Jessica

We’re camped on the Blue Glacier tonight. Its 8:29 PM and bedtime for our 2 AM summit attempt. We’ve been hiking for two days, covering almost 23 miles and I’m dead tired. That is fortunate because it’s still light outside and our tent is yellow – making it seem like the sun is shining straight in. No issues sleeping for me. I ended up at high camp on the mass of mountain and glacier that is Mt. Olympus in Washington State after three years of being involved with Big City Mountaineers. I’ve done two awesome summer trips with teens from Denver and been working on BCM’s public relations as a bonus part of my normal day job. At last, the opportunity to climb a peak with Summit for Someone presented itself. I recruited a friend to climb with me and the training began. Olympus was a challenge both physically and mentally. Coming from a sleeping elevation of 6200 ft, I wasn’t nervous about the exertion I’d feel (Olympus is 7980ft), but I was worried about blisters. So it was either the calluses finally built up or just the sheer exhilaration from the expedition that kept my heels happy – my toes though, are a whole different story. Back to the Glacier: At 2AM after a quick breakfast of oatmeal and precooked bacon, we strapped on our crampons and started the methodical trudge up the Snow Dome. Crunch, Crunch is all we heard for the next few hours as our short rope had us spread just far enough to prevent any conversation. As we crested the final snow saddle, the sun rose over Mt. Baker to the north. Two hours more of final snow crunching and rock scramble and we were at the highest point in the Olympics with views stretching from Canada to Oregon with the chain of volcanoes sticking up above the low fog. The whole experience was unforgettable, and it was especially meaningful when we chatted with other hikers on the trail letting them know what we were up to - it was a bit obvious we were an official group with all our matching gear!