pullout next to the gate. I would be alone. Oh, the pure joy of that knowledge! Words cannot express how much I value my solitude on the trail. Time for God and I to go deep into conversation without running into anyone to disturb us. The girls were excited to jump out of the truck and get geared up. Then the climbing commenced. Just to really twist the screws in, I decided to take the longer route when the trail forked into two choices. "Why not?" I asked to no one in particular.

One of my favorite things about getting onto a trail that is just being released from the bondage of winter snow, is that I can often find all the gear other hikers lost who hiked in winter. Goodness knows, I have lost gear on snow hikes. Usually while glissading down long expanses in soft snow.....especially if I start to spin at all. That just rips your gear right off you and buries it before you can even see where it went! Today would be the day however, where I would be finding and not losing gear. My first two discoveries did have me a bit concerned though. I found two very nice, high quality dog leashes made for large breeds. I could only wonder what happened to the canines they went to. I prayed they were well and had just been running off leash.

My third discovery though, brought me to a full circle moment. You see, several years ago, when I was up on Mt. Adams, I found what would become my favorite bandana. It was purple and very soft. After washing it several times, I carried that bandana on every hike for a solid 2 years. It became my lucky bandana and I never wanted to be without it on a hike. I felt like I actually couldn't hike without it. That is why it killed me so badly when I was up on Mt. Hood in a terrible windstorm and had my beloved purple bandana ripped away from me to fly far up into the glaciers and crevasses, never to be seen again. I remember to this day standing there with my arms stretched skyward screaming in despair. I almost found my tear ducts that day for sure. It was complete and utter devastation for Mustard Seed Hiking. I mourned that bandana for a long time. But ironically, today, as I stood on Mt. Hood, not far, as the crow flies, from where my purple bandana was stolen by the mountain, I looked down and found something. It was a new bandana....white, with black polka dots. I picked it up, finding it as soft and endearing as my old one. I smiled at the mountain. He takes away, but he gives me back in return. In that moment, I knew I didn't even need to make it to my goal of the stone shelter to find completion. The mountain and I could again be friends. I had forgiveness in my heart from the year of bitterness he caused me. But, of course, I continued my climb upwards. Ever upwards.

When we broke above tree line the winds were absolutely howling and ripping across the open expanses. The sound was unreal. Truly more of a screaming sound than any wind I can describe to you. Imagine a hundred witches standing still screaming their best and loudest. That is the sound that greeted us as we climbed higher and higher up the flanks of the mountain. Even the girls were startled by the sounds and kept stopping to look around us. I believe it is due to the wind hitting all the old snags from a forest fire that makes the sound so wild in this section. Perhaps the trees are locked in death screams forever. The sound surely makes a person stop and contemplate life. I looked forward to hiking back down through them after dark.

When we came to the place where this hike normally ends, I found that the few bootprints I had been seeing also ended, turning around to return to their trucks. But we continued onward, climbing with a new vegeance on a trail unmarred by human prints since the snows. I had to dig deep to find my second wind. We were all tired and thirsty already. This would be a dry hike and I had carried all the water we would need. But I also knew we could eat snow. But soon, as we came alongside one of the many ravines on the mountain, we could hear water running down in the bottom. We all debated sliding down to get a fresh drink. But I knew that would potentially prevent us from the main objective of the day, so we pushed onward and upward after glancing down into the sandy bottom to see if we could see the river running there.

It was shortly after that, where we hit our first snows. Josie, the Arctic Wolf, was beyond happy. As much as Nova and I hade been enjoying wildflower hikes the last couple of months, Josie had been wanting snow. She was constantly putting that one word in my brain every week...."snow, snow, snow". So today, I was finally able to tell her that she would get her snow! When we found it, she threw herself down to make Wolf Snow Angels as only she can do. (Don't ask why she has sticks strapped to her back on this hike....longer and weirder story than you will want to know).

Snow is another example of how my favorite hiking partners differ greatly. When Josie finds snow, she wants to become one with it. She will dig in it to eat the freshest stuff. She will wallow on her tummy on it. She wants it on her head. She is more than happy for me to bury her in snow. That is my beast. Nova, on the other hand, lifts her feet up as if it is too cold for her toes. She won't eat it unless I uncover the clean stuff and personally make her miniature snow cones and eat some first to show her it is good. She would never, not ever, think about laying down in it unless I put a blanket on top first. That is my princess. How I love my girls.

Once we hit snowline, the real hiking commenced. I really needed to strap my ice spikes to my boots, but was being stubborn and wanted to get to the shelter without the extra aids. I mean, who doesn't like additional challenges in their life? This meant that I was sliding backwards for about every two steps I was gaining. It was all part of the experience. The worst part is that I was still wearing just a tank top tucked into my pants and the winds off the snows were stupid cold. But stubborn is as stubborn does and I was still climbing, figuring I could put on coats when I hit the shelter and stopped moving. That would just take awhile. I could see the ice on the side of the mountain from where I stood.

As we pushed higher up the side of the mountain, we started to post hole deeper and deeper as we would come across softened areas of snow pack. You never knew if you were stepping onto a hard icy expanse that you could walk over, or into deep soft snow that wanted to suck you in. Each step became an adventure. Josie was clearly showing exhaustion and just wanted to lay down and enjoy the snow. Every few feet, she would dramatically flop down, especially when she would post hole up to her chest. She just wanted to stop. So the going became very, very slow, while I became colder and colder.

When I came across a post on the way, I knew I was now crossing over the trail that comes up from the side where I could have hiked in if the road had been open. That meant only one very exciting thing to me.....I was very, very close to the shelter. Since the snow was blanketing the trails, I would be finding the shelter on instinct alone. I knew from experience that the shelter likes to remain hidden until you are pretty much on top of it. But like a moth to a flame, my body moved upwards, left then right, and into some boulders and stubby pines. I was keeping a close eye on the snow above me, always aware of avalanche danger in the back country when trails are closed. But I knew how far to go and which ridges to stay on to keep us safe. I was secretly hoping these cracks would let loose a good one though, just for the show and excitement! I could hear the boom and imagine the plumes of snow just thinking about this one in my mind.

I could feel myself growing tired. Deep exhaustion was setting in and I knew I was pushing the edges of my endurance. I also knew that I would be hurting tomorrow. The kind of hurt that takes it right down to your fingernails. But tomorrow was another day. Right now, I was focused on post holing and stair stepping up the snow before it could suck all my reserves. I feared that I was running out of gas in the engine. At times like this, I know to not allow myself to mentally go down the rabbit hole of negative thinking. I would not even think about the possibility of not making it. One foot in front of the other was my only mantra. I knew I was closer to my goal and farther from my truck with each step. I drank water from my bladder bag line to give me an extra boost, knowing dehydration was likely not helping my objectives. We ate more snow (after cleaning off the sandy coating of course).

Before long it was hallelujah time! I popped over some boulders and spotted the roof of the shelter in a huge cirlce where the snow had melted away. A huge smile spread across my face. We had finally done it as a winter hike from the lower road. Unfortunately the winds had grown so severe that I had to immediately tuck my head and keep my body low. Intense does not describe the walls of wind we were being hit with. Princess Nova needed eye protection from these conditions! Luckily, I had packed them. What kind of girl doesn't like to wear goggles with pearls I say!

Sadly, the inside of the old stone shelter was full of snow from a roof issue. A few years ago, I had ended up spending the night in this shelter with Nova. Even though it just had a sandy floor that night, it was intensely cold. I was glad I was not planning on spending the night on this night!! But we kept having to stand just inside to get out of the winds. All around us we could see walls of sand being picked up by the winds. You could actually hear them coming, giving us just enough time to squat down and close our eyes during the worst of the blasts. It was like being part of a live sandblaster experiment. Painful, but surely exfoliating.

We could see both Mt. Adams and Mt. St Helens from our perch. It did not take long for me to drop my pack and put on both my hooded track jacket and puffer coat, as well as a stocking cap and gloves. I thanked God I had chosen long pants for this day. I pulled out my crampons knowing that I would have to have them to safely descend to tree line. I was sad that I had not put on gaters as I now found my socks to be wet from the snow that jammed up in the tops of my boots. Alas. So rarely perfect. But overall, I had what I needed while still keeping a fairly light pack for the climb.

We only stayed long enough for a quick snack, before knowing we had to get out of the winds. They were growing wildly uncomfortable with the sands of time blasting us. I reached up and felt myself. My hair and skin were thickly coated in sand. My ears were full of sand. I had sand in my mouth. I was disgusting. The sand was coating my pants that had become wet from the post holing. It was sticking to the sweat on my exposed skin before putting my coats on. I wondered if I would ever get all the sand out of myself! So after a bit more exploring of the area, I told the Wolf it was time to go. Oh, but that girl can make a real sad face. Nothing like a pouting Wolf I say.

Thankfully, she perked up when I asked if she wanted to glissade most of the way to tree line. She loves pulling Nova and I down a snowy hill!! So off we went, sliding on my butt, soaking through my pants until I could no longer feel my skin. At least it was a faster way down. (Yes, I know, you are never suppose to glissade in crampons if you don't want to break a leg. Just ignore that I am a rule breaker here. I like to live on the wild side.)

The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon. I love the play of lights as we near sunset which is surely my favorite time of each day! We paused during our glissading to enjoy a few more views. Between each glissading run we had a section of sand. So those were natural break locations before we took off sliding once more. From the lowlands, it is funny how a mountain looks so smooth. But when you are up there, it is anything but.

Strange clouds were rolling in that I knew I would need to keep an eye on. But we had a huge descent ahead of us to focus on as well. I was hoping to drop down to a particular ridgeline we had seen while climbing up. It appeared to be the perfect place to sit and watch sunset for a spell. But before we completely left the snowline behind, I realized that we had the most wonderful opportunity for a threesome selfie. Something I had always wanted. So here you go.....it makes me very, very happy.

As we quickly descended, the colors of the sky were changing fast. Luckily the winds dropped down to a dull roar the lower we moved along the mountain's flanks. When we reached the previoiusly scouted ridgeline, Josie dramatically flopped onto the sand and rocks and immediately closed her eyes. She clearly was not going to watch sunset. I dropped down onto the sand on my still wet butt and leaned against a boulder. When I turned to look at Nova though, she was still standing and giving me the pleading eyes. "Baby, please just sit down" I begged her. But no, my baby girl is too much of a princess to sit in dirt and sand. She needed her blanket. I tried again, "Baby I kept my pack light and didn't bring a blankie today." She hung her head and continued to stand. Sighing, I took off my outer puffer coat and laid it on the ground for her. She instantly jumped on it and closed her eyes in relief. Yup, that is my baby.

I sat and shivered without that coat, but was happy to sacrifice for my girl. Mother's day was in just a few days and I reminded Nova of my sacrifices. She just curled up in a little ball that would fit within the confines of my coat and went to sleep. I pulled my knees up toward my chest into an upright fetal position to try to retain my body heat as I watched the mountain in front of me and the mountains beside me.

As I pushed the envelope as close into hypothermia as I dared with miles still to descend, I told the girls we had to get moving again. After shaking the sand out my puffer, I put it back on and tightened up my pack straps. At least Nova had kept it warm for me I mused.

I was watching my feet on the sandy trail close to the deep ravine and focused on climbing over downed logs, navigating boulders, rocks and roots. For some time during the steep and fast descent I did not look up. When I did, I was stunned and speechless. Some pretty impressive lenticular clouds had moved over us and turned a fantastic, although slightly sickly color. We all stopped and just stared at the sky as if we didn't know what was about to happen. In all honesty, I didn't. I felt goosebumps rise on my flesh. Were we about to have an electrical storm I wondered? Why was the sky such an unusual color. Why did it appear that a giant eye was about to open up right above us and swallow us whole? Had the aliens finally come for us? We stood still for some time, until the howling and screaming winds found us again. It was surreal in every way. To stand beneath that sky listening to the screams of a thousand witch trees; now that is something you just don't get to do every day. I loved every moment of it and my adrenaline sailed me the rest of the way down the mountain in the dark of night to my lonely truck awaiting us.

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor. The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love.

“Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?

Job 37:5-16