Badger Mountain Summit

The forecast for today said that we would hit a high of 72 °F sometime today. The boys and I planned on heading up to the summit of Badger mountain to enjoy the view of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and on a clear day Mt. Hood down in Oregon.

So much for plans.... It was a cold, rainy, windy hike up to the summit, but the Long boys made it to the summit successfully. Gavin, Micah, and Brady hoofed it up on their own, with Gavin and Micah serving as pack mules for the trip. Ethan got to go on the chariot ride as I packed him up as practice for my Mt. Adams hike this July.

At the summit, there is a small pile of gravel that Gavin and Brady climbed on top of for a picture. Micah refused to climb the extra 2 feet so I have a picture of him crying beside the gravel pile.

The boys were quite an impressive site to all the other hikers who were up there despite 50°F weather, wind, and at times lots of rain for this part of the country. They were good troopers, although Brady tuckered out on the way down. They each hiked on their own the 2.2 mile round trip to the summit and back.

This picture was taken at the beginning of the hike, there are no picture of myself or Ethan who was providing the 30 lbs + of pack weight for my conditioning.

I'm looking forward to hiking to the summit of Mt. Adams this July, I should have lots of pictures to blog about this summer. I will plan on running to the top of Badger a few times as the weather gets warmer. It's an ideal path for anyone who is interested in a quick trip and a great view. There is an 800 ft elevation change from the trail head to the summit in 1.1 miles, so it is ideal for trail running.

The last picture I've included is of my view for most of the hike.