Walks with Moss: Mount Ellinor Sunrise

From near the trailhead in the dark

Shelton, airport, prison, Lake Cushman, Hood Canal

Sunrise over Mountains Ranier and Washington

(crazy camera angles are due to using various rocks as tripods. I could fix that with photo deluxe but I kind of like the weird angles)

This week I decided to take it a bit easier. I’m really busy with school now and last Monday’s hike up Mount Buckhorn left me very tired in class on Tuesday. I decided to hike up Mount Ellinor in the dark and hopefully arrive on the summit at sunrise.

I set my alarm for 3am but I did not need my alarm to wake up because I was tossing and turning in bed. I got up at 3 and I was headed down the road by 3:30am. I arrived at the trailhead at 4:30am and I started my hike at 4:50am.

I saw a Coyote on the road up Mount Ellinor and it ran straight up the road trying to get away from my Jeep. I don’t know why coyotes don’t just dive into the bushes. I slowed down and hoped the silly thing would quit running up the road. I did not want to make it burn too many calories. It took ¼ of a mile of running before the coyote finally went into the bushes.

I was scared as I started up the trail in the dark with my head lamp. I knew that with out my dog I would not have done this hike. But I also knew that dogs can attract cougars. I kept seeing animal eyes glowing in the bushes only to realize they were actually lights from cities below. Several times I saw glowing animal eyes right on the trail and I could tell they belonged to a predator. They were only my dog’s eyes. Yes I was a bit spooked. And then I heard a large animal in the bushes next to the trail. I told myself it was a deer but I threw some rocks in its direction just in case it was a cougar. For the first mile I kept wondering if I had done the right thing by choosing to hike up Ellinor in the dark. But I kept telling myself that all would be well as soon as the sun came up.

It took me less than an hour to reach the half way campsite and I stopped there and took quite a few pictures. I used a media loan camera from the Evergreen State College for all the pictures on this hike. As I was taking pictures my dog kept running around me and chasing something she could smell. I was glad that she was creating such a stir because I had to turn my headlamp off and sit in the dark for 30 seconds every time I took a picture. My fears of something pouncing on me from behind were allayed by the fact that no animals would dare to come near me with the ruckus my dog was making.

ISO 100, 30 second exposure F8(?)

But still I wondered if evil old one horn, the she mountain goat was waiting for me at the summit. What if she wanted to play chicken with me in the dark? What if my dog chased after a baby goat? (A kid) Would one horn or one of her herd attack me? I decided to keep my camera in the auto mode while I was hiking, so I could dazzle one horn with the flash if she gave me trouble. I was sure that a huge heard of trouble making goats were waiting for me at the top, but I did not see any goats today. Well not counting the ones at the trail head.. :)

While I was hiking up summit area looked dark and ominous, it seemed like a scary place to be in the dark. Did I really want to up there on loose rocks in the dark? I reminded myself that it was actually lighter on the summit than where I was in the woods.

Then it started snowing and I instantly thought about the SAR rescue that occurred on Mount Ellinor at about this time a few years ago when a man got lost up there in the fog. But I had my GPS with me and I knew the route pretty darn well.

In spite of all my worries and fears I pushed on and I made it to the top 24 minutes before sunrise, at 7am. (Well my GPS said sunrise was at 7:24 but I suspect it came a bit earlier because it was starting brighten up when I reached the top.) I was surprised that I was able to hike up so fast in the dark while taking multiple long photography breaks. I was lucky I did not lose my way and accidentally take the chute route. The intersection did not seem to be marked anymore.

As I summited the view blew me away. A beautiful pink light was coming up behind Mount Rainer. Or was that Mount Ranier? I though Ranier was further south. It took me a long time to get a satisfactory picture of the amazing first view. Using my camera in the auto mode and set to "landscape" did not work. I had to use the full manual mode including manual focus to get the picture I wanted.

Up there in the dark I could easily identify the lights of the prison, the airport and Shelton. Part of me wanted to be tucked in my cozy warm bed down there.

At first I could not take very many pictures because snow kept getting on my lens. But eventually the snow stopped and I was able to take a lot of pictures. It was cold up there so I put on my full rain gear and I brewed the vilest cup of tea I have ever brewed. The tea was 10 times too strong and I stewed it. Oh well, it kept my hands nice and warm and enabled me to stay and take more pictures. When the tea got cold I dumped it out.

While I was on the summit a red truck arrived at the trail head. Also the entire time I was on the summit I could hear some type of industrial noises coming from somewhere in the woods below.

At about 8am I decided my hands were too numb for picture taking so I headed down. I passed the guy in the red truck about half way down. He said he was 70 years old and this was the 80th time he had been up Mount Ellinor. He also gave me some beta on climbing Mount Washington.

When I had almost reached the trail head I met the Monday hiker Mountain Goats coming up the trail. I had totally forgotten that they were doing Ellinor today. Previously I thought about and decided not to do Ellinor with the Monday hikers because I wanted to do a tougher hike than that. Still, I’m sure hiking up Ellinor with them would have been really hard. They hike faster than I can. The Monday hikers are a group of affluent retired folks some of whom are in their 60’s and 70’s and late 70's. They hike every Monday all year round and have not missed a hike in many years of Mondays. I’ve hiked with them three times and each time they left me in the dust.

I got back down to my vehicle at about 9:30 and on the way back home I made a couple of stops to hunt for mushrooms. All I found was a few hedgehogs.

Sadly I have to return the college camera today. After this trip I am convinced that I want a digital SLR but even if I get a digital SLR I might still bring along my point and shoot zoom camera for it's 12X optical zoom. My zoom camera probably weighs less than 420mm zoom lens for a SLR.

3.4 miles RT
2100 feet elevation gain

192 miles on my shoes and I think the tread is getting worn and causing me to slip a lot.