The “Hardest Climb in the Park” – Rainier’s Northern Loop Day 3

Sunday, September 8 – Day 3

I blearily wake to the soft sounds of stirring in the next tent. I slept terribly. Unfortunately, this campsite was riddled with mice. I kept waking as they scurried back and forth past my tent all night long. Even though I carefully hung all my smelly items on the bear pole up the hill, I still kept fearing that they would chew a hole through my tent to get inside. They did not, but my sleep suffered. Thankfully, we went to bed early enough that I was able to piece together enough sleep to face the demanding day ahead.

I pack up quickly and contemplate today’s hike over granola. When we picked up our permit, the ranger warned us that he considers the hike from Carbon River to Yellowstone Cliffs to be the most difficult one in the entire park. He advised us to complete it early in the day, as the trail is south-facing and, at times, exposed. We will gain 3000 feet over 4 miles. About 2300 feet of that is in the first 2.5 miles. 

My FarOut route for Day 3, showing the very climb itself.

Over breakfast, we review the plan: each go our own pace and meet at the turnoff for Yellowstone Cliffs camp. That is about 2.5 miles into the climb, through the majority of the elevation gain. This allows us each to proceed up the ascent at the pace that works best for us. I tend to approach extremely steep hikes in a slow but steady mindset. My pace can feel almost excruciatingly slow, depending on the grade, but in turn I almost never stop. For me, this allows me to maintain momentum and make efficient uphill progress. 

At Least We Get a Warm-Up

Thankfully, the day starts with about a mile and a half of rolling trail to warm the joints. We cross the suspension bridge to return to trail. This time, I try to steady my steps to make the bridge shake less. It works only a little. It does serve to wake up my stabilizer muscles and my focus, so I count that as a win.

Within a mile, we make it to the official turnoff from the Wonderland Trail. We have hiked on the Wonderland for the past two days, but now we turn north on the official Northern Loop Trail.  Almost immediately, I see a trio of trumpet mushrooms next to the trail. I take this as a good sign for the two remaining days we have of our hike. 

The cutest little trio!

The trail rolls up and down along this fork of the Carbon River before we round a sharp bend, switchbacks beckoning ahead. To this point, we’ve simply been following the river. Now, we begin to ascend the mountainside up to whatever awaits us above. There is no doubt about it, this is going to be steep. I pop a Gu (a favorite pre-climb boost), and with a nod to my friends, put my head down and climb.

“Hardest Climb in the Park” Indeed

Within one or two switchbacks, I lose sight of Markdavin in the lead, and Margaret shortly after. Lauren and Ame remain just behind me for a while. After a mile or so, I look up from panting-induced focus to realize I am alone in the middle of the woods. No one visible ahead, none behind.

Here, we are fully in the trees, every bend looking the same as the previous. I’ve been lost in my podcast to distract myself, since the scenery isn’t doing the trick. To this point, over a mile up the incline, I’ve been pretty pleased with my performance. I’ve been steady, and my heartbeat is averaging lower than Day 1, even though this is much steeper. 

I pop some caffeinated jelly beans as I catch a breath and turn to look ahead.

Shit. That looks steeper. Is that even possible?

My legs normally are not the first thing that goes during ascents–that honor goes to my lungs–but today is different. My quads actually quiver as I pass 2 miles. That slow-but-steady ethos has gone down the drain, as I stop every other switchback to breathe. 

At one such break, I look around and observe that the trees are thinning. The air feels cooler, lighter. I am making progress! The elevation has increased substantially enough that that plants have changed. This realization gives me the boost I need. And sure enough, around the next bend the trail straightens and levels out. It’s temporary, but it’s enough. I feel my heart rate decrease as the smile returns to my face. 

Trail Friends Meet Again

Just as the trail opens up into a golden meadow along a hillside, I hear a voice and look up. The two hikers we met on Day 1, who asked us about water, are hiking towards me. I grin. We catch up, them telling me about the bears they saw just over the ridge, and me sharing about the steep climb. I don’t know how, but the trail always brings people together in a way I’ve rarely experienced elsewhere.

As they continue on, I see Mark and Margaret ahead. I arrive at our meeting spot and immediately remove my pack. I realize with a start that my shirt is fully soaked through, salty to the touch. This has never happened to me in all my long distance hiking. I can’t tell if it’s just that hot or if the hike was just that difficult. Perhaps both.

My first view of the Yellowstone Cliffs, from below.

We catch up as we wait for the others and I learn that Mark had already been at our meeting spot for 45 minutes. He’s been sitting on the rock, reading his Kindle. He decided to push himself on this climb, just to see what his limit truly is.

I immediately understand. This is why I like long distance hiking: you never know what your limit is until you reach it, and then it moves. I’ve found so much faith in my body and my strength through hiking. I’m really impressed with Mark’s sprint up the mountain and hope one day to be a little faster myself. Right now, I’m just pleased to be done with the steepest part.

Creatures Great and Small

As we head out to finish the remaining climb to our lunch spot in Windy Gap, the trail is so different from where we started. Here, we zig-zag through open, golden meadows, flora just beginning to turn for fall. Above us are a sharp wall of cliffs—gray, pink, and orange. The sun does beat on us, but this is better graded and the views distract from the aching muscles.

Smoky Yellowstone Cliffs

Shortly before our lunching lake, I look down into a meadow well below the trail and see a large bear running into the trees. The bear stops and looks up at us before continuing on. Ame has not seen a bear, and would love to see one (from a safe distance). Unfortunately, this one was too fast. But Windy Gap is a popular spot for them, due to the prevalence of blueberries, so I doubt this will be the only sighting today.

Margaret holds court next to our lunch spot in Windy Gap.

We gather for our lunch, a leisurely affair around a tadpole-filled pond. Frogs are everywhere along the shore, making for careful steps but entertaining viewing. We are almost done with the day, and the joy of knowing it is downhill from here makes it even better.

As we begin our descent to camp, just 2 miles away, the views open up even more. I stop to take a video and get a little behind Mark and Margaret, and when I catch up, I notice Mark is frozen.

There, to the left of the trail less than 30 feet away, munching on blueberries, is a sizeable black bear. 

Our new bear friend, glancing at us between munches of blueberries. We took to calling them “Badonkadonk Bear” due to the substantial round backside. (Photo credit Markdavin Obenza)

Mark has not seen a bear this close, and isn’t quite sure of the protocol. This is not my first bear encounter (maybe #15?), but I will forever remember my first. I started hiking partially to overcome a deep phobia of wild animals. The first time I saw a bear was in Olympic National Park with my husband, where I cried and thought seriously about turning around. Today, I feel completely calm. 

We try to wait at a safe distance for Ame, but the bear dislikes the growing number of us and runs off. Thankfully, Ame finally sees the bear from farther down the trail. It’s been an exciting day!

The descent quickly turns into my favorite kind: a clear trail, no loose rock, easy footing. I am able to nearly run down the trail, enjoying the wind on my face and the joy of nearing camp. 

The most perfect little mushroom on the descent. The fungi were in great form on this trip.

James Camp

We arrive at the James Camp turnoff and cross a lovely, cool creek, our water source. There is also a lake nearby, but we learn quickly it’s not swimmable, so the creek will do. Eager to remove my pack, I hike up the turnoff to look for the Group site. I climb, and climb, and climb. I pass three well-spaced campsites, the privy, and two bear poles before finally cresting the top of the hill to the Group site.

This is the smallest of the three group camps we see. In fact, one of the non-group spots seems the same size or even larger. If Willi and Julia were still with us, it would be quite a jigsaw to fit our tents. Again, there is no view, even at the top of this hill. It’s a bit of a hike down (and back up) to gather water, especially at the end of the day. But it is the only place we encounter a ranger and have our permit checked, since there is a ranger station at Lake James.

Mark, Margaret and I all head to the creek. But here is where I have a regret: I barely rinse off. The water is freezing. Thus, I don’t do a full dip, despite sweating completely through my shirt earlier. I do rinse my shirt, but not as well as I should. This will all come back to haunt me tomorrow.

But tonight is another lovely night of good meals and good company. I enjoy my mac & cheese but realize that three dairy-based meals on a hard, hot day is ill-advised. (Granola with milk, Backcountry Foodie Southwest Cheese Dip for lunch, and mac & cheese for dinner.) My stomach is a little queasy, but nothing a good night’s rest won’t fix.

Tomorrow is our longest day of the trip at 11 miles/4000 gain, so we go to bed early for our earliest start yet. 

Day 3 Mileage: 7.3 miles 
Elevation gain/loss: 3000 gain/ 1900 loss
Highlight: Bears!
Lowlight: Sweating clear through my clothes

Our lunch spot in Windy Gap.

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