How I Ended up Sporting a Set of Raccoon Eyes and Earned the Right to Call Myself a Bonafide Redneck - Camp Muir

First of all, I must admit it was anything but easy. It took an elevation gain of over 4600 feet in 4 miles, my digital camera 'going swimming' in Pebble Creek, navigating the Muir snowfield through a whiteout, aching knee joints, sore feet, an altitude sickness related headache followed by mild nausea, and a general feeling of overwhelming joy of being close to the summit of the 'noblest' mountain in the PNW. In other words, it took hiking up to Mt Rainier's Camp Muir. 

Last Wednesday, based on a favorable weather forecast, I decided to re-visit Camp Muir. I packed up my 10 essentials supplemented with large doses of excitement, and drove to Paradise on Thursday morning. I hit the Skyline trail at approximately 9:30 am. Anticipating a lot of sun exposure, I put on my REI flap hat and even used a broad spectrum, zinc oxide based sunscreen on my face (those who know me are aware that I prefer using a physical barrier for protection during extended hours in the Sun), but little did I know that despite of all the precautions, I would wake up on Friday morning looking in the mirror at a raccoon like face I hardly recognized.

​Since my camera is currently under a pile of rice (I am hoping it will work once the moisture is fully absorbed by the grains) here is a mugshot of me from my phone.
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Another lesson learnt and another wonderful day lived to the fullest.

Update: I am happy to share that after 9 days of undisturbed 'submersion' under Trader Joe's Organic Basmati rice <insert a HUGE smile here> the camera, battery pack, and the SD card are fully functional again and have captured hundreds of fantastic images since. Yeah!

​"Of all the fire mountains which like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest."

- John Muir