For the last few weeks, I have had some time to really work on photography and film. I have looked at lots people going all over the world and taking epic photos and videos. My Instagram newsfeed is now flooding with travel photographers and their unbelievable photos. After seeing all of these photos and videos, I just wanted to travel the world and adventure. Unfortunately, I cannot just go to Iceland this weekend because I do not have the money or the time to do so. BUT, I have Mount Rainier in my backyard... well a two hour drive backyard. My two friends from church, Bryan and Lewis, were going to hike from Paradise to Camp Muir. I just needed to join them! I think it is easy to want to adventure in foreign lands because it seems cool, but it easy to not see the epic adventures in our backyards. Do not overlook your backyard, because you may miss an adventure or two (RULE 63).

I was sick of sitting and watching other people adventure. It was time for me to show others my adventure. Mount Rainier is a beast of a mountain. It takes a few days to summit and people train months before getting all the way to the top. I was not going to the summit, I was going from Paradise which is 6,000 ft of elevation to Camp Muir which is at 10,000 ft of elevation. The hike is about 4.5 miles. 2.5 miles is on rock and then the last 2 miles you hike up snow. This hike is definitely the hardest hike I have done and one of the hardest things I have done period. To put into perspective this hike for me in my life, the tallest mountain I have been on is Mount Washington which is 6,000 ft. of elevation at its summit! I was STARTING at 6,000 ft.! Also, I have only hiked on snow once in my life. So I was pretty inexperienced coming into the hike, but I was ready for the challenge.

The three of us woke up early on Tuesday, August 25 and we drove to Paradise. We got our bags ready, shoes on, and used the bathroom (that is important)! We were ready for the adventure. We started up the mountain.

Warming up was rough because I needed to get my breathe regulated and a consistent pace up the hill. The beginning just stunk, but once I hit a rhythm, I was good. We blazed through the 2.5 miles of rock section in a little under an hour. We took a little break, and refilled our bottles at the creek. Now onto the snow.

This section took us 2 hours, which was double the time of the rock section. I was dying! I am not going to lie or sugarcoat this part. The snow was a grind for me. My legs were burning and on top of this, the air was getting thinner and thinner. My body was telling me to stop but my legs kept moving. I was not thinking about anything but putting my next leg in front of me. I was not thinking about the deeper meanings of life because I was only focused on keeping moving forward and up the mountain.

I have been taking a walk every day to clear my mind before I look at social media, email, or work. I just listen to calm music- no podcasts or audiobooks. My passion has become my job but there also comes with some consequences. Having boundaries with work has helped me find efficiency in my work as well as more peace. The world can feel like it’s on fire, but on this walk, I only find peace. Today, the sunrise was so beautiful, everyone stopped on the trail just to watch it. It was a special moment to share with 4 or 5 random strangers. These walks help me become human and focus on my inner self.

After 3 hours of hard climbing, we made it to Camp Muir! Looking out at all the Cascades, it made all that hard work worth it. The weather was perfect and the sky was so clear! We could see for miles. No joke, we could see Mount Hood, which is in Oregon... the next state! Besides being in a plane, this was the highest I have ever been in my life! It was unbelievable.

After a nice break on top at Camp Muir, it was time to go home! Some people walk down... but not us. My mom told me to stop jumping of high things like bridges into water. So I listened to her. I did not jump off a bridge, I just ran down Mount Rainier! Yes, the three of us ran, slid standing up, and slid on our butts getting down the snow. It was so much fun! Below is a video I made with my Gopro camera to let you in on my epic descent down Mount Rainier.

Overall, my adventure was one to remember! Adventure is out there, you just have to go and find it (RULE 64)!

I took a ton of photos that I am working on to edit! If you want to see more photos than just my selfie, stay tuned on my Instagram account for adventure photos.