Check next to something that wasn't on the list...

On July 31, 2009 I awoke at 5am to begin climbing Mt. Shasta in the hopes that I would reach the top at 14,162 feet. This climbing business was not my idea. The thought of me climbing Mt. Shasta had never occurred until Squirrel Meat got it in his head that he wanted to. So this is how it worked...

We hiked 2000 feet up to base camp, elevation 8,640 feet, right above tree line. Our camp had an incredible view of Mt. Shasta and was very near the best tasting spring water ever.

We were scheduled to get up at 3am to begin the ascent but with a failed alarm we didn't start hiking until 6am as the sun was rising. So there I was, hiking up a volcano at 6am in the morning.
My biggest fear was that I would get part way up the Mt. and not feel well due to altitude or find that I couldn't physically do it. I spent most of the day amazed that I actually was doing it and felt fine. Never out of breath and full of energy.

The climb really entailed a lot of focus and a lot of looking down as you had to be prepared to take your next step. The most tedious stretch took us 1.5 hours as we went up a slope of sand and small rocks (scree) where with each step up you would slide half a step back. This section took an incredible amount of upper body strength as you had to push yourself up with your poles to keep from sliding down. Our goal at that point was to get to mushroom rock at 12,800 ft (the orange rock).

After a break at mushroom rock we got to this horrible, horrible part with lots of larger rocks. The slope became much steeper and thus the rocks were unstable. This is where the self preservation thought became very strong as I nearly chose to stop. I would like to thank Mt. Shasta for not sending any large boulders clambering towards my soft head.

Once we got past the really scary stuff it was easy sailing across a small snow field and up to the top. To put things into perspective> base camp to the summit is the equivalent of 4.5 Empire State Buildings. Once making it to the top I was elated and overwhelmed. I think the adrenaline rush mixed with the high altitude got to me as I started feeling a bit light headed and nauseous. So we signed the register, took a few photos and started our descent.

Damn... this means that I had to go back down that really scary part that I never wanted to go up in the first place. It wasn't any easier going down. Every step created mini slides and I just hoped that they stayed mini and didn't loosen any of the larger boulders.

It took a total of 12 hours round trip. I was exhausted, happy, and not sure what to think when looking back up to the summit from base camp. I'm still not sure what to think about it.


A really BIG thanks to our team captain "Done That". Done That is an awesome friend from Arcata who has climbed Shasta several times before. His guidance was excellent and gave me the needed assurance that what we were doing wasn't completely crazy.

Would I do it again? Nope. Do I want to climb more mountains? Not really... it's just not my thing, but twist my arm. I had a great time and all, but I have a long list in need of checks that doesn't include climbing mountains.