We got everybody in the car and to the trailhead early. There was a little anxiety for some of the younger among us that they would be able to do the whole trail. There was also a little dread among the older of us around the lack of sleep and joint pain we were about to experience. The only one that seemed unphased by any of it was Tyson. This would be his third 50 miler and second crack at the Northern Loop.
Art McEntire came along in spite of his broken finger.
This is the view of Carbon River from near the beginning of the hike between Carbon River camp and Ipsut Creek. This river comes full force directly from the Carbon glacier with very little help from feeder creeks or other rivers. It's mostly glacial melt.
This is the Ipsut Creek campground. As you can see, where there used to be a road is now a river. The footbridge now serves as the campground entry. This was the location where we started the last time we did this hike. It is now a backcountry campground and inaccessable to cars because of the 2007 floods and subsequent runoff damage. The damage was astounding. I hardly recognized much of the trail from 4 years ago. The boys in this picture are standing on the road next to where the bridge washed away.
This was the Carbon River next to where we camped. Our camp is over to the right. It's amazing how quickly the river changes in just a few hours. Glaciers are one place where you can see geographic changes happening in real time. As Art said to me, "Now I understand what people are talking about when they say a canyon was carved by a glacier." Up here, you can actually watch it happen as the glacier melts, pushed huge boulders, piles of dirt and refuse aside as it slides down the canyon. We could hear boulders rolling down the river and off the glacier as we hiked throughout the park.
Tyson sitting next to the Carbon River in Mt. Rainier National Park
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