No longer a smelly climber, for now anyway...

So many things to say! 

I have just returned from part one of my climbing adventure! I got to take my first shower in 12 days and I am currently waiting for laundry to be finished. It feels nice not to smell anymore. Sleeping on a bed, under sheets and not a sleeping bag should be an interesting experience...

I'm having a very enjoyable time, with more then 200 pictures from the first part alone. I have this afternoon and tomorrow off, to rest, gather food and some replacement equipment. 

I have so many stories to tell, I don't even know where to start! I guess the beginning might be good?

The first day of the program I woke early, was picked up my the American Alpine Institute, and was taken to their headquarters. I met my guide, Mary, who was a ballet dancer before she got involved in climbing. We spent the morning packing and reorganizing all our gear, my third time doing so, and drove to Mount Erie, where we talked about some basic rock climbing techniques. This was far to superior to our other option of hiking in to Mount Baker, where 12 inches of snow was predicted. We car camped that evening at Larabie State Park. 

Tuesday we returned to AAI because almost everyone of us had forgotten something, big or small. I was unable to find my hat, and seeing as it was to be cold on Mount Baker, I figured it'd be a good idea to have one. Afterwards, we drove to Glacier Washington, where we got our permit to climb the mountain and drove to the trailhead. about 2 miles from the trailhead we encountered 6 inch deep snow on the road, which our van certainly could not handle. We parked on the side of the road, threw on our boots and started hiking in. 

As it turned out, the patch of snow was only 150 feet long, and the road was clear for about 3/4 of a mile until the road was socked in with 12-16 inch deep snow pack. Once we reached the trailhead, we crossed a bridge that look incredibly sketchy, but all made it across just fine. We then bushwhacked in until we found the trail and headed for Harrison Camp, also known as Mirkwood, due to all the lichen hanging from the pines. Harrison camp sits above the toe of the Coleman-Demming Glacier and sits at about 5,400 feet elevation. 

By the time we reached the camp, it had taken us about 6 hours to hike 4.5 miles in. This slog was exhausting, more so then doing 27 miles in 12 hours, of which I can actually compare. Upon our arrival, we started setting up camp. My tent-mate, James, a born and bred New Yorker, new to mountaineering, were both to squeeze into my small 2 person tent. 

The other clients in the group were Roy, an awesome cyclist from Southern California, Matt, who has been climbing as long as I have but much harder and is only a few years older then me, and Carol, a Canadian geologist who has the energy of a nuclear power facility. 

Exhausted, we all hunkered down for the night at about 10.30 PM. It felt like 8, because of how late the sun sets in the mountains at higher elevations. The glacier and mountain were both socked in my a thick fog, resulting in our not seeing the mighty Mount Baker on our first day in the backcountry.