I rode with a friend to Tipsoo Lake on the east side of Mt. Rainier. I was hoping to reach this pond where many a postcard picture has been taken. We didn't make it that far.
We took backroads all the way, only hitting the I-90 freeway for three miles till the next exit.
Mt. Rainier
The wildflower season has already peaked there, but in places where the snow melted later you could still see them.
Tipsoo Lake
Naches Peak
Mt. Rainier
One of the views on the trail. That's Mt. Adams in the background.
Mt. Adams
We didn't make it the whole way to our destination. My riding buddy looks like he had a bad case of overheating on the trail. For a couple hours though, we thought he was having a heart attack. He could barely breathe, couldn't speak. Light headed. Tingling in the extremities. A pulse that was going from 139 to 107 to 139 in seconds. We had two young ladies, one of whom was in the Coast Guard, stop to help out with the medical training she had. Another had passed by on the way down the trail, then when she saw one of us going down trying to find a ranger (no cell service), she left her child with one of her children, then went back up the hill with her teenage sons to see what she could do to help out. It turns out she was a nurse. When we passed the word to others, they drove to the ranger station and got the word to them for help. We had three rangers come up the trail to help out (long after their quitting time), with more in the parking lot below if they were needed.
Just a couple thoughts from all that experience. We tend to think we can do what we could do in our younger, healthier days. At times like this, the phrase that we'd hear in the old western movies, "Prepare to meet your maker", comes to mind. And lastly, with all the negative news in the media these days, it was incredibly uplifting to see how people put their own plans to the side to help others. It gives you faith in the human race.
Chris
We took backroads all the way, only hitting the I-90 freeway for three miles till the next exit.
Mt. Rainier
The wildflower season has already peaked there, but in places where the snow melted later you could still see them.
Tipsoo Lake
Naches Peak
Mt. Rainier
One of the views on the trail. That's Mt. Adams in the background.
Mt. Adams
We didn't make it the whole way to our destination. My riding buddy looks like he had a bad case of overheating on the trail. For a couple hours though, we thought he was having a heart attack. He could barely breathe, couldn't speak. Light headed. Tingling in the extremities. A pulse that was going from 139 to 107 to 139 in seconds. We had two young ladies, one of whom was in the Coast Guard, stop to help out with the medical training she had. Another had passed by on the way down the trail, then when she saw one of us going down trying to find a ranger (no cell service), she left her child with one of her children, then went back up the hill with her teenage sons to see what she could do to help out. It turns out she was a nurse. When we passed the word to others, they drove to the ranger station and got the word to them for help. We had three rangers come up the trail to help out (long after their quitting time), with more in the parking lot below if they were needed.
Just a couple thoughts from all that experience. We tend to think we can do what we could do in our younger, healthier days. At times like this, the phrase that we'd hear in the old western movies, "Prepare to meet your maker", comes to mind. And lastly, with all the negative news in the media these days, it was incredibly uplifting to see how people put their own plans to the side to help others. It gives you faith in the human race.
Chris