Life has been a whirlwind since leaving Crater Lake…
Spent some time in Bend, OR where we snuck in one little hike and found a great local brewery off a good friend’s recommendation. After Bend, we headed west for one last look at the pacific coast in Seaside, OR where we had a blast riding the carousel and feeding the seals at the local aquarium.
After Seaside, it was time to keep heading north. We tried to hit Mount Rainier in a day, but weather had other plans, so a drive through the open roads and yet another brewery kept us entertained. Now… THE main reason we went into WA…
THE MAILBOX HIKE… or as I now call it, the hike that makes you never want to hike again, sheesh!
Another friend of ours who I will leave unnamed told us about this hike months ago before we left San Diego. It was this special hike in WA where you work your butt off to get to a mailbox at the summit, open the mailbox, take something inside left for you by other hikers, leave something new for those behind you, and make your way back down.
Sounds AMAZING right? Ok, it was… the weather made sure to test my, yes Hannah your narrator, Josh was just fine, limits the ENTIRE hike.
I was expecting an 8 mile round trip that was challenging, but totally doable. Ha… boy was I mistaken. This ended up being closer to a 12 mile round trip with an elevation change of 4800 feet starting and ending in the rain… the only break in the rain was the blizzard conditions at the top to get to the frozen mailbox….
I got this quality from my mom… I can handle being cold, I can handle being wet, I am NOT HAPPY when I am cold and wet.
This hike was challenging both physically and mentally, looking back I am proud and happy, but during, Josh deserves a gold medal in keeping me going when rolling down the hill to my death seemed like a solid alternative instead of hiking back down.
At the start of the hike I was SO excited with how big the leaves were and wanted to remember to snag a picture… Josh remembered for me at the end of the hike so this is the face of someone in shear misery but sooo close to being back at the truck!
Needless to say, we got to the mailbox with 2 Seattle IPAs waiting for us, we snagged those, put them in my bag, and left behind a goodie bag of 1 IPA, 1 individual bottle of wine (you know, for those gluten free hikers haha), and each put in 1 of our favorite nutrition bars for those behind us to enjoy.
The snow was deep, and we fell more times than I can count. Since then we’ve acquired the oh so wonderful crampons and some trekking poles to help us in the winter conditions! Would I do this hike again… absolutely. Would I do this hike again in the rain and/or winter, not on your life.
Yellowstone is calling so it’s time to start our way east…. Stay tuned!
Getting Lost and Eating Cake 