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June Lake, Mt. St. Helens
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First, I must say, I was a bit disappointed in my camera not keeping correct time and date. On a Friday after work, I drove up to June Lake on the south flank of Mt. St. Helens after picking up a climbing permit. I had packed the night before in hopes of some kind of route finding practice. In all honesty, this was my first overnight trip. I had new gear and hopes to have some time to find out how to use it.
I hiked in and set up camp right before dark. The 42 pound pack weighed me down quite heavily and I blistered up as well, since I forgot my synthetic socks the night before.
I struck camp before the sun came up the next day. I thought I hadn't learned much, other than, I am not sure I like 40+ pound pack weights for a simple mid-40s overnighter. I hiked back to the truck and drove out to a spot called Climbers Bivouac. I parked and set out not knowing where I was even heading. I knew that most climbers started the route up the mountain from here so I followed the trail up the mountain.
The day was heating up fast as I discovered I forgot to pump water out of June Lake for my ascent today. I did not bother looking for any since things were pretty dry and my map gave me no indication of any springs.
I was not the only one climbing this day as I could faintly see people on the ridge above me, climbing away. although the rocks appeared small, they were almost the size of the people climbing them.
I climbed up to 6000 feet feeling thirsty and exhausted. My new goal was to simply climb to Monitor Rock. After reaching it, I decided to climb on knowing that my legs will soon be wobbly due to the lack of H2o.
6500 feet and still I climbed. I was 500 vertical feet away from the USGS tower and decided that I'd had enough. I stumbled back down the mountain trying not to slip and fall and make my weekend any less enjoyable. I made it back to the truck unscathed and thanked the Lord for the available water on the way home.
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