The Cost of Crystal (In Explore 7/29/2021)
Upper Crystal Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
This is the lake I hiked to on Saturday. As mentioned it was not my original hike plan for the day. The lake sits at almost 6000 feet elevation (over 1800 meters) and I usually prefer to leave this hike for later in the summer after my legs and lungs have done a few more higher altitude mountain hikes because it is a tough climb! It is only 3 miles from the trailhead to the lakeshore, but there is over 2700 feet of elevation gain packed into those miles, so with over 900 feet of vertical gain per mile, the climb feels steep and relentless. But the reward at the end is this beautiful alpine lake, which is just as crystal clear as its name would suggest. The sky was a bit hazy from the wildfires that are burning but otherwise it was a beautiful day.
On a side note, I have to mention how much I am enjoying the return of trail camaraderie among hikers this year. Last year everyone, myself included, was understandably in their own little Covid bubble: masking up, keeping our distance, and interacting as little as possible other than a quick wave when passing from afar. But this year the spontaneous conversations and interactions with fellow hikers have resumed and I had a couple of very enjoyable chats with other hikers this day, including someone who was hiking ahead of a planned summit attempt of Mount Rainier this week! I, and others I have talked to, are very happy to have that sense of human connection back on the trails!
The Cost of Crystal (In Explore 7/29/2021)
Upper Crystal Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
This is the lake I hiked to on Saturday. As mentioned it was not my original hike plan for the day. The lake sits at almost 6000 feet elevation (over 1800 meters) and I usually prefer to leave this hike for later in the summer after my legs and lungs have done a few more higher altitude mountain hikes because it is a tough climb! It is only 3 miles from the trailhead to the lakeshore, but there is over 2700 feet of elevation gain packed into those miles, so with over 900 feet of vertical gain per mile, the climb feels steep and relentless. But the reward at the end is this beautiful alpine lake, which is just as crystal clear as its name would suggest. The sky was a bit hazy from the wildfires that are burning but otherwise it was a beautiful day.
On a side note, I have to mention how much I am enjoying the return of trail camaraderie among hikers this year. Last year everyone, myself included, was understandably in their own little Covid bubble: masking up, keeping our distance, and interacting as little as possible other than a quick wave when passing from afar. But this year the spontaneous conversations and interactions with fellow hikers have resumed and I had a couple of very enjoyable chats with other hikers this day, including someone who was hiking ahead of a planned summit attempt of Mount Rainier this week! I, and others I have talked to, are very happy to have that sense of human connection back on the trails!