Tonite is the Night!

Safe arrival for John in Seattle on Monday night. Stace's flight got cancelled due to weather so John spent yesterday exploring Seattle by foot. Highlight of the day was Pike's Place Market, a large open air market packed with fresh fish, produce flowers and artwork. Very interesting place, John put together a picnic made up of smoked salmon, Rainier cherries, smoked cheese, fresh bread, chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of Washingtom state wine. Picked Stace up at the airport and we had the picnic on the beach.

After the picnic and a nice nap, headed south to Mt. Hood and on the way caught our first glimpse of Mt. Rainier. Both mountains looked dramatically bigger in real life than in photos. Stayed last night at the base of Mt Hood at the Timberline Lodge, a beautiful, rustic national park lodge built in 1937. Great view of Mt Hood out the window. Spent today with our guide learning rope, ice axe and crampon skills. Lots of fun and not nearly as difficult as we expected.

Tight quarters in the old lodge and lots of equipment make for crowded conditions! Had dinner at 3:30 and spent the next couple of hours packing up for the 1:30am departure. Hoping to get in a good nap prior to leaving. Strange timeframe but much easier and safer climbing conditions early in the morning. Hoping to be back to the lodge in time for lunch. Forecast is calling for a chance of rain or snow so could be an exciting night. Our guide has been up the mountain 62 time with no injuries so we are feeling pretty good. Pray for good weather! Hope to report a successful summit tomorrow afternoon!