As recorded in Wayne’s Journal: On 9 September 1994, I (Wayne) met Andy and his Brother-in-law (Neal) at the “Caveman” in Kent, WA, for dinner (at 7:00 pm). We arrived at the Paradise parking lot at 11:00 pm. Our objective for the weekend was to climb Mt. Rainier via the “Disappointment Cleaver” Route. I slept overnight in my truck.
The following day, we got up at 6:25 am. We fired up the stoves and had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. We checked into the Ranger Station. We started hiking at 9:00 am. My pack weighed 60 lbs. It took me 5 and 3/4 hours to hike to Camp Muir. We set up camp on the Muir snow field near the Public Hut. We went to bed at 7:00 pm.
On 11 September 1994, we got up at 3:00 am. We left camp at 4:00 am. We got to the base of the Cleaver just as it was getting light. It took us 1 and 1/2 hours to go up the Cleaver. We took a break at the top of the Cleaver. We reached the Crater Rim at 12:30 pm. The conditions on the rim were wonderful (no wind)! Although the sun was out, there were nearby clouds, which hindered our long range views.
I had one Oreo cookie on the summit along with some water.
After taking some pictures, we left the Crater Rim at 1:05 pm. We again took a break at the top of the Cleaver. We reached Camp Muir at 4:30 pm. It took us 1 and 1/2 hours to pick up camp. We reached Paradise parking lot at 8:15 pm.
I left the parking lot at 9:00 pm. I stopped for dinner in Ashford; and I got back to Seattle at 12:30 am.
Note 1: The “Washington” web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Washington
